When lackadaisical student Ryota is told he is missing the necessary credits needed to graduate university, he will be strongarmed into joining and competing in the school’s decrepit sumo club in Sumo Do, Sumo Don’t! – a laugh-out-loud Japanese Star original coming exclusively to Disney+ on October 26.
An expansion of the world created in 1992’s Sumo Do, Sumo Don’t movie, this upcoming original series sees Ryota, an apathetic university student who spends his days playing video games suddenly coerced into donning a traditional mawashi and joining the Kyoritsu University sumo club. Constantly on the verge of quitting, Ryota will repeatedly face off against the club’s captain and sole member, a sophomore and sumo-devotee Honoka. With only a few months to go before graduation and five members needed in order for the club to compete and secure Ryota’s credits, the two will begrudgingly work together to recruit a hilarious hodgepodge of new recruits including Shun, a reclusive video game addict; Ren, an older male ballerina; and Yuma, a bodybuilder.
Starring Shono Hayama as apathetic student Ryota; Rikka Ihara as the sole sumo club member, Honoka; Himi Sato as Shun the former recluse; Ryo Takahashi as Ren the ballerina; Atsushi Mori as bodybuilder Yuma; Kako Takahashi as Sakurako Yoshino; Miyu Teshima as Saki Nishino and Atsuki Kashio as Kaito Yoshioko. Fans of the original movie can also look forward to appearances from the original cast, including: Naoto Takenaka, Misa Shimizu, Hiromasa Taguchi, Naomasa Musaka, and Akira Emoto. Sumo Do, Sumo Don’t! also sees the return of the original Executive Director, Masayuki Suo, and is written by Keiko Kanome.
Speaking about the upcoming series Shono Hayama said: “It will be interesting to see how the former members of the sumo club get involved in the new Sumo Do, Sumo Don’t! series. You can also watch it from the perspective of a member of the Kyoritsu University sumo club, and as more members get involved, the viewer will end up feeling like they are part of the club!” Rikka Ihara added to this, saying: “It’s fun to watch it like it’s an alumni association with the former members also making appearances. But, in contrast to the movie, there’s a mixed-gender contest with wrestling between men and women, which offers a different angle on sumo.”