Never Seen Before Review: Fight!!

Welcome back for another never seen before review.

Today I will be reviewing the anime Fight!!. I have never seen this anime, but I am going to review it anyways. Usually a reviewer has to actually view the product in order to review it, but through sheer willpower I am able to skip that step and get straight to the review (with the help of synopsis and other minor details on MyAnimeList).

I know you have all been on the fence about Fight!!, so it’s about time someone bit the bullet and published a review about the anime. Finally you will all be able to make an informed decision as to whether watching the entire season of Fight!! is worth your time. You can all thank me later.

Let’s get to it.

Fight!! Plot Summary

The synopsis is a little bit void of details, so let’s fill in the gaps. Fight!! is only one episode, but a lot happens in those 30 minutes. Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Tragedy… Fight!! has it all.

We start off following Yonosuke Hikura. He is just your average high school student… or so you might think! In an exciting twist early on, we find out that Yonosuke is actually the wielder of the magical blade Chitentai – passed down through the generations. Hidden from his classmates, Yonosuke must defeat demons in order to maintain balance between Heaven and Earth. I was blown away by these plot developments – very creative!

But that was only the beginning. Yonosuke senses a demon while in class, and must carefully craft a reason to leave. His teacher, Painter, suspects his true identity and is constantly trying to expose him. Hilarity ensues as Yonosuke, also known as “Yo-dono” by his classmates, creates a distraction by knocking Painter out with a quick uppercut to the chin. Of course, the students thought this was all an act. Yonosuke manages to get out of class scot-free and grab his blade, Chitentai, from his locker.

Painter.

Oh, and did I mention that Chitentai is a TALKING magical blade? The best kind. On the way to the demon, Chitentai spend the entire time chastising Yonosuke for skipping out on class, saying that it’s irresponsible. Chitentai is sort of like a catty housewife in this way, always gossiping and chastising Yonosuke for being irresponsible.

On the way Yonosuke runs into Senior in Earth’s World, an old man with exceptional wisdom and also the principal of the school. His job is to ensure that Yonosuke maintains balance between Heaven and Earth, acting as an agent from Heaven. We only see him for a brief moment though.

Senior in Earth’s World.

They arrive at the local theatre,  but there is a problem. The demon is blending in with the cast of the play “Fullmetal Alchemist” that is currently being performed. And this is when Yonosuke’s partner in crime, Tsukinojo “Tsuki” Inbe calls his cell. Tsuki is in on Yonosuke’s secret, the only one he can trust with the matter. He answers his phone and becomes Tsuki begins to chastise him for skipping class. Tsuki is sort of a big sister type, always gossiping and chastising Yonosuke for being irresponsible – but also inadvertently helping him with his goal of maintaining balance between Heaven and Earth.

Tsuki-chan.

While getting an earful from both Tsuki and Chitentai, Yonosuke has a great idea. He hangs up his phone and runs to the stage, sword in hand. He can blend in by pretending that Chitentai is a stage prop! Yonosuke jumps onto the stage, audience completely unaware that he is not a part of the play. Up close, Yonosuke is able to identify the demon.

And here is where we learn the real secret of Chitentai. Chitentai’s raspy voice resonates on the exact frequency required to irritate and destroy demons. The plan works, and the demon, disguised as Roy Mustang, begins to melt on stage. The audience roars, thinking this is just special effects. Security and medical staff rush onto the stage. Yonosuke is promptly arrested, but the demon was defeated.

Yonosuke is released from the local police station by Sakyo, his wealthy uncle who is also a professional gardener. The problem is that Chitentai was confiscated by police.

In a pinch, Yonosuke runs to his friend Tsuki’s house. Answering the door is Yukinojo “Rukiko” Inbe, Tsuki’s sister. She forces Yonosuke to eat dinner with them, chastising him for being so irresponsible. Rukiko is sort of a mature younger sister type, always gossiping and chastising Yonosuke for being irresponsible – but also trying to win over his affection.

Rukiko-sama.

Over dinner, Yonosuke and the Inbe sisters discuss how to get Chitentai back. They form a crazy plan to attack the local police station at night by cutting onions outside and gassing the police out – sort of like tear gas.

