Time to review something that actually DOESN'T suck! Hajime no Ippo is back with a vengeance!
The sequel to Hajime no Ippo continues the tale of Ippo's rise to the top of the boxing world. While the first Ippo series started as a coming of age story in which a bullied young man must learn to stand up for himself and achieve his dreams, the sequel starts right at the action and comes out swinging furiously. However, unlike the Rocky sequels, Ippo actually manages to keep the character development, pacing, and quality storytelling that made the first Ippo good. The opponents don't simply devolve into cartoon caricature bad guys that our hero must smash...well besides Bryan Hawk. At least Hawk is hilariously goofy and fun to hate though. Also his eyebrows are only rivaled by that guy in FLCL!
While the first Ippo series boasted a wide cast of likeable characters, the second Ippo series manages to even better flesh out the side characters by giving them more of their own episodes. That means I get to see more of my man Takamura! The pompadour sporting badass who is so fucking manly he punches out a bear...then cries when he realized he orphaned the bear's cubs. The only character I missed in part 2 was Alexander Volg Zangief, because I love that dude and unfortunately he isn't in part 2.
The animation and technical aspects of the series are clearly improved since part 1. Ippo was already a good looking anime in part 1, but in part 2 the movement is even more fluid and this actually means something when you are talking about a sports anime. If an anime revolves around high stakes gambling and playing card games, you don't need to have the most fluid motion in the world. It doesn't make any impact on how enjoyable the show is. For example, Spice and Wolf the anime about trade and economics had horrible animation and it didn't matter at all. However, in a boxing anime this improved animation was perfect cherry on top of the ice cream.
One thing I love about the Ippo franchise is its ability to mix comedy, emotional moments, and pulse pounding action so seamlessly together. Very few anime are able to combine these elements together quite so perfectly. Hajime no Ippo isn't some highbrow attempt at being an artistic masterpiece, so don't go into it expecting Mushishi or Tatami Galaxy. However, it is a VERY fun to watch anime and overall very well made. I would recommend this anime highly to anyone even remotely interested in sports anime.
