Why do you think that? School setting gave the series its team fight aspect which was certainly part of the appeal while in the professional world it's every big guy for himself. Thankfully, the rivalry between all the fighters is the other aspect that made the series good in the first palce, and most of the cast graduated together with Ushio and is still around. I do like that right from the start Kawada has established the current yokozuna as the final immovable obstacle, just like with Kuze in the highscool arc. And unlike Kuze before, he is gradually developing yokozuna as an actual character.
Well, while they don’t fight team matches anymore, the whole stables aspect has meant former rivals have become teammates, while former friends are now rivals, which creates an incredible dynamic, shaking up the foundations the series previously had. One of the first fights in the pro arc is insane because of this, and its really cool to see such a sudden shift in character views within <10 chaoters. You even have former rivals/friends who are now in with other big shots in the sumo world like the Yokozuna and get to see how its changed them. Stakes are higher too, with the constant stress of climbing in ranks or dropping if you do badly (Sumo is brutal in that it expects the top wrestlers to be almost flawless 100% of the time).
Plus the fact that school sumo is half assed. They dont follow a lot of the rules and traditions of the pro world, and the change has just made the whole thing a much better experience overall. We now have proper commentators as well (much like HQ) instead of just known characters doing it alone. Romance and other life problems have now become legit, unforced things because they have to be addressed to give an accurate view on life in the sport. Its just so informative and aware that most people even in Japan don’t know a lot about it.
It just feels much more real, while in comparison the school arc was simple and just about a short dude overcoming HIs stature with his teammates to become a pro.
On the anime, I honestly don’t care who gets it or how long it’ll be , I’m just happy its getting something, as it should at least provide some promotion for it considering how niche it currently is. If it performs even slightly decently, I have no doubt it’ll get more seasons. Its probably being funded in part by the sumo association, with the goal to get to the pro arc just because of how important it is to them that people see that. Though theres the chance it could flop and die too. 2 cours with good pacing will get it to just before the inter high.
Studio wise, we have nothing to go off. There have only been like 5 proper sumo tv anime ever, and the latest one Matsutarou, was mostly slice of life with a 2 second sumo match chucked in here and there. So practically no one in the industry has experience in this. Madhouse and IG seem to be the best for sports motion, but they have their share of screwups. Ballroom by IG was a slideshow a lot of the time, and Madhouse has done crap like All Out and others which were terrible production wise. Im actually starting to think someone like Toei with a long history and connections might actually be best for this. Its largely unknwon territory.
