Princess Army

Princess Army: Wedding Combat (to give it its full title) is a two-part OVA from 1992. It's a teaser for a 12 volume manga by Kitagawa Miyuki that has not been translated into English. The story concerns a 15-year old judoka named Aida Nonoka and the (many) boys in her life. Call it Yawara! Lite.

As the story opens, four-year-old Nonoka is being menaced by a bottle-wielding maniac. Just as the situation looks dire, an unknown boy executes a perfect Ippon Zeoi on the miscreant, disabling him. Fast forward eleven years. Nonoka, now 15, is the star of her family's judo dojo and the 18th strongest judoka in Japan. 

She is the center of hopeless adoration by all the boys in her circle: Hashiba Yuya (red hair), who has an obvious crush on her; Oda Shinobu (blonde hair), a piano-playing tsundere who stays aloof; Kumada Yoshimi (thick lips), who blushes at the site of her; Iwada Genzaburo (glasses), who can only stare at her silently; and her three brothers, the responsible Koji and the hopeless brocons Akira and Satoru. Only Tokugawa Tsutomo, a stereotypical gay pretty boy thrown in for comic relief, is immune to Nanoka's charms.

Into this situation walks Nonoka's courtesy uncle Ichijo Yuji and his tall, handsome, and arrogant son Hajime. 

When Nonoka's father was on his deathbed, he made Yuji promise to protect Nanoka and make her part of his family. 

Yuji interpreted this as marrying Nanoka to Hajime. Yuji has brought his son to Japan to arrange Hajime's betrothal to Nonaka and to take her back home to the Netherlands.

Nonoka's not sure about this idea. She doesn't want to leave home and thinks marriage is a bother. And it doesn't sit well with Nonoka's friends. First, she's only 15 (so is Hajime, despite his grown-up appearance). Second, they all kind of hanker after her themselves. 

Still, Koji, as the responsible adult in the Aida family, sees merit in the plan. Nonoka and Hajime are (almost) betrothed when Yuya bursts in and challenges Hajime to judo combat, with Nonoka's future as the prize. The rest writes itself.

Translation note: unlike in Yawara!, most of the judo terms have been translated, but I couldn't bring myself to use English equivalents for the most famous terms:

• Ippon Zeoi - Yawara's trademark shoulder throw.
• Ippon - a decisive win, when one opponent pins the other.

Ojii-san (Uncle, Grandfather, old man) is a courtesy title for any older family friend. In this case, it does not denote a blood relationship; Nonoka and Hajime are not related.

The voice cast includes many well-known seiyuu of the era:

