Hajime no Ippo

First, let me say that I\'m not a fan of boxing. In fact, I pretty much hate the sport. Honestly, who likes seeing people getting their head beat in every day?

With that being said, this series is brilliantly done. There\'s comedy, romance, and plenty, plenty, plenty of plot. Follow Ippo as he grows as a person and as a professional boxer. You\'ll laugh, and you\'ll probably cry here or there. The fact that I don\'t even like boxing never came in to play. You\'ll probably find yourself doing some jabs here and there while watching the show too. It\'s that captivating.

The supporting characters are awesome. Takamura, Kimura and Aoki are all equally hilarious. Each has a distinct personality that make them all very lovable. They also support Ippo as he meets his trials of boxing and life.

Definitely give this series a try. You won\'t be disappointed with the 76 episodes. In fact, you\'ll probably end up reading the manga because you don\'t want it to stop! read more

"What? 76 episodes of… boxing? 76 episodes set in a small square ring? Yeah, right."

I had no idea.

What makes this anime special is undoubtedly the characters. How each character is so likeable, so original, and so fully developed that you end up understanding, caring, and rooting for them in the end. How even the ones that only last an episode, even Ippo's opponents can be given such plausible and staggering backstories that you might actually find yourself siding against the main hero for a match or two. And how these characters are just so serious with their lives that you really feel it, and you end up believing that such a world could actually exist out there.

You know you love an anime when it drives you to shout, to hold your breath, and to jump right out of your seat. You know you love an anime when the thrill makes your spine tingle so much that you actively root and cheer and punch the air in victory as if you were right there ringside. You know you love it when you marathon through 15 episodes one night, and wake the next morning only to continue watching. And even after 76 episodes and two bonuses, you can't let go. They've already wrapped you up in that world, those characters, their lives, their ambitions, and suddenly… suddenly you're expected to just leave?

No.

You know you love an anime when you're showing it to a friend and you somehow end up watching the entire thing again with him/her. And you still shout, you still laugh, you still find yourself out of your seat punching the air the second, the third, the sixth time you've seen it.

And you can't stop smiling. Because you get to live in their world again.
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Hajime no ippo based on boxing manga written and illustrated by George Morikawa. A 75 episode anime adaptation 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

The story itself has two main parts. Part one which Ippo is chasing the eastern feather weight championship and part two which Ippo decides to continue his career as a boxer. In the first arc which is the best arc, the story processing and the character development are done in absolute best way that a show can offer. For example after the main character Ippo join up the Kamogawa gym, you'll surprised how amazing Ippo and his new friends overcome the consecutive challenges with each and every one of these challenges is tougher than the previous and most of 'em are deadly which can simply destroy Ippo’s dream. After watching this anime you won’t believe how just 75-episodes could really change your life.

Well, Hajime-no Ippo is not like any typical anime but this show has a well organized story, realistic settings even if you guys don’t like sports anime, don’t worry about this because Hajime is nothing like any ordinary sport anime you might think, don’t you fool by the cover or by the main story because the whole thing is deeper than that. in my entire life I never witness something like these fantastic drama-story which barely I hold my tears back. also not only this anime has the most poignant drama ever but also you'll experience the most cheerful excitement ever. actually I never felt like this since my last (Death Note), and who cares about death-note anymore, at least Hajime-no Ippo make sense

However, Hajime no Ippo isn’t just a solid straight punch into your heart, furthermore there are lots of relieving moments (both romantic and comedy) almost in every episode which you’ll never forget. Simply, this Hajime no Ippo is the best example of how successful anime was in that period of time.

Story
Ippo is a weird little poor guy bullied everyday at the school. He is different (strange) and not popular. most of time he is busy helping his mother with the family business and that is the main reason he couldn’t make friends in the class. Ippo is weak (not physically but mentally). Ippo suffered dealing with life mates (classmates) and because of his natural condition no one in the class respect him furthermore they always make fun of him, humiliating him and more. Still that is not the biggest problem because physical pain is nothing comparing to the pain in someone’s heart. Ippo realize that something must change and for the sake of that change everything is sacrificeable. One day Ippo caught up by a professional boxer being bullied, the man help out Ippo, soon as that moment Ippo recognize that this is the best opportunity for the change. It’s never too late to become strong, at least same as that boxer but he is not sure if he got what it takes to gain that much power or even if he can stand for his own self. Ippo knows what kind a situation and how much hardworking he must offer to restore things back to normal. Finally Ippo join to a boxing gym after lot of hard work, patient and most importance a will to overcome his weaknesses because of his natural talent but also with his ultimate desire.

