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Serving as a continuation of "Battle of the Gods," Vegeta and Goku are now under the training of Beerus' master/servant, Whis. However, a former of servant of Freeza brings him back to life with the Dragon Balls and he is back with a golden vengeance.

This movie is pretty much fan service for those who loved the Freeza part of the series. How is Freeza back and better than ever? He claims he trained though you don't really see it. The movie moves at a pretty moderate pace but the final fight dragged a little longer than it should have as the original anime series ... did with its fights. This movie makes use of its cast (Kuririn, Roshi, Tenshinhan, Piccolo and Gohan) but the way Gohan and Roshi are used is a little strange.

The fighting in terms of defense is more fluid and a lot of kung fu-esque counter movements are used which i felt was new. The only way to further evolve DBZ's fighting is the panning and zooming and I think the movie excellently frames the action and keeps up with its pace.

I am a bit mixed on the music. When Freeza is brought back, there is this heavy metal song which suits the character but the ending theme by Momoiro Clover Z to me just doesn't fit. Momoiro Clover Z for Sailor Moon Crystal is perfect but I just feel their music does not represent DBZ. To me, the change of DBZ's soundtrack is like Initial D without MOVE and the Eurobeat and Cowboy Bebop without the jazz.

The current living and active voice cast reprise their roles. Nakao Ryuusei as Freeza still has the role excellently down even to his ho ho ho ho ho laugh. The movie also does an interesting play on Tanaka Mayumi playing Kuririn and Luffy in relation to his cell phone's ring tone. Other than that, don't watch this with either high or low expectations. Just watch it for the hell of it.

Taking place after the end of the manga, it has been two years. Naruto is seen as a hero and all the girls want to be with him. However, the one girl that wants to be with him the most, Hyuuga Hinata, cannot bring herself to confess her love yet. However, that will be put on hold not that the world is in danger from the moon falling apart and crashing onto earth no thanks to a lousy villain named Toneri who for personal reasons, is after members of the Hyuuga clan.

The beginning of the movies shows why Hinata is initially attracted to Naruto ... so it adds more to things from her point of view. I think the series does a good job of showing the movie through the eyes of both Naruto and Hinata. The movie movies at a moderate pace but unfortunately, a lot of the more awesome characters from the series (why I won't reveal due to spoilers) are reduced to a millisecond fanservice cameos just to remind us they exist. Sakura who has been infamous for being useless does have some decent use in this movie and does bring some convenient contribution. Shikamaru shows he is a capable leader and Sai is mostly used as bad comic relief.

Toneri is just a very boring, unoriginal and lame villain for every reason you can practically think of (once again without giving away any spoilers). Despite his plot, he comes across as non-threatning and has the charisma of drying white paint on interior walls. I found the love story between Hinata and Naruto a lot more interesting.

I say the make or break for viewers is how their favorite character are used in what is supposed to be "the last movie." If your favorite character despite being alive and active is not used to their fullest potential, it may piss you off. If you don't mind that, then hey, cool.

The character design does an effective job in making the cast looking like they are in their late teens and I cannot complain about it. They are taller, have more mature faces, etc. It gets the job done. The action relies too much on the 360 foreground/background turnaround way too much for me. The final fight does play homage to a lot of the older fights as well. I also enjoy Hinata's close range combat fighting as well and is a fun representation of southern style Kung Fu.

The background music as usual is an excellent use of traditional Japanese acoustics and percussions carried by the rhythm of modern guitar licks which everyone can get behind. The ending theme is just too generic and trendy in comparison to current Japanese music trends for my tastes.

The voice acting is superb and I think Sakura's voice sounds appropriately more mature out of all the characters. Naruto still sounds the same though I think his voice could have been a bit deeper for his age but glad to see they kept their cast (unlike the new Initial D anime). However, Fukuyama Jun, most famous as the voice of Code Geass from Lelouch as the voice of Toneri doesn't exhibit that same powerfulness in this performance in which you can blame on a writing and voice directing issue as opposed to a voice actor issue.

Overall, this anime is mostly a decent representation of what people love and hate about Naruto. A good fraction of the fans will find this moderately satisfying. Haters will hate it for why they hate Naruto.

Kasuga Kyosuke is a typical Japanese 15 year old. He is doing his best to study and meeting the girl of his dreams on his first day on a stroll in his new town. However, the circumstance of his family’s move and the results of this encounter just happen to be the beginning of not the perfect life, but a series of shenanigans mixed with typical teenage hormones. For starters, why did he move to town? The thing is, Kyosuke comes from a family of espers whose powers generally range between telekinesis and teleportation and the occasional self-hypnosis. Because Kyosuke’s sisters have abused their powers ... in public view in the past, they have had to move on a number of occasions and Kyosuke hopes that this will be the last after meeting this beautiful girl.

At his new school, Kyosuke happens to learn he shares the same class with that girl he met. Her name is Ayukawa Madoka and she happens to be one of those most feared delinquents in town and that does nothing to prevent Kyosuke from pursuing her. However, when Kyosuke used his power under the impression he was alone in the gym to shoot a basket from the opposite side of the court while sitting down, he caught the eye of Madoka’s childhood friend, Hiyama Hikaru who is also a delinquent and fell instantly in love with him and is very open about it.

Now Kyosuke has to make sure his sisters don’t abuse their powers and find a way to let Madoka know his true feelings.

