I’ll give Hinomaru Zumou (I’m hearing “Be the Naked” on retail soundtracks all over Hyogo, incidentally) credit – this episode felt like it flew by in about 8 minutes.  But there’s no anime cliffhanger that’s frustrating in quite the same way as a sports anime cliffhanger.  That was especially true here because this ep was unsatisfying in a very fundamental way.  It was designed to be, of course, but that still leaves me feeling like I’m walking away from the dinner table with an empty stomach.

Poor Kei.  I mean truthfully, this is not a boy who should be doing sumo seriously – that’s just the hard truth.  I give him full props for the effort and the resilience, but there’s a reason why they don’t use rakes to bulldoze.  We’ve reached the semi-finals of the team event and Daichi has drawn Tottori Hakurou, who seem especially pissed off because of Tennouji’s loss to Sosuke in the individual tournament.  And as it happens Sosuke’s team is a threat after all – Eigadai is in the other semi and predicted to win it, which surprises me a bit as I don’t recall hearing much about them in the first 17 episodes.

One might say that our little Kei drew the short straw in Shutou Masaomi, Tottori’s giant.  But from my perspective that was as good a matchup as he could hope for, given their prowess – he’s going to be at a huge size and strength disadvantage against any of them, so a lumbering behemoth like Shutou gives him a better chance to play his bag of tricks.  And tricks they are, too, as Kei knows all too well.  He’s carrying a certain measure of shame not just because he’s lost every bout, but because of how he’s tried to win them.  But win he must, because Shinya has already lost the opening bout to the aikido master Enoki Shintarou (who would have been the worst possible opponent for Kei, apart from Tennouji).

This whole question of winning at any cost and whether it’s worth it is a fascinating one, and one not too often asked by sports manga.  Certainly Kei could never win a meaningful bout any other way, no matter how much his heart desires it.  And just as certainly, as long as he’s not literally breaking any rules it can be argued that he’s in the right to try and win any way he can.  He knows to have any chance against Shutou he has to try every cheap tactic in the book – intentional false starts (which he learned from Ishigami’s Sanada-kun), visible disrespect, and clapping his hands in his opponents face.  It’s all legal, but none of it is pretty.

Still, for all that, I really wanted Kei to win.  His path is inherently more compelling than someone for whom this comes easily, and the sense is always building that sooner or later hard work and guts should be rewarded.  And it looks for a moment as if they will, too, when Kei’s clap stunt disorients Shutou long enough for Kei to get behind him and manage to engineer a double takedown.  The in-ring referee rules in his favor, but Tottori protests and it’s overturned as a simultaneous touch.  Not only that, but Kei has injured himself when Shutou’s enormous bulk fell on him.  The final result is as predictable as it is depressing.

I feel as if I can see the path the rest of the tournament is going to take, though I’m not going to speculate on it for fear of tempting someone to spoil me more than I’ve already been spoiled.  One thing I do wonder is if Kei is going to be able to wrestle in the final (assuming Daichi sweeps the last three bouts).  It would be fascinating to see Kirihito have to take to the ring when the chips are down, though of course that would also mean we’re likely to see Hinomaru Zumou end without Kei ever winning a bout.  Which, to be frank, would really suck.