| Hajime no Ippo | |
Cover of Hajime no Ippo volume 1 as published by Kodansha |
|
| はじめの一歩 (Hajime no Ippo) |
|
|---|---|
| Genre | Sports (Boxing) |
| Manga | |
| Written by | George Morikawa |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Magazine |
| Original run | February 17, 1990[1] – ongoing |
| Volumes | 96 |
| TV anime | |
| Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting! | |
| Directed by | Satoshi Nishimura |
| Studio | Madhouse |
| Licensed by | Geneon |
| Network | NTV |
| Original run | 3 October 2000 – 27 March 2002 |
| Episodes | 76 |
| Anime film | |
| Champion Road | |
| Directed by | Akira Nishimura |
| Studio | Madhouse |
| Licensed by | Geneon |
| Released | 25 June 2003 |
| Runtime | 90 minutes |
| Anime film | |
| Kimura vs. Mashiba | |
| Directed by | Akira Nishimura |
| Studio | Madhouse |
| Licensed by | Geneon |
| Released | 5 September 2003 |
| Runtime | 60 minutes |
| TV anime | |
| Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger | |
| Directed by | Jun Shishido |
| Studio | Madhouse |
| Network | NTV[2] |
| Original run | 6 January 2009 – 30 June 2009 |
| Episodes | 26[3] |
Fighting Spirit, known in Japan as The First Step (はじめの一歩 Hajime no Ippo), is a boxing manga and anime series created by Jōji "George" Morikawa which is serialized by Kodansha in Weekly Shōnen Magazine. The plot follows the story of highschool student Makunouchi Ippo, as he begins his career in boxing and over time obtains many titles and defeats various opponents.
The manga has been running since 1989 and spans 96 tankōbon so far. A 76-episode anime adaption titled Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting! was produced by Madhouse, Nippon Television and VAP, directed by Satoshi Nishimura and ran on the Nippon Television Network from October 2000 to March 2002. One OVA and a movie were also produced. At the end of 2003 the anime was licensed in North America by Geneon.[4] Geneon released it as Fighting Spirit. It was called Knock Out! in the Philippines.
On September 15, 2008 it was announced in Weekly Shōnen Magazine that a second season of Hajime no Ippo would begin airing on January 6, 2009. The second season is called Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger and concluded on June 30, 2009.
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Makunouchi Ippo was an extremely shy high school student who never had the time to make friends because he was always busy helping his mother run their family fishing charter business. Because he kept to himself, a group of bullies led by Umezawa got into the habit of picking on him. On one particular day, these bullies decided to give him a rather serious beating, but a middle-weight professional boxer who was passing by stopped the bullies and took the injured Ippo to the Kamogawa Gym (鴨川ボクシングジム Kamogawa Bokushingu Jimu), owned by retired boxer Genji Kamogawa, to treat his wounds. After Ippo awoke to the sounds of boxers training, the boxer who saved him, Mamoru Takamura, tried to cheer Ippo up by letting him vent his frustrations on a sandbag. It was then that they had their first glimpse into Ippo's talent for boxing. After that incident, Ippo gave the situation a lot of thought and decided that he would like to begin a career as a professional boxer, and when he conveys this message to Mamoru Takamura, he gets verbally reprimanded due to the fact that Takamura thought Ippo was taking professional boxing too lightly. However, Takamura felt that he couldn't outright refuse Ippo, especially since his feat of punching the sandbag much harder than anybody else in the gym (except for Takamura). Therefore, he challenges Ippo to catch 10 falling leaves from a tree simultaneously after a week of training, fully convinced that Ippo would fail, Takamura jogs away as he continues his roadwork.
However, after a week of tough training, involving nightly hours, Ippo manages the technique in the nick of time. He waits for the jogging Takamura to come by his usual path, and manages to surprise Takamura by not just catching all 10 of the falling leaves, but only doing it with his left hand. This impresses Takamura greatly, and he informs that the action required to catch all 10 leaves was called a boxing jab, and Takamura invites Ippo back to the boxing gym for introductions.
When they got back to the gym, the coach, Genji Kamogawa, was not at all impressed by Makunouchi's lack of fighting spirit, and therefore, was challenged by Takamura to have a practice spar against a member of the gym. However, Kamogawa decides to give Ippo a severe challenge and tells him to spar with Miyata, a man that's also 16, the same age as Ippo. However, Miyata is known as a boxing prodigy and is one of Kamogawa gym's future hopes. Takamura gets extremely worried with this prospect, as Miyata skill is way above the 4-rounder pro boxer. As expected, Ippo loses by KO, but not until Miyata struggles dodging his punches and finally ends the match with his trump card: "The Counter" The coach Kamogawa decides that he has great fighting sense and spirit and decides to train him to eventually become the Japanese Champion with a world ranking while Miyata became the OPBF (Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation) Champion. Both are expected to hit high in the world rankings and eventually, fight each other for the World Champion's belt.
