Hajime no Ippo: Mashiba vs. Kimura

Tatsuya Kimura is beginning to feel left behind. With his friends Ippo Makunouchi and Mamoru Takamura holding the championship belt in their respective weight classes, Kimura's inability to become Japan's Junior Lightweight boxing champion eats away at him. Scheduled to fight with the current champion Ryo Mashiba, Kimura begins to train with Ippo's rival Ichirou Miyata, who previously suffered a crushing defeat from Mashiba's signature "Hitman" style of boxing.

But Mashiba has his own desire to hold onto the belt, hoping to soon shoot for the World title and secure financial stability for his sister Kumi. Will Kimura's overwhelming drive to prove his strength as a boxer overcome Mashiba's desperate wish to provide a better life for Kumi?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Miyata, Ichirou Main

Seki, Tomokazu Japanese

Aoki, Masaru Main

Takagi, Wataru Japanese

Kamogawa, Genji Main

Utsumi, Kenji Japanese

Kimura, Tatsuya Main

Fujiwara, Keiji Japanese

Mashiba, Ryo Main

Tanaka, Masahiko Japanese

Makunouchi, Ippo Supporting

Kiyasu, Kouhei Japanese

Takamura, Mamoru Supporting

Koyama, Rikiya Japanese

Mashiba, Kumi Supporting

Kobayashi, Sanae Japanese

Commentator Supporting

Horikawa, Jin Japanese

Coach Shinoda Supporting

Sasaki, Seiji Japanese

Maruyama, Masao Producer

Tamura, Manabu Producer

Kobayashi, Mikiko Assistant Producer

Nanba, Hitoshi Director, Storyboard

Reviews

Aug 3, 2021

mery58

Recommended

Great, this episode deserves a 9 and I don't know why it only averages 8, I am surprised that Champion Road has a better MAL rating than this special that is way better. It is the episode that has moved me the most so far (I am in progress with the second season). I barely held back the tears by identifying with Kimura. I liked it a lot especially because it was finally given importance to this character primarily as a boxer, but also as a character in himself, this episode has shown his potential, and I wonder why in the series he is seen ... or treated as a poor boxer, when the numbers of the victories and Miyata himself, say that he is a high-level boxer. I hope that the character will be treated better and that he can become champion too, he deserves it. We also saw even more the bond between Kimura and Aoki.Then I ask myself: the coach trains Ippo heavily, explaining him the tricks and improving his weaknesses for his opponents ... but with Kimura and Aoki he doesn't? It seems they have been training alone for 5 years, and I find it unfair, because they have a lot of potential. Maybe we just don't see it (I hope) but if the coach had followed Kimura as follows Ippo, would he have come out the potential we saw against Mashiba much earlier? Kimura said he wasn't very determined before, but I think the coach should push him more. Thanks to this episode I enjoyed Kimura much more, even if I liked him before ❤

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by mery58 (15)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Apr 7, 2021

WazThatTL

Recommended

Just as good as the other OVAs even though we take a dive into a character that we don't usually think much of other than being comic relief.

Solid story with good pacing and character exposition. The dialouge was good with likable atmosphere. The beginning was solid and the fight. The characters are good. This OVA mainly focsued on Kimura and Mishba and their personality/motives. Both which did justice especially for Kimura. The visuals were pretty good. The smooth animation, the crisp details, and the facial expressions. The coloring just seemed a bit off otherwise. And the music is pretty much the same from season ... 1.

A likable OVA and a recomended watch

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by WazThatTL (77)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Aug 29, 2024

CarsonWentz14

Mixed Feelings

While the idea to have this specific OVA focused on another character was full of potential, I feel like it was not done as well as it could've been. Getting to experience the story through Kimura's perspective was interesting but the changes made on the typical fight preparation on top of that made the episode fall a little bit flatter than it could've been, especially in exploring Kimura's side of the relationship with the rest of the gang (the relationship with Aoki being a bit of an exception), which made the first half of the episode feel a bit disjointed.

Furthermore, what really brings this OVA's ... rating down for me was the ending, that basically invalidated a good chunk of the emotional weight of the episode, that could've been used to add an interesting twist in the Kamogawa's Gym dynamics.

On the positive side, the fight in itself was one of the best so far in the anime series, and the animation felt more on par with the original Hajime no Ippo series, which I personally prefer.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by CarsonWentz14 (4)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Anime not dubbed in english pt 5

by Idk5008

49 Entries · 1 Restacks

Hajime no Ippo Series Watch Order

by dobee

6 Entries · 4 Restacks

[OLD] Hajime no Ippo watching order

by TheSnakeMan

6 Entries · 8 Restacks

Q3 2020 Anime & Manga Licenses [Update 9/19]

In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of anime and manga licensed in the second quarter (Jul-Sep) of 2020. Summer 2020 anime which were licensed befo...read more

Jun 25, 2020 6:32 PM by Snow | Discuss (18 comments)

Poll: Hajime no Ippo - Mashiba vs Kimura Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 ) notestinet - Sep 3, 2008

87 replies

by MikasKappa »» Sep 9, 11:47 AM