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Based on a manga by Jyoji Morikawa, Fighting Spirit is an upbeat Rocky story that follows a high school nerd from cowardice to pugilistic stardom. Clumsy, maladroit Ippo Makunouchi helps his widowed mother with the family fishing boat business–when he’s not being pounded into paste by bullies. After years of abuse, he lacks the will to defend himself against their taunts and fists. A chance meeting with rising boxing star Takamura convinces Ippo to reinvent himself. Under the guidance of Takamura and crusty gym owner Kamogawa, Ippo applies himself with a mixture of stalwart dedication and puppy-like enthusiasm. The story may be a cliche, but the filmmakers manage to make Ippo so likable that viewers who would never dream of watching a real boxing match may find themselves rooting for the irrepressible kid when he steps into the ring. (Rated 13 and older: violence, nudity, risque humor) –Charles Solomon
4.0 out of 5 stars
BOXING FOR COURAGE
Ippo Makunouchi is a high school student who is too wimpy for his own good. Some yakuza type bullies with pompadours are constantly terrorizing him and beating the snot out of him…
This is my absolute favorite anime bar none so whatever I may say will be biased towards it. Even if you have no interest in boxing, this show will still keep you begging for more as the characters are likeable and identifiable. There’s no convoluted plot lines like Evangelion or confusion like Lain. It’s a simple, straight forward, feel good anime which is what makes it tops in my book ahead of my other favorites Initial D and Hikaru No Go. Even better, if you’re any kind of martial artist or fitness enthusiast, watching Ippo train and fight will keep you working out, if not harder, as you become inspired to keep going. I suggest, even if you’re only a little curious, to go ahead and pick up or rent this anime. I’d say, 99% of you will like this anime. Even if you’ve seen the episodes before it got licensed, pick it up and show your support. No matter where you got your shows before, nothing will be as clear and crisp as this release except for the original Japanese dvd releases. I watched the dubbing and it’s not bad. Of course, imo, the Japanese language track is always the way to go, but the english dub isn’t as bad as the Initial D dubbing. Plus, Geneon kept the original sound track to the anime in the english track so you won’t find any annoying weird metal rock music like you would in Initial D.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Watch out Rocky
Ippo, a timid highschooler, is one day saved from being beaten up by Takamura, a boxer. Enthralled by Takamura’s skills Ippo begins to learn boxing, soon finding love for the…
5.0 out of 5 stars
Machinocheeeeee!
I’ve seen the whole show and it is one of the best animes ever made. Laugh out loud funny. Very inspiring not unlike Rocky – only better. I ran into this show on accident.
I was not enticed to see this series at all, let me tell you. When I first saw the previews for it, I was not impressed because I thought the series was an older one due to the style of the animation. For more than a year, I kept seeing preview after preview on some of the other anime DVD’s that I watched and the one thing that stood out was the catchy title song on the previews. After some time, I stopped seeing those previews, but the song stuck in my head. So, as I like music, I went along and rented the first disk–hear me now–just so I could listen to the title song.
I heard the song. I watched the episode. I was hooked from then on.
No, hooked isn’t enough. Addicted is more like it (so much so that I bought the action figures). This show has so much more to offer than a catchy title song. It has everything you want in an engaging story. A relatable character, great cast of supporting members, and one of the best uplifting stories you could ever watch.
You really care for everyone in the series–even the “bad” guys. Not only that, they do justice to the sport of boxing. Everything in this anime has a foundation to stand on, even the boxing. They treat it with respect, and you will definitely know a thing or two about the sport after watching the first disk alone.
By far, this is one of the few anime series that deserve a much broader appeal and exposure than what is mostly on TV these days. I would swap all of the anime shows on TV, just so we could get this one show on. It is that good.
Buy this DVD. It is not a waste of money. It is an investment into pure excellence. Something you will remember for a long time.
Must have.
Hajime no Ippo- or Fighting Spirit, as it has been localized, is one of the best shows I never thought I would watch. Along with Initial D, it fits a peculiar genre- really good stories in subjects I have no intrest or background in. I am a girl- and about all I know of boxing is ‘Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out’ back on the NES. When Ippo was reccomended to me as a character development/sports action story that any fan of ‘Whistle!’ and ‘Prince of Tennis’ should like, I was doubtful. Thankfully, my friends kept at me until I watched it to shut them up- I owe them one!
To set the tone, let me tell you that even the title is a play on words. Hajime no Ippo should translate as ‘Ippo’s Beginning’, Makonochi Ippo being the tititular character. However, ippo can also translate as step, makeing the title read, as this first DVD, ‘The First Step’. The animation quality is good- with only a few recycled scenes, and the characters develop in a realistic manner. The series goes on for 3 seasons- 78 episodes- and a movie. The only dissapointment that a real fan of Hajime no Ippo might run into is that, even at 3 seasons, there was not enough time to tell all the stories covered in the 60+ manga. However, for any person just consittering ‘Fighting Spirit’, for any reason, think no longer- this one is a keeper.