OBSCURE O.V.A.S, *One-Pound Gospel

Rumiko Takahashi is thought as being not only one of the greatest manga-ka of all time, but as one of the world's leading female cartoonists. One-Pound Gospel is one her lesser-known titles that lasted for 4-volumes. It's a comedy with a hint of romance, but unlike most of Takahashi's works it is more of a slice-of-life like her other title Maison Ikkoku. The manga received a small recognition in America when Viz released the bulk of it during the mid-90's, including a one-shot OVA made when the series first came out in 1988, even though Viz only released it on subtitled VHS giving it a very limited range outside of specific anime retailers. The anime was directed by Osamu Dezaki, which is advantageous as he worked on the similarly boxing-themed anime Tomorrow Joe. Another bonus is the soundtrack provided by the talented Kenji Kawai.

Kosaku is a lightweight boxer with a killer knockout punch, despite the fact that his weakness is an overwhelming appetite. After getting weighed in for his latest match, he went for a walk and is found by Sister Angela, a kind-hearted nun who mistakes his gluttony for starvation and feeds him a quick meal. This causes Kosaku to puke during his fight giving him a bad reputation so he can't secure any future matches, even though he accidently punches out an Olympic-winning boxer(twice!)while he was out jogging. The rival boxer's pride is hurt, so he challenges Kosaku to a highly publicized fight, giving the hungry boxer a second chance. Angela tries to make up for her well-meaning bungle by encouraging Kosaku to surpress his voracity, even accidentally getting drunk in a diner arguing with some non-believers. The anime steers clear of any romantic comedy cliches, while at the same time showing that Kosaku views Angela is being something more than just a motivator for his goal. As a boxing story, there are of course some training montages that pad out the story to fill its 55-minute run time.

One-Pound Gospel is a cute feel-good feature with likable lead characters, even though you could see it being somewhat shorter. This anime was released after the Rumik World OVAs and was produced by Studio Gallop who later created early millennial hits like Yu-Gi-Oh that nonetheless created a bearable production. Trying to get a physical copy of the VHS is almost an ultimatum onto itself, but if you still have a working VCR then it might merit a look.