Hajime No Ippo – Rising
Episode 12 – The Anti-Dempsey Perfected
We’re thrown into what seems like the second last episode of the season with high electricity and even higher tension. The fight between Ippo and Ryuuhei continues and we’re really shown the brutality of both fighters within this match more than we’ve ever seen before, I know it’s hard to believe but once you see them pummel each other into submission you get a real idea of just how ferocious these two are. Ryuuhei got the drop on Ippo in the last episode and by the end it had begun wearing him out, he was getting lethargic and for the most part he was getting beaten…well that’s nothing compared to what Ryuuhei does to him within this episode.
Ryuuhei spends most of the episode destroying Ippo, he continues with his odd stance but you begin to notice him taking small chances here and there simply to quicken Ippo’s defeat and possible death which, by the end of the episode, that is exactly what Ryuuhei is going for. The thing you notice above all else is Ryuuhei’s facial expressions throughout the match,at the beginning of the episode he was a stone cold statue, his expression was blank and for all intents and purposes he really didn’t care for the match but by the end of it he’s smiling demonically, he’s ready to literally beat the life out of Ippo and there’s a good chance that he could!
Now keep in mind that Ippo is already being beaten, he is in no way on the winning side and he knows that Ryuuhei has the key to absolutely decimating his Dempsey Roll but, in true Anime fashion, he goes for it regardless and it gets shot down swiftly by Ryuuhei’s destructive counter, Ippo is almost down for the count but, once again in true Anime style, he’s back up on his feet and ready to make another stupid mistake. He goes for the Dempsey Roll again and gets shot down by Ryuuhei…again! This is one thing I never liked about sports Anime in general, let alone Hajime No Ippo; they do the things they really shouldn’t and while I know this makes for exciting Anime it is very predictable and, sometimes, unbelievable but I suppose the “ends justify the means”, so to speak.
The slaughter continues, by this point in time Ippo’s face is just a lumpy mess and it looks like this unlucky cat has hit the last of his nine lives. Ryuuhei’s fists are relentless to say the very least, he’s ready to kill Ippo, he says it himself! His smile grows wide, his pupils dilate like he’s under the effects of a heavy drug and he’s going in for the kill, he even fights just as dirty as he did before and elbowed Ippo in the spine, he takes a great deal of damage from that but it doesn’t look like it’s over. Ippo has a moment of clarity though, he looks back on recent events that have centred around Ryuuhei and himself, he realises that he must win! Ryuuhei continues to pummel Ippo and the coach seems to be contemplating throwing in the towel, Ryuuhei lunges forward for a devastating right but…no hit.
It hard cuts to Ippo using Ryuuhei’s extended arm as a guide to doing the Dempsey Roll which is a great throwback to the series because, had you watched the other seasons, you’d know that Ippo had many training sessions wherein which he practised his Dempsey Roll by shoving a pole horizontally into a wall and working around it, it’s a fantastic throwback and it’s also a little bit of fan service for Hajime No Ippo fans. Back to the scene, Ippo darts around Ryuuhei’s arm but the challenger jumps back just as he’s done to counter Ippo the last couple of times, Ippo continues with the roll as Ryuuhei, once again, lunges forward for what he thinks is a punch that will bring Ippo down but it’s not going to go down that way, not this time! Ippo stops mid-roll and Ryuuhei continues with his punch, he cannot stop the movement of his follow-through and this gives our champion the perfect chance to nail him one more time. BOOM!
Check out more Hajime No Ippo – Rising Impressions HERE.
