Teppuu
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese manga
written and illustrated by Oota Moare. The manga has been serialized in Kodansha
's seinen manga magazine Good! Afternoon
since 2008.
One day, after a volleyball practice, she meets Yuzuko Mawatori advertising for the mixed martial arts
club, and although at the time she is uninterested, the idea stays with her for the rest of the day. She learns that Yuzuko and one other girl are the sole members of the club, and as such isn't an official club yet, so she decides to investigate. She meets the two members and challenges Yuzuko to a spar, in which the two of them exchange glancing blows. When Sanae Sawamura, the captain of the karate
team, shows up, Natsuo decides to leave. After she has left, she realises her nose and lip are bleeding, and she resolves that she hates Yuzuko, and later returns to challenge her to another spar. She loses the spar, but gains a solid interest in MMA to the point where she quits the volleyball team.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
written and illustrated by Oota Moare. The manga has been serialized in Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
's seinen manga magazine Good! Afternoon
Good! Afternoon
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Kodansha. It is a bimonthly anthology, and each issue typically has around twenty-five stories by various artists and runs about 800 pages. It is a sister magazine to Kodansha's successful monthly manga anthology Afternoon, and was first launched on...
since 2008.
Story
The plot revolves around Natsuo Ishido, a freshman in high school. She has a natural talent for everything she does, and as a result becomes bored with doing anything. She is often praised (and occasionally hated) for her incredible talent, but in reality she feels lonely, so she is often looking for more and more things to occupy her time. As she fails to find anything that is sufficiently challenging, her loneliness and boredom reach a bottomed-out state.One day, after a volleyball practice, she meets Yuzuko Mawatori advertising for the mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
club, and although at the time she is uninterested, the idea stays with her for the rest of the day. She learns that Yuzuko and one other girl are the sole members of the club, and as such isn't an official club yet, so she decides to investigate. She meets the two members and challenges Yuzuko to a spar, in which the two of them exchange glancing blows. When Sanae Sawamura, the captain of the karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
team, shows up, Natsuo decides to leave. After she has left, she realises her nose and lip are bleeding, and she resolves that she hates Yuzuko, and later returns to challenge her to another spar. She loses the spar, but gains a solid interest in MMA to the point where she quits the volleyball team.
Characters
- Natsuo Ishido is the series' main protagonist. She is naturally talented at everything she does. Having lived with this ability her whole life, she cannot understand why other people cannot do things which she can do. This has given her a condescending attitude against her opponents, who she goads and teases during their match and after Natsuo's inevitable victory. She is also ruthless when fighting, whether or not the fight is a serious one (she once defeated Mai by swiftly kicking her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground and rendering her unable to move).
- Natsuo has come to the realization that people with the ability to be the best without even trying have the hardest time, since they don't have anyone to bond with and their whole life is one big competition. She is lonely and yearns for someone who can defeat her and give her something to actually work for. This is all hidden, however. In chapter 7, she is revealed to have an older brother, who debuts on the said chapter. Natsuo seems to fear her brother, for reasons yet to be revealed.
- Yuzuko is the captain of the budding MMAMixed martial artsMixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
club, which at the beginning of the series had only two members (one short of being an official club) and no adviser. She is constantly advertising the club and recruiting anyone who will join, even going so far as to challenge Natsuo to a fight, where both girls fought evenly, but had to be broken up by Sanae's unexpected arrival. On their second sparring session (where Natsuo intended to lose), Yuzuko, having fought Natsuo beforehand, now knows what to do this time around, and proceeded to seal Natsuo's movements by pinning her to the ground, winning the match. This spurns Natsuo more than ever, having finally met someone with the capacity to defeat her
- Sanae is the captain of the karateKarateis a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
team. In the year previous to the events of the series, she went to the National Karate Competition and placed second, raising the near-defunct karate team into recognition. She has declared an unofficial war on the MMA club, and has convinced the other karate team members to do the same. She and Natsuo were childhood friends, but ever since Natsuo left the karate team on the basis that no one on the team was good enough, she has acted cold toward Natsuo. This feeling accentuated after she saw Natsuo fighting with Yuzuko and drew the conclusion that Natsuo had joined the MMA club.
- Ringi is the daughter of world-renowned MMA champion Mario Cordeiro. She has lived in BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
for most of her life, but returned to JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to visit Yuzuko, her childhood friend. She is an amazing fighter, even to the point that Yuzuko suggested that Natsuo would be a good match for her. When fighting, she maintains an air of naivete, blurting false weaknesses to get her opponent into an opportune position. She oversaw the sparring rematch between Nasuo and Yuzuko, immdiately seeing Natsuo's natural talent in the sport. Ringi has then been eager to have her sparring match with Natsuo ever since
- Mario is the father of Ringi Cordeiro.
- Mai is a member of the karate team. She claims to be the only person who knows Sanae's dark past, and she hates Natsuo with a passion.
- Kei is Natsuo's friend from the volleyball team, and possibly Natsuo's only friend.
- A trainee also learning MMA at Tanekada's gym under the tutelage of Karin. Also a freshman like Natsuo, Kirido was originally trained for JudoJudois a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
before shifting to MMA, and she and Natsuo first met in chapter 6 where they were formerly introduced to each other by Karin, as well as the rest of the trainees. Physically, she is almost as tall as Natsuo (who stands 182cm), and stands at a height of 177cm (5'10), making her the only person in the gym to rival Natsuo as far as height is concerned. Somewhat fond of teasing people, she left quite an impression upon Natsuo when she referred to her as "Goliath", causing the latter to immediately view Kirido as a rival. Halfway through the chapter, Kirido ends up paired with Natsuo in a practice sparring match, where she shows the latter a fair bit of grappling, making Natsuo realize that more physical contact is required in MMA than it was in Karate