Back to Ippo’s life before he join-up the gym he used to help the family business carrying weighs for customers and his ordinary school life where he has been kicked at most of the days, as he not realizes that but it was lot of help for him and because of that he don’t have to start the whole training process from the scratch rather more he can take the strongest knockouts in the ring same as he bear it in the school and that’s something great, because usual people would collapse at the same circumstances but Ippo overcome the whole thing and start a new life. After a while Ippo manages a pro boxer license and that is just the first step. Finally Ippo is going to compete in official matches which only the best will survive. The feather weight Rookie championship chart finally announced and Information comes at Kamogawa gym about Ippo’s opponents and their fight strategies, techniques furthermore their background. Ippo have to train more than he often. while these feather weight matches are on the line/ more important he should figure out how to stop (block) his opponents inventing new strategies and sometimes depending on his fight spirit, at the same time he should keep his mind clear and relax and win each and every match in this championship

Characters; the most faithful characters
Each and every character in these Hajime has an amazing background story and a big reason that keeps him fighting, risking their lives in order to achieve their –selfish- dreams. Hajime no Ippo’s characters are not like any other ordinary characters, they are ultimate super characters. The story itself is processing the character development. So, the more you understand these characters the more you’ll enjoy. Here are some examples:

Ippo Makunouchi: He lives with his mother, Hiroko, and helps with the family charter boat fishing business. Ippo used to get bullied and picked on by others in his school. Dreams: (What it means to be strong?) the only question that Ippo has in his mind and he will fight until that question answered.
Ichiro Miyata: he is very skilled outboxer with a cool demeanor that specializes in counter punches. He uses the same boxing style that his father used. Dreams: Miyata decided to take on his father’s style of boxing to prove its worth on the world stage
Ryo Mashiba (psycho boy): known as Shinigami -God of Death-, he is a very quiet and scary, also, he is one of the strongest boxers in the whole Tournament. His parents died in a car accident. Dreams: he box for prize money all to support his beloved younger sister, Kumi. (so on)

Simply, each and every character in this anime is an anther living example of how great they accomplish this masterpiece anime.

Animation
Well, the whole story settled in few backgrounds and that is for sure a brilliant way to produce such a wonderful art at same time it’s economic for both the creator and the audience. While the producer reduce his work for not drawing so many backgrounds the audience themselves will find it so easy, not confusing and comfortable taking the whole time thinking and relating the actions of these characters and how the whole story processes, not worrying about any other details. Also Hajime no Ippo has one of the best character drawings in the entire anime universe.

Sound
Well, I’ not the guy who can give you a certain description about this but all I can say is “it was great”, whatever it was piano or other instruments it was really awesome specially the emotional track which takes you a deep journey inside yourself keeping you excited all the time. However, the music of this Hajime no Ippo series were used to accentuate the mood and the fight spirit of the characters.
Openings
Three straight opening themes and other three closing themes, and my favourite is the first opening which I’ still listening to it right now... (Ryuusei no ai ga kimi ni...isshun no hikari okuterru...yeeeeeeah!)
Opening Theme Songs (Under Star/Episodes 1-25 ,Inner Light/Episodes 26-52 by Shocking Lemon, Tumbling Dice /Episodes 53-76 by Tsuneo Imahori).Ending Theme Songs (Yuuzora no Kamihikouki/Episodes 1-25 by Mori Naoya, "360°"/ Episodes 26-52 by Mori Naoya, Eternal Loop/ Episodes 53-75 by Saber Tiger)

Enjoyment
The first 28 episodes were the greatest episodes that I’ve seen in years while the rest of the episodes were wonderful and awesome too. However, the most important thing about this anime that I’ve enjoyed so much is that each and every episode has its own story and something new is learned about both fighters. Probably after every episode you’ll go crazy throwing punches around here and there and maybe in the worst case you’ll end up as professional boxer but who cares just go enjoy and don’t forget to cheer up Ippo all the way (Rebound! Nice shot! Rebound! Nice shot! Rebound! Nice shot! Rebound! Nice shot! Rebound! Nice shot! ….. Rebound! Nice shot!)

