Ippo’s next opponent might prove to be his undoing.
What they Say:
“Cheese Champion” – Sendou Takeshi, the “Naniwa Tiger,” returns to the ring! But it’s his sparring partner, Sawamura Ryuuhei, who knocks Ippo for a loop when he calls the Dempsey Roll a “clumsy technique” and declares he’s gunning for the Featherweight Title!
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers).
After Aoki returns to the Kamogawa Boxing Gym following his unsuccessful title challenge, he surprises everyone (especially Takamura) by introducing not one, but two new gym members. Inspired by Aoki, they treat their hero like a cherished teacher and neglect to pay Takamura the respect he thinks he deserves. In the meantime Ippo begins monitoring his competition as he prepares for his next match. Having come to the realization that his go-to technique, the Dempsey Roll, has become a liability and that his status as the champion is as full of vulnerabilities as a block of Swiss Cheese is full of holes, he goes into the matter feeling more weighed-down by the decision than usual.
After scoping out the most recent match of one of his rivals, Sendou Takeshi, Ippo is confronted by the man’s sparring partner, a no-nonsense, intimidating boxer named Sawamura. Sawamura appears to have it out for Ippo, and seems to feel no shame in critiquing his technique to his face. It’s because of this reason, and his constant desire to improve, that Ippo chooses Sawamura as his next boxing opponent. He almost immediately regrets the decision, however, after watching some of Sawamura’s prior matches. Rather than rely on pure strength and technique to earn a K.O., Sawamura, whose background involves plenty of street brawling, uses the humiliation of his opponents to score technical victories when he can get them. But as Ippo finds out, it’s not just intimidation, but revenge moves that make Sawamura one of the most formidable opponents he might ever face.
Riding the remainder of the emotional wave from last week, this week’s episode gives us very little time to rest and relax before plowing right into the next big storyline. Ever since the first story arc this season Ippo’s newly-realized limitations have been ominously present – this seems as though it will serve as fodder for some interesting character development. Discussing the show recently with another fan, I came to a personal realization that, though Ippo’s story is the most central, it’s often the most uninteresting for me because of its more predictable arc and his impossibly “gee whiz” personality (I’m not a big fan of characters who approach the world simplistically in spite of outside stimuli that would seem to affect that outlook in more complicated ways). He is, as a consequence of his position, often shielded from major plot effects; Ippo’s progression has moved steadily upward throughout the run of the show with very few lasting stumbling blocks. With his skill level now in question and several other characters aware of his weaknesses, I’m under the impression that the stakes will at least seem much higher.
The tradeoff it seems is that Ippo’s new rival is to be portrayed as uncompromisingly “evil” as possible, at least at the outset. Sawamura, like Bryan Hawk during the New Challenger season of the show, is one of those frightening characters who plays completely outside the rules, both in life and in the ring. He pays no heed to the “honor” in the sport of boxing, using his brawling skills to pick fights on the street and toying with his official opponents before tearing out their self-esteem and trouncing it in front of a stadium full of horrified spectators. It’s really no surprise that most of these types of individuals seem to pose the biggest threat to characters like Takamura and Ippo, who by their nature (and in Takamura’s case often contrary to their outward attitudes) are devoted to the self-betterment and sportsmanship aspects of the boxing and can be caught off-guard by those who are just in it for money, glory, or to fulfill their own power fantasies. The early conclusion to be drawn is probably that this might turn into a relatively thrilling sequence of events for Ippo, though as an audience member I anticipate feeling manipulated by some of the narrative’s cheap characterization tricks.
Almost as a side note, Takamura’s story is given a bit of a nudge along in this episode as well. After his suffering surrounding weight-management during the previous season, his decision to begin advancing through the weight classes comes as little surprise and serves as a well-needed long-term goal for the character. While his unsuccessful invocation of Aoki’s newly-developed “Look Away” technique during his short match this episode comes across as a little bit goofy in light of some of the more serious things that have happened to him as a character in recent memory, I think the sentiment that Takamura is constantly in search of new challenges and cares little for the monetary spoils of the sport is very telling.
In Summary:
I’m still having a little bit of a problem with the way that this season seems to be zipping from story to story with very little rest; with so much now going on with Ippo and Takamura, it has me wishing for a “training camp” episode just as a bit of a reprieve before tumbling into what will likely be very intense matches on both fronts. That said, I’m anticipating a little more character development for Ippo and hope that having to be put into a situation that isn’t easily surmountable will help him to develop some new strategies and possible provide him with some more substantial depth.
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
