Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger

[kenjiharima]

Hajime no Ippo New Challenger ep. 26.

Alot of tension between Miyata, Ippo and Kamogawa. This is where Ippo's fine writing in real life problems like friendship, rivalries and boxing management comes into play.

Spoiler for Aoki and the Fish dude:

We see a glimpse of Ippon's new opponent here and Aoki's title shot is announced. A good setup for a new season and upcoming OVA's!

[Noe]

It was a great season overall. 9/10
Looking forward to the third season.

[gonzo562]

great episode. They ended the season perfectly.

Confrontation between ippo, miyata, and the coach

ippo next title match. Was a great way end the season.
I wonder when the next season will come out. End of this year or early next year.


upcoming matches

Spoiler for upcoming matches:

oh lord i cant wait for next season. Ippo vs the seas guy. Aoki title match providing the good comedy relief. and hopefully they cover ippo vs the owara dragon( i think that was his nickname i might be wrong ) and Takumura 2nd title match. Next season definitely may top the 1st and 2nd season of ippo.

[Eak]

Greatest part of last episode was the fact that Kamogawa stopped Ippo's newly-trained Dempsey when he was hitting the mitts. I was genuinely surprised and really shows his skill despite his age.

Spoiler for manga info:

Loved the series through through those I was disappointed that they omitted the part where Takamura talks about going home and telling the story on how being a world champion was "delicious."

[kenjiharima]

Yes I'd give it also a 9 out of 10 since the music score on the early ring fights weren't really that good which is a bad thing, since then Ippo's music ROCKED!!! And wasn't a ballet or opera type. Glad in the Takamura Hawk fight the guitar and (Mio lol) Bass is back!

[wingdarkness]

Wow, that was quick 26…Pretty much just 2 hardcore fights all-series but they were pretty damn good….1 problem I had with the final though was that I thought the Miyata fear was kinda overkill….Yeah, yeah I know Miyata has a little more power now and that he’s specialized his counter-punches, but Ippo has only lost 1 match EVER and it seemed kinda ghey for his trainer to treat him like some sap who doesn’t even have a chance verses Miyata, as if Miyata is this golden tree that has to be knocked down when Miyata has pretty much looked like he’s been barely making it all series, while Ippo has been mostly dominant in the series…I don’t know, maybe the manga fleshes it out better, but it felt kinda weird how INCREDIBLY SUPER SCARED they were trying to make Ippo’s side feel about Miyata…I agree the Dempsey roll certainly has a weakness (Visually it’s WTFdopeness though^^), but it’s not like Ippo hasn't had the Dempsey roll neutralized and still won with incredible grit and hardcore punch-power…

Now it’s been explained to us that Miyata’s full punch power is nothing compared to Ippo’s and if he just plans to win on points alone, I don’t get the ridiculous fear factor this ep displayed…They definitely should have a healthy fear of Miyata’s skill, but they played it up like Ippo doesn’t stand a chance in hell, and that feels a bit disingenuous considering what we’ve been shown since the first season…

I mean if we thought the oldman was bat$hit over Hawke, he might have a seizure thinking about how to beat Miyata it seemed…Ippo definitely has the will to get stronger, but it appeared to be overkill with how much Miyata has surpassed him…Plus they coulda found a better way of motivating Ippo without basically tearing down his confidence acting so petrified over Miyata….Dude has won like a million matches in a row and you make him feel like he’s $hit on toast verses Miyata…I don’t see it, but maybe it's just me...

[ShadowClone]

^ wingdarkness: In the last episode, they said that the Dempsey Roll is weak to counters, but left it at that. In the manga it is revealed later just HOW a good counter-puncher can completely shut down the Dempsey Roll.

As a hint, just take a look at how God - I mean, Ricardo Martinez - easily beat the Dempsey Roll during the spar.

IMHO, Kamogawa didn't accept the fight because he didn't think Ippo was ready, Dempsey Roll or otherwise. In a fight between rivals, it has to be that both should be AT THEIR BEST condition, and that each of their main weapons is not easily exploitable by the other. Miyata himself seemed to agree that if he fought (and most certainly won) against Ippo now, he wouldn't be very satisfied because he had too much of an advantage.

Remember, much more than the OPBF title, however cheesy it sounds, the two PROMISED to settle their tie in the Pro ring, each bringing their best and having no regrets, win or lose.

[kenjiharima]

Will the "Dempsy Evolution" training Kamogawa pay off?

Will Ippo ever fight Miyata in the pro-ring?

How many more fights will Takamura win? Or will he lose?

See you in the next season or OVA!

[ShadowClone]

You forgot a couple more questions...

Will Ippo FINALLY "get it on" with Kumi-chan?

Can the Itagaki family's puns get any worse?

Will Aoki lose something else other than his eyebrows?

[kenjiharima]

This is the anime where "I am a Fighter not a Lover" kinda thing.

The development with Kumi will just keep dragging on anime and manga.

And yes the most important thing!!! AOKI'S EYEBROWS!!! LOL

[SuperKnuckles]

Man, I hate this series for stopping short just before my favorite Ippo defenses in maybe, ever.

Also one of the most likable Ippo opponents IMO. TON of great fights in a row next, and it's cut short.

