I would like to say hello to my colleagues who told me "you absolutely have to watch Ippo it's incredible" when we were in second grade in 2016, and who when I sent my reaction on twitter answered "fuck Ippo vs Sendo the nostalgia" so much I dragged my ass, I'm a little ashamed to have taken so much time to get into Ippo (and as much for Ashita No Joe) but the damage is repaired I saw this madness.
Adaptation of the manga of the same name and real mastodon of the sport manga and even of the Shonen, Hajime no Ippo was a real crush as far as I'm concerned, I went there without knowing anything or knowing the scenario and I was pleasantly surprised by the intrinsic content of the manga and the adaptation of Madhouse, It's crazy that the only two boxing manga I read and it's two manga of great quality, I'll have to be more interested in this sport in manga and put Riku-Do aside.
The scenario on paper is classic for a shonen: Ippo, a young and dinky guy, but still a bit of a stopper because it helps to work for the fishing boats, is saved by THE BEST CHARACTER OF THIS SERIES WHO IS AN ARGUMENT IN HIMSELF FOR VIEWING Takamura who will make him discover his innate potential for boxing and his dingo strength, But this is where we enter into what I say everyone that Classic is not bad because the execution of this storyline and the way it is told is one of the great strengths of the work. Already let's say it right away it's a tutorial to become a boxer that it's the techniques used, the training shown, the dries and the danger that it can have on your health according to the intensity of this last everything is extremely well informed but especially achievable, in Baki (because I have that comparison under the hand) the techniques explained are real martial arts techniques but due to the eccentric and grotesque universe of the manga the execution is over the top, like they explain you that a slap even on a very strong muscle can cause more damage than a punch (which is true) and the SLASH slap so powerful that the skin and the muscle are torn, on the other hand in Ippo it's not funny to train to boxing with the leaf catching or the endurance running sessions.
Another point that I liked since I speak of training is the characters and the team cohesion that there is with our quartet, all Shonen have a team cohesion if you look well it is very rare not to have a team more or less large with which the protagonist or protagonists will evolve, except that Ippo has for me one of the best dynamics with the quartet Ippo / Takamura / Kimura / Aoki it's simple his characters are real, what do I mean by that? When they are in their room every day, we have "perfect morons" who send each other jokes and unintentional bullshit, who think 24 hours a day to get a girl while motivating each other to surpass themselves and find more effective training, then once entered the ring comes their professional facet and everything I just said you forget, the characters are transformed, the characters become beasts in the bestial sense of true Greek god of boxing, so determined and ambitious that if they must hold the twelve rounds they will hold the twelve rounds, if they have to do the fight with 3 broken ribs and the desire to faint they will continue, we're kidding, the more the career is at stake, and this for me is a "true" writing probably influenced by the fact that I'm just as mongrel and macaque with my colleagues as Ippo and his merry men but this simple transformation between everyday life and the pro scene is a big yes because even a comic-relief has its moment when you take it seriously, or you forget that 2 episodes ago he squeezed a stranger's big PP in the shower because now he just knocked out his opponent with a mammoth body in 3 moves.
And that aside, all the characters and competitors are endearing, even those who are presented to you at first glance as unsympathetic like Mashiba or Vorg, once you see their daily facets you end up getting attached to them and telling yourself that they're not complete assholes, we avoid Manicheism with this daily border/pro, Of course Takamura steals the show because this character has everything to please, he is a hilarious character, motivating, with a nice origin-story and who imposes a respect and a superpower in combat, in addition he has the typical banana haircut of the Japanese scum and in my opinion it's a bonus point, even the little love between Ippo and Kumi are quite cute although rare
I also have to talk about the humor which is the point on which I expected nothing and yet I had a lot of laughs, it turns a lot around the willy and the libidinous side of the Quartet but I jokes about we are going to train at the beach to look at girls but we are in stress because if Ippo has tight shorts all the girls will see his weapon of mass destruction and he will steal the show or Ippo who literally beats his crotch because he almost had an erection in front of Tomoko it makes me cry laughing because more there is a great work in the editing of the jokes or some sounds added to accentuate the comedy, In addition, the characters shoot their faces at the time, really a gold mine GIF for screen capture.
And of course I have to talk about it, what we watch a boxing manga at the base, the fights then it gives what ? in terms of animation overall it's impressive how solid it is for a weekly anime of 76 episodes, after Madhouse is not just anyone it's a studio that has proven itself, It's funny to see the difference between the series and the last episode about Takamura's past, the transition between celluloid and digital is felt and let me foresee the best for the OVA and the two other seasons, but then when the fight comes, it's not only the characters that change but also the animators, I'm talking about big fights like Ippo vs Sendo or Ippo vs Vorg but it's a crazy intensity, the choreography is fluid and alive, it's readable, we feel the impact of the blows and more than once we let go a little "oooooouh" in front of an uppercut or even worse the Dempsey Roll, All those who have seen the anime know what I'm talking about but the Dempsey Roll when Ippo prepares it nothing exists around you but you and your screen and when the blows are drawn you savor the power and the apocalypse that is unleashed on the ring, it's in these moments that you realize how important the sound mixing is in the fight scenes.
And I could have fun to quote all the great fights of the series but I would only spoil the surprise to those who have not yet started because we're talking about a series whose VF has not even exceeded 30 episodes and the DVDs I'm not even talking about, fortunately we have the manga in France because currently and I hope it will evolve but it is the download that saves the series, So here I recommend a lot Hajime No Ippo it's a breath of adrenaline with very endearing characters, a superb animation, opening and ending I forgot to talk about it but Under Star Inner Light and Yuuzora No Kami Hikouki are really excellent to watch and listen to, I took a great pleasure to dive into this universe and I'm going to attack the OVA soon
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