As usual, Hajime no Ippo steps up with the excellent story telling. There is not much of Ippo actually fighting in here, which came as somewhat of a disappointment to me, but we get more in depth stories and back stories to supporting characters. And, there are some cameos from characters that we barely got to see, so that is nice. I felt like there was a little bit more focus on the matches/side characters this series around rather than the outside life, or the training, which the first season had a lot of montages of. While the lessons and values of Hajime no Ippo are kind of repetitive, they do have a lot of meaning and are good things to be learned by anyone.
These aren't all the fights, but they are the major ones.--->
> Miyata Ichiro vs Arnie "Crocodile" Gregory for the OPBF Championship
We get to see a worthwhile fight from Miyata spirit wise. They introduced this shady coach who I hate the guts of, and from the sounds of it, it seems like he'll be a semi-recurring character. Not hopeful.
> Date Eiji vs Ricardo Martinez for the WBA Feather Weight Championship
Finally, Date gets a world championship revenge match against the man who defeated him seven years ago. We also get to learn a bit more in depth about him, his past, and his reason for boxing. It was pretty good.
> Ippo Makunouchi vs Hammer Nao for the Japan Feather Weight Championship
We finally get a reappearance from someone who used to appear a lot. I won't say who it is, because then I'll spoil it. This match was a sweet one. By sweet, I mean both "touching" (in a heartfelt way) and "aww shit yeah." If you watch it, you'll get what I mean.
> Takamura Mamoru vs Brian Hawk for the WBC Junior Middleweight Championship
This match was BEAST. A definitely must watch for any Ippo fans. Brian Hawk was a bastard but he puts up a good fight. We finally get to see the mysterious Takamura's full potential, and find a bit about his past and family situation. The only problem I had with it was "that joke". Takamura, you shame of Japan! I felt like they went a little too far with that one. It made him hit a little too close to Brian's level of humanity.
Art: 8/10
In the beginning I wasn't really used to it, but as it went on it got better. The matches flowed more smoothly with more dynamic scenes, and were paced much better than in the beginning, which is a shame because they started off with some really big, interesting matches. I felt like it got better around Hammer Nao though.
Sound: 8/10
As I imagine Hajime no Ippo to capture "manliness" you can imagine my disappointment when I heard the BGM and there were a lot of classic styled music. Little to none rock/guitar/synth music like the first season, whose sound track I loved. However, as the story progressed, I could see that it focused more on the Championships. The "Kings" you could say. Taking that in mind, the music does fit better, as it's more noble, dignified and refined than the first seasons, which was more rough, and high-strung. The BGM does get better as time goes on though.
Although most of the original cast reappears, Kumi's voice does change, which was kind of off putting. Other than that, its the same cast, so no complaints.
The OP song is one of my favorites though, which is good since the vids took forever to load so 90% of the time I had to watch through the OP.
Character: 9/10
Everyone in the anime gets some development, and that really makes me happy. Ippo grows stronger as he begins to realize more and more what it means to be a champion and how he can fulfill that role, Takamura's mysterious past is unraveled, and we get to see him in a better light, Coach... Well, he realizes that there is still much for him to learn and do to become a better coach. Aoki and Kimura's are kind of non-existent, but if you want to see them develop then you should watch the Kimura vs Mashiba OVA. The others you'll just have to watch to find out.
Even though there's a huge cast, they all have depth, even if it's just to a certain point. It's pretty impressive, and they're all well done as well. While I do wish that more forgotten characters would reappear and get some spotlight (like Vorg or Hayami or Jason etc) I do understand that there probably isn't any time for that.
Enjoyment: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
Although I was a bit iffy at first, Hajime no Ippo New Challenger is a great second series. It started off shaky but ended on a good note. If you feel like me when I first started it, just tell yourself to be like Ippo and them and tough it out! You'll see the light at the end of the tunnel.