The story focuses heavily on character development, even during the matches something is learned about the fighters. Ippo and his friendly rivalry with Miyata is the main draw in the early part of the series. That later changes to Ippo's path towards the Japanese Featherweight Championship and eventually the world championship. Along the way we are given glimpses into the other side character's pasts, motivations, relationships to others and current boxing trials. A colorful cast of support characters and opponents as well as side stories concerning their path in the boxing world rounds out the series.
Geneon distributed the Fighting Spirit series in North America on 15 DVDs with 5 episodes per disc. The first DVD was released on July 6, 2004 and the fifteenth released on December 19, 2006.[5] The DVDs included English and Spanish language tracks, as well as the original Japanese. The movie, Champion Road, has also been released in North America on DVD by Geneon. Unfortunately, plans for the second OVA, Kimura vs Mashiba, are not in the works. Disc sales of the series did not break even. The first DVD was the best selling at ~5,000 units with each DVD afterwards selling ~1,000 units. Many fans blame the lack of marketing and the negative appeal that a sports anime has on the mainstream audience. As Geneon USA closed its doors at the end of 2007, the US rights of the series are in question.
There have also been some video games based on the series, first released on the PlayStation, then later the PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance, and recently to Wii, as well. Two of the games have been released in North America and in PAL territories. There was some confusion regarding the Western title Victorious Boxers 2: Fighting Spirit prior to its Western release, as this is generally assumed to be the same game as Hajime no Ippo 2: Victorious Road, when actually it is the next title in the series, Hajime no Ippo - The Fighting! All Stars.[6] The Japanese released Victorious Road is unique amongst the titles as it includes the option to create your own boxer and control his training, diet, weight etc. The second Western title, Fighting Spirit, gives the player a choice of over 70 fighters for VS play. Each title has its own story mode which closely follows that of the manga, though obviously the storytelling is not of the same quality.
Recently, Ippo and Takamura have also appeared in the crossover video game Sunday VS Magazine: Shuuketsu! Choujou Daikessen! as playable characters.
| System | English Title | Japanese Title | English Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| PlayStation | N/A | はじめの一歩 THE FIGHTING! | Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting! |
| PlayStation 2 | Victorious Boxers: Ippo's Road to Glory[7] | はじめの一歩 VICTORIOUS BOXERS | Hajime no Ippo: Victorious Boxers |
| N/A | はじめの一歩2 VICTORIOUS ROAD | Hajime no Ippo 2: Victorious Road[8] | |
| Victorious Boxers 2: Fighting Spirit | はじめの一歩 ALL☆STARS | Hajime no Ippo - The Fighting! All Stars[9] | |
| Game Boy Advance | N/A | はじめの一歩 THE FIGHTING! | Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting![10] |
| Nintendo DS | N/A | はじめの一歩 THE FIGHTING! | Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting! |
| Wii | Victorious Boxers: Revolution | はじめの一歩 THE FIGHTING! Revolution | Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting Revolution[11] |
| PSP | N/A | はじめの一歩 THE FIGHTING! Portable Victorious Spirits | Hajime no Ippo: THE FIGHTING! Portable Victorious Spirits[12] |
