I thought the manga was bleh at first, but it grew on me after several volumes--I wanted to see the main character kick some ass, impress the boxing world and get the girl (and he did). Beware though, there isn't much romance, but it gets a little better toward the end of the manga.
I liked the ending (even though it was abrupt). The mangaka's style of talking about Katsuki's future while him and his girlfriend are training in the present was a nice effect. Usually endings make me feel empty, but not this one--heck this manga has inspired me to ramp up my exercise schedule, can't say no to that .
My only gripe is that whenever the characters talked to eachother, the mangaka didn't put much of an emphasis on their facial expressions, so sometimes it looked like they were robots with no emotion ;o (some may argue that that's the mangaka's style though?)--oh well still great manga.

I’m not sure why so many people dislike open endings; I don’t find them all that annoying and when it comes to Adachi you kind of expect them anyway. Of course if one expect to find a lot of boxing going on in this one, he will be disappointed since boxing is just supporting theme here. There are some characters that I would like to see more developed, but never less I enjoyed the story very much.

Yeah, that was my comment

This is my first complete Adachi manga, and I have to say that he's a great all-rounder mangaka. Humor, drama, romance, comedy... he masters them well and pleases with a touch of light-hearted ecchi. The sport is more of a contextual element in this story, even though Adachi did his research on getting the terms/data right. Don't jump in expecting a Hajime no Ippo, but by no means is it bad.

The ending however is as open as a river without a dam. I tend to prever endings with a good amount of closure, and this one definitely lacks it. I hope his other series aren't like this.

Edit: Open endings are somewhat of a trademark of Adachi

Great manga overall.

... Last updated on January 28th, 2007, 2:53pm

too long story but still good work. Art was not that great yet and the story lacks an ending, which is normal for adachi but here he leaves it too open for the romance

It was pretty interesting, and had some quirky humor elements from adachi. This isn't a really serious series.. it's more of a comedy thing. The boxing isn't handled like, say, it is in Ippo... it's more lax and the story focuses more on the characters than the boxing itself. I was kinda disappointed in some of the characters though, mostly Kimoto and his character development. I think he could have been used a bit more. I got the feeling that the author wasn't really sure where the series was going and just decided to end it. It didn't have a horrible ending, but it seemed like it was kind of abrupt. Anyway, I enjoyed it.

Really good blend of action, comedy, romance and drama. Interesting developing characters, unexpected plot twists. This is one of Adachi's better works. Like always, his illustrations of scenery is absolutely magnificient. Read and enjoy, dammit!

... Last updated on December 2nd, 2006, 12:28am

a pretty good storyline with pictures

The best manga Adachi produced , so you simply have to go read it and you'll know what i mean .

This is my first complete Adachi manga, and I have to say that he's a great all-rounder mangaka. Humor, drama, romance, comedy... he masters them well and pleases with a touch of light-hearted ecchi. The sport is more of a contextual element in this story, even though Adachi did his research on getting the terms/data right. Don't jump in expecting a Hajime no Ippo, but by no means is it bad.

The ending however is as open as a river without a dam. I tend to prever endings with a good amount of closure, and this one definitely lacks it. I hope his other series aren't like this.

Great manga overall.

Rivals Touch as Adachi's greatest work, in my opinion. Never a slow beat in this masterpiece. Sports, humour, romance, plot, great characters... it has everything. Adachi has outdid himself as always.