[wingdarkness]

Originally Posted by ShadowClone

^ wingdarkness: In the last episode, they said that the Dempsey Roll is weak to counters, but left it at that. In the manga it is revealed later just HOW a good counter-puncher can completely shut down the Dempsey Roll.

As a hint, just take a look at how God - I mean, Ricardo Martinez - easily beat the Dempsey Roll during the spar.

IMHO, Kamogawa didn't accept the fight because he didn't think Ippo was ready, Dempsey Roll or otherwise. In a fight between rivals, it has to be that both should be AT THEIR BEST condition, and that each of their main weapons is not easily exploitable by the other. Miyata himself seemed to agree that if he fought (and most certainly won) against Ippo now, he wouldn't be very satisfied because he had too much of an advantage.

Remember, much more than the OPBF title, however cheesy it sounds, the two PROMISED to settle their tie in the Pro ring, each bringing their best and having no regrets, win or lose.

I still think the Miyata fear is too much though, because the difference between Miyata and Ippo is punching power….A great fighter can end it with one punch no matter how gifted or skilled his opponent is (We’ve seen this countless times in real boxing)…As great as Miyata is in counter-punches he doesn’t have the sheer punch power to pwn Ippo (Atleast it hasn’t been shown in the animated presentation that his power is close to Ippo’s)…So I don’t get the ridiculous level of fear being shown by the trainers….Brian Hawke fear was warranted because of his punch power and unorthodox style of fighting, but if a guy is basically gonna beat you with points because of his skill level with counters, while that’s enuff to give you a healthy sense of panic, it’s not enuff to go bat$hit like everyone does in this episode over Miyata…All Ippo needs is one-punch (In theory, because obviously they are gonna cheeeze it up for the whole rival angle)…I just don’t see where in the show ippo lost this much ground to Miyata when Miyata still doesn’t have Ippo’s level of punching power…Mentally they’re pwning him, and breaking down all the confidence he has gained IMO…It seemed overkill…

[ultramojones]

Did anyone get the DVDs or have screenshots? curious to know if they fixed the sloppy animation that occured in the non-TakamuravsHawk episodes. at the very least, the miyata vs the crocodile deserves that treatment

[ShadowClone]

Originally Posted by wingdarkness

I still think the Miyata fear is too much though, because the difference between Miyata and Ippo is punching power….A great fighter can end it with one punch no matter how gifted or skilled his opponent is (We’ve seen this countless times in real boxing)…As great as Miyata is in counter-punches he doesn’t have the sheer punch power to pwn Ippo (Atleast it hasn’t been shown in the animated presentation that his power is close to Ippo’s)…So I don’t get the ridiculous level of fear being shown by the trainers….Brian Hawke fear was warranted because of his punch power and unorthodox style of fighting, but if a guy is basically gonna beat you with points because of his skill level with counters, while that’s enuff to give you a healthy sense of panic, it’s not enuff to go bat$hit like everyone does in this episode over Miyata…All Ippo needs is one-punch (In theory, because obviously they are gonna cheeeze it up for the whole rival angle)…I just don’t see where in the show ippo lost this much ground to Miyata when Miyata still doesn’t have Ippo’s level of punching power…Mentally they’re pwning him, and breaking down all the confidence he has gained IMO…It seemed overkill…

True, in terms of sheer power, Miyata doesn't stand a chance against Ippo, but that's where his counters come in. Since he can't usually match his opponent's sheer punching power, he uses counters to turn his opponents' power against them. I believe that they have discussed the differences between "outboxing / counter-punching" and "in-fighting" in Season One before.

So assuming that this is the case, imagine if the entire motion AND power of the Dempsey Roll was completely timed and countered by Miyata, this would mean Ippo would be taking the same amount of force (perhaps even more if Miyata adds his body weight) FOR EACH PUNCH in the Dempsey Roll motion. Ricardo Martinez timed his jabs perfectly for each swaying motion of the Dempsey Roll, and look what it did. Now imagine the effect of a FULL-ON counter...

[sangofe]

Hey. Anybody knows when the next season of Ippo will start?

[Judo]

I was so shocked that this season ended at episode 26, no one told me that it was only 26 episodes! >_<

What's worse is that it ended right before the Ippo vs Shimabukuro match. That match is my favorite, I was so looking forward to it.

[kenjiharima]

If you saw head bashing in the Takamura match, you'll see more in Ippo's fights if they animate it.

[ShadowClone]

Originally Posted by Judo

I was so shocked that this season ended at episode 26, no one told me that it was only 26 episodes! >_<

What's worse is that it ended right before the Ippo vs Shimabukuro match. That match is my favorite, I was so looking forward to it.

I think it was announced as early as episode 21 or 22 that this current season will have only 26 episodes; however, based on the blog of the seiyuu of Takamura (not really official, but it's encouraging!), there is a third season in the planning stages.

At least be thankful for this second season, since we got to see the EPIC Takamura vs. Hawk World Title fight, and it did not disappoint those of us who read it in the manga and so wished for it to be animated!

[kenjiharima]

Still wishes for the flashback fights...

[SkyDragon]

Originally Posted by sangofe

Hey. Anybody knows when the next season of Ippo will start?

I don't think that has been announced yet. Hopefully it starts this fall.