Episode list 75/75
Use this episode list as an open reference to remind or understand your watched episodes

Round 001=The First Step
Ippo Makunouchi is a busy boy who works with his mother while he attends school, so he has no time to hang out with friends. One day, as Ippo is walking home Umezawa and two other bullies from the school catch him up. They start beating him up and make fun of him and his mother. Suddenly, a jogger walks by and scares the bullies. Ippo seeks out the jogger, Mamoru Takamura, who is a middle-weight professional boxer, and begs him to train him in order to fulfill his dream of becoming a professional boxer. To test him, Takamura kicks a tree and catches many leaves in his hand, using his lightning-fast jabs. He tells Ippo that if he can do the same, he will train him

Round 002=Fruits of Labor
Ippo has only one weak to catch at least ten leaves and he have to somehow manage time in order to accomplish that. After lot of training and hard work he finally figured out how to increase the speed of his jabs, but also caught all 10 leaves in his left hand. Takamura then assigns Ippo to work out his muscles, body and running speed for one month. Once done, Takamura takes Ippo to the gym to test out his skills. His first test was to spar with a rookie, the same age as Ippo, Ichiro Miyata.

Round 003=Tears of Joy
Ippo can’t keep up with Miyata but he keeps absorbing Miyata's punches. Suddenly, Miyata hits Ippo's chin, causing his brain to move back. After that Ippo can’t stand up and his legs are shaking while mr.ref keeps counting down. After while Ippo somehow manages to stand back but unfortunately lost to Miyata's superior skills. However, the owner of the gym, Genji Kamogawa, was impressed by Ippo's determination and decides to train him every day in the gym.

Round 004=Shadow Boxing
Ippo finally begins his training in the gym. First, Kamogawa himself, helps Ippo to focus on his jabs and practice the shadow boxing technique. However, as he watches Miyata sparring, he starts to finally understand how to shadow box

Round 005= 3 Months to Counter
in order to prepare for a rematch with Miyata Ippo begins training with coach Kamogawa. Also, he learns about Miyata's father, who was a former professional boxer who believes in skill surpassing power. However, in his final match, he lost and realized that that power surpasses skill. Since then, Miyata is trying to prove that his father's way of boxing is correct.

Round 006= The Opening Bell of the Rematch
Ippo is finally ready for his rematch with Miyata with Takamura as referee, the rematch begins. Finally Ippo manages to knockout Miyata. First round completes with each one knocking each other once, taking their audience's breath away.

Round 007= The Destructive Force of 1 cm
Ippo gets knocked down again, he struggles to stand back. Once he gets up, Ippo continues with his assault. Miyata changes strategies in order to slow down Ippo's movements. After a few more hits Ippo manages to counter an aggressive uppercut grazing Miyata's chin. Finally Miyata fall to his knees, losing due to a K.O. Ippo feel so proud about it.

Round 008= Promise to Meet Again
With Miyata nowhere to be found, Ippo seems distracted in his training, so Kamogawa sends him to train with Takamura. Ippo experiences all the hardship his mentor endures since he prepares for a championship match. Takamura easily defeats his opponent due to his training and diet. Outside, Ippo meets Miyata, who informs him that he is quitting Kamogawa's Gym not because he embarrassed by his lost due that match but in order to meet Ippo in the ring as professional boxers. (Due to boxing rules, bros from same gym aren’t allowed to compete against each in the ring)

Round 009= C Class License
Six months after he began his training in Kamogawa gym Ippo finally applies to get his featherweight boxing license. He is about to learn the name of his opponent in his debut match

Round 010= Debut Match!
Ippo is running out of luck because his opponent is Yosuke Oda. for Oda, Keiko, his girlfriend, decides to break up with him if he loses this match. The day finally arrives and both Ippo and Oda get into the ring with cheering fans all around them.

