Fighting Spirit: Champion Road

I thought they fit a considerable amount into this TV special. However, some of my main gripes in relation to this series will of course be in relation to what was omitted from the manga. For example, I was upset that they took out Hayami vs Kobashi for Sanada’s vacated jr. featherweight title, it was a fight people enjoyed and gives further character development for the winner for that fight at some capacity, and it also sets up how Ippo first meets Sanada and Dankichi, which made the build up more dramatic, while in this anime, their initial encounter is just at the weigh-in. Otherthan that, it serves the overall purpose of being a TV special and everything is paced just fine, but being based on a very long manga, your natural reaction is that you’re going to want more. The character designs are pretty much the same except the resolution is of course a much higher quality than the TV series and it adds more depth to it. The main fight of course still brilliantly put together as usual, but the ending felt repetitive and makes you wonder if this could be the direction Hajime no Ippo could be going. The execution of the hien is of course awkward, but I’m sure there are boxers in real life who have the capability of pulling off some a technique with the angles and speed, just like how Muhammad Ali in his Cassius Clay days could pull off the shot gun. But I liked how Sanada’s fighting style sort of represented an anti-Ippo fighting style at a technical and brawling level. Other than that, I wanted to see how Kobashi vs Hayami would have turned out in anime form. Not really much to add here from the TV series review except for Yamdera Koichi’s voice being lent as Sanada. If you don’t know him, he was the voice of Ryouga from Ranma ½, Kaji from Evangelion, Gyuunei from Char’s Counterattack, Togusa from Ghost in the Shell, and last and not least, Spike from Cowboy Bebop. I thought he was a very credible addition to this series and I like how he portrayed his outside personality of being an intellectual doctor very well and also portraying that aspect of his personality inside the ring. After this appearance in the manga, he has two more which played some useful parts to certain aspects. It’s a pity the anime so far has been halted which would prevent any future use of his talents. Also, the music in the series is still present and still appropriately used. Like I said, the ending to the anime is only the beginning in the manga. As much as I don’t like him, former UFC Welterweight champion Matt Hughes once said that a champion is not defined by winning the belt, but how far he can go with it, but that saying applies very well to this product. Ippo finally only achieved one step in his career and his overall goal throughout a huge portion of the manga is to seek his rematch with Miyata.

This movie was great!!!! It was almost as great as when he won the title, in this movie you see the reason why he loves boxing and what it means to be strong, i personally liked this a lot, he defends his title and and also fights for his love, so please watch and comment on it.Now i wanna see the fight of Takamura for the world title!!! so please can we have this as a movie or a OVA!!!

I give this special a 10 because of how the characters have built up their relations from the prequel to now. The way the movie shows us how Ippo and Kamogawa have developped a relationship that makes them a two man fighter is amazing. Another point I liked is how the movie portrays ippo's personality towards being a champion. The way it resolves in never underestimating your opponent and always fighting while doing your best, without being cocky is very inspiring. The sound, art, story and enjoyment all carry over from the prequel, and are always on point, so i don't see why it doesn't deserve a 10.

I have watched a lot of series all of them amazing, I'm even practically caught up in the big three but honestly no anime I have watched can top this series and I haven't even finished it yet. This is the first review I have done for an anime, no other anime has motivated me enough to actually take the time to make a review for it. though with this one I feel like I need to get the info out there. This was actually so far in my opinion the highest point of the anime. everything about this movie was just top notch andamazing. Story: 10 - If u have watched the first series before this then u should already know that it is good. everything about the story line in my opinion is just perfect. never has a series made me so emotional and this movie wasnt any different, as a matter of fact it was the most emotional point of the series. I feel like I felt more emotions in the movie then I did throughout the whole series. This is the only movie I have watched that made me feel every possible emotion in the time span of only 1 hour and a half. that is just how well done the story is. So it starts off showing the very end of his championship match which is one of my favorite parts. then it goes into showing him training as well as his celebration after the match. Everyone also ends up convincing him to tell Kumi how he feels. He finds out he has to fight the former junior featherweight champion in his first title match. He is not a push over having defended his title 5 times and then giving it up so he can move up in weight class in order to challenge Ippo for his title. In the Ippo ends up in the fight of his life. Art: 10 - What can I say, I already loved the art because of how unique and great it is. plus the animation is so fluid and smooth and unlike a lot of animes because of all the variety in facial expressions, the smooth action sequences and angles used u can tell the creaters definately weren't lazy with there animation. This was made even more amazing with the movie since the quality was increased to the max making already awesome art and animation just look outstanding. This was especially great since they had remastered one of the best scenes from the original series putting it right at the beginning. sound: 10 - I loved the sound effects, the music, the voice acting. pretty much everything about the sound was incredible. some of the best voice acting for an english dub. the music really makes me kinda want to by the soundtrack and the sound effects just make the fighting all the more awesome. character: 10 - Ippo is definitely one to the most lovable characters. He has so much heart and courage and love for the sport. His willpower is outstanding and he just oozes strength. I almost feel like he could take most other shonen anime characters just based on willpower alone. from the start to the finish u just will become so attached him and he is always fighting his hardest. In this movie I think he fought his hardest yet. enjoyment: 10 - Well I think its quite obvious already how much I have enjoyed it. Never has any anime or movie really for that matter made me so emotional, and its not even sad. It is just too amazing, a definite number one on my list. overall: 10 - What are u doing even reading this review in the first place, u should be watching that anime right now. If u havent seen the original series yet u are missing out big time. This is by far one of the best series ever, and so far this movie tops it.