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Feature Presentation:
Special thanks to Geneon Entertainment for sending a copy for a review for this site. After the last episode from the previous episode, you can't wait to see what will happen next to the rematch between Ippo & Miyata, as they both trained very hard for that day, especially Ippo. It's finally the time. It was an amazing match, fill with surprises & cheers. All I could say it was an amazing match between them.. Afte the match with Miyata, Ippo started to train once again & to do his best. However, for some reason, Miyata is gone, making Ippo depressed, like he lost a chance to make a friend. The Chief sees & knows the reason why, so he put Takamura in chare of Ippo, becasue he want Ippo to get ready for his application of his lisence to be a professional boxer! Oh, that's so hilarious to see. You know how crazy & sometimes outright funny about Takamura. You will get to know a little more about Takamura & his style of training & the pain that a real professional boxer go through, which inspired Ippo even more. Then, Ippo need to get ready for his very first debut match! This is so exciting.
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. I have so much fun with the cast & it suit each character very well. 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 way the menu is set up remains the same, starting off with another clip, but from the episodes on this volume. This time, it's from EPS05 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:
Yet again, there is actually two extras, but one isn't noted. Of course, the good outtakes & bloopers. It's still so hilarious & I get a very big laugh out of it. 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:
The design remains the same. On the cover, you see Miyata with the tiring Ippo in the back, as this reflects the rematch between them. 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 only with the picture of Miyata, taken the cover. 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:
After seeing the previous volume, you need to know what happen next, right? The match was cool & you feel like you want to cheer them on. Many surprises awakes. Now, I just can't wait to watch Ippo's next match & I think you will, too!
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