The episode ends with a quick cut to Chitentai at the police station, gagged but trying to speak. A nearby police officer appears visibly irritated…

Could the police be infiltrated by a demon?

Review

Plot

Honestly, the plot was genius. I was drawn in from the very start, and couldn’t put this anime down until the very end. All the twists really had my mind moving at unheard of speeds, trying to anticipate what could possibly happen next.

Something about the plot just really worked. It felt like so much content was packed into a single episode, I was simply blown away at how much detail Fight!! managed to fit in there.

The story itself is very cohesive and understandable, as well as incredibly interesting.

And what a cliffhanger!!

I can’t wait to see how episode 2 turns out.

Plot gets a 7/10 rating.

Animation

Remember, Fight!! came out in 1993. With this in mind, I’d say the animation is above average. Chitentai’s 3d model in particular is impressive. Who would have thought that a 3d model on top of 2d animation could look so good?

There are a few hiccups where the character’s mouths don’t move while they are speaking – remember this came out in 1993. So these minor issues can be easily forgiven, anime just wasn’t as good back then.

All that considered, I’d give the animation a 8/10 score.

Sound

Try to remember, Fight!! came out in 1993. I tried to not compare the sound to a modern anime, and instead keep in mind the time period the anime was released in (1993).

That in mind, the sound was pretty good. Not amazing, but decent.

The voice acting is good, but I kept noticing these popping sounds and static whenever certain characters spoke. I wonder if the VA’s all recorded their lines with different mics or something? Chitentai’s voice in particular was really off as a result. Screeching one moment, static another, and then beeping noises after that. Yonosuke’s voice was also way louder than everyone else for some reason, so it always felt like he was yelling or something like this.

That’s 1993 technology for you though, it’s to be expected.

The music was excellent. The opening, which has no name, was super catchy. I hadn’t thought of using the sound of an angle grinder to create music before – I’ve already added this song to my playlist.

Background music really immersed me in the anime. That one scene where we learned that Chitentai can talk really drew me in because of that background song that sounded like two raccoons in a fight. It just blended well with Chitentai’s voice.

Other than that, the rest was still good. A few issues, like one track I could hear people talking in the background, and another where the song just stopped abruptly. Again, 1993 technology – this is to be expected to a degree.

Sound gets a 7/10 from me.

Characters

Wow, what a cast.

Yo-dono.

First is Yonosuke, the protagonist. He reminds me a lot of Goku from Dragon Ball. Guy is on a mission, and will let nothing stop him. Such determination. And yet, he doesn’t let the chastising get to him, and takes verbal punishment in stride. Great character. I would have looked up to Yonosuke had I watched Fight!! in my childhood.

The supporting female characters – Chitentai, Tsuki, and Rukiko were all excellent as well. Unlike harem anime, that use standard clichéd characters, Fight!! manages to make them all feel so different. I can’t stress enough how impressed I was at how alive and unique each of these female characters felt to me. It’s as if I was there, and had met them in person. An amazing variety of personalities.

Finally, I wanted to talk about Arare. Arare was an interesting character. A calm, collected and badass woman who has her priorities straight. But something felt off about her. I think in the end, the reason why I couldn’t really enjoy Arare was because she never showed up in the anime, despite having a character page on MyAnimeList.

I also really liked the use of nicknames in this anime, it made the major characters feel more relatable.

Characters get a perfect 10/10 rating.

Final Score

MyAnimeList has Fight!! at a 5.14/10 rating. Personally, I feel this is a little low. And I often wonder about the integrity of MAL scores due to situations like this.

I give Fight!! an 8/10 rating.

The anime is definitely above average. Had it been released today, with modern technology, I think it would probably be the highest rated anime on MyAnimeList. I also think that episode 2 will introduce some new concepts and plot twists that could potentially also elevate Fight!!’s score.

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And this concludes my never before seen review of Fight!!.
Let me know if this has inspired you to give it a try, now that you have some insight on the anime! Also feel free to comment with your opinions of the anime!

Until next time.
Thanks for reading!