Round 011= Obsession for Victory
The four round match finally begins also Miyata arrives to watch the match. Each fighter delivers harsh blow after harsh blow, with their teams shouting advice. However, Oda's hook actually cuts Ippo's left side of the face around his eye. The doctor warns him that if he bleeds again, he will lose with a technical K.O. Unwilling to let that happen, Ippo goes all out to take knockout Oda and he successfully takes him out with his most powerful jabs.

Round 012= Becoming a Bully's Buddy
Ippo's second match is against Yoshio Fujigawa. However, Umezawa and his two friends actually go to Ippo's match to cheer him on. After working on a new guarding technique, Ippo seems to be on top. However, his opponent starts to play dirty by cheating. Yoshio is using his forehead as weapon against Ippo But, Ippo's determination allows him to fight back and break his opponent's guard with a mighty uppercut. The next day, Umezawa decides to become Ippo's friend and tells everyone about Ippo's mighty victory.

Round 013= The Eastern Japan Rookie Championship Tournament Begins
The Rookie Championship is about to begin. Ippo's first opponent is an American soldier, Jason Ozma, who is based in Japan. To prepare for the match, Ippo trains with Takamura while practicing to dodge hooks and uppercuts. Ozma, on the other hand, trains fighting for the people he came to know in the Japanese gym where he was based.

Round 014= Powerful Arms! Hooks vs. Uppercut!
Ippo and Ozma begin their match. Both of them give powerful blows, each surprising one another. Each boxer tries to think of a strategy to take out the other, until Ozma knocks Ippo down. After a brief moment, he gets up and each counter with a punch to each other's face

Round 015= Test of Endurance
The match continues between Ippo and Ozma, with each fighter dropping one crushing blow after another. Ozma manages to knock Ippo down, and it looked like he was down for the count. However, Ippo managed to get up and continue the assault. Somehow Ippo wins his first tournament match after huge uppercut to Ozma's chest

Round 016= Anticipating a Fierce Fight
Ippo and Takamura, along with a girl that Ippo has a crush on, sees Miyata's match. Miyata completely lowered his opponent's guard and quickly took him out. Later, after meeting the girl at a bakery where she worked, Ippo received a call from Takamura about a training camp for preparation for his next match.

Round 017= Ippo on the Beach
Ippo, Takamura and their two friends from the gym, Aoki and Kimura go to training camp, which also involves fun at the beach. Ippo also learns about movement with his feet from Takamura, which happened to be Ippo's weakness.

Round 018= Clinch
Ippo’s next opponent is Kobashi. Unfortunately, Kobashi isn’t very strong boxer even he can’t throw powerful punches. Also he seems little bit scary about Ippo’s heavy punches and that’s the reason he has been doing lot of research working on his new technique to survive at the upcoming match. Whatever, the match finally begins. Kobashi is doing great job and he completely exhaust Ippo in the first round

Round 019= Dream of a KO
The match continues between Ippo and Kobashi, while Ippo trying insistently to score a K.O. punch Kobashi manages to score points in the first three rounds by clinching than throwing tricky short jabs. At the final round Ippo realize that he should knockout Kobashi or he will lose the match. However, after Kobashi suddenly drop a strong punch that almost knocked Ippo he switch strategy and decide to win by a K.O. punch Leaving his guard down, Ippo capture the chance and knock Kobashi after long struggling. Now, it’s the time for the main event title match between Takamura and Yoshiaki

Round 020= The Threat of Shotgun
The title match continuous between Takamura and Yoshiaki while Ippo cheering up for Takamura. However Mr.Takamura amazingly win the match just within 90 seconds. Ippo next opponent is Hayami and he is incredibly too strong and fast.

Round 021= The Way to Capture a Prodigy
Miyata visit kamogawa gym congratulating Takamura for his title championship at same time he meets Ippo and inform him not to fallback; “don’t worry about Hayami if I were you I would counter every punch he throws with a counter punch” Miyata says. After a month of training, Ippo figured out new strategy to counter Hayami’s speedup punches. Finally, the match between Ippo and Hayami started

Round 022= Forward! Forward!!
The match continues between Ippo and Hayami and both of them are trying hard not to lose this one. Hayami is keeping Ippo in distance depending on his shotgun (very fast successive punches ) avoiding Ippo’s monster punch but while doing that Ippo realize that the shotgun isn’t powerful enough to keep him away. However, Ippo knockout Hayami and make his way to finals.

