Ippo Makunouchi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ippo Makunouchi | |
|---|---|
 Ippo in his Peek-a-boo fighting stance |
|
| Weightclass: | Featherweight |
| Fight Record: | 21-1-0, 21 KO's |
| Boxing Gym: | Kamogawa Boxing Gym |
| DOB: | 11/23/1973[1] |
| Height: | 164 cm |
| Blood type: | O[1] |
Ippo Makunouchi (幕之内 一歩 Makunouchi Ippo?) is the main protagonist of the anime and manga series Fighting Spirit (Japanese Title - はじめの一歩, Hajime no Ippo). He lives with his mother, Hiroko Makunouchi, and helps with the family business, renting fishing boats. He is well known for his Peek-a-Boo style of boxing and hard punches, and later his liver blow, Gazelle punch and Dempsey roll techniques, which appear to be modelled after Mike Tyson, Floyd Patterson and Jack Dempsey.
Contents |
[edit] Character Information
- Given Name: Ippo (一歩 Literally: One step?)
- Family Name: Makunouchi (幕之内 Literally: The curtain's insides?)
- First Appearance: Volume 1 - Round 1 | Episode 1
- English Voice Actor: Steve Cannon[2]
- Japanese Voice Actor: Kohei Kiyasu[2]
- Spanish Voice Actor: Gabriel Ramos[2]
- Philippine Voice Actor: Fourth Brillante Lee[2]
- French Voice Actor: Alexandre N'Guyen[2]
[edit] Background
Ippo was bullied throughout most of his school life. He was continually bullied and beat up by Umezawa and his gang for various reasons, not being polite enough to them, smelling of fish bait, etc. It was Ippo getting beaten up by them that caught the attention of Takamura as he was out doing roadwork. Takamura scared them off but Ippo had passed out. Not wanting to just leave him there unconscious, Takamura took Ippo back to the Kamogawa Gym and applied some basic first aid to his wounds. Upon waking up to the sounds of the Gym, Takamura convinced Ippo to punch a bag to vent his frustration, and to everyone's surprise he possessed explosive punching power.
Before Ippo left the gym, Takamura lent him a vhs tape of Tyson (it was a generic boxing highlight tape in the anime). This inspired Ippo to become a professional boxer because he wanted to know what it was like to be reborn with strength. When he told Takamura this, he was furious with Ippo, stating that deciding to become a pro boxer was nothing to take lightly. Ippo persisted that he was serious and had put a lot of thought to the decision. Takamura then took Ippo to a nearby tree and told him to watch. He kicked the tree causing loose leaves to begin floating down to the ground. In a flash he quickly grabbed two handful of leaves by using jabs. He told Ippo that if he could catch 10 leaves in a week, then he'd help him become a pro boxer. After a week of grueling training, Ippo finally shows Takamura that he can do it, and soon after he is introduced to Kamogawa.
Ippo still endures some bullying to an extent at his gym (though he doesn't mind as much since they are his friends). Takamura, Aoki, and Kimura often make him get drinks for them and make jokes in reference to Ippo's large penis in order to embarrass him in front of girls; on the other hand, they help him with training and are always by his side when he seriously needs them, like during his matches.
[edit] Speciality Punches
- Liver Blow
- A body blow thrown with the left fist. Coach Kamogawa had Ippo develop a very close-range 10cm (3.9 in) version of the liver blow for Ippo's Championship match against Date.
- Gazelle Punch
- A punch developed by Floyd Patterson. By crouching to duck down low, the legs act as springs to add extra force to a hook and give it an upward direction much like an uppercut. Though it can be a close-range punch, it can also be used to close a gap by using the step in to duck down. The more distance it covers the bigger the motion it creates. Coach Kamogawa taught Ippo this punch for his fight with Volg.
- Dempsey Roll
- A technique developed by Jack Dempsey. A combination of offensive and defensive moves blended together to create a fluid motion that could continue indefinitely. Not realizing what it was, Ippo developed it himself while Coach Kamogawa was in the hospital in preparation for his comeback fight against Ponchai Chuwatana.
[edit] Notable Fights
- Ippo Makunouchi vs Ichiro Miyata
- This was a four round sparring match with a three KO rule and Ippo's first boxing match ever. Miyata won by KO in the third round. After proving to Takamura that he was serious about being a professional boxer, Takamura took Ippo to the Kamogawa Boxing Gym to meet Coach Kamogawa. The coach made Ippo spar against Miyata as proof of his potential because he was not impressed at first glance of Ippo. Following Takamura's coaching, Ippo spent the entire first round guarding (in what was labeled as "Operation Turtle") as Miyata pummeled him with fast, accurate punches and knocks Ippo down twice. In the second round Ippo, began relentlessly jabbing at Miyata, but is unable to connect. After Ippo began throwing straights, Miyata was able to knock him out with his counter punches.
- Ippo Makunouch vs Takeshi Sendo
- The fight for the Japanese Featherweight All-Japan Rookie King Championshi(6 rounder). The fight was intense, and ended in a KO win for Ippo when Sendo couldn't get up at the start of the 3rd round, due to injuries sustained during Round 2.
- Ippo Makunouchi vs Eiji Date
- Japanese Featherweight Championship match (10 rounder). Date won by KO, 2 minutes and 32 seconds into the 5th round. This was Date's 10th defense of the title and Ippo's first and only loss.
- Ippo Makunouchi vs Takeshi Sendo II
- Japanese Featherweight Championship match (10 rounder). Ippo won by KO, 1 minute and 32 seconds in the 7th round, making him the new Japanese Featherweight Champion. This match was the ending of the anime.
- Ippo Makunouchi vs Sawamura Ryuhei
- This was Ippo's 5th defense of the title. Ippo won by KO, 1 minute and 15 seconds in the 7th round. This was the first time Ippo used a counter for the Dempsey Roll Counter which Sawamura used. With that, Ippo can stop anytime during the dempsey roll and change directions to avoid counters. However, the strain it gives to the muscles is so severe it can end his career. Ippo used this twice and can only be seen in this match.
- Makunouchi Ippo vs Karasawa Takuzo
- This was Ippo's 6th defense of the title (10 rounder). Ippo won by KO, 2 Minutes and 15 Seconds in the 2nd round. This was the first match since Ippo learned the dempsey roll that Ippo did not rely on it to finish the match; he stuck to the basics through the whole match. Before this match, Ippo would receive numerous challenges from other boxers who felt that they could exploit the weaknesses of the dempsey roll. After this match, most of those boxers withdrew their challenge because they now knew that Ippo could win without his trump card.
[edit] References
Morikawa Jōji, Fighting Spirit, published by Kodansha, 1990.
[edit] See also
| Characters: | Ippo Makunouchi • Ichiro Miyata • Mamoru Takamura Takeshi Sendo • Alexander Volg Zangief • Ryo Mashiba |
|---|---|
| Video Games: | Victorious Boxers • Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting Revolution |
| Other: | Dempsey roll |
