This is season 3 and the final season of Fighter's Brew. From the outset, Lex and I never meant for it to be an entirely faithful recap of the manga All-Rounder Meguru. I've always edited and reimagined it to be more in line with the Liberation Martial Arts ethos and pedagogy. That's all the more true this season, as I've made some significant changes. As Lex and I said from the beginning, it's a remix, and we mixed it the way we wanted to tell it. It was always a project meant for me and Lex.
Fighter's Brew is dedicated to my boy, Lex Buckner. This is for you.
Fighter's Brew Season 3, Episode 1
It's morning at Maki's house. She gets on the scale and shakes her head.
"This might be a problem," she says.
In the kitchen, Maki is cooking.
"If you're in the kitchen," her brother Koki says, "then I'm guessing—"
"—I have a match in six weeks," she says. "And I have to drop six kilos, so I'm getting started early."
Maki helps Yui, her sister-in-law, make lunch for the family.
Later, Maki is at a construction site, helping with the family business.
During lunch, "Did you make your own lunch, Maki?" one of the workers asks.
"Yeah, I'm on a cut," she says.
"Don't keep your cooking to yourself, Maki-chan," another worker says. "Isn't there anyone you wanna make lunch for?"
Maki is caught off guard by that statement. Rather than fight or flight, Maki freezes.
"Hey, boss," the worker tells Maki's father, Koji. "I think there's something wrong with your daughter."
At Fighter's Brew gym, Meguru is training with Maki.
"Meguru is not letting Kamiya push him around in the clinch anymore," says Take.
"Meguru-chan is rapidly learning to adapt," Maria says.
Between training sessions, Furuya asks Meguru, "What's your diet like?"
"Whatever my sister and grandma make me," he says. "Oh, and I get ramen on the way home sometimes."
"Not anymore," Furuya says. "Veggies and tuna are your best friends now."
Maki overhears the conversation as she eats her post-workout meal.
Back home, Maki is sitting in the bath.
"Oh yeah, his mom died when he was little, huh?" Maki thinks. "But he still has a caring older sister. He doesn't need me to make lunch for him. Hold up! For starters, why should I?!"
Her voice carries throughout the house, alarming her family.
Back at the gym, Meguru is rolling with Urasawa and nearly catches him with a choke he just learned.
"You'll lose your position if you're not quick on the finish, Meguru," Tamiya says.
"You're doing a bit of everything right now, Meguru," says Urasawa. "But think about where you want the fight to take place to play to your strengths."
"What is my strength?" Meguru thinks. "Striking or grappling? Why can't I just take what my opponent gives me?"
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