Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger

A pretty good season and lives up pretty close to the original though not as good. It was definitely worth the watch though. This season was a change of scenery as it took more screentime from Ippo and focused it on other characters such as Takamura and Miyata.

The story had pretty good pacing and atmosphere. The elements and plot devices used in this season were a complete match to the original though its getting a tad bit dull with these reused elements. First half of the seasons was solid but the 2nd half was great mostly because of Takmaura Vs Hawk. The fights were awesome.

Like I said before this seasons focused less on Ippo and more on other characters. Takaurma dieting was just tuff. Ippo still acts the same but you could certainly see his growth as a boxer. We are introduced to new characters such as Arinie and Hawk and also Itagaki who is quiet a likable character.

The music was quiet different in this seasons . They used less electronic music, And relied more on bass, trumpet, and flute. And the intros and outros are nice.

Visuals are crisp, smooth, and sharp. The lighting and shading were perfect. Coloring was good too. And the icongraphy is hilarious as usual.

Memorable: No Rewatchable: Likely...

To be fair, this is one of the few times I have given a "10" rating on the proviso that you have seen the earlier episodes. That said, this is extraordinary. It is almost as if the writers wanted to show that they had really reached their potential. The final Takamura fight consumes the largest number of episodes in the Ippo series and outpunches even the longest Hollywood feature. Impressive and addictive.