I certainly don’t have a problem with Tsuji-kun getting his spotlight dance on Hinomaru Zumou this week.  He’s been laboring mostly in the shadows for the entire series, and has probably been more responsible for the miracle turnaround in Daichi’s fortunes than anybody.  I just find it kind of a hollow result for Kei, who’s been busting his butt to try and accomplish something in the ring without success, to have to finish out the series without ever having achieved it while Tsuji does in his first bout.  It is what it is, I suppose.

The hard truth is, 20 seconds is a lot longer than most sumo matches last anyway (at least professional ones – I’ve ever seen high school sumo).  But this is anime, and anime needs drama of the sort that a 5-second bout just can’t provide.  Still, Kirihito certainly has his chance, even against as strong an opponent as Leon.  He also has the advantage of surprise, since the Eigadai squad has apparently never seen him wrestle.  Leon initially tries to mess with Tsuji in the ring, but I especially liked the way he responded – “Shut up, I’m trying to soak up the atmosphere”.

That’s the essence of this for Kirihito – this is his moment, and he knows without the possibility of error that it’s going to be a short one.  So he has to not only enjoy every precious second of it, but to try and end it quickly.  That’s not unnoticed by the opponents – it’s immediately clear that Kirihito is far more skilled than Kei, and unclear why he would be a mere substitute.  But he does appear to be rushing, which suggests at the very least that fitness is an issue.  Having (ironically) yet another tie ruling is a harsh result for Tsuji, but perversely he sees it as a chance to extend his special moment, if ever so briefly, and he doesn’t pass up the opportunity.

As for the next match, it finds Yuuma taking on the Eigadai captain, Yomoda Jin.  Yomoda seems an altogether decent and humble fellow, and he has Yuuma outweighed by some 70 kilos.  Yuuma draws first blood, however – and literally so, his fierce strikes starting the flow from Yomoda’s nose.  Would the referee stop a professional bout under the same circumstances?  I honestly have no idea, but the strikingly cordial repartee between the two rikishi during in the interlude was kind of charming.  This is not an especially vitriolic or angry bout – Yomoda clearly isn’t that sort of guy, and neither of these kids has a bone to pick with the other.  But it’s a fun one, nonetheless.

It was more or less a given that Yuuma would lose this, since Shinya pretty much has to win his bout for narrative purposes.  One contributing factor to this was that Yomoda apparently tanked his third-place bout with Tennouji in the individual tournament to save himself for the team event, which is smart I suppose (though Tennouji is none too pleased about it).  We pretty much know what’s going to happen from here – Shinya is going to win, and the series will conclude with Ushio’s match with Sousuke.  I feel pretty confident I know how that one will end, too, but marginally less so than the one before it.