If you grew up on teen or coming of age sitcoms along the likes of “Saved by the Bell,” “Boy Meets World,” or “California Dreams,” I say this may be the anime for you but with some twists of special powers. It is a good mix of comedy and romance. There are some repeating gags such as the Kasuga’s neighbors, Umao and Ushiko, a married couple who repeatedly share their love for each other quoting Romeo and Juliet in very ridiculous scenarios. But if you like those kind of American teen dramas, then you are likely to ease into “Kimagure Orange Road” but of course with an appropriate Japanese twist.

The series for the most part is episodic with a few two parters here and there and is easy to get into without any previous exposure from the very start. I say having my teen years without smartphones and high speed internet access, I can understand the struggles the characters go through without that instant connective contact. I understand what it’s like to be 15 without an iPhone and having to run out and find that girl to apologize to her face to face over a misunderstanding. The series also does a good job of presenting why Kyosuke does not want to reject Hikaru’s feelings for him despite truly loving Madoka. He sees that Hikaru is really a nice girl and does not want to hurt her but he understands that he is only delaying the inevitable.

Madoka, despite representing the archetypical 1980s “sukeban,” or school girl delinquent, her character is given the most development. She can be rough and tough, but also comes across as genuinely feminine that would seduce many teenage boys.

I love how it is just teens from back in the day just having a good time. One of my favorite episodes was in the last quarter of the series which spoofs the kaiju genre. In that episode, it pays homage to Godzilla, Gundam, Saint Seiya, and Mothra all at once by using the Godzilla soundtrack, a tribute song to the Mothra song sung by the twins, and I will explain the Saint Seiya reference later.

The TV series ends out of convenience but I really can’t say how the manga ends because I have not read it. I heard the TV series has some changes from the manga but if anyone familiar can share some info I would appreciate it.

Well, outside a few brawls here and there, this series does not have much intense martial arts action, high paced racing scenes, world ending tennis matches that will kill the dinosaurs, or any space ending mech warfare so the so called “quality” of the animation being “out-dated” and/or “bad” is nothing really to be concerned about. It’s the original Shounen Romance Comedy so high quality HD animation should be the last thing you should worry about in the same way you should last worry about high quality production values in a 1990s teen sitcom. Granted the resolution and contrast is relatively grainy and plain compared to today but I don’t think such trivial qualities should negate this anime.

The character design works the way it needs to by presenting us with a teen romance comedy. Kyosuke appropriately looks like a 15 year old and his facial expressions convey what it needs to convey. Madoka’s design works in the way it is supposed to intend to, to make her a punk teenager with an adult and feminine feel. Manami and Kurumi work as pre-teens. 

I can tell the character’s apart and I can tell who is a boy and who is a girl unlike today’s anime so I don’t know where “the flaws” are. Granted we don’t see much Tokyo scenery but I think the series appropriately portrays Japanese home and school life and what suburban Japan feels like.

The limited action scenes with Madoka fighting off gang members were also archetypical of the sukeban genre of the time by fighting in the long skirt and with a yo-yo and all that. They are fast paced and not drastically over the top.

The series is filled with a who’s who in Japanese voice acting. For starters, Kyosuke is played by Furuya Tooru, who every anime fan should know. Famous as the voice of Amuro Ray from Gundam, Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon, Yamucha from Dragon Ball and Seiya from Saint Seiya. I love how he makes his voice a bit quieter and softer to make him a vulnerable teenage boy in comparison to the more confident and cocky Seiya who is 2 years younger than Kyosuke. And complimenting this casting is Tsuru Hiromi as Madoka. She is also famous world wide as the voice of Bulma from Dragon Ball and seeing this casting is this context really makes perfect sense and their chemistry works excellently well in this series. These two alone define what makes this series also awesome. The rest of the cast, are also some relatively big names like Kikuchi Masami, the voice of Yusaku in this series would later on become famous as the voice of Keiichi from Ah! My Goddess and Tenchi in Tenchi Muyo. In this series, his voice is appropriately rough and aggressive since he hates Kyosuke and like Hikaru.

But unfortunately, Honda Chieko, who voiced Kyosuke’s sister Kurumi and also the voice of Puuru and Puuru 2 in Gundam ZZ passed away to cancer back in early 2013 and she did a great job of playing a pre-teen girl without a care in the world.

The music is really excellent and appropriately sets the mood of youth, love, and summer. It has a distinct intensity and very romantic. My favorite song is Orange Mystery, the second opening theme. Prior to being used as the opening theme, it was used as a background song in some really good scenes and I really liked how it was used.

I still think that beyond just the art and animation, I think there are a lot more qualities to this series that will mostly appeal to older viewers and veteran anime fans as opposed to younger and newer viewers. I think older viewers understand what the world was like and even grew up as a teenager before what we had today so it is much easier to relate to. Watching this series made me feel young and made me want to go back to my youth and start over again in certain moments in my life. See my friends, say the right words, have more fun, and so on. Working in Japan, I understand some of the characters frustrations and gave me some insight. I also loved the Kaiju tribute episode which really made me enjoy the series much more.

Based on the manga by Fujisawa Tooru, Shounan Junai Gumi, also known as GTO The Early Years in America tells the high school days of Onizuka Eikichi and Danma Ryuji when they were the infamous and (the nearly) invincible duo known as the Onibaku. Initially, the Onibaku leave their school to transfer to a new one in hopes of starting fresh and abandoning their delinquent ways in the ultimate hope of teenage conquest, to get laid. To help in their attempt at reformation, they get part-time jobs at the beach and there they meet two young ladies.

Unfortunately, circumstances make them revert back to their ... brawling habits and to make things worse, those two young lades happen to be teachers at their new school. So after the initial events in the first episode, the Onibaku figure fuck it, stay as delinquents, but still try to get laid and make it through high school.