| Round | Episode Name | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The First Step" | October 3, 2000 |
| 2 | "Fruits of Labor" "Doryoku no seika (Results of Great Effort)" (努力の成果) |
October 10, 2000 |
| 3 | "Tears of Joy" "Ureshi namida (Happy Tears)" (うれし涙) |
October 17, 2000 |
| 4 | "Shadow Boxing" "Shadō bokushingu (Shadow Boxing)" (シャドーボクシング) |
October 24, 2000 |
| 5 | "3 Months to Counter" (カウンターへの3ヶ月) |
October 31, 2000 |
| 6 | "The Opening Bell of the Rematch" "Saisen no gongu (Gong of the Rematch)" (再戦のゴング) |
November 7, 2000 |
| 7 | "The Destructive Force of 1 cm" "1 cm no hakairyoku (Destructive Power of 1cm)" (1cmの破壊力) |
November 14, 2000 |
| 8 | "Promise to Meet Again" "Saikai no yakusoku (Promise of Another Meeting)" (再会の約束) |
November 21, 2000 |
| 9 | "C Class License" "C kyū raisensu (C Class License)" (C級ライセンス) |
November 28, 2000 |
| 10 | "Debut Match!" "Debyū sen! (Debut Fight!)" (デビュー戦!) |
December 5, 2000 |
| 11 | "Obsession for Victory" "Shōri no shūnen (Tenacity to Win)" (勝利への執念へ) |
December 12, 2000 |
| 12 | "Becoming a Bully's Buddy" "(Violent Friend Announcement)" (手荒なダチ宣言) |
December 19, 2000 |
| 13 | "The Eastern Japan Rookie Championship Tournament Begins" "Kaimaku, higashi nippon shinjin Ō sen (Curtain Rises, Eastern Japan Rookie-of-the-Year Fight)" (開幕、東日本新人王戦) |
December 26, 2000 |
| 14 | "Powerful Arms! Hooks vs. Uppercut!" (強腕!フックvsアッパー!) |
January 9, 2001 |
| 15 | "Test of Endurance" "Gaman kurabe (Endurance Contest)" (我慢くらべ) |
January 16, 2001 |
| 16 | "Anticipating a Fierce Fight" "Gekisen no yokan (Presentiment of a Fierce Fight)" (激戦の予感) |
January 23, 2001 |
| 17 | "Ippo on the Beach" "Ippo on za bīchi" (イッポ·オン·ザ·ビーチ) |
January 30, 2001 |
| 18 | "Clinch" "Kurinchi" (クリンチ) |
February 6, 2001 |
| 19 | "Dream of a KO" "KO no yume" (KOの夢) |
February 13, 2001 |
| 20 | "The Threat of Shotgun" "Shottogan no kyōi" (ショットガンの脅威) |
February 20, 2001 |
| 21 | "The Way to Capture a Prodigy" "Tensai kōryaku no michi (The Way of Capturing a Genius)" (天才攻略の道) |
February 27, 2001 |
| 22 | "Forward! Forward!!" "Mae! Mae!! (Forward! Forward!!)" (前へ!前へ!!) |
March 6, 2001 |
| 23 | "The Other Semi-Final" "Mō hitotsu no junkesshō (One More Semi-Final)" (もう一つの準決勝) |
March 13, 2001 |
| 24 | "To the Promised Place..." "Yakusoku no basho e (To the Place of Promise)" (約束の場所へ...) |
March 20, 2001 |
| 25 | "Grudges, Sorrows & Dreams" "Sorezore no omoi (Each Emotion)" (それぞれの想い) |
March 27, 2001 |
| 26 | "The Battle for Distance" "(Kyori no kōbō) Attack and Defense of Distance" (距離の攻防) |
April 3, 2001 |
| 27 | "Death Match" "Shitō (Struggle to the Death)" (死闘) |
April 10, 2001 |
| 28 | "Victory or Defeat" "Shōhai (Victory or Defeat)" (勝敗) |
April 17, 2001 |
| 29 | "Rocky of Naniwa" "Naniwa no Rocky (Rocky of Naniwa)" (浪速のロッキー) |
April 24, 2001 |
| 30 | "To Enemy Ground" "Tekichi e (To Enemy Ground)" (敵地へ) |
May 1, 2001 |
| 31 | "Traces of Intense Battles" "Gekitō no sokuseki (Footprints of Fierce Fighting)" (激闘の足跡) |
May 8, 2001 |
| 32 | "Throw Your Right!" "(Right Hits!)" (右を打て!) |
May 15, 2001 |
| 33 | "Smash Force" "Sumasshu no iatsu (Coercion of the Smash)" (スマッシュの威圧) |
May 22, 2001 |
| 34 | "The Rookie King" "Shinjin Ō (Rookie of the Year)" (新人王) |
May 29, 2001 |
| 35 | "The Counting Journey" "(To Go Further on the Journey)" (さらなる旅立ち) |
June 5, 2001 |
| 36 | "The Champ and I" "Ōja tono deai (Encounter with the King)" (王者との出会い) |
June 12, 2001 |
| 37 | "A Thing to Strive For" "Mezasu mono (Something to Aim At)" (目指すもの) |
June 19, 2001 |
