Ippo unknowingly ignites the flames of passion within multiple women, while Aoki prepares for his defining moment in the boxing ring.
What they Say:
“A Woman’s Battle” – Ippo emerges victorious after a vicious war with Shimabukuro, and Itagaki’s sister Nanako comes to pay him a visit at home while he rests. Meanwhile, Aoki is busy preparing for his first ever title match against the lightweight champion Imae Katsutaka.
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers).
After successfully defending his title, Makunouchi Ippo gets some well-needed rest at home. As he’s sleeping off his injuries, he receives a visit from not one, or two, but three different girls. Long-time love interest Kumi finds herself in the middle of a heated battle between herself, Itagaki’s younger sister Nanako, and Iimura Mari, a reporter for “Monthly Boxing Fan.” After the young women subtly (and not-so-subtly) try to assert dominance over Ippo’s heart as he sleeps, Ippo’s mother puts a stop to the situation, in the end winning a “moral victory.”
After returning to Kamogawa Gym, Ippo is forced to face the facts when he discusses the results of his recent match with the Coach – the Dempsey roll, once his trump card, is simply too rhythmic and vulnerable to be a viable tool in his matches going forward, and most certainly won’t serve him well against a counter-puncher like his rival, Miyata. That said, his focus is intact and his confidence and spirit seem unshaken as he dives head first back into training.
In the meantime, Aoki has been preparing for his own title match, and despite some overzealous weight fluctuations, seems to be taking the process much more seriously than usual. His frustration at being surpassed by his gym-mates has fed into his drive to win, and his unorthodox boxing style might just be able to do it. That is, if Imae, the current champion, can be taken-out.
I find almost nothing more irritating than storylines that pit women against one-another as they squabble over a man. Based on the title alone, I was genuinely afraid that the episode might be entirely focused on Ippo’s sudden popularity with the opposite sex and the manufactured cat-fighting that bubbled up as a result, but luckily only about a third of the episode is wasted before Ippo’s mother, a true voice of reason, ends the debacle. I see very little harm in focusing on Ippo’s love life every once-in-a-while, since it’s one of the things that helps to add more depth to his characterization. But there are other, better ways to do it.
More fulfilling is the introduction to Aoki’s next match, which will hopefully extend into a modest story arc in the coming weeks. In the previous season of Hajime no Ippo, one of my favorite things as a viewer was getting to experience the drama surrounding Takamura’s world title match. The anime series is primarily about Ippo, but I really enjoyed getting both some background and some more substantial and dramatic screen time from one of the supporting characters. Aoki has been known throughout the run of the anime as the goofy comic-relief character, so to see him become involved in something that could result in some substantial personal growth is satisfying.
Along those same lines, it was good to see Aoki’s past with Kimura revisited. Their journey from biker gang hoodlums to serious athletes has been covered in the show before, but to re-emphasize that at this point served as a good reminder of how far the two characters have come already. Since neither character gets as much attention normally, it was certainly a pleasant surprise.
The episode also does a good job of setting up Ippo’s next course of action. As the protagonist, sometimes Ippo seems a little invincible. Sure, he may come close to losing some of the time, but it’s always expected that he’ll pull through somehow. Revealing that his trademark boxing move has its own share of weaknesses, especially in the eyes of those boxers who are fighting at or near Ippo’s current level, is helping to keep things interesting where, after one hundred episodes, they could have easily begun to feel bland and tedious.
In Summary:
This episode got off to a rough start, much like many of the boxing matches featured within. Luckily, after the ill-thought-out battle between the various ladies in Ippo’s life, the episode found its footing again in an unexpected way. With the next match featuring a character as unpredictable as Aoki, it’s difficult to make any predictions, but what I’m expecting is perhaps a little bit more insight into a character that might be known for his humorous personality, but who obviously has some solid goals and aspirations like the rest of the cast. I’m looking forward to seeing how Aoki’s unorthodox style might help lead him to the championship he’s sought for so many years.
Episode Grade: B-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment: Acer P235H 1080p LCD Monitor connected via DVI input, Logitech S220 2.1 Speakers, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560
