I herby declare Hajime no Ippo one of the best series EVER.

[Demonshadow9]

I know im late on this , but I just recently saw the series. Wow , I have almost never been emotionally moved by any kind of anime and when I did it was just a brief sadness or happiness but with Ippo I was anxious , sad , angry and on the edge of my seat , sometimes before the match. =/
During the fights I was always tense the fight scenes were something else , of particular note are then Ippo vs Sendo and the Ippo vs Masiba bouts. Now I will watch real boxing from time to time but this series can entertain you even if you arent a big fan of the sport.Hell even the comedy was genuinely funny.

Phew , I needed to talk about it somewhere...also Takamura is a beast , there's no way someone that cool is human.

[Zero]

HnI indeed tops my list as well. Smooth flow between comedy and drama elements, topped with focused character development, and exhilirating matches all contribute to an excellent series.

While the series ends in a way that is relatively self-contained, I recommend reading the manga. You won't regret it.

Oh, and if you believe Takamura is a beast now...wait till you get to the Bryan Hawk match. :)

[laborpilot86]

I haven't seen it so i can't comment. Your fine as long as you don't start mentioning it in the same breath as Cowboy Bebop and Escaflowne

[soundchazer]

I haven't seen it so i can't comment. Your fine as long as you don't start mentioning it in the same breath as Cowboy Bebop and Escaflowne

Wow... how can you admit not having seen this anime and then say it shouldn't be put at the level of Bebop and Escaflowne?

As a matter of fact, Ippo is in my opinion a much more entertaining show than Bebop could ever aspire to be.

[Phate]

I haven't seen Hajime no Ippo, but already know that Monster is better. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/Ph4t3/Emot/emot-colbert.gif




I need to stop using that emoticon.

[Dirty Harry]

Hajime no Ippo was really good, but so far One Piece (which isn't even over!) is far more entertaining and that's saying quite a bit. I mean, if One Piece ended right now and had a shit terrible cut-off ending, it'd still be better. >_> Because HnI's ending wasn't much to brag about either. Still, very good show, definitely in my top 10.

And I agree with laborpilot, overrated series like Cowboy Bebop and Escaflowne really don't need to be mentioned in the same breath as Hajime no Ippo.

[7Raven7]

I haven't seen it so i can't comment. Your fine as long as you don't start mentioning it in the same breath as Cowboy Bebop and Escaflowne

And I'm hoping there is a big breath in between Bebop and Escaflowne, in that breath maybe mustering up the words "Escaflowne sucks." ;)


As a matter of fact, Ippo is in my opinion a much more entertaining show than Bebop could ever aspire to be.


In regards to this blasphemes statement I will have to offer my well-planned-out, academic responce:
PFFT!

[KiraraKim]

Hajime no Ippo was really good, but so far One Piece (which isn't even over!) is far more entertaining and that's saying quite a bit. I mean, if One Piece ended right now and had a shit terrible cut-off ending, it'd still be better. >_> Because HnI's ending wasn't much to brag about either. Still, very good show, definitely in my top 10.

I've never seen Hajime no Ippo and I love One Piece to death. But can we really compare a series that is going to be over 300 episodes soon to a series that only spanned 76 episodes. I know they are both shounen but do they really have that much in common?

And gosh I don't even understand Hajime no Ippo's relationship to Escaflowne and Cowboy Bebop at all. At least Monster has a similar episode count but other then that they don't have much in common I think.

I know everyone is sort of joking (I hope) but bottom line is does it really matter what someone else thinks is the best series ever? It's just an opinion it's not going to be written down in the anime best ever hall of fame or something. If you like something better that is great and more power to you but I think sometimes people take these type of threads too seriously.

And as for my personal opinion there is no best series ever.

[ZZalapski]

As someone who enjoyed watching Cowboy Bebop and Hajime no Ippo, I think Cowboy Bebop is the better of the two. Due to its length, Hajime no Ippo's plot and characterization are developed better. Cowboy Bebop's storylines (the episodic ones as well as the backstory) are damn good in their own right, however, and blows Hajime no Ippo out of the water in terms of music and visuals. Also, Cowboy Bebop is better for introducing a friend to anime, and also if you just want to rewatch an episode over dinner on a given day.

In the end, though, it's like debating whether a Rolls-Royce is better than a Bentley. You really can't go wrong either way.

[Raiden]

Both are good in different ways, Ippo without a doubt is the Best sports anime ever and Bebop is just great. The only problem with Ippo I found was that all the fights followed a similar format, but were interesting and exciting enough so you didn't care; the manga’s also really good! I love the fact that people are finally watching this series!

[L-sama]

As someone who enjoyed watching Cowboy Bebop and Hajime no Ippo, I think Cowboy Bebop is the better of the two. Due to its length, Hajime no Ippo's plot and characterization are developed better. Cowboy Bebop's storylines (the episodic ones as well as the backstory) are damn good in their own right, however, and blows Hajime no Ippo out of the water in terms of music and visuals. Also, Cowboy Bebop is better for introducing a friend to anime, and also if you just want to rewatch an episode over dinner on a given day.

In the end, though, it's like debating whether a Rolls-Royce is better than a Bentley. You really can't go wrong either way.


Quoted for truth

[DarkKanti]

Oh, and if you believe Takamura is a beast now...wait till you get to the Bryan Hawk match. :)

They need to make that fight an OVA. That one and Sawamura vs Mashiba. So freakin' awesome.

If you really liked Ippo you should start following the manga, its still going and has enough content for another 75 episodes.

[Mystic_Spike]

hajime ippo is one of the best anime out there and i loved every minute when i watched it first time round. However when i watched it a second time it didnt have quite the same potency it did first time, maybe because there are no surprises and it offers no deeper metaphores,symbolism or mythology. either way although this is a great series its replayability lets it down

[Zero]

hajime ippo is one of the best anime out there and i loved every minute when i watched it first time round. However when i watched it a second time it didnt have quite the same potency it did first time, maybe because there are no surprises and it offers no deeper metaphores,symbolism or mythology. either way although this is a great series its replayability lets it down

Replayability is considerably subjective (well, actually, every word we speak here is bloody subjective, but I digress...), particularly in the matter of what an audience generally enjoys seeing on multiple occassions. Witty dialogue for some, high-quality choreography for others, etc. The flip side of "deeper metaphors, symbolism, or mythology" and other elements heavy on thought is that they can really weigh down a series, possibly turning away viewers that just want their plot/themes to be more directly expressed.

Sure, you won't find philosophical considerations on the level of Plato in HnI, but I personally enjoyed HnI for being just so damn relate-able to its characters. They were just normal, human individuals with their own particular motivations for their love of (or obligation to) boxing.

Anyway, to each his own, etc etc.

If you really liked Ippo you should start following the manga, its still going and has enough content for another 75 episodes.

Don't forget: more raunchy humor, too. :D