In addition, the series also introduces Saejima Toshiyuki, who would later become a corrupt beat cop in GTO as well as a small number of characters who will be re-introduced in GTO later on.

As for the story itself, this came out during a period when stories of delinquency such as Bebop High School and Slam Dunk were also big. Like those respective titles, Shounan Junai Gumi has comedy, action, and shares life lessons. Like in GTO, a teenage Onizuka also demonstrates that he can be a psycho but he still has principles. Ryuji is also the more serious of the two as usual. Saejima is still a psycho but more of a violent one as opposed to a perverted one. Most of the focus is the bond and friendship between Onizuka and Ryuji. Their friendship will be tested here and there but they are always there for each other. The show also demonstrates how they compare and contrast and despite that, Onizuka and Ryuji respect each other’s differences. The cast slowly expands beyond Saejima and you also learn about some other friends and other incidents that were also revisited in the Shounan Junai Gumi prequel, Bad Company.

The episodes are mostly episodic but all bring something different. You also get to see Onizuka’s mother and you learn about his past. Unfortunately, this series ended sometime the manga was ending so the anime does feel incomplete like the GTO one so reading the manga will give you a more full circle story. Maybe it will show how him and Ryuji ended up in Tokyo since by the beginning of GTO, it takes place six years after Shounan Junai Gumi. But it is nice to see how GTO was like in his teenage years. In some ways, he has grown up and has gotten wiser by the events of GTO, but many of his silly qualities are still there. As well as Ryuji being the more serious one. And I felt Saejima since Shounan Junai Gumi shows a different side of crazy. In the end, they still don’t get laid as you know in GTO but the cast just expands and all characters do serve a distinct function. It is mostly story driven but some of the stories here and there are formulaic and repetitive but are still diverse.

The character design is pretty much faithful to the manga and the hairstyle Onizuka has is what he had in the beginning of the GTO manga anyway. If your familiarity with GTO is just the anime, then I guess his hairstyle in this one is a fresh change though I believe in flash backs and old pictures in the show, it does show his old hair style anyway. The character design is diverse. Fujisawa knows how to draw beauty and ugliness and Onizuka’s strange faces are in this anime but only a small number of times in comparison to GTO.

The motorcycle scenes work and the action is both violent and comedic. Even though Onizuka is supposed to have a karate background, he is very wild with his fighting but his karate background is not mentioned in this anime. Maybe it was in the manga but I haven’t read it in a long time. But Onizuka in this anime is a teenager and he is more “human” in terms of his tolerance to pain to how he is in GTO, but in the GTO manga, they at least gave him a limit to his pain tolerance.

The series mostly deals with real life esque issues so CG or whatever isn’t expected or necessary. As pure animation, it just works. Granted the age makes it feel more rough compared to today’s anime but because it is about juvenile delinquency, I think it reflects the mood more.

A soundtrack is virtually non-existant in this series. No opening or ending theme songs. Nothing as energetic as Driver’s High or Hitori no you which makes up a great fraction of the reason why I loved GTO. There is background music, but it is rather generic to the series and mood. But I always love anime because sometimes they get awesome bands like L’arc~en~ciel to do opening songs.

As for the voice acting, unfortunately, Takagi Wataru does not voice Onizuka in the prequel. I really loved his performance in GTO and perfectly nailed the character. Onizuka is played by Futamata Issei, the voice of Godai Yusuke in Maison Ikkoku, Urabe Kosetsu in Code Geass, Higuchi Kyosuke in Death Note, and Urauashima in Yuu Yuu Hakusho. He shows he can play lecherous characters and have a comedic role. He does the tough guy act in his own way as well. But I can see how this performance did have an influence on Takagi Wataru’s approach. He enunciates his words and his tone and pace are still consistent.

Ryuji is played by Hori Hideyuki, to me, THE voice of Ikki in Saint Seiya, my favorite character in that series. He is a good contrast to Onizuka who has a softer voice and more calm. But other famous seiyuus will later take roles in this anime such as Hayashibara Megumi, as the voice of Nagisa, Ryuji’s girlfriend and still girlfriend in GTO. And she is also famous as the voice of Rei in Evangelion and female Ranma. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. But anyway, the voice cast is pretty good but the nonexistent music is not that much of a hindrance to the show.

To me, Shounan Junai Gumi is something that could have been better like a good percentage of many anime out there if it followed the manga to a T. Fujisawa makes excellent manga, but unfortunately, the animes in comparison are rather feel incomplete but not necessarily empty. Voice acting and music does bring a distinct life to it. The voice actors bring more punch to the comedy and the drama and the cast alone makes it worth watching. And just seeing a young Onizuka even at a limited capacity does have its charms. I say this anime is more for hardcore fans of the GTO franchise.

Taking place where fifth stage leaves off, Takumi will have the his final race as a street racer. His opponent this time is like no other opponent he has ever faced. He is now racing a fellow AE86 Trueno model driver, Inui Shinji. Not only that, he happens to be younger than Takumi who usually tends to be the youngest in his social circle. Also, the difference between their cars is that Takumi is the hatchback model while Shinji has the sedan model. And as the race progresses, we will also learn about Shinji and his background and many characters return to see if Project ... D can become the greatest street racing team in Japan.

The last volume of the manga came out in November 2013 which is why this part was delayed for awhile. I have never bothered reading the manga for reasons which I will get into as my review progresses. Since it was only 4 episodes long, I think it could have served better as a movie though the reboot movie I assume ruined that.