| 38 | "Two Rookies of the Year" "Futari no shinjin ō (Two Rookies of the Year)" (二人の新人王) |
June 27, 2001 |
| 39 | "Challenge in a Foreign Land" "Ikoku de no chōsen (Challenge in a Foreign Country)" (異国での挑戦) |
July 4, 2001 |
| 40 | "A Counter to Surpass All Counters" "(Counter that Surpassed the Counter)" (カウンターを超えたカウンター) |
July 11, 2001 |
| 41 | "Barf-michi's Big Fight" "Barf-michi no tatakai (Barf-michi's Fight)" (ゲロ道の戦い) |
July 18, 2001 |
| 42 | "Sharing a Dream" "Yume e no kyōkan (Sympathy to Dream)" (夢への共感) |
July 25, 2001 |
| 43 | "The Speed Star" "THE SPEED STAR" |
August 1, 2001 |
| 44 | "Blind Spot in the Ring" "Ringu no shikaku (Blind spot of the Ring)" (リングの死角) |
August 8, 2001 |
| 45 | "The White Fangs of the Wolf" "Ōkami no shiroi kiba (White Fangs of the Wolf vega)" (狼の白い牙) |
August 15, 2001 |
| 46 | "Be the Gazelle" "(Become the Gazelle!)" (かもしかになれ!) |
August 22, 2001 |
| 47 | "The Fighting Spirit Within" "(Concealed Fighting Spirit)" (秘められた闘志) |
August 29, 2001 |
| 48 | "The Red Wolf" "Akai ōkami (Red Wolf)" (赤い狼) |
September 5, 2001 |
| 49 | "The Courage to Believe" "(Courage to Trust)" (信頼する勇気) |
September 19, 2001 |
| 50 | "Something to Convey" "(What I want to Say)" (伝えたいこと) |
September 26, 2001 |
| 51 | "The Group Date" "Gōkon (Joint party)" (合コン) |
October 3, 2001 |
| 52 | "The Challenger (recap)" "Chōsensha (Challenger)" (挑戦者) |
October 10, 2001 |
| 53 | "So That I Can Be Myself" (俺が俺であるために) |
October 17, 2001 |
| 54 | "Fists of the Champ" "Ōja no kobushi (Fists of the King)" (王者の拳) |
October 24, 2001 |
| 55 | "The Japan Featherweight Title Match" "Nippon fezākyū taitorumacchi (Japan Featherweight Title Match)" (日本フェザー級タイトルマッチ) |
October 31, 2001 |
| 56 | "The Power that Stands in the Way" "Tachi hadakaru chikara (The Power That Blocks the Way)" (立ちはだかる力) |
November 7, 2001 |
| 57 | "Conclusion" "Ketchaku (Conclusion)" (決着) |
November 14, 2001 |
| 58 | "Heartbroken" "Shōshin (Heartbreak)" (傷心) |
November 21, 2001 |
| 59 | "A Determined Gaze" "Ketsui no manazashi (A Look of Determination)" (決意のまなざし) |
November 28, 2001 |
| 60 | "Rival" "Raibaru (Rival)" (ライバル) |
December 5, 2001 |
| 61 | "Comeback Anxiety" "(Anxiety to Recovery)" (再起への不安) |
December 12, 2001 |
| 62 | "Revival" "(Revival)" (復活) |
December 19, 2001 |
| 63 | "Youth of Fire" "(Youth of Flame)" (炎の青春) |
December 26, 2001 |
| 64 | "Hot Rod Era" "(Enthusiastic Era)" (熱中時代) |
January 9, 2002 |
| 65 | "The Summer of the Kamogawa Corps" "(The Summer of the Kamogawa Corps)" (鴨川軍団の夏) |
January 16, 2002 |
| 66 | "Mr. Takamura's Tears" "(Takamura's Tears)" (鷹村さんの涙) |
January 23, 2002 |
| 67 | "The Kamogawa Gym Swings Into Action" "(The Kamogawa Gym Moves Out)" (動き出す鴨川ジム) |
January 30, 2002 |
| 68 | "The Chief's Peril" "(The Chairman's Crisis)" (会長の危機) |
February 6, 2002 |
| 69 | "The Trap of the Southpaw" "(Trap of the Southpaw)" (サウスポーの罠) |
February 13, 2002 |
| 70 | "The Young Punk" "(A Naughty Boy)" (ごんたくれ) |
February 20, 2002 |
| 71 | "Time for the Showdown" "(Moment of the Decisive Battle)" (決戦の刻) |
February 27, 2002 |
| 72 | "Lallapallooza" "Lallapallooza" |
March 6, 2002 |
| 73 | "Surpass that Moment" "(Surpass that Time)" (あの時を超えろ) |
March 13, 2002 |
| 74 | "Mix-Up" "()" (ミックスアップ) |
March 20, 2002 |
| 75 | "A Step Further" "(Into the Next Step)" (さらなる一歩を) |
March 27, 2002 |
| 76 | "Boxer's Fist" "()" (ボクサーの拳) |
March 21, 2003 |
The continuation of the series - called Hajime No Ippo: New Challenger (はじめの一歩 New Challenger) - started on January 6, 2009, on NIHON TV and ended on June 30, 2009.
