In early December, Kodansha USA announced the establishment of their Kodansha Print Club program—a print-on-demand service that gives select digital-only titles the chance to shine in print. The publisher capped off this news by revealing the program's first trio of titles—Narumi Shigematsu's Blade Girl, Fujimomo's Love, That's an Understatement, and Moare Ohta's Teppu. Let's focus on that last title of the bunch.

I'm not a fan of wide-sweeping declarations, but I wholeheartedly believe that Teppu is a modern sports cult classic. Long before Kodansha started digitally releasing the series in 2023, you'd hear something of a low rumble from those who'd read it. Be it dedicated social media threads, cosplay, or a long-form video essay by John “Super Eyepatch Wolf” Walsh, people were champing at the bit to share just how much they loved this little manga about women's MMA. Needless to say, I'm one of them.

Naturally, I was more than a little excited when I learned that an old favorite would be heading to print. However, it ended up taking a few months for Teppu's first volume to hit retailers. After taking their initial round of orders, Kodansha put an abrupt hold on the print club program to ensure the quality of these releases and make any necessary adjustments. It's an admirable pursuit given the occasionally shaky quality of any print-on-demand book. The publisher remained mum on the subject for a good while before revealing that the program was back on in a mid-February addendum to their initial press release.

Now that the first volume is finally in my hands, I can safely say that Teppu hits just as I remember it.

Right from the jump, the reader learns that Natsuo is a deeply arrogant and insecure character. Since childhood, Natsuo has effortlessly smashed the competition thanks to her freakish height and natural athletic talent. In her mind, it's odd that most people aren't as talented as she is. As a result of this line of thinking, she's placed herself on a despondent, lonely pedestal above her peers. That all starts to change when Natsuo runs into Yuzuko, a Brazilian transfer student who's looking to grow the MMA club. When they look into each other's eyes, the sparks fly—on multiple levels. One could read this moment as an initial clash of wills, but I saw flowers in the background that weren't there. I saw those flowers again when Natsuo pinned an old enemy to the ground while saying, “I have a whole lot I wanna try on you.” I guarantee you, there's no heterosexual explanation here.

But after this clandestine encounter with Yuzuko, Natsuo discovers that there's something she sucks at and spite takes over from there. Too proud to join Yuzuko's club, Natsuo pushes herself to learn the MMA ropes on her own terms and at her own pace. Despite her attitude, she has a healthy mindset on improving her skills—learning little by little from each setback. However, she also busts into her old karate club and beats everyone in the room as an outlet for her insecurities. One might think that Natsuo is insufferable, but this deeply flawed antihero is a dynamic, engaging, and deeply relatable protagonist. To put it in layman's terms, some might see her as the “Vegeta” to Yuzuko's “Goku.”

It's that engaging story that kept distracting me from the quibbles I had with this release's presentation. I'm thrilled that Kodansha took the additional time to ensure the best possible quality, but I wish Teppu's first volume had received a normal print run. On first impression, the front cover and spine look great. However, the design of the back cover leaves a little something to be desired, especially when next to a comparable Kodansha title like BLUE LOCK.

Upon flicking the volume open, the reader is greeted by text that reads “Kodansha Presents: Teppu 1” along with printing information courtesy from Lightning Source LLC—the printing company behind all Print Club releases. This might be a pedantic nitpick, but I believe it might have better served the volume for it to be listed as “Teppu Volume 1” instead. However, I'm pleased to report that the paper's quality feels good throughout. It's not the same pulpy paper in most paperback manga releases, but this ply does the job well.

However, the reader is likely to notice an unflattering warbling effect as soon they see the first panel. Present throughout the volume, this warble generally affects darker colors on the page and any gradients used. The effect is unfortunately reminiscent of the visual artifacting one might see in unofficial manga releases. Additionally, I spotted the occasional stray speck of ink and ink rub—perhaps due to the inherent nature of on-demand printing.

Aside from those printing concerns, I was a touch disappointed to discover a handful of inconsistencies in text placement within word bubbles. Perhaps it was done to avoid any cut-off when printed, but there are a few scant moments where the text isn't centered or is awkwardly positioned. Similarly, the occasional translation note feels as if it's been crammed into a tiny margin or is swimming in negative space. I wonder if adding these details to the extended translation notes in the back would've alleviated this particular issue.

Teppu is so engaging that I can look past most of these quibbles, but I'm not sure if a more general readership will be able to. For instance, there are probably customers who aren't aware of the Print Club program, so they may assume that any of its titles are of comparable quality to the BLUE LOCK volume they'll find in their local big box store. With that in mind, a reader might be left with a bad taste if they don't know what they're getting into.

Despite this printing's flaws, I hope it does well enough to justify a regular print run down the line. That goal is always a tall order for sports series, but Teppu is special. I'd love for it to stick around in some physical form or another for new readers to discover, and hopefully not become a one-off curio.