Search - Fighting Spirit: V.15 One Step Further (ep.71-75) on DVD

Fantastic Finale

C. Farmer | Capitol Heights, Maryland United States | 02/02/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ippo and Sendo go at it one more time with Sendo's Japan Featherweight Championship Belt at statke. Sendo was looking to erase memories of his loss to Ippo in this match and prove to everyone that he was the best featherweight in Japan. This had to be the longest and best fight of the entire series in my opinion. You can't help but get sucked into the fight. This was a great finish to a great series."

GOING FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP

Sesho | Pasadena, TX USA | 01/14/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Well, the match between Ippo and Sendo is finally joined on this last volume of the TV series Fighting Spirit, and it's what you would expect from these two powerful fighters: A knock-down dragout of punches, blocks, feints, weaving, and strategy in which both the boxers have moments of discouragement that the fight is lost. One thing that makes anime different from other forms of TV media is that you never know 100% how it's going to end. I've seen many shows just stop in the middle of a storyline and never get a second season or resolve plot issues. So with this final fight, it's never a done deal as to who is going to win.

To me, Fighting Spirit was at its best when it wasn't in the ring and focused on the relationships between Ippo and his friends. The real key in boxing is to prepare as well as you can BEFORE you step in the ring, and to harden your spirit so you'll never lose confidence when you're staring your opponent in the face. You must somehow find a way to win! That's not to say that the fighting sequences are not done well. They're pretty awesome and make efficient use of a limited budget. They create a more impressionistic style rather than showing every detail of animation as the punches fly. The freneticism of this style perfectly compliments the excitement and speed that elevates the matches from simple brawls to almost superhuman displays of prowess without ever totally letting go of realism."