One Pound Gospel

A manga and OVA series by Rumiko Takahashi, One Pound Gospel is one of her shorter and less-known works, often overlooked in favor of the classic Maison Ikkoku.

The plot concerns Kosaku Hatanaka, a 19-year-old boxer who used to be a rising star that started boxing straight out of high school, but by the beginning has deteriorated into a lost case by anyone's opinion, due to his uncontrollable eating habits. Only his coach believes he might yet turn out well, though even he doesn't consider the chance large. However, Kosaku gets new motivation in the form of Sister Angela, a Christian nun to whom he went for confession and keeps doing so just for the chance to see her. Angela is a novice, not yet a full nun, having given up her privileged birth for the veil. However, she finds herself not entirely unsympathetic towards Kosaku, who doesn't fully understand the vows she is to take. He often desperately tries to impress her with a victory so that she would consent to be his girlfriend - much to the irritation of the Mother Superior of Angela's convent.

Most fans of Takahashi's work tend to overlook this charming entirely realistic (a rarity for the mangaka) comedy in favor of Maison Ikkoku, which is both longer and contains stronger distinct personalities among its protagonists. Also, as boxing and the Christian faith is an integral part of the series, this isn't to everyone's taste. However, the result is a pleasing mix of near-shonen fights and the traditional romance, this time - another rarity - with an actual resolution to the couple's Unresolved Sexual Tension.


 * Belligerent Sexual Tension: it would hardly be her series without it. Kosaku is an Unlucky Everydude and Jerk with a Heart of Gold, very similar to Yusaku Godai, but Angela is less likely to explode than a traditional tsundere. This is most likely her faith and training talking.
 * Betty and Veronica: Angela and her aunt Mizue, though only personality-wise, since they are hardly rivals in love.
 * Big Eater: Kousaku to a freakin' T.
 * Expy: The two leads resemble those of Maison Ikkoku quite uncannily. Kosaku is actually very similarly drawn, disregarding the rounded style Takahashi uses for her characters. Also, Taro Matsuzaka resembles Shun Mitaka when not wearing his 'work face'.
 * Cannot Spit It Out: Thoroughly averted with Kosaku; he's quite vocal about his affection for Angela and his wish to live with her. This often causes trouble with the other nuns. Played straight with Angela, though subverted in the fact that she's not choosing between two men or dislikes Kosaku - she doesn't know if she should give up her calling for the sake of a single person or not.
 * Defector From Decadence: Sister Angela actually comes from a quite wealthy family. Although the only one who has a problem with Angela's decision is her aunt Mizue, who doesn't really understand Angela's decision to give up so much extravagance and go without men.
 * Distaff Counterpart: The Mother Abbess could be seen as the counterpart to Coach Mukoda, as she is responsible for Angela keeping true to her decision to be a nun, as Mukoda is responsible for Kosaku's boxing career.
 * Dramatically Missing the Point: Kousaku, some of the boxers, and fans of this series don't seem to understand that since Sister Angela is a nun, she cannot have relationships with men unless she chooses to leave the convent. Some of the fans who think the choice is so "easy" don't understand how difficult it is to decide between your feelings for someone and your love and dedication to God.
 * Especially considering that she's also a Japanese Christian, with all the Values Dissonance coming from being a Catholic in a country that's mostly Buddhist and Shinto.
 * Especially apparent in the J-Drama, Sister Angela doesn't seem to be well liked amongst the fans.
 * Hollywood Pudgy: A staple. Kosaku is referred to as a fat pig most of the time because he can't manage to keep his weight stable despite looking quite athletic and muscular. Another such example involves a rival boxer named Matsuzaka who's been struggling to keep his weight up to Kosaku's level in order to fight him again. During the match, Matsuzaka does look slightly pudgy, yet everyone refers to him as "a whale".
 * Incredibly Lame Pun: In Japanese, "Priest" and "Boxer" sound alike. "Bokushi" (牧師), is the first three syllables in the Japanese pronunciation of the word "boxing" (ボクシング/bokushingu). Thus the entire premise of the series being a Priest Boxer and a Nun together.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Subverted. Kousaku may come off as a jerkwad, but it seems thoroughly unintentional. He's just oblivious to the thoughts and feelings of others and it's not on purpose... he's just a really big kid.
 * The Matchmaker: Angela's aunt Mizue.
 * Names to Know in Anime: The OAV give us Tohru Furuya as Kousaku and Hiromi Tsuru as Sister Angela.
 * Not So Harmless: Ryusei Kurenai, the head host of Club Ring, who turns out to be the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation Champion.
 * Nuns Are Funny
 * Nuns Are Mikos: Averted, as described under "Dramatically Missing the Point" above.
 * The Rival: Every arc has at least one
 * Uncancelled: The manga ended open-ended but got an ending almost twenty years after the series ended in the first place!