Over the course of two and a half years Geneon released the 76 episodes of Fighting Spirit (Hajime no Ippo in Japanese) in 15 volumes.  It was a great series, adapted from a manga of the same name, and one that didn't get nearly the fan reaction that it should have.  When the TV series ended it was in a nice place but there was more of the story to tell so a TV movie was made: Champion Road.  This 1½ hour feature plays a lot like an extended TV episode, which isn't a bad thing at all.  In it we get to see Ippo defend his title for the first time, and finally try to get up the courage to tell his girl how he feels about her.

Background:

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 TV series, Ippo trained, honed his natural talent and turned pro.  He fought several bouts, took beatings and gave them too.  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.  Eventually he gets a shot at the national championship and the series ends when he wins the featherweight title belt.

This movie:

Now that Ippo is the champ, there are people gunning for him.  A year after he wins his title, he's obligated to defend it against the #1 ranked featherweight contender.  It turns to be a man named Hazuki Sanada, a medical student who has studied not only how to heal people's bodies, but how to incapacitate them.  He know just where to hit someone so that they'll be stunned and how much time it will take them to recover.

Taken alone he would be a dangerous enough opponent, but he's being trained by Dankichi Hama, a world-class trainer who was once Chief Hamogawa's (Ippo's trainer) chief rival until the Chief shattered his jaw with a luck punch and ended his career.  Now Hama wants revenge through his pupil and he's taught him everything he knows.  The chief weapon in Sanada's arsenal is a blow called the 'Flying Swallow'.  It's hard to defend against at both close and intermediate ranges and it will give Ippo a hard time.  More deadly than that however is the 'Flying Swallow Turn-over' a new punch that Hama invented that he's sure will win the title for his fighter.

Like the series, this is a fun and enjoyable movie.  The first 15 minutes are given over to a recap of the series, so if you've forgotten what happened, or never saw it in the first place, don't worry they'll bring you up to speed.  The rest of the first half of this 90 minute film is devoted to Ippo training, goofing around with his buddies, and trying to get up the nerve to tell Kumi that he's in love with her.  There are some great scenes in this section, including when Ippo finally gets around to having a serious talk with Kaumi.  The arm wrestling scene was really funny too and lightened the mood a lot.  The second half is given over to the fight, which is exciting and enjoyable.

This special boasts a higher quality of animation than the TV series had.  It's smoother and more detailed, but I didn't like it as much as the earlier efforts.  The extra shading they added on the faces and bodies of the fighters made them look unnatural rather than more realistic.  Check out Ippo's arm in the picture to the left.  It doesn't quite fit in with the look of the rest of Ippo's body.  The smoother motion was nice during the fight though.

The one complaint that I have about this special is that it doesn't give a feeling of closure after it's done.  When I first heard about this movie, I was hoping it would be a fight between Ippo and Miyata, the rival Makunouchi has been gunning for since early in the series.  There were a couple of other minor matters that they didn't resolve, like the status of Ippo's love-life.  While these issues were still dangling at the end of the series, it was easier to overlook them since the series ended with Ippo achieving his dream of winning the title.  In this show however they bring them up again only to remind viewers that they aren't going to be resolved.

Even with that critique I really enjoyed this show.  It's a lot of fun and it's great to see Ippo back in the ring.

Audio:

I viewed this DVD while listening to the original stereo Japanese soundtrack and spot-checked the English stereo dub. The dub was very good, with the voice actors not overplaying their rolls as they often do when dubbing anime, but the original audio was a bit more satisfying. 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.   Unlike the TV series, there wasn't a Spanish dub included.

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:

Like the releases of the TV series, this special doesn't have any bonus items aside from three trailers.

Final Thoughts:

After this special, there's still one more Fighting Spirit item left to be released, the hour long OVA entitled Kimura Vs. Mashiba.  Hopefully Geneon will be putting that out soon, though it isn't on their release schedule yet with is troubling.  As for this movie, it's great.  It plays like another chapter of the TV series (which I guess it is) but with more fluid animation.  Fans of Fighting Spirit should make sure they pick up a copy of this too.  Highly Recommended.