Round 023= The Other Semi-Final
After Ippo make it to finals, he should take some rest but he just can’t sit around doing nothing so he decide to go jogging, in his way he stopover in a fast food restaurant where his beloved girl Kumi work talking with her about some boxing issues. However the other semifinal match between Moshiba and Miyata started. After aggressive fight in the first round Moshiba knock Miyata out using a dirty trick by stepping Miyata’s toes. Can Miyata stand back!

Round 024= To the Promised Place...
Miyata is seriously injured his foot but he decides to keep the fight continuous. Moshiba ‘’the psycho boy’’ won’t let the chance pass and completely he takes Miyata out after long straggling Miyata knocked out and he can’t keep his promise with Ippo

Round 025= Grudges, Sorrows & Dreams
(The best episode so far)
Ippo find out that his beloved girl’s brother is Moshiba and they lost their two parents is a car accident. Mashiba needs to win this final match in order to size his dream about becoming rich and take care of his little sister. Meanwhile, all Ippo thinking is how to avenge his friend Miyata

Round 026= The Battle for Distance
(New opening)
After a month of hard training both Moshiba and Ippo are ready for their next matches and they will accept nothing but the championship. The Tournament final match launched between Ippo and Moshiba. While both of them trying to get rid of other Ippo throws a fatal knockout and surprised Moshiba saved by the bell ring. However, the second round started and again Ippo throw another deadly punch blocked by Moshiba’s elbow.

Round 027= Death Match
The match continuous between Ippo and Moshiba and both fighters are trying hard to dominate each. However, Ippo keeps throwing his right again and again blocked by Mosiba’s left elbow. Both fighters are seriously injured. Mashiba can’t move his left hand which causes a gap in his guard. Ippo takes the chance and aim for Moshiba’s chin but Mashiba is way too strong. Finally, Mashiba manages to throw a knockout with his left and take Ippo dawn

Round 028= Victory or Defeat
After long suffering Ippo somehow manages to stand back again attacking Moshiba straight away but Moshiba isn’t such a lousy challenger. However, after long aggressive fight Ippo throw a knockout punch hits Moshiba’s chin. Ippo wins the eastern Japan’s tournament champion. Later on, Ippo goes to school and it’s already the last semester but he got no plans for the future except boxing.

Round 029= Rocky of Naniwa
Because his fist injuries from the last match Ippo can’t fight in next Japan’s tournament. Meanwhile, western Japan’s tournament champion Mr. Sendo come all the way to Tokyo to make sure that Ippo is going to fight in next tournament.

Round 030= To Enemy Ground
Ippo can’t step back a challenge especially when this challenge is from the rookie champion so he visits a doctor advices him to strength his shoulders. After a very hard training both young heroes are ready to settle this in the ring. However, it seems that Ippo can’t punch with his right.

Round 031= Traces of Intense Battles
A summary episode

Round 032= Throw Your Right!
After taking a medicine drug to reduce the pain in his right fist Ippo is finally ready to fight again. Sendo is all the way excited and match has been already started. Sendo throw a deadly right (smash) hitting ippo’s face

Round 033= Smash Force
The match continues which both fighters are doing their best to take down each other. Ippo has the advantage of the close range exchange punches while Sendo is doing his best to keep a distance so he can throw explosive powerful smashes. However, after aggressive fight Ippo knockout Sendo by a huge counter punch. After a long struggling Sendo somehow manages to stand and the deadly match continues.

Round 034= The Rookie King
At the end of 3th round and after a long running violent fight Ippo throws a straight punch hitting Sendo’s temple. The 4th round was about to start Sendo remained in his corner unconscious loses the fight by TKO (technical KO). Ippo is the winner of all-Japan rookie of the year; however Ippo was left feeling that the battle hadn't been fully resolved.