So this series is what it is. It is mostly concentrated on the race between Takumi and Shinji and how they compare and contrast as people along with their cars. It is also a great way to demonstrate Takumi’s development as a racer and also gives Shinji some fleshing out. The relationships have come full circe as well. Many of the characters that return give their input in what can happen giving them some kind of contribution.

Some parts of the series may seem ridiculous, but the series does an excellent job of making it make sense. Though some people prefer the story telling method of showing over telling, this series does a great job of making them go hand in hand. The explanations are technical but very necessary. The explanations does a very, very, very excellent job of making everything make sense and not seem ridiculous. Mostly from Ryosuke and his team. The series does a very effective job on how Takumi and Shinji’s hachi-roku models are different and are effective in rally racing (the sedan model) and circuit racing (the hatchback model).

Shinji is a very interesting character and I think he isn’t exactly an anti-Takumi, but like Takumi was before but just needed the development that Takumi needs. He has very interesting similar qualities to him but some things that are different which make him distinct. Granted it is very focused on the race, a lot is given and the series comes full circle in its own way, but can be open to a potential sequel. Also, the series finally explains what the D in Project D means and the meaning is what a good fraction of the fans have speculated since the beginning.

The quality of the cg of the races and the resolution and design is unchanged from 5th stage. I pretty much call this series the last 4 episodes of 5th stage anyway. Ryosuke’s hair is still long and a little shaggy which is my only issue. This sole race is very long paced but also shows the patience and concentration necessary to do this. It’s night time, the weather could change, and their could potentially be oncoming traffic. As the series progresses, the series does have an increase danger factor which I thought was the most underused quality needed to make this series complete. Takumi uses many of the techniques he has been developing since 4th stage and they finally develop the line attack that he was trying to learn since the end of 4th stage to some degree.

The drifting is pretty cool and the techniques and the performances of the car are very believable when it is explained. The way it ends is pretty exciting and ballsy. It will seem ridiculous the first time but they do find a perfect way to explain how it ends the way it does.

Well anything I can say about the music has already been said in previous reviews of Initial D (with the exception of Legend). The Eurobeat tracks and MOVE makes up most of the reasons why I love this anime and why I got into it and is a crazy reason why I don’t read the manga because the music isn’t just there. MOVE’s opening song, Outsoar the Rainbow is very intense and the first 3 episodes using Gamble Rumble, the opening theme from 3rd stage. And the ending theme of the 4th episodes perfectly gives the series full circle and explains what the D stands for. The voice actors are back and give great performances as they always do.

Still, I think this installment could have worked fine as a movie. I think the length would have worked perfectly with it. But as I said, the reboot movie which I reviewed a couple of weeks prior to this installment I think got in the way of that. But anyway, I love the consistency that this anime installment of Initial D has to this point despite changes to the character designs, specifically Ryosuke here and there but Takumi, especially from 4th stage, demonstrates that development and so does Keisuke in this series. All other characters are there but they do contribute in their own way. I hope Shigeno-sensei somewhere down the line continues the series in some way.

This movie is a retelling of the first fifth of the original series, specifically the base rivalry between Takumi and Keisuke.

The pacing of this movie works for the way it is. Nothing feels to rushed but the specifics of Natsuki's story is more hidden this time. Other than that, fans of Initial D who have prior exposure know what to expect. As for the final race, if you play the arcade games, the pace of the race works in accurate conjunction to that so I can't really make an excuse it feels to rushed. I mean, most players can beat Akina in about ... 3 minutes.

As fans of the original TV series are aware, the voice cast has entirely changed and I felt it was unnecessary. I mean, Gundam for the most part very rarely changes the cast and neither has the new Evangelion series. The cast are still active and can still play. The only name I can recognize is Miyano Mamoru, most famous as the voices of Light from Death Note and Setsuna from Gundam. I say his performance works for what it is but I think it is the voice direction as opposed to his abilities as a performer is what I have an issue with. There are instances where you can get a reaction out of him as opposed to saying you fucked Natsuki or whatever. I felt there were instances where his reactions were completely out of character, or at least what I am used to.

Bunta's voice feels weak compared to Ishizuka Unshou's original performance. The rest of the cast to me lacks the personality of the original TV series voice actors.

And in other sad news that I find criminal. The Eurobeat and MOVE are no longer part of the soundtrack. Try to imagine a Cowboy Bebop reboot/remake without the jazz and that's how some Initial D fans probably feel. Half of the music is heavy bass with weak techno cords and the other half is generic J-Rock. I say viewers who have no prior exposure to the original series will have no issue with this factor but to me, the Eurobeat and MOVE is part of the identity of Initial D.

As for the character design, it is sharp and crisp and more in tune with that of 4th to Final Stage. As for the races, I felt it was too over reliant on above and below angles and close ups. I felt this ruined Takumi's inertia drift he did against his first race against Keisuke. In the 1998 series, granted the quality is not that great, but the set up and execution made it exciting. I felt this series lacked that. There are instances it works, and instances it doesn't. Another issue is the frame rate. With the upper angles, the frame rate felt rough but the lower angles the frame rate was much smoother.

Overall, I say long time fans of Initial D will have mixed feelings for the right reasons. I say viewers with no familiarity will be more open minded to the changes and may enjoy it.

Taking place where 4th stage leaves off, Takumi on his deliveries is practicing at the one-handed steering technique of his final opponent from the last season. Though he is progressing, he still is trying to figure things out. At the same time, his father is giving him props for trying such a technique and acknowledges his progress. So where does this leave Project D after beating the Purple Mountain? Their next conquest leads them to Kanagawa, a prefecture south of Tokyo which is known for having the best street racers in the nation to the point that some of the drivers are trained and active ... professionals, and its up to Ryosuke, Keisuke, and Takumi to show that there is a world of difference between the track circuits and the mountain passes.

