As the Free Weight division begins its contests, Yawara's friends at home are having trouble tuning in to the televised tournament--Hanazono has to wash a mountain of judo uniforms, and Itou Fujiko has TV reception problems. Belkins easily defeats her first round opponent. Yawara is pitted against a giant, Tao of China, who is 198 cm (6 ft 6 in) tall and weighs 125 kg (275 lb), but Yawara throws her for an instant ippon anyway, stunning the arena into silence. An overwhelmed (and crying, of course) Hanazono declares to his new sempais that Yawara is his first love. When they hear that he had even wrestled Yawara, they punish him with judo pins, especially as he refuses to give them Yawara's phone number. Fujiko is angry that the other women are not paying serious attention to the match and are talking about men instead. Jody wins with an ippon throw, but Teleshikova uses a collar strangle instead, surprising the observers. Kuniko bumps into a stranger carrying a lot of food who asks her to deliver a letter to Jigoro. The semifinals feature Yawara vs. Belkins, and Teleshikova vs. Jody. Matsuda finds out about the letter and frantically searches the arena for a possible Kojiro sighting.
本命だったさやかと藤堂が敗れてしまい、日本勢の期待を背負って無差別級の試合に出場した柔は初戦を突破する。テレシコワ、ジョディ、べルッケンスといった外国の強豪も順調に勝ち上がるが…。