Round 035= The Counting Journey
Finally Ippo graduates from the high school at the same time he is the rookie of the year and everybody in the school feeling so proud about him. Later on, Ippo met Miyata on the road. Miyata tells Ippo that he is going outside Japan to improve his skills to decrease the gap between them. Later on, lots of new trainers registered in Komogawa gym but after a while they all give it up except Michi Yamada a 16 years old high school boy and the biggest fan of Ippo.

Round 036= The Champ and I
Ippo is going to spar with the champion Eiji Date himself

Round 037= A Thing to Strive For
In order to raise his rank and fight against Eiji Date, Ippo is going to fight against Shigeta Akira a former Rookie King and this fight won’t be easy since Akira is left handed boxer (In reality he is a right-handed boxer which causes his attacks to be much stronger than they seem)

Round 038= Two Rookies of the Year
After a wonderful fight which both boxers do their best to win Ippo knock Akira down obviously challenging Eiji for a fight. Eiji accepted the challenge.

Round 039= Challenge in a Foreign Land
In order to gain more strength and reduce the gap between him and Ippo, Miyata went to Thailand. After lots of hard work and training to strength his counter punches he is finally ready to fight in the ring with Thailand’s light weight champion Jimmy.

Round 040= A Counter to Surpass All Counters
Miyata’s fists are light, he can’t throw a strong enough punch to knockout his opponents the reason which he always depends on his counter Punches. Anyways, the match between Jimmy and Miyata started. Jimmy knockout Miyata twice and after a long struggling Miyata stand back. He throws a powerful counter knocking out Jimmy.

Round 041=Barf-michi's Big Fight
The new trainee Michi successfully pass the pro boxing test all thanks to Ippo’s help. Later on, Ippo’s mother collapse from hard work exhausting.

Round 042= Sharing a Dream
In order to save the family business and help out his mother Ippo decided to quit boxing. Later on, Umezawa help out Ippo.

Round 043= The Speed Star
In order to prepare for Eiji Date the champion, Ippo gets ready for his next match against Saeki the Speed Star. He has incredibly quick fists and feet even Date couldn't touch him when they sparred

Round 044= Blind Spot in the Ring
Soon as the match started Saeki taking advantage of his super speed cornered Ippo damaging Ippo’s right eye which creates a blind spot. Saeki attacked Ippo several times from his blind spot Ippo manages to throw a knockout punch toward his blind spot hitting Saeki.

Round 045= The White Fangs of the Wolf
Ippo’s next opponent is Alexander Volg a strong boxer from Russia dominate the Japanese ring by his White Fang (fast and powerful chopping right). Later on, Gero-michi leaves and has to move away with his mother. A little unforgettable party held for him

Round 046= Be the Gazelle
Ippo train hard for his next match of against Volg. For that sake, he has to learn Kamogawa’s secret weapon, the Gazelle punch (an uppercut using the strength of the legs for additional power)

Round 047= The Fighting Spirit Within
Ippo met vorg at the train-station. After a short chat, Volg tells Ippo, in order to save his mother after she becomes seriously ill, he can’t lose this match not any other match.

Round 048= The Red Wolf
The match between Ippo and volg started. Each fighter throws harsh punch after harsh punch while using their maximum abilities to knockout each.

Round 049= The Courage to Believe
The match between Volg and Ippo continue. After an aggressive match Volg knockout Ippo but Ippo somehow manages to stand back hitting Volg with an amazing gazelle punch.

Round 050= Something to Convey
After a long wonderful match, Ippo somehow knockout Volg by a crashing counter punch.

Round 051= The Group Date
Ippo and his friends are going out for a date/ Ippo is down for Kumi

Round 052= The Challenger
Another summary episode

Round 053= So That I Can Be Myself
Eiji Date is an old classic badass boxer until he loses the world title in Mexico by TKO. After that he quit boxing but all thanks to his wife he is back. Now he is Japan’s feather weight champion

Round 054= Fists of the Champ
Amazingly, Takamura successfully defense his title

Round 055= The Japan Featherweight Title Match
The final match of the feather weight championship started between Ippo and Date.