To some extent, you can say this is more or less an extension of 4th stage since the focus is still on Project D. Their new rivals take racing seriously and express the same passion to a more distinct extent than previous rival teams. Because of this, the races are harder with the higher level of competition and harsher course conditions, so Ryosuke always thinks of ways in which they can and will win. Even if the chances are at a small percentage, he will bank everything on it.

I understand the characters from the other teams have more elaboration in the manga, but the anime does enough to express how this character compares and contrasts with either Ryosuke, Keisuke and Takumi. I just feel that they don’t have enough individual exploration and seem to be only used as a comparison tool to our main characters. I guess in context to the anime, it does its job, and this has been somewhat of an issue in previous installments. My only exposure of the manga is through the arcade, PS2, and PS3 games and when I see what is different in how the characters are more fleshed out, it really surprises me.

The rest of the cast for the most part is back. Most of the development is focused on Takumi, Keisuke, and Ryosuke and Ryosuke gets his own brief story arc. As for Iketani, Kenji, and Itsuki, they are still around and they do serve their roles in their own way. But I feel that their purpose is to now show how much Takumi has developed and is beyond them in context to expressing how he understands cars and the physics of racing. But I think at some point, they will get further development. But I think manga readers will tell me I am wrong. Some other past characters do show up and some of these brief returning characters do serve a significant purpose which I really thought did an excellent job for a certain new character.

In addition, Takumi now has a new love interest, Mika, a high school golf star. She is a real interesting character and I personally feels she is better than Natsuki. I feel she connects to Takumi more effectively because of her background and I like her out-going personality a lot more. I am pretty sure the manga at this point already has, but I hope when I watch future anime installments, they develop that relationship more. I thought the anime does its job building a good foundation to that relationship and I look forward to how it develops.

In terms of character design, the most significant change is Ryosuke’s. His hair is more shaggy and is not as well kept as it always has been. I don’t recall his hair looking like that in the manga based on my exposure through the games during that part of the story arc. Then again, this isn’t the first time, they changed Ryosuke’s hair style. In second stage, his hair color was changed to light brown from black and then changed back to black in 3rd and 4th stages. I thought his hair was fine. I guess my concern is on the basis that Ryosuke is my favorite character, but his fashion sense and his facial design and expressions are more or less the same. For the other characters, there are no other alterations to their designs.

The quality is not too different from 4th stage but has brighter resolution with the colors. The races are more back to a CG feel in comparison to the more cel-shaded feel of 4th stage and excellently does its job of bringing out the intensity and excitement of the races.

As for the races, the races are still done in a cat and mouse set of rules like in 4th stage. They do bring a sense of danger and risk to a higher level than previous installments, but I don’t think it’s to the level of that in Wangan Midnight or Shigeno-sensei’s previous manga, Bari Bari Densetsu. I suppose with a street racing manga, you want those factors, but in considerations to how well they organize and coordinate the street races, they can limit those risks so those factors justify that lack of them. I know accidents have happened in previous installments, but I just didn’t feel that danger. But this time, they do bring in weather and course conditions into a more specific and emphatic level in comparison to previous races and how they can appropriately customize the cars to prepare as well as actual physics to race in such conditions.

The races are planned with very intricate strategies that takes every possibility into account which is what I like about them. Even though this was also done in 4th stage, this quality is taken to a new level of technicalities in this season. The game plans Ryosuke comes up with is what makes touge racing very distinctive and makes me interested in it in a realistic point of view. For example, when Takumi invented his blind attack in 4th stage, this tactic is further elaborated and developed in a physics point of view. Also, some races focus more on effective breaking, and some are emphasized on carefully planned accelerating. Also, they do bring in very clever game planning which you may think is playing dirty, but considering this is the street, anything goes. But even though I don’t feel the danger, these new qualities does make it refreshingly exciting and educational. For that, I give the art and animation.

If you have been following my reviews of Initial D, then you know I always give the music and voice acting a 10/10. The voice cast is still the same and still bring their respective qualities to the same excellent performance they always have. Takumi is becoming nearly as articulate is Ryosuke and Miki Shinichiro does a great job of giving us that. The new voice actors also do a great job of capturing their characters. The music, the reason why I became an Initial D fan, is still unchanged. MOVE still does the songs though the hook is more of heavy guitars which perfectly reflects the more intense atmosphere of this installment. And if there is just one song that justifies my perfect score, it is the song “Wait for You” the Dancefloor mix by Ace from episode 11. It is just an amazing song you just have to hear. I can listen to this song over and over. It’s that song that makes you wish you were with that special someone in your life and it fits the mood of when the song was used. It is probably on my top 10 Initial D songs if i were to make one. So look that song up when you can I promise you’ll love it.


And the ending of the series perfectly sets up the last stage.

Taking place where New Challenger leaves off, the series starts from Ippo vs Shimabukuro Iwao to the conclusion of the story of Kamogawa in his youth in Post World War II Japan. Naturally, a new anime installment of Hajime no Ippo did excite me. I mean, with New Challenger ending, the animators have nearly 60 volumes to catch up on as opposed to being 60 volumes ahead unlike a certain Studio Pierrot series which you can easily conclude is.

