It was serialized in Big Comic Spirits from 1986 to 1993, with its chapters collected into 29 tankōbon volumes by publisher Shōgakukan.

The story centers around Yawara Inokuma, a seemingly ordinary high school girl, but her grandfather, a living judo legend, has been secretly training her since she was a child so that she can win the gold medal at the Olympic Games.

A live-action film adaptation directed by Kazuo Yoshida and starring Yui Asaka was released by Toho in April 1989.

That same year, Kitty Films and Madhouse began an anime adaptation titled Yawara!

Each episode ended with a countdown of days remaining to the start of the Barcelona Olympics.

Yawara Inokuma is a young girl who aspires to an ordinary life but due to her innate talent is forced to practice judo by her authoritarian grandfather, Jigorou Inokuma, with the aim of achieving the championship in Japan and the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

While Naoki Urasawa was pitching the idea of writing a manga about the medical field, he could tell his editor was not enjoying it.

being so different from his previous works as a comedy about a cute girl, some of his fans and colleagues felt betrayed and that he had sold out.

He explained that he found Yawara's grandfather so interesting that the character earned his own spin-off, and called it one of his favorite series.

[49] However, AnimEigo announced in April 2010 that they had been unable to license the remaining episodes,[50] and the first boxset went out of print on August 31, 2012.

Having Yui Asaka in the title role, the film featured cameos by real life judokas like Kaori Yamaguchi and Yasuhiro Yamashita, as well as shoot wrestlers, Kōji Nakamoto Akira Maeda and Nobuhiko Takada.

[54] The second was released on September 23, 1994, has additional gameplay elements such as "battle" and "quiz" modes, and received a 21/40 rating by Famitsu.

was very popular in Japan, so when real life Japanese teenager Ryoko Tamura won a silver medal for judo at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, she was seen as a real-life Yawara (her age, stature, and ability all being strikingly similar to those of the fictional character) and promptly nicknamed "Yawara-chan".

[59] She was still known by this name eight years later,[60] indicating perhaps the enduring popular recognition of the series as well as that of Ryoko Tamura.

"might not have many of the trademarks that would come to define Urasawa's later thrillers," the humorous sports series "still serves as a masterclass in character writing and atmosphere."

seamlessly blends romance, humor, life hurdles and sports intrigue.

He strongly praised Yawara Inokuma's character and noted that the series is far more focused on romance and coming of age than it is judo.

The reviewer finished by lamenting that they do not make anime like this anymore, as they seem to have forgotten the appeal of a simple story told well; Yawara!

"[62] While including the series on a list of the best anime from 1989, his colleague of the same website Daryl Surat wrote that she inspired numerous fighting video game characters.