Round 056= The Power that Stands in the Way
The match between Ippo and the champ continuous, Ippo aggressively attack the champion hitting him countless times but all of his punches are useless against Date (because of Date swinging his head all the way reducing the destructive power of the punch)

Round 057= Conclusion
After a long aggressive match Ippo can’t move anymore. Date wins the fight after Kamogawa himself throw the towel announcing the end of the match for Ippo

Round 058= Heartbroken
It is the first official match that Ippo has been defeated but it was a big loss/fuss, he is not feeling good about it

Round 059= A Determined Gaze
After Date Waiver of Title in order to give the chance for the younger boxers the title match started between Sendou Takeshi and Volg Zangief

Round 060= Rival
Sendou wins the match

Round 061= Comeback Anxiety
After Kamogawa suddenly collapse, Ippo trains himself alone with the new technique (Dempsey roll)

Round 062= Revival
Ippo win his comeback match with his new Dempsey roll.

Round 063= Youth of Fire
The crazy background of both Aoki and Kimura before they join Kamogawa gym is shown.

Round 064= Hot Rod Era
This episode involves both Aoki and Kimura life after they join up Kamogawa gym until they become real boxers all thanks to Takamura who was once like them.

Round 065= The Summer of the Kamogawa Corps/ Round 066= Mr. Takamura's Tears
Ippo and the others go to training camp in the mountains while Takamura knockout a bear/ later on, they eat the bear together as a dinner.

Round 067= The Kamogawa Gym Swings Into Action/ Round 068= The Chief's Peril
Everyone in kamogawa gym scores a win, now it’s all up-to Ippo to defeat Sando.

Round 069= The Trap of the Southpaw
After a long tricky match Sendo successfully defend his title against Shigeta Akira challenging Ippo Makunouchi for a fight/ which gladly Ippo accept it

Round 070= The Young Punk
Ippo dating Kumi again while Sendo’s street fighting background shown.

Round 071= Time for the Showdown
The title match between Sendo and Ippo started. In the first round using Dempsey roll Ippo score a knockout against Sendo

Round 072= Lallapallooza
The title match between Ippo and Sendo continue and it’s like Lallapallooza (hard punch sound like an earthquake)

Round 073= Surpass that Moment
The most aggressive fight so far which every technique and every bit of strength has been used. Each one of the fighters scores 2knockout against other while both of ‘em can’t even move their legs the 4th round completed…

Round 074= Mix-Up
5th round begins however, Sendo throw high-powered shots knocking out Ippo. Somehow Ippo manage to stand back.

Round 075= A Step Further
After a holy shit fight –like millions of Gladiators- in the 7-th round Ippo defeats Sendo using a quick mix of both Gazelle punch and Dempsey roll becoming the Japanese Featherweight Champion/ everybody is crying except Ryo Mashiba

Short Tips to Watch Hajime no Ippo
Watching order for the Hajime no Ippo series is
(1. Hajime no Ippo
2. Hajime no Ippo: Champion Road
3. Hajime no Ippo: Mashiba vs. Kimura
4.Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger
5. Hajime no Ippo: Rising)
Take your time watching this wonderful anime


Overall
Story: 8.5/10
Characters: 12/10
Art: 8.5/10
Sound: Sub: 9/10 Dub: 8/10
Enjoyment: 9/10
Overall: 10/10
High quality Hajime no Ippo is available in every anime-website and almost translated to every language (so, what you’re waiting for)/ catch this masterpiece soon as possible.


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The anime makes use of every character it introduces and develops them very convincingly and you can really connect to them. Such as Ippo in gaining more confidence and motivation, Takamura in wanting to become a champion and a hero, and Miyata wanting to prove that his father’s boxing style is the best. The characters all have back-stories of why they became fighters but they still live lives in certain ways you can still relate to them and they all have every day issues as real boxers would have such as Takamura’s weight control. As for the pacing, yes, the anime is long and the manga is 10 times longer, but still evenly paced and I feel the intention after getting to a certain point is that Morikawa-sensei wants to tell a life story in the same way Araki-sensei does with Jojo and you really start to feel that and you really feel the character’s grow and there are times you can emotionally react or care what could happen to that character.