• Yokoyama Chisa (Nonoka) played the title roles in Galaxy Fraulein Yuna, Iron Virgin Jun, and the Sakura Taisen franchise, as well as Sasami/Pretty Sammy in the Tenchi Muyo franchise. She played Hu Ssu, the were-tiger, in Wolf Guy, Flute in Hameln no Violin Hiki, and Mami in Boyfriend, all Orphan releases.
• Seki Toshihiko (Hashiba Yuya) played the title role in Izumo, Chuuta in Satsujin Kippu wa Heart Iro, Riki in Ai no Kusabi, Raiel in Hameln no Violin Hiki, the hero Seitarou in Hoshi Neko Full House, the gang leader Hiba in Wild 7, Miroku in Yuukan Club, the fighter Nagase Jun in Akai Hayate, Hayata in Call Me Tonight, Ootsuki in Milky Passion: Dougenzaka - Ai no Shiro, Junichiro in Kasei Yakyoku, Shouji, the guitar player, in To-Y, Bijomaru in Ai to Ken no Camelot, and the unnamed protagonist of Oruorane the Cat Player, all Orphan releases. He also played Matsuda in the Yawara! properties, Sanzo in the Saiyuuki TV series, Mousse in Ranma 1/2, and the title roles in Alexander (Reign the Conqueror) and Kaiketsu Zorro.
• Hayami Shou (Ichijo Hajime) starred as Nanjou in Zetsuai: 1989 and Bronze: Zetsuai since 1989, and Kushinige Hodaka in Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru. He also played an angel in Tezuka Osamu's Tales of the Old Testament, Charles in Ai to Ken no Camelot, Kuya in Genji, Part 1, Aju in Hayou no Tsurugi, Exper Kain in Exper Zenon, Iason's friend Raoul in Ai no Kusabi, Hojo in Sanctuary, Pat Leivy in Starship Troopers, Junoichi in Blazing Transfer Student, Shargan in Gude Crest, and Seichii in Mikoneko Holmes. All of these shows are Orphan releases.
• Matsumoto Yasunori (Oda Shinobu) starred as Akira in Mellow, Johnny in Starship Troopers, Kaname in Singles, and Tooru in Every Day Is Sunday, all Orphan releases. He was in numerous OVAs in the 1990s, including Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, Seikimatsu: Humane Society, Fukuyama Gekijou - Natsu no Himitsu, Houkago no Tinker Bell, and Al Caral no Isan, also Orphan releases. Among his other notable roles were Wataru Akiyama in Initial D, Jean Havoc in Fullmetal Alchemist, Gourry Gabriev in Slayers, Ryou in Sonic Soldier Borgman, and a personal favorite, Dick Saucer in Dragon Half.
• Shibamoto Hiroyuki (Akira, Nonoka's brother) played Jim in the Spirit of Wonder OVAs. He appeared in Ai no Kusabi, an Orphan release.
• Shimada Bin (Koji, Nonoka's brother) played Ken Nakajima in the You're Under Arrest franchise and numerous other roles, as well as Konaki Jijii and Wally Wall in the most recent version of GeGeGe no Kitarou. He appeared in Bride of Deimos, Okama Report, Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, Fukyukayama Gekijou, Tomoe's Run!, Satsujin Kippu wa Heart-iro, and Sangokushi, all Orphan releases.
• Tobita Nobuo (Satoru, Nonoka's brother) played Lumial in the Angelique franchise, Ken Wakashimazu in the Captain Tsubasa franchise, Randy in Fake, Sinistra in Kiddy Grade, the title role in Locke the Superman, and Dayon in Osomatsu-san. He starred as Kenichi in Houkago no Tinker Bell and appeared in Genji, Part 1, Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, Condition Green, Eien no Filena, Choujikuu Romanesque Samy: MISSING 99, and Ore no Sora, all Orphan releases.
• Arimoto Kinryuu (Ichijo Yuji, Hajime's father ) had featured roles in numerous shows, including Psycho-Pass, Tokyo Ravens, Joshiraku, Chihayafuru, Un-Go, and Moonlight Mile. He played Ogata Kouan in Hidimari no Ki, an Orphan release.
• Kikuchi Masami (Iwayma Genzaburo) starred as the male leads in the Tenchi Muyo, Aa! Megami-sama!, and Comic Party franchises. He played Terayama Suekichi in Asatte Dance, Makoto in Doukyuusei 2, Yukino Hiro in Houkago no Tinker Bell, and Taira no Kiyomori the younger in Genji, Part 1, and he appeared in Fukuyama Gekijou, all Orphan releases.
• Shioya Kouzou (Kumada Yoshimi) appeared in GeGeGe no Kitarou since 1985, as well as dozens of featured roles. He also played Wildcat B in Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori, Tsunaga in Blue Sonnet, the Announcer in Nora, Kaji in Stop!! Hibari-kun!, a policeman in Dallos, a bodyguard in Elf 17, and multiple roles in Hi-Speed Jecy, all Orphan releases.
• Kashiwakura Tsutomu (Tokugawa Tsuyoshi) played Dew in Mother: Saigo no Shoujo Eve, Cal in Ai no Kusabi, Genbu in Akai Hayate, Ranmaru in Chameleon, and Japheth in Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, all Orphan releases. He played the lead in Boku no Sexual Harassment and appeared in several other h-animes. He is also a sound director.

Sekita Osamu directed. He also directed U-Jin Brand, Gorillaman, Ghost Talker's Daydream, Ichigo 100%, and Cross Game.

The show was originally fansubbed by Anime-Fury, back in the airly days. Darkonius transcribed the hardsubs. Perevodildo translation-checked and timed. I edited and typeset. Intrepid and ImAWasteOfHair QCed. The raws are Domesday Duplicator rips of Japanese laserdiscs and were encoded by an anonymous friend.

Princess Army: Wedding Combat is a middling shoujo in every respect: nothing really stands out. Hajime is a preening Daddy's boy. Aida's coterie and her family are only cursorily developed. The issue of betrothal at 15 is simply ignored. At one point, Hajime bursts into Nonoka's bedroom and almost ravishes her. This is also ignored, except for a comment on how "well developed" Nonoka is for her age. I will concede that some of the jokes, mostly done with chibi characters, are pretty good, but J.C. Staff has done a lot better than this.

In short, if you want a show about a talented girl doing judo, watch Yawara! Still, if Princess Army: Wedding Combat sounds like your cup of barley tea, you can download it from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.