With only a single volume to go in the series after this one, the 14th installment of Fighting Spirit takes a breather and sets things up for an exciting (hopefully) conclusion.  Ippo trains for his shot at the Japan title and his good friend Takamura looks like he'll get a chance to fight for the world title.  Of course getting the match and winning it are two different things so the two fighters work hard in preparation.  While Ippo doesn't fight in this volume, Sendo, his upcoming opponent, does and we get to see how far he's come in just the short time since their last match.  This is a fun volume that lays the ground work for the series conclusion.

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.  As he wins more and more matches, Ippo climbs up in the rankings and starts to get a reputation as a talented fighter and a tough opponent.

Ippo does so well that he gets a match against the Japanese champion in his weight division, and though the kid is good, he can't beat the champ.  Now he has to get past his loss, get back in shape, and put some more wins under his belt.
 
This volume:

Ippo knows that he's going to fight Sendo again for the championship belt, and sooner rather than later, so he, the Chief, and the rest of the supporting characters go up to the mountains for some intensive training.  At the mountain retreat they meet an old opponent of the Chief's who gives everyone some good advice, even if it was a bit unrealistic.

The nearby forest is inhabited by wild bears so everyone wears a bell around their neck while jogging to scare them off.  Takamura, being the macho guy that he is, is the only exception.  He comes to regret that when he encounters a real live bear while running by himself.  Knowing that he'll never be able to out sprint the beast, he fights it.  The bear rears up on his hind legs and slashes his claws across Takamura's chest and shoulders leaving him bleeding and worried.  Knowing that it's a do or die situation, the champ plants a couple of good blows to the animal's head and manages to knock it out.

After they get back to Tokyo, word gets out that Takamura went head-to-head with a bear and won.  The press eats it up and gives the boxer a lot of space, which allows his to schedule a fight with the #2 ranked boxer in the world.  If he can win that match, he'll have a shot of the world title.  Takamura plays up the bear angle to intimidate his opponent, showing off his chest scars and entering the ring in a bear skin.  It will take more that that to beat such a strong opponent however.

Meanwhile Sendo, the current champ in Ippo's weight class, is preparing to fight Makunouchi once again.  He desperately wants to win a decisive victory to prove that he's the best.  First though he has a fight to defend his title against another opponent, a tough boxer named Shigeta.  This guy is a tricky opponent, a left handed boxer who really knows how to push Sendo's buttons and get him riled.  It looks like Ippo may not have to fight Sendo for the title after all.

Like the other volumes in this series, I enjoyed this disc immensely.  It mainly serves to set things up for the next (and final) volume of the series.  Ippo doesn't even fight (just a short sparring match) in these episodes but that doesn't make them any less enjoyable.  That's one of the things that I like about the show; it will take its time to set up some ground work for a fight.  It makes the bout itself much more interesting when you know the backgrounds of the fighters.  I'm not sure how they are going to wrap everything up in the last volume, there are still a couple of dangling plot lines that I hope they resolve, but what ever ends up happening, I'm sure it will be interesting.

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 (which are in Japanese with no subtitles.  What's the point in that?)  I really wish they had included a blooper reel like the first two volumes had.

Final Thoughts:

I'm not a boxing fan, but I've really enjoyed this series and I'm a little sad that it's drawing to a close.  The show is populated with likeable characters and a good amount of drama with just the right amount of humor thrown in to lighten the show up.  I'm surprised that the program has managed to hold my interest for so long.  Highly Recommended.