Forum - View topicHajime no Ippo question.
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BWSUQ
Posts: 11 |
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I searched the forums, and the last topic that discussed my question was Dec. 2005.
Does anyone know of any info on more anime of Hajime no Ippo? The manga is obviously going strong, and there are more than 40 volumes of manga that could be animated. I can't find anything that says there is any hope of another season, but perhaps some of you might have some inside info from Japan that it might be a possibility in the future. Also, if not, why not? Thanks |
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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I'd say take a close look at the encyclopedia entry. They made three seasons of the show, which ended in 2002. The show was also a late night show, which means for it to run three seasons in the time slot it was in means that it was a great success. I remember watching a few episodes myself when it aired. If there hasn't been any news of a fourth season since then, they are more than likely done with the anime and just riding on the success of the manga, seeing how far it can go. Maybe they don't want to disrupt or make changes to how the story is going in the manga, or maybe something else. If they were to make more eps, ANN would hear about it. But if there hasn't been anything since 2002, I wouldn't get my hopes up.
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Randall Miyashiro
 Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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This series is ranked #27 (higher than Elfen Lied, Planetes, or Howl's) on the polls on this site which is extraordinarily high. I bought the series during the Geneon sale, but have had a hard time getting through it. It really feels like the typical shounen sports series as of the 30th episode. Is this the strength and reason why it is so popular, or am I missing something completely? I assume that it's popularity is due to the writing since the art, animation and music don't strike me as particularly good, yet the plots and characters seem so typical to me.
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11445 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Ah, it's unfortunate you don't like shounen in general. Hajime no Ippo is my 2nd favorite series of that genre and deserving of the many Masterpiece ratings it has right now. I was never a boxing fan, but I love the original Rocky, which is basically what you can allude this series to (though for a younger generation). Personally, I feel every single aspect of the series is well executed. The art, while maybe too gritty for some, is in fact perfect for that gritty world of boxing, in my opinion. The designs for all the male characters really brings out a sense of "macho," and they go into especially great detail during the boxing matches in illustrating the rough and tough nature of putting your livelihood and soul on the line to win this one battle and advance to greatness/respect. Of course, being done by Madhouse, both the art and animation are expected to be of excellent quality. I was very impressed in how consistent they were able to animate the entire series. 76 episodes is a lot to animate, but they manage to keep everything quite fluid from the punches in the ring, to jogging, and even something as simple as a sandbag swinging back and forth. Aside from the enthralling characters, though, the music is my 2nd favorite aspect. Anyone familiar with Tsueno Imahori and his work will absolutely love the soundtrack. It's very similar to his score in Trigun using a lot of electric guitar, and unorthodox drum and synth work (those weird, but catchy rhythms, not really sure what else to call them, maybe conga drums?) as well as some lighter woodwind compositions for the more calming scenes. There's also some brass work with trumpet and sax by his Seatbelts buddies from Cowboy Bebop, and while not entirely within the same jazzy ambiance of Kanno, it certainly has some familiarity (reminds me of the track "Bad Dog No Biscuits" where they were first chasing Ein). I swear if any of you ever wanted to work out, just put together some of this soundtrack and you'll find yourself motivated in no time. Anyway, I love this series to death for the characters and their chemistry together. The voice acting really helped in developing them and providing great drama or comedy relief when needed. I can't go into much detail right now as I'm supposed to be studying for an exam I have in 2 hours  , but take my word that if any of you like the shounen genre, this is a "must see at least once in your lifetime" title. I don't usually make guarantees for anime, but aside from GTO this is the only other one I'd be willing to put in that category.
Concerning the author of this thread, it's difficult to tell if there will ever be more anime. The manga is something like 70+ volumes now, and I think the anime ended at 20-something, right? Given that Madhouse is currently working on a lot of other titles right now, it's less than likely they'd be willing to stray from them and start, what could be, a shounen series in the same length of those mega titles like One Piece or Detective Conan. If the manga ever got licensed, I'd be pretty ecstatic enough as it is. But given it's extremely long run, I don't know who'd even be willing to take a gamble at it (though seeing as it's published by Kodansha, Tokyopoop would more than likely be the ones to get it). |
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DKL
 Posts: 1962 Location: California, USA |
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And I think that Satoshi Nishimura is doing the Trigun movie right now...
... Well, not sure, but SOMEONE must be doing it. |
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Randall Miyashiro
Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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Thank you once again (you have also countlessly shed light on why Kenshin is loved) for explaining to me the charms of Hajime no Ippo. It would appear that my initial guess was correct that this series embodies all that is good in shounen and is pretty much definitive of the genre. I was afraid that this series did something weird (like the ending for spoiler[Creamy Mami ] ) that I hadn't gotten to or completely missed. I will definitely back you up on this and especially recommend it to all sports anime fans, especially with five episodes a DVD..
I suppose my reaction to the art and animation stems from the fact that I was expecting much (like the disappointing Reign) since I'm also a Madhouse fan. It didn't have the monochromatic high contrast look that the studio is famous for. I'm also not a fan of motion lines, or crosshatching in my animation. I will agree that the motions are often fluid, but there seems to be a slightly higher ratio of animation looping and sliding stills. This style does not bother me too much, I love Berserk, but also do not count as a reason to watch a series. My favorite moments are when Ippo is dealing with his mother and fellow classmates which really seems to take a backseat compared to the extremely high ratio of boxing scenes. In hindsight my arguments seem rather silly and reminds me of my complaints of too many mecha battles crammed into Gundam. These writers know who they are writing for (which is good) and I'm glad that this series succeeds in this regard. Even though I liked the third season of Kenshin the best (I think I'm the only one here) I will agree it was a really bad move and a major failure on the studios part. |
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DKL
Posts: 1962 Location: California, USA |
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Actually, when people in the show take a swing, it actually looks like they're taking a swing (and in Sendo's case, it's a huge-ass swing).
While not the best looking thing to come out of the studio, it still does have these incredible moments of solid-ness here and there (that and it looks a hell of a lot better than Trigun... by far... Trigun should've looked like this). I'm also fond of how the Dempsey Roll was animated... it was pretty friggin' gorgeous... But yeah... a lot of the regular shonen stuff is pretty apparent here, regardless... still, visually, it puts a lot of the fighting stuff I've seen (which isn't a lot) to shame (especially when production brings its A-Game). Also, the character designs are a little cool when you think about how damn close this looks to the original manga (from what I've seen anyway). |
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BWSUQ
Posts: 11 |
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Thanks for the replies. The anime and movies ended at Volume 35 in the manga, which leaves 40 left unanimated. It sounds like the studio has a lot of other projects they are concerned w/ and the future of this ever being animated again appears unlikely. I agree w/ the poster who said the dempsey roll was animated well. I rewinded those parts over and over again, because w/ the animation and background music, and especially the sound effects, it was "gorgeous" I have now started reading the manga from where the anime left off, but man, it will be tough w/out the sound effects for certain characters and moves (mashiba's flickers come to mind as well as the D' roll.).
This is definitely a series I will buy one day (boxset prob). The fights are very memorable and I hope the manga keeps me entertained as well. |
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