Could have been the definitive ecchi shounen, too bad it ended prematurely.

You don't have to look far to spot how many in the forums are complaining about the premature ending. Where I would like to provide my alternative view is in the parts that are understated about this manga.

First off, I disagree with Master_M2K when he says:

"What makes the story interesting isn’t really the predictable romance but the exciting fights and hilarious comedy."

The key word that alienated me from his review was: predictable romance; exciting fights. Worse: hilarious comedy

Obviously different people have different tastes but if you merely come in here expecting an ecchi, you'd probably like it but you'll miss out on a lot of the subtle factors that could have made this the Ranma 1/2 of this generation.

First off, the setting. Ring Girl knocking out Street Champ is no typical setting and I avoided all the spoilers after that. Like Rumiko Takahashi's famous manga, this is the type of setting that makes the guy getting beaten up by a girl in a comical manner tolerable: it's all within the rule settings of shounen but transferred unto the female to male interaction.

The fights? They are typical. Maybe exciting to some but like Jackie Chan movies - they're part of a newer style that makes the older ones seem better. It's even worse when the comedy bits come to play. That's when the events are really rushed out and it goes into a more "one shot" type of shounen style.

What makes the combat work though is not only due to the romance but the added elements that are still underrated in combat. Specifically a shounen take on "move prediction" and (finally!) an exciting take on mixed martial arts that contains the heart of a sports manga minus the technicalities - an issue that normally would take away from other sports mangas but in this case allows the situation to explain the complexity of mixed martial arts.

Finally the ending. The ending is a deal breaker, no question about that. It's short and abrupt too. That said if you understand why the manga ending of Hikaru no Go is conclusive enough then the ending shouldn't make you feel like you shouldn't have picked up this manga at all.

For those who haven't read Hikaru No Go, what I mean is that the ending could easily be interpreted as creating a down to earth realistic conclusion of how far the character could actually achieve despite his skills. Clearly most shounen fans would have preferred such endings to be done in the same veins as Ashita no Joe's ending and I doubt you'll hear many who would say they'd rather the manga end this way - however - if you really analyze the situation the characters were in, it's still no mythology breaker.

The characters, considering their skill level and motivation and growth, all could have realistically failed in their universe right after the ending and the manga instead is a culmination of that short golden year.

As of this writing, hardcore MMA fans may get their share of contextual love from this manga too. Currently not only has the Machida Karate Fighter Lyoto Machida proven that karate can excel in MMA if certain Karate values were heeded but he has also been beaten by Shogun Rua in such a manner that many feel Shogun didn't beat Machida because of a gameplan but because Shogun had a "Shogun Rua" gameplan. If you've read both this manga and know who Shogun Rua is, this will make sense.

Not only that, things may change again if Quinton Rampage Jackson beats Lyoto Machida this upcoming UFC 123 and vice versa. Although the skin color of the main antagonist isn't dark like Rampage, the gameplan and mindset he's going to employ would seem similar to what the main antagonist had to have taken. Equally one could say the main protagonist's actions although it caused him to be accepted in being trained by an elite mentor could just as easily stand for an analogical metaphorical loss in which in our reality or in an official combat reality be interpreted as a fighter losing but getting to fight again because of how he fought and how he is employed in a contract.

Nonetheless, I do hope this review convinces you that this manga is worth a check for almost everyone except those offended by how ecchi manga degrades women. Not only does this manga go only as far as panty shots and accidental groping but it is still one of the freshest manga entries in quite a while or at least it could have been if it were continued. There really is no excuse to not check this manga out. I can't guarantee everyone will think it's a 9 but certainly whether you analyze it deeply or see it only for the ecchi scenes there's a quality to this manga that hasn't been done often in a single package in quite a while. The manga world really suffered a loss when this series was discontinued.