For now, I would mostly like to focus my personal issues with this season as someone who actively reads the manga and is up to date ... with the current chapters. Even though previous installments have skipped over parts from the manga (such as Aoki’s black face in season 1; omitting Hayami vs Kobashi before Ippo vs Sanada in Championship Road; taking out Okita’s under card fight before Date vs Martinez in New Challenger, etc), but this takes it a whole lot more and so much important information I thought was necessary to the story and the character development were entirely taken out. For example, there is no build up to the Shimabukuro fight and it takes away why is he such a distinct opponent. Plus, in the manga, when Shimabukuro and Ippo meet at the ocean near Ippo’s home, Ippo’s mother actually seems romantically interested in Shimabukuro until he reveals he is actually 22, a year older than Ippo which brought some comedy to their relationship and adds more to how they connect as "men of the sea" with their backgrounds.

Two other major issues I have was taking out how Aoki developed the look away and VERY IMPORTANT elements of Sawamura’s back story. There was a story behind how Aoki developed his look away and I thought that was funny and how it was presented in the manga and the cut-scenes from the PS2 games. As for Sawamura, I felt the anime left out two of the more important aspects of his story; how he meets Sendo for the first time along with how deep the relationship between Sawamura and Kawabe goes. When Sendo meets Sawamura in the hospital in the manga, he actually reveals to Sawamura why Kawabe cares about him so much. I was upset that part was taken out because it was the very reason why Kawabe cares so much about Sawamura. For an anime so far behind in the manga, I just find it inexcusable to take all this important material out and rush it.

But I am satisfied the series got around to animating the young Kamogawa and Nekota story arc, but I felt the placement made no sense to me not because it takes place much sooner in the manga, but that Anderson is not an appropriate character to compare with to Eagle as opposed to Hawk. Nishimura came back to direct the last four episodes and he did that those episode justice. Nothing was taken out and it really captured the emotion.

But I feel this series deserves to be much longer as well. There are other great fights coming up and some shitty ones lol.

Well, the quality and resolution is more in tune with New Challenger under Shishido Jun's direction and the fights are still awesome. What impressed me most was Takamura vs Eagle. I didn’t think the fight was that special in the manga but animated, it got me really interested and immersed and changed my mind about it. I felt Eagle’s fear and respect for Takamura and Takamura’s tenacity at the same time while watching it. I think Eagle’s white trunks from the games worked enough for me but the golden color does add the naturally appropriate compliments to his nickname, "Golden." I also loved how they colored his suit in the press conferences making him look like an American GTO in a way.

If there is any reason to watch this season, it is most certainly for Ippo vs Sawamura, one of my top 3 favorite fights from the manga. Sawamura’s bullet was handled more realistically than I anticipated to how it is pulled off in the PS2 games despite the red effect. It is well paced and positioned as opposed to awkwardly angled in the games. This is just one of the few fights that I felt that scared me because of Sawamura’s mix of brain and brawn and this is one of the few times that Ippo came close to wanting to kill someone. Hawk may have been a maniac, but Sawamura is a whole different class of beast that crosses a line that Hawk didn’t.

The only fight cut significant short is just the Shimabukuro one and I felt an important aspect in respect to the fight that pays some homage to the second Ippo/Miyata spar was taken out. I felt that quality was what would have made the Kazuo story arc, which wasn’t in the manga until after the Sawamura fight, would have been an effective first episode in context to the Shimabukuro fight. Also, the build up and the training was a very good story arc and Ippo builds up his muscles and cardio. I can understand cutting out the weigh-in (which was funny) but the training I thought could have been touched upon as well.

Miyata’s fight with Medgoen Dachboy was excellently paced and is faithful to the manga. The fights are just simply still the same quality with the exception of Ippo vs Shimabukuro.

And the animation of the Kamogawa arc is just amazing and brings back a certain distinction that Nishimura gave that you can only see in the first season. He brings a distinct sense of crisp and detail to his design and movement and I am glad he was selected to do this and it just brought me back to season 1 in a lot of ways.

Well, I would like to open this review by saying that I do miss the performance of Utsumi Kenji as Kamogawa. God or whoever he may be with rest his soul. He was a great voice actor for Kamogawa along with his other iconic roles, most especially as Raoh from Hokuto no Ken. As Kamogawa, he had this great presence and authority in his voice. His new seiyuu, Iizuka Shozo, previously the voice of Miguel in New Challenger and most famous as Ryu Jose in the first Gundam series really captures his gruffness but has a different kind of tone, but works in terms of the character, but Utsumi will always be Kamogawa to me regardless. It is also sad that another seiyuu legend, Nagai Ichiro, who plays Nekota also has passed on but managed to record some lines prior to his passing and I always love how he ends his sentences in “da ni.” And he was also most famous as the voice of Happousai from Ranma 1/2.

But my favorite performance this season was that of Miki Shinichiro as Sawamura, who you may know as the voice of Takumi from Initial D. I am used to Miki Shinichiro as a good guy, but as a bad guy he is excellent. Prior to this series, Hiyama Nobuyuki, the voice of Hiei from Yuu Yuu Hakusho was always my personal choice for Sawamura but Miki’s performance truly captures the character. What really made the character with his performance was this dry throat kind of tone he brings. It really represents more a “thirst” for his meat obsession as opposed to a “hunger,” and I think the “thirst” tone as opposed to a “hunger” tone really represents the sadistic tendencies of Sawamura. Because when he wants meat, he really wants blood and the portrayal really made me love the character more.

Miyano Mamoru who is more famous for quieter characters such as Light from Death Note and Setsuna from Gundam 00 surprised me as Kamogawa who tends to be more of an intense character. He managed to capture both Light’s softness but also brings that gruffness as the old Kamogawa as well. The young Nekota also captures the characteristics and I can’t complain.

