If one were to place this somewhere in the Hajime no Ippo storyline, it would most likely be located right after Hajime no Ippo: Champion Road. However, due to the fact that almost no attention at all is paid to Ippo in this OVA episode, it could probably be watched without any prior exposure to the Hajime no Ippo series.

The first thing that I thought when I started watching this OVA was "Why Kimura?". Of all of the interesting and emotional characters in Hajime no Ippo, they chose one of my least favorite characters in the series (though I by no means dislike him). His backstory is one of the more clichéd ones in the series, and he really didn't have that sort of coolness that Takamura and Ippo have. I would have probably rated it a bit higher had the title been Mashiba vs Kimura and centered more around Mashiba, but who am I to complain? More Hajime no Ippo is always good!

The fight scenes in Kimura vs Mashiba are as excellent as usual. They're fast-paced with the flawless Hajime no Ippo mixture of boxing with anime-style action. The artwork and animation is also really good, and is definitely on par with Champion Road and the final Hajime no Ippo episode, Boxer's Fist. However, I didn't really notice the sound effects too much because of all of the TALKING during the fight scenes.

That's really one of the things that kills an action sequence for me. Much like in Initial D, the action is interrupted so often by the characters going into these long, emotional speeches right in the middle of the good parts. One of the more unnecessary speeches was from Kimura's father in the middle of the fight when he declared how proud of his son he is for a good five minutes or so. In fact, a good 50% of the big fight in the episode is interrupted by characters talking to themselves, which made me a little annoyed.

Thankfully, the conclusion to the OVA was well thought out and really quite exciting. The last half or so of the fight scene was non-interrupted anime boxing glory as well, which left me with a smile from ear to ear. Unfortunately, Hajime no Ippo: Kimura vs Mashiba is just a small scenario in the Hajime no Ippo universe, and those hoping for closure for many of the characters will be disappointed. Nevertheless, it was definitely an OVA worth watching.