I'm not one for sports anime, but this one works. I liked the action scenes, this series showed how you can depict dramatic fights without a need for characters to fight as money saving blurs. Simply having shorter fights with clearly defined rules and stakes makes it more dramatic. That enthralled me because I've always wanted to see an anime show this and this series does with great effect. The characters and their design are average, as was the soundtrack I didn't like the pacing, it took too long to establish things we already knew were going to happen; i.e. the formation of the five womanteam. There is no reason Himeno couldn't be recruited as of episode 3. Also, I felt this show needed a rookie character to teach the basics along with the audience. I'm sure the manga has plenty of notes, but what exactly was a wazari again? It isn't very educational in that regard.

TL;DR, A great anime about the sport of judo. Can't imagine it's appeal to anyone not interested in judo