The art style is very faithful to that of the style of the manga, except I felt that the bodies looked blockier and more massive than they needed to be in comparison to it. Plus, the venues such as Kourakuen Hall and the surrounding environments are well accurately represented because I’ve been there before on a number of occasions and fought in a judo tournament there so I thought that was pretty cool. I really love the training sequences with Ippo and he comes up with crazy methods and is an animal. The only real life athlete I can think of that compares to Ippo’s training ethic and regime is UFC fighter Sean Sherk.

And now lets get down to the heart and soul of this anime, and that is the fights. As someone who can’t stand the trendy over the top repetitive action you see in some animes today, this is definitely a liberation. This anime proves you don’t need fire balls or bullet time or any of that trendy bullshit to make a great fight. This is an anime that truly accurately portrays the technique, excitement, and intensity of the real sport of boxing by implementing all these real life moves and fighting styles. 1st example is Ippo. He is based on a prime Mike Tyson who uses the peek a boo stance, worked the body, and had an effective jab once he got on the inside. Sendo Takeshi is based on Razor Ruddock with his smash punch which is a mix between a hook and an uppercut. And Mashiba is based on Thomas Hearns where he uses his freakish reach to use a crazy jabbing system. And Hayami, you think his shotgun is unrealistic? Before Ali got suspended, he had incredible speed, 10x faster than the Ali who came back who was still pretty fast. There’s a video of Ali out there where he landed 15 punches in 3 seconds. And you know the old saying of how styles make fights? Well, that saying is applied very well in this anime and applies it very well and is just poetry in motion.


The dub seriously sucks. Takamura sounds like Adam Carolla. Ippo just doesn’t fit. Miyata sounds like a chain smoker. And the sound quality and the overall execution is just as bad as GTO’s dub where it sounded like they hired 5 voice actors. Avoid the dub at all cost. But once again, time to give you more info on the seiyuu cast. It’s very interesting to note that the voice of Kaoru from Prince of Tennis, Kiyasu Kohei plays Ippo himself. Despite that deep and hissing voice is the nerdy and assuming Ippo. And one of my personal favorites Tomokazu Seki plays my favorite character Miyata. He does a great job of being that lone wolf kind of character and knows how to keep his cool. And I truly felt that Takagi Wataru, the voice of Onizuka from GTO was born to play Aoki. And Onosaka Masaya the voice of Momoshiro in Prince of Tennis and Vash the Stampede from Trigun was also born to play Sendo. If anything, this is an anime that is truly meant to be watched in Japanese.

The music is also pretty awesome and a quality you can’t deny which you can’t get in manga obviously. The opening themes Under Star and Inner Light have a heavy intense feel to it where you can really emotionally react to the clips in the opening theme and to the scenes whenever presented as a background song in the anime itself. And I like how the ending themes 360 and Yuuzora no Kamihikouki gives a different kind of emotional reaction where it’s more about relating to the characters and the hardships they go through, but yet there’s this huge reward waiting for them at the end.

The only significant flaw I would say is that they ended this anime where the excitement truly begins in the manga. I say Ippo conquering Japan is just only the beginning because after that, the other characters get more focused and the development gets deeper and the fights get better. But overall, this anime has excellent themes in finding something you’re good at, and sticking to it and always keep believing. The good news is, you really don’t have to be a boxing fan or have any knowledge of boxing to really get into this anime. This anime will probably do it for you. After awhile, you start saying to yourself, how would Ippo do against Manny Pacquiao, or how would Takamura do against Roy Jones, Jr. So it really sparks interest in that kind of way from what I’ve experienced. Also, this anime truly accurately represents the Japanese feel of boxing itself. If you ever watch Japanese fighters, they are very exciting to watch. They love to go at it and fight with every last ounce of breath. I really have no experience competing in actual boxing since I’m more of a traditional martial arts kind of guy, but I only took up boxing for awhile just to improve my hands and when you’re training, you just got that tempting feeling to do the moves from the series and even train like Ippo because the things he does, you can go out and try for yourself for real since you can’t fly or shoot fire balls. I say that alone is magically captivating. If you want an anime free of virtually every stereotype and cliché, this one is for you.
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