r/judo • u/Fili4ever_Reddit • Jun 13 '25
Arts & Crafts Would you like to see more Judo in Manga?
Today I was sketching some fighting concepts trying to integrate some Judo throws, and it made me realize how little we tend to see grappling in manga (with only a few exceptions coming to mind).
I guess it has to do with how stricking sequences are easier to read for the average folk whereas Judo/grappling feels more twisted and hard to interpret for the untrained eye, but I think that can be worked around by adding some action lines and a careful selection of the pose, resulting in a fresh, elegant and dynamic addition to classical action scenes.
What do you guys think?
20
u/jaredtheredditor rokkyu Jun 13 '25
Honestly a lot of grappling fights I read in webtoons feel like one of two things either the grappler is dominating or he is getting his ass beat but either way they make for short fights
Grappling can be very one and done which is probably why you see more striking in manga/manwha its easier to say someone shrugged of a punch than to explain why he let the guy he just threw to the floor off the ground again
10
u/Fili4ever_Reddit Jun 13 '25
100% a big reason for that, good point. Aside from Aikido (which is arguably a legitimate martial art) and Sanda, most styles encourage a follow up on the ground for that reason, but it can be tricky to incorporate in a manga and only works for 1v1 situations. A cool concept might be to add a gunshot immediately after the throw, like John Wick 4, which could make it feasible for multiple opponents
2
u/Haunting-Beginning-2 Jun 14 '25
Can be 2 or 3 on one, or group on group like my judo club members in a fight once outside a bar
11
10
u/ObjectiveFix1346 gokyu Jun 13 '25 edited Jun 13 '25
People don't appreciate the power of a hard throw. Maybe most Judo players don't even appreciate it. I like these drawings (although I fear that a casual reader may still not understand what's going on with the Tomoe Nage).
One way to convey the impact of throws artistically is to show the guy getting thrown through things, against things, and breaking things in the process. This technique is employed very well in the film Oldboy (2003), where the character Oh Dae Su is repeatedly thrown into glass objects.
Anyone in the audience can see how that would be painful.
3
Jun 13 '25
[deleted]
3
u/Black6x ikkyu Jun 13 '25
It just sounds like your brother was either trolling you or doesn't know ANYTHING about any type of fighting. Even without knowing it was specifically ura nage, I feel like everyone knows wat a suplex is.
2
9
7
u/Briantan71 Jun 13 '25
I think the only time I see grappling portrayed really well in an anime/manga is in this fight in Kengan Ashura. (Granted, the MMA fighter character in the video uses wrestling more so than Judo but the ground-grappling aspect of the fight is really exciting to watch/read. )
Also, this one from the same anime/manga.
4
u/Fili4ever_Reddit Jun 13 '25
I agree, the manga also does a decent job in some scenes with throws (I remember a ura nage specifically), but it still looks mostly static (although the drawings and pacing are of course amazing)
2
5
4
u/GreatStoneSkull shodan Jun 13 '25
If you are willing to go the extra effort to obtain manga in Japanese, there’s an abundance of Judo titles. I have been collecting for several years and have found 11 titles that are relatively easy to get (and a few white whales I’m hunting).
They pretty much all feature young judoka in high-school or college and range in theme from hot-blooded shonen through coming-of-age drama to cute-girls-doing-cute-things.
The training and competition scenes are often very imaginatively and dramatically portrayed. It helps that Judo techniques have names that competitors or spectators can shout out.
4
u/p1zawL shodan Jun 14 '25
Please share some of these title names! Would love to receive a catered list.
5
u/Italian22Jack Jun 13 '25
Dude these are amazing and would look so cool as a poster with the throw name and a small definition of how it is executed
3
u/Fili4ever_Reddit Jun 13 '25
Thanks a lot! All this positive feedback is convincing me to ink them, because like this they are just quick concept sketches In case I’ll make sure to post it here 🙏
3
u/lastchanceforachange sankyu Jun 13 '25
The only one i see with good technique is Mou Ippon which is drawn by a judoka
1
u/kakumeimaru Jun 14 '25
That one's a favorite of mine. I need to read more of it one of these days.
3
3
3
u/TiredCoffeeTime Jun 14 '25
Please check out All Rounder Meguru
It’s a MMA manga that shows off many grappling (wrestling, Jiu Jitsu, and Judo).
It’s one of the most grounded fighting manga where the fights flow really well. Meanwhile there are many webtoons or manga where the fight sequences often are questionable or has wrong forms.