| Round | Episode Name | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The New Step" "Arata Naru Ippo" (新たなる一歩) |
January 6, 2009[3] |
| 2 | "Bloody Cross" (Bloody cross-血の十字架-) |
January 13, 2009[3] |
| 3 | "To the Promised Place" "Yakusoku no Basho e" (約束の場所へ) |
January 20, 2009[3] |
| 4 | "Towards the World" "Sekai e no Taidō" (世界への胎動) |
January 27, 2009[3] |
| 5 | "The Strength of the World" "Sekai no Chikara" (世界の力) |
February 3, 2009[3] |
| 6 | "A Figure to Chase After" "Oi Tsudukeru Senaka" (追い続ける背中) |
February 10, 2009[3] |
| 7 | "The Advent of the Devil" "Akuma No Kōrin" (悪魔の降臨) |
February 17, 2009[3] |
| 8 | "Spirit for One Last Attack" "Tamashii no Ichigeki" (魂の一撃) |
February 24, 2009[3] |
| 9 | "Qualifying for Succession" "Uketsugu Shikaku" (受け継ぐ資格) |
March 3, 2009[3] |
| 10 | "Cannon Fodder" "Kama Se Inu" (噛ませ犬) |
March 10, 2009[3] |
| 11 | "Ippo vs. Hammer Nao" "Ippo v. Hamma Nao" (一歩vsハンマーナオ) |
March 17, 2009[3] |
| 12 | "What It Means To Be a Pro" "Puro no Jōken" (プロの条件) |
March 24, 2009[3] |
| 13 | "Ippo on the Beach 2" "Ippo on za Biichi 2" (イッポ·オン·ザ·ビーチ2) |
March 31, 2009[3] |
| 14 | "Two Sparring" "Futatsu no Supaaringu" (二つのスパーリング) |
April 7, 2009[3] |
| 15 | "Itagaki's Debut Match!" "Itagaki Debyū Sen!" (板垣デビュー戦!) |
April 15, 2009[3] |
| 16 | "The 2 Hawks" "2 Hane no Taka" (2羽の鷹) |
April 21, 2009[3] |
| 17 | "Wild Child" "Yasei Ji" (野性児) |
April 28, 2009[3] |
| 18 | "Extreme Weight Control" "Kyokugen no Genryō" (極限の減量) |
May 5, 2009 |
| 19 | "Explosive Confrontation" "Isshokusokuhatsu" (一触即発) |
May 12, 2009 |
| 20 | "World Jr. Middle Weight Title Match" "Sekai J. Midoru Kyū Taitorumacchi" (世界J·ミドル級タイトルマッチ) |
May 19, 2009 |
| 21 | "The Battle of the Hawks!" "Battle of Hawk!" |
May 26, 2009 |
| 22 | "Battle Fight!" "Kenka Battoru" (ケンカバトル) |
June 2, 2009 |
| 23 | "Supporting Hand" "Sasaeru Te" (支える手) |
June 9, 2009 |
| 24 | "The King" "Ou-sama" (王様) |
June 16, 2009 |
| 25 | "My Bronze Statue, Please." "Douzou wo Douzo" (銅像をどうぞ) |
June 23, 2009 |
| 26 | "New Challenger" | June 30, 2009 |
Rikiya Koyama, the voice actor of the Mamoru Takamura character in the Hajime no Ippo boxing anime franchise, has revealed in his blog that a sequel to the Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger television series is being planned. Koyama was posting about the end of dialogue recording for the series, since the cast just finished work on the 26th and final episode. (The final episode, "New Challenger," aired in Japan on June 30.) At the end of his Friday blog entry, he wrote, "Of course, a sequel is also being planned!!"
It was reported at Otakon 2009 that the director of the first series is working on a new movie.[13]
The music for the first anime series was composed by Tsuneo Imahori, who also did the third opening theme song. Various tracks of guitars, drums, piano, horns, and combinations of the instruments were used to help accentuate the mood and action of the scenes. The soundtrack was released in Japan on two CDs, "First KO" & "Final Round". The music for the second series was composed by Yoshihisa Hirano.
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In 1991, the manga won the Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen.[15] Anime Academy gave the first anime series a glowing response; all five reviewers rated it above 90%, with one referring to the series as "the cream of the crop" of the sports genre in anime, and another stating that "fighting and character development have never tangoed so well together".[16] Fanboy.com listed the series as one of their "Top Ten Underrated Manga".[17]
| Source | Reviewer | Grade / Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anime News Network | Carl Kimlinger | Overall (dub): B Overall (sub): A- Story: B Animation: B+ Art: B+ Music: B+ |
DVD/Anime Review of Hajime no Ippo: Champion Road, TV Special |
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