superpogimax

Hajime No Ippo (Knockout in Philippines and Fighting Spirit here in the US)is a must for all sports fans. Heck, I recommend this series to anyone. If you like sports (especially boxing), you will love the authenticity in which the animators present the boxing concepts and realism, not to mention the gradual development of the protagonist, Ippo Makunouchi. In addition,all the other characters are well-developed, so well-developed that you might even cheer for the guy Ippo is fighting. If you just like animé in general, this series has superior animation. You could feel the punches grinding on the boxer's bodies. If you are a newcomer, fear not. This series is one of the funniest animés ever. This is an overall superior animé. If you never watched animé in your life, or just looking for a good series to watch, this is it.

House of Flying Daggers is one of those movies that sweep you off the theater and into the story. It is a great exponent of Asian cinema (I should know; I'm Asian). Being a Chinese movie fan, I checked this out. I wasn't disappointed. Gravity-defying leaps, sublime feats of martial arts, cinematography, and an amazing cast of creme-ala-creme Chinese actors (Takeshi Kaneshiro, Ziyi Zhang, Andy Lau): it's all here. Also, the makers of House of Flying Daggers were the same guys and gals who made the masterpiece Hero, starring superstar Jet Li, notably the director Zhang Yimou. However, I should have been cautious. If you watched Hero, everybody died. The same here. The end scene almost stripped me of my male pride (I almost cried! sniff...sniff). I always disliked (ok, hated) sad endings. This is a good date film if you want to set up a little something something with your girl (or man if he's ultra-sensitive). Let her cry; then comfort her(BROWNIE POINTS!) Seriously though, this a modern masterpiece. Anyone who likes epics and great film-making must see this. I gave this a 9/10 because of the ending, but apart from that, this is a film any film lover must see. If you don't, get help.