The Show:
The A-Class Tournament gets underway in the ninth volume of Fighting
Spirit. Ippo is entered, of course, but some problems at home
may more difficult to overcome than his toughest opponents in the ring.
This is another exciting volume with some good drama and just the right
amount of humor. One of the unsung series of 2005, it's able to maintain
an interesting story so far and shows no signs of slowing down.
Series Synopsis:
Ippo Makunouchi is a high school student who is constantly harassed
by a group of bullies. When a professional boxer, Takamura, saves
him from a beating Ippo decides that he wants to be a boxer too.
Spending just about all of his time doing manual labor at his families
boat rental company Ippo is already quite strong but untrained and awkward.
He's taken under Takamura's wing though, and it is soon discovered that
Ippo has a good amount of natural talent and the stamina that is needed
to become a great boxer.
Over the course of the last few volumes, Ippo has trained, honed his
natural talent and turned pro. Entering the rookie tournament, Ippo
doesn't seem like a contender, but he ends up winning not only the tournament
but also wins the MVP award. He's now ranked 10th in the country,
but his career has only started.
This volume:
A lot of exciting things are happening at the gym. Ippo's student,
nick-named Barf-michi, takes the exam to get his boxing license and does
well. The A-class tournament is coming up, and Ippo's been entered.
If he wins, he'll be in the running to take on the champ. Unfortunately,
Ippo has more to worry about than just training. His mother has fallen
ill due to overwork, and Ippo has to skip training camp before the tournament
in order to keep the family business going.
With professional boxing paying so little, Ippo isn't sure what to do.
He loves boxing, but his mother's health is much more important.
Even if she gets better, her work load will just land her in the hospital
again. That leaves Ippo with no choice but to quit boxing.
After Ippo gets some help from an unexpected corner, he gets ready for
the A-class tournament. He only has two win two rounds the take the
tournament, but Ippo's fighting with a higher class of boxer this time.
His first opponent is, Saeki, a fighter who is very fast in the ring and
is able to dodge all of the punches that Ippo throws. He's got a
powerful right, but it doesn't matter if he can't land a blow. Once
again Makunouchi has to rely on his inner strength, his fighting spirit,
to get through the match.
This is one of the shows that I really look forward to. The boxing
matches in this series are very exciting, but they also do a great job
of breaking things up so they don't get monotonous. The short story
arc about Ippo having to take over the family business was a nice change
and also set up plot elements for the rest of the series. Even after
nine volumes, the momentum of this series is still going strong.
A very fun series.
The DVD:
This volume includes an ample five episodes on a single sided DVD.
Audio:
I viewed this DVD while listening to both the English stereo dub and
the original stereo Japanese soundtrack. I preferred the original track,
but only slightly. The dub was very good, with the voice actors not overplaying
their rolls as they often do when dubbing anime. Both audio tracks sounded
a little thin, but otherwise very nice. There was limited use made of the
soundstage, but when there were directional effects they were very effective.
Hiss and distortion were nonexistent, making this a pleasure to listen
to. There was also a Spanish dub in stereo.
Video:
The full frame image was very clean and clear. The colors were bright
and varied. The picture has a good amount of detail with the lines being
tight and clean. Digital defects were minimal, though there was some light
aliasing. A very good-looking DVD.
Extras:
Unfortunately, this disc doesn't have any extras on it aside from a
few previews. I really wish they had included a blooper reel like
the first two volumes had.
Final Thoughts:
This is another good volume in a fun series. Ippo's problems at
home are a good counter-point to the problems he has in the ring.
Of course, the boxing matches are a lot of fun too. This is a show
that has a lot of heart and comes Highly Recommended.
Buy: