A college senior, Shuhei, is blackmailed by a professor into joining the school's sumo team. He is aided by a group of misfits who must team together to defeat their rivals or face disgrace and the disbandment of the sumo club.
Acting
Motoki's reluctant everyman energy is *chef's kiss*.
Practical Effects
Actual sumo training—no CGI bellies here, folks.
Director
Masayuki Suō
Masahiro Motoki
Shuhei Yamamoto
Misa Shimizu
Natsuko Kawashima
Naoto Takenaka
Aoki Tomio
Akira Emoto
Professor Tokichi Anayama
Kaori Mizushima
Chie Asai
Hiromasa Taguchi
Hosaku Tanaka
Masaaki Takarai
Haruo Yamamoto
Masaru Matsuda
Tatsuo Horino
Goro Kataoka
Hayashi
Naomasa Musaka
Sumo OB
Fuyuki Murakami
Yasujiro Mine
Mutsuko Sakura
Yuki Anayama
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released during Japan's 'lost decade,' the film gently satirizes rigid corporate/social expectations through sumo's traditional hierarchies.
Director Masayuki Suō later won the Japan Academy Prize for Shall We Dance?—another film about reluctant men finding joy in unexpected places.
JP