Kosugi Jurota as Anderson was also awesome. He voiced Kujo Jotaro from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure so you could never ask for a better seiyuu. And I thought Kiuchi Hidenobu, the voice of Tenma from Monster, was an interesting choice as Eagle. He brings out his "cheerfulness" and a silly accent at the same time that works for the character. I really had no expectation of who could play Eagle but he does the job. You gotta love how he says "Jesus." I just wish New Challenger kept more of Hawk's Engrish as well.

The music is a great improvement and excellently uses tracks from the first season, second season, and has a great original one for this as well. I felt the tracks from season 2 were more properly used in this season. The songs for Sawamura are just perfect with his dark and sadistic character. The songs in the Takamura and Eagle fight were also great.

Well, again, as a manga reader, my issues is that this series is too damn short and this series cut out some very important details that helps the story and development. I just felt this series is very incomplete. But the animation and the soundtrack and voice acting brings a different kind of completeness and satisfaction. I just hope they don't do this again for future anime installments.

If there’s something strange, in the neighbourhood, who you gonna call? Close but no buster but that would be Mikami Reiko, one of Japan’s top ghost sweepers. Assisting Mikami is her under-paid teenage lackey, Yokoshima Tadao, and the 300 year old teenage ghost, Okinu. And episode by episode, they take care of business.

With the exception of a small number of 2-parters, the series is episodic and you can jump into any episode with little to no prior familiarity. However, in addition to the main trio, there will be some reoccurring characters such as fellow Ghost Sweepers Meiko and Emi; the alchemist Dr. Chaos and his ... android assistant Maria; and Mikami’s former teacher and his current discipline, Pete, a half-breed vampire.

Each character has their own function that works in a formulaic sense and do something. Unfortunately, you will need to read the manga if you want any background and development on the characters. The manga expands why Yokoshima has some spiritual prowess and also goes into the details of their back stories. But the anime does a good job of justifying it by demonstrating a lot of tabla rasa to make sort of make you forgive that. Still the series does go beyond fighting ghosts. They fight other super natural beings such as gremilns, sea creatures, and vampires. What also keeps this series from being a bit repetitive is sometimes the ghost isn’t bad, but needs help in other forms in order to move on.

In addition, the series spoofs of 90s pop culture so pop culture buffs may enjoy this. What mostly drives the series is its comedy. Even though Mikami is this sexy lady, I am glad it doesn’t get repeatedly exploited as pointless fan service. She is only used in that way a small number of times and works in the right context. Dr. Chaos being broke is another source of its comedy despite claiming to be this genius. It goes on.

The art is rather simple but still a little distinct. The design works in a way that it is easy to emulate if you want to try some fan art, but still has a sharpness that brings a mature feel.

The grainy contrast brings that urban and ghastly feel, but the bright colors with the clothing brings a convenient “flash” and youth friendly atmosphere. The action is nothing revolutionary like “Dragon Ball Z” during this time but works in its own way. Mikami uses something like a light sabre and Shinto chants to combat the ghosts which brings modern cinema with Japanese traditions. Overall, it is bearable but nothing outstanding.

Some of you may now the voice of Horikawa Ryo and Tsuru Hiromi as the voices of Vegeta and Bulma from Dragon Ball Z, but in this anime, they are the voices of Yokoshima and Mikami. If you’re familiar with Tsuru’s role as Bulma, then you will instantly recognise her voice and it works with her character with being sexy but yet all-business. Horikawa Ryo, as always seems to amaze me. Not only as his performance as Vegeta, but also as Shun from Saint Seiya. As Vegeta, he’s vicious, as Shun he is feminine, and now as Yokoshima, he is this hormone driven teenager and he just manages to pull it off. The man has many talents as a voice actor and probably one of the best. Other notable seiyuus are Chiba Shigeru as Dr. Chaos and Morikawa Toshiyuki as Pete.

The music also works perfectly with the series. The chiming synthesisers in the hook of the opening theme and the sexy jazz in the background music brings the urban feel, the supernatural, and the sex appeal come together as one and for that.

Well, this series is no Yuu Yuu Hakusho, but if you want something short and episodic and doesn’t require much of an attention span, this might be the series for you. If you want an anime to just pass the time.

If you are very familiar with Kurumada Masami, many of the plot and character elements share a lot in common with some of his earlier works, specifically Saint Seiya and Ringu ni Kakero. For example, family bond and longing to reunite with a lost sibling is once again an emphasized theme in this series. It gives Teppei a strong motivation to go on an initial one man mission to fight an empire to save his brother. Though in Saint Seiya, Seiya wanting to find his sister gets sidetracked until nearly the end, this element is consistent throughout the series.

Another Kurumada-sensei characteristic is a female ... mentor to the main character who is serves as a sister figure. In Saint Seiya, Seiya is taught my Marin who he assumes to be his sister. In Ringu ni Kakero, Ryuji is trained by his sister Kiku. While in B’t X, Teppei is trained by Karen who you can say is like a big sister figure to Teppei though they don’t out right say it and its interesting to note that their relationship isn’t really that 100% explored in this series but the series shows the full picture with very little.

However, this story does feel darker compared to those other works and has little to no comedic elements. Teppei very rarely smiles in comparison to Seiya who share a 100% similar design and is always dead serious and has more of a I wanna kick some ass kind of look. So it works in consistent with the atmosphere.

Another element is mythological influences. While Saint Seiya has uses Greek, B’t X uses Asian mythologies though some elements of Greek and other European sources will be present later on.

