Natsuo Ishido is talented — maybe too talented. From karate, basketball, etc, her talent in every sport she picks up has not only made her look down on most of her competitors, but has also bored her out of her mind. One day during school, however, she sees a plucky, high energy girl advertising her Martial Arts club. After being convinced to do a tryout, she ends up facing off against said plucky girl to show her that being all energetic is not all that it’s cracked up to be. Thinking she would win easily, as usual, Natsuo instead finds herself bleeding from her nose.
And before you know it, Natsuo’s diving into another brand new sport, and one where’s she’s finally motivated by something : ending Yuzuko’s happiness in the ring for good.
Somewhere in the 2009-2011 years (yes it’s been that long), Teppu was a series that I remember reading specifically because it was a sports/fighting manga and Natsuo just seemed to straight up hate so so many people for whatever reason. How can you follow a protagonist seemingly dedicated to angering her peers because she’s too talented? Well, you come up with compelling reasons for having that type of ego and what to do once something falls outside of those expectations. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), as it turns out, is not simply a sport you can be good at immediately despite your athleticism, size, or mental strength, so Natsuo essentially losing to Yuzuko and then soon (by watching on TV) seeing another girl who simply can kick butt and knows Yuzuko, helped Natsuo finally find her goal.
So rather than sulk about it, Natsuo gets pissed. Pissed enough to join a club specifically to train and beat Yuzuko. Along the way, we join her in learning all about the world of Women’s MMA. This series got started in 2008 so it’s very likely a few things are dated, but over the first two volumes of Teppu, we get answers and explanations on certain fighting terms, the struggles of exposing the sport to a wider audience (especially Women’s MMA) and portraits of people who actually competes in this sport — yes, an office worker is competing in local tournaments and getting her opponents to submit (or knocks them out).
The characters and the slick art, however, stand out. Like I said, Natsuo has made a number of enemies over her time, with one of her rivals, Sanae from the karate club, being extremely motivated to defeat her. Lindsay and Yuzuko being the essential opposites personality wise compared to Natsuo (and also Sanae) until they’re in the cage makes for a simple, but effective, contrast as we see Natsuo attempt to learn the sport. She ends up finding someone like-minded in some ways in volume 2, and how they essentially want revenge is extremely extra, but it’s totally welcome thanks to the manga’s pacing and the clean depiction of MMA techniques and fights. When someone gets a knee in the face, it definitely looks like it’s devastating. (For people to see it on TV, that’s just foul). So basically, the art for this series showcases exactly what MMA is.
Teppu, however, also showcases all sorts of women just looking to beat the crap out of each other, and the reasons largely boil down to, “I lost, or this person lost. You’ll pay for this.” Natsuo’s case is interesting since you just wonder why in the world she’s like this — they do have one moment in volume 2 where she seems afraid of talking to her brother, who is possibly a shut-in — and also wonder if it’s ok for someone with such an abrasive personality to learn the sport in a somewhat short amount of time to eventually succeed. But sometimes we don’t always need to follow a likeable character, and as she continues to learn everything there is about MMA, there’s a good chance following Natsuo like this is for the best. It sure is wild to revisit this series again, but thanks to Kodansha, I’m happy to follow Natsuo and the rest of the cast once again.