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Feature Presentation:
Special thanks to Geneon Entertainment for sending a copy for a review for this site. This series has an unique artwork that seem not like the others, but it's really good. Ippo is just a regular high school guy living with his mother with a family business. He been busy helping her mother out, he doesn't really fit in with other students. He got a gentle spirit & always do his best. However, he is lacking confidence in himself & that make him an easy target for bullies. One day, Takamura, a strange & funny professional boxer, rescued him from a beating & for that moment change Ippo's life forever. I don't want to give too much what's this series is about, you got to see it. This series is cool & make you feel that you want to cheer Ippo on. There is also fun, laughter & also many action that will make you cry for more! It might looks like it's cheesy, but it's nothing like that at all. It empowers you to do your best, keep trying & not to give up to reach your goal. Takamura have Ippo a test to see if he is really serious to becoming a boxer. Ippo better then what Takamura asked, but his trial isn't over until he meet the Chief. His finally test, to have a little sparing with Miyata & survive. Also, the best part of this series is that each boxer have their dreams & goals. What drives you even more that you actually learn something about boxing & it even make you want to give that a try.
Video:
Geneon Entertainment did a very great job. They have taken the time to do it right. I found no problem, the image are clear & the color looks perfect. There is some watermarks done for the introduction & ending credits (they are translated in English). Each episodes are separated into 5 parts: the introduction, part A, part B, ending & the preview for the next episode! Since all the episodes are on one single track on the DVD, there is no loading time or changing tracks when you move on to the next episode. I do note that you can skip the warnings & logos in the beginning using the "Menu" button on your remote.
Dubbing: English:
I find the dubbing very well. They even managed to make it really funny at certain parts, especially when Takamura coached Ippo for his first boxing fight. The cast is very well picked & play their roles very well. It's about 85% of the original Japanese.
Dubbing: Spanish:
I find it strange that there is the original Spanish audio version for this series. Honestly, I don't even understand Spanish, but I did take a listen & it actually pretty good. I got no idea how close to the original Japanese, but consider this audio track as an extra bonus!
Audio 01: English 2.0:
No problem found.
Audio 02: Japanese 2.0:
No problem found.
Audio 03: Spanish 2.0:
No problem found.
Subtitle:
Geneon Entertainment have selected a great font, easy to read. They use green for the introduction & ending themes, white for any text subtitling & yellow for the dialogues. One track is for the sign subtitling & the other one is for the Japanese dialogue. I might note that every odd numbered episodes, the intro & ending subtitles are in English, while the even numbered episodes are in Japanese original text on this volume. There is one little thing I didn't like, I find that the subtitling is a little too much during the introduction theme. At some part of the song, the subtitle fills up half the screen.
Menu Option:
The menu is pretty unique. It started off with a clip from EPS03 then when Ippo punched, the menu appears. It might be a little spoiler if you haven't seen the series before & I find it a little too long, but it's not that bad. There is the "Play All", "Screen Access", "Set Up" & "Extras". The little cursor for selecting in the menu is pretty cute, a little boxing glove. One of the series background music is playing in the menu screen. However, it's only for the main menu, there is no music playing in the other sections.
DVD Extras:
There is actually two extras, but one isn't noted. One is the best one there is, outtakes & bloopers. It's so hilarious. However, I do suggest you to watch the series first before going into it to get the full effect. The other one is the Spanish credit ending.
Packaging:
There isn't much special about the packaging. On the cover, you see Ippo in his boxing suit, fighting in a match. In the back, there is screenshots from the episodes in this volume with a boxing ring as a background. The insert is pretty simple. You get the episode list with the chapter listing, along with the same image as the cover. Inside the insert is also the same image as the cover, but with the original Japanese title logo. On the DVD disc itself, it's the same image as the cover again. I think that image is being used too much.
PC Viewing:
Watching it on the PC is the same as watching it on the TV. Very clean, no problem at all, very little pixel (little squares popping in & out), both normal mode & full screen mode. The sound is just great. The only thing that bugs me is on the menu screen. The episodes are place on one single track as you play the episodes, so loading time is really small. You can fast forward to the first episode to the last episode with one move on your mouse! The only thing annoying is the menu option. You have to click on the boxing glove icon to make the selection, instead of the word, for example, "Play". Like on your regular DVD player, you can skip the warnings & logos when you load the disc, just use the "menu" option to go to the menu screen.
Overall DVD Rating:
It's a very cool series. There is lots of action, fun & even laughter. It also make you interested in boxing. Just sit back & enjoy.
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