Mou Ippon! Episode 10: The Big Show

Round 2 was up next and the spotlight was on one big roadblock.

We skipped the first two opponents as Michi beat both of them. She’s still on a roll. Then the third member stepped up.

The giant cutie Megu made quick work of Michi. One would think she took advantage of our exhausted heroine but as we’d soon see the thicc lass was as tough as she looked.

Next up was Sanae. Her reaction said it all.

She wouldn’t go down without a fight and a fight is exactly what she got from the titan. Megu got her with a quick waza-ari. Sanae tried to counter her next move the same way Michi beat Sachi but she couldn’t and got a shipon instead. A “shipon” is basically a penalty for interrupting a match. We would see two examples of them this episode. In Sanae’s case she took too long (20 seconds is the limit) to counter Megu. The judge determined she couldn’t do it and penalized her. Something like that.

Since Sanae couldn’t take her down it looked like she’d sacrifice herself and tire out Megu for her teammates. However, Michi could tell Sanae’s actually going for a win using her specialty, pinning. Leave it to anime to make mat wrestling exciting. Something MMA wishes they could do every time fighters apply lots of ground holds in matches.

It’s a hard fought battle with the match ending in Double Ippon. However, Sanae already had a shipon against her so she lost. Finally it was Himeno’s time to shine. The long wait for her in-ring return had ended. Seeing the hard work of Michi and especially Sanae fueled the fire inside her and despite her mighty adversary she’s determined to make her last competition one for the books.

Himeno’s first big move was a Flying Armbar but like in pro wrestling Megu lifted her up for a Powerbomb counter but the judge deemed it too risky.

Next Himeno looked like she’s trying to match Megu’s power but she’s actually trying to control the pace of the match by tiring Megu through OBs. Unfortunately she got a shido because the judge could tell she’s intentionally going out of bounds.

Even so Himeno continued to endure Megu’s power until she found an opening. She remembered Nagumo’s notes on the thicc cutie that said the moment she started relying on her weight to take down opponents it meant she’s getting tired leaving small openings to counter her. Himeno found one and got an ippon on the titan. Great stuff. Himeno then went the distance against the vice-captain and got a draw. Still quite impressive.

Not much to say about Towa’s match. The last opponent was their second strongest member next to Megu but Towa’s Team Michi’s ace for a reason. Our heroines advanced to Round 3!  This next is touted as even stronger still. Looking forward to it.

PS: Megane Nagumo. Nuff said.