But really drives this series is the relationship between Teppei and X and the theme of unlocking your own potential. Like how Saint Seiya had this theme of “making miracles happen,” this anime also brings those qualities in this series and works in its own way with Teppei and X. At first, X wants nothing to do with Teppei but when Teppei proves his determination to X, X becomes loyal to Teppei and you do see this relationship develop to the point where all things are possible.

The remaining cast such as Hokuto, Fou, and Ron do bring a shade of gray. Despite being warriors of the machine empire, they understand what needs to be done and its not because of lack of loyalty, but a matter of personal principle and understanding they don’t want an everybody loses situation. Even though they don’t acknowledge themselves as Teppei’s friends throughout the series, they encourage him to reach his fullest potential which makes you question why they want that. Do they want to fight him at his best? Or do they want him to defeat the machine empire?

Unfortunately, this series ends where things are about to really get started but thankfully there is an ova series to continue which I will review at a later date.


Naturally, Teppei looks 100% like Seiya and Ryuji. Kurumada-sensei had admitted he “recycles” his character designs because he thinks of them as his own actors and giving them different roles. Not only Teppei, but other characters such as Fou, Ron, and Kotaro will also feel familiar to those that are fans of Kurumada-sensei’s works so expect that. But not only does it feel like Kurumada-sensei, a lot of the designs also feel like Obari Masami. The sharpness and the details to the eyes remind me of how he did the designs of the Fatal Fury anime but I don’t see him in the credits, but I guess it does give an appropriate 90s feel to it when that sharpness and the over detailed eyes were a common quality in other popular series of that time such as Saber Marionette J, El Hazard, and Magic Knight Rayearth.

The design of the mechs are pretty cool. As previously stated, there is more influence on Asian mythology so the B’ts are more influenced by Chinese animals seen as divine. For example, X is based on the Kirin, Fuo’s mecha based on the Phoenix, Ron is based on the dragon and Hokuto’s mech is based on the turtle. And other’s each offer their own gimmick and given an appropriate colour scheme. So they all work out and have functions that work in conjunction to their size and designs. However, I really don’t get why Teppei gets battle armour as some sort of power up while the other characters don’t. The series does explain why he has it, but I don’t understand why he is the only one that gets it while Fou and Ron don’t.

The action isn’t as explosive as Ringu ni Kakero and Saint Seiya but works in its own ways. The action is not too gimmicky but still distinctive. For example, some characters will have techniques that will hurt the ear drums and some have moves that will make the opponents hallucinate. This time, the anime revolves around wit and sheer will but in a new context and team work is used in a unique way. The moves are more science oriented such as Teppei’s messiah fist and Fou’s violin bow which resonates sound waves.

A lot of people like to categorize this as a mech anime but I feel that I don’t. Considering that the mech isn’t exactly controlled and feels more like a partner, so I see this more as a sci-fi action anime as opposed to flat out mech though mech is a sub-genre of sci-fi. The action relies on trusting each other. Though it feels like one on one, it is two on two instead with Teppei and X against their opponent and their B’t. The action isn’t as reliant on using special moves so typical hand to hand combat will be more frequently used. It is more speed and agility oriented as opposed to power oriented so it is still pretty distinct in comparison to Saint Seiya and Ringu ni Kakero.


Though Kurumada-sensei likes to “recast” his actors in his manga, unfortunately, Furuya Tooru does not resume his role as that design. Playing the voice of Teppei is Hiyama Nobuyuki, most famous for the roles of Hiei from Yuu Yuu Hakusho and Shiro from Gundam 08th MS team. His pitch is more in tune with the upbeat feel of Shiro as opposed to the lower voice he uses as Hiei. He is very aggressive but soft. He does come across as a teenager, but yet mature and world weary but does have this feel of optimism. Sasaki Nozomu, the voice of Yusuke from Yuu Yuu Hakusho and Tetsuo from Akira is the voice of Teppei’s brother Kotaro. His voice feels a lot like Horikawa Ryo’s performance as Shun who is more compassionate, soft, and low and feels a bit feminine. And compared to those performances, it feels distinct and fresh and gives you a new exposure to his acting talents.

Another great talent I enjoyed was that of Fujiwara Keiji as Ron. Fujiwara tends to play characters who are more of a smart ass like Kimura from Hajime no Ippo, Reno in Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, and Shingo from Initial D. But in this series he is very serious, and mode cold and calculating. His voice is recognizable, but he does sound appropriately intimidating and not as comedic as he is in more notable roles. My only issue with the voice acting is that they don’t modulate X’s voice. The series modulates the other b’ts appropriately sounding more mechanic but X sounds like a regular guy. I don’t know if its done purposely to give him a more human quality but I prefer if he had a more mechanical voice. It could flow like a regular person but I think it should modulated like the voices in Transformers.

The music is just awesome. The background music works very well. Like whenever Teppei battle gears on, the soundtrack really gives the “shine” that Teppei shows. It gives an uplifting feel in this dark world. The other music just simply works in conjunction with the atmosphere of the series. The opening theme also has this intense feel but also shares the themes of breaking the limits and about hope. So really nothing to add but say the music speaks for itself when you watch it.


Of course after you finish this series, you will be required to watch the following ova to get any continuation and direction. However, throughout watching this you also get the impression that you also need to read the manga to put more things into context. Unfortunately, I have not read the manga so I will read it when I get the chance. But consistently, you have heard me compare this to Kurumada-sensei’s previous works and do I say this is a gateway to how he does things. I personally don’t recommend this anime for people new to Kurumada Masami even though some things are different. I say having some familiarity with his style and work will help you understand this anime more, specifically the two titles I repeatedly mentioned.