2
1
u/Little-Insect5232 1d ago
There a manga name Judos juudouzu only 3 chapter is have more than that, but I don t how to find more
3
u/p1zawL shodan Jun 14 '25
These are great sketches!! You captured some great poses and the essence of the throw is shown nicely. I did a series of Judo sketches a while back, they can be quite challenging to draw
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
u/SrGoatheld Jun 13 '25
I would love to have a spokon based on judo, I know there are a couple but they either don't look like focusing in judo at all, they are kinda old (and carry old anime problems for modern audiences) or hard to get in my language.
1
1
1
1
1
u/Independent-Access93 Jun 13 '25
Id just be happy to see more distinct martial arts in general in manga.
I'd say judo gets represented more than most martial arts. You usually get one judo guy in most fighting series, and it makes an appearance in a surprising amount of rom coms, from Monthly Girls Nozaki Kun, to Nagatoro, and Tomo Chan is a Girl. Now, it's not always represented well, but it is there.
1
u/BrunoXande Jun 13 '25
I already had the idea of making a manga with fights focused on judo, but I didn't even remember that I don't even know how to draw. Kkkkk But it would be really interesting, even more so if they added a dramatization or mind game like Blue lock, After all, judo is like a game of chess.
1
1
1
1
u/Takingtheehobbits Jun 13 '25
A sleeper anime that came out a little bit ago that needs a season two is called Mou Ippon. It was pretty great for Judo enthusiasts. There’s a manga though I don’t think it will get a second season. 😤😢
1
1
1
1
u/Toptomcat Jun 13 '25
Twisted, bunched, gripped cloth is hard to draw. People in unusual positions of disrupted balance are hard to draw. Action sequences in general where two people are nose-to-nose are hard to find legible angles for, without one person’s body obscuring the other. Groundwork with people twisting each other into pretzels is hard to draw. Conveying the wrenching, stunning impact of a throw is rough to do with a still image.
A fight scene with two people at arm’s length swinging swords in big, wide arcs, or two guys ten feet apart shooting magic shit at each other, is so much simpler from a technical perspective that realistically-depicted technical grappling is always going to be rare.
2
u/Fili4ever_Reddit Jun 14 '25
Perfectly put. However, I still believe there are engaging ways to incorporate grappling into fighting sequences (for example AoT, to quote a popular one). I’ll keep experimenting, but for payed work I’ll definitely stick to big punches and big ol’ swords lol
1
1
1
u/PixelAesthetics Jun 14 '25
Igaguri from Bubbles was great, really hoping we get a Yawara license one day
1
u/dogdaysindurham Jun 14 '25
Teppu is a good one and was with female MMA high schoolers. Sad it ended too soon.
1
u/zealous_sophophile Jun 14 '25
Kids love manga, Judo isn't cool enough currently............. it would definitely help with the popularity.
There are also tons of story lines to be told from Kano, Kimura, Abbe.............
1
u/NelTew Jun 14 '25
Just want a manga where the judoka doesn't get fucking dumpstered in 2 seconds to show how strong the other guy is. No jobbing pls 🙏
1
1
1
u/AccurateDegeneracy Jun 15 '25
There's an underrated mma manga called Red Blue starring an mc, who specialises in grappling. It has a realistic application to techniques, and I highly recommend a good read.
1
u/Kr3st_11 Jun 15 '25
usogui fights are top tier and incorporate actual martial arts (definitely some grappling) + ridiculous fictitious feats. it's also a gambling manga...crazy ride it was reading that. 10/10
1
u/u4004 Jun 17 '25 edited Jun 17 '25
I have seen it more in anime. Mainstream stuff, notably Attack on Titan, but even Dragon Ball Super had a few judo throws. This example from DBS: Broly doesn’t look great movement wise but is made mighty epic, there was a better one movement wise on the series but I can’t find it.
1
1
u/Lizards_n1_fanboy Jul 10 '25
I would love to see more grappling in manga (especially judo since I’m biased asf)! But also I just have to say that this is the sickest art i’ve seen for like 6 months
1
1
u/Little-Insect5232 1d ago
There a manga name Judos juudouzu about Judo but only 3 chapter, I don t known how to find more
64
u/-RT-TRACKER- Jun 13 '25
yeah judo in manga would be awesome it adds so much flow and impact to a scene plus a good ippon is just as hype as any punch if it’s drawn right it could look really clean and hit different