Hajime no Ippo
Hajime no Ippo (はじめの一歩, lit. "The First Step") is a Japanese boxing-themed manga series written and illustrated by George Morikawa. It has been serialized by Kodansha in the shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine since October 1989 and collected into 135 tankōbon volumes as of July 2022. It follows the story of high school student Makunouchi Ippo, as he begins his career in boxing and over time obtains many titles and defeats various opponents.
| Hajime no Ippo | |
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Ippo Makunouchi | |
| はじめの一歩 | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Manga | |
| Written by | George Morikawa |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| Imprint | Shōnen Magazine Comics |
| Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Magazine |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Original run | October 11, 1989 – present |
| Volumes | 135 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Satoshi Nishimura |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Tatsuhiko Urahata |
| Music by | Tsuneo Imahori |
| Studio | Madhouse |
| Licensed by | |
| Original network | Nippon TV |
| Original run | October 4, 2000 – March 27, 2002 |
| Episodes | 76 |
| Anime television film | |
| Hajime no Ippo: Champion Road | |
| Directed by | Satoshi Nishimura |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Kazuyuki Fudeyasu |
| Music by | Tsuneo Imahori |
| Studio | Madhouse |
| Licensed by | |
| Original network | Nippon TV |
| Released | April 18, 2003 |
| Runtime | 90 minutes |
| Original video animation | |
| Hajime no Ippo: Mashiba vs. Kimura | |
| Directed by | Hitoshi Nanba |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Tatsuhiko Urahata |
| Music by | Tsuneo Imahori |
| Studio | Madhouse |
| Licensed by | |
| Released | September 5, 2003 |
| Runtime | 60 minutes |
| Anime television series | |
| Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger | |
| Directed by | Jun Shishido |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Kazuyuki Fudeyasu |
| Music by | Yoshihisa Hirano |
| Studio | Madhouse |
| Original network | Nippon TV |
| Original run | January 6, 2009 – June 30, 2009 |
| Episodes | 26 |
| Anime television series | |
| Hajime no Ippo: Rising | |
| Directed by | Jun Shishido |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Kazuyuki Fudeyasu |
| Music by |
|
| Studio |
|
| Original network | Nippon TV |
| Original run | October 5, 2013 – March 29, 2014 |
| Episodes | 25 |
| Related media | |
A 76-episode anime adaptation produced by Madhouse aired on Nippon TV from October 2000 to March 2002. A television film and an original video animation (OVA) were released in 2003. A second series titled Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger aired from January to June 2009. A third series Hajime no Ippo: Rising aired from October 2013 to March 2014.
In North America, the first series, including the television film, was licensed by Geneon in 2003, which released it under the name Fighting Spirit. It was re-licensed by Discotek Media in 2020, including the television film and the OVA.
As of December 2021, the manga had over 100 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series. In 1991, Hajime no Ippo won the 15th Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category.
Plot
Ippo Makunouchi is an extremely shy high school student, unable to make friends due to always being 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. One day, when these bullies gave him a rather serious beating, a middleweight professional boxer who was passing by stopped them 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. When he conveys this message to Mamoru Takamura, he gets verbally reprimanded: 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 surprises him by catching all 10 of the falling leaves and only doing so with his left hand. This impresses Takamura greatly, and he informs Ippo that the action required to catch all 10 leaves is called a boxing jab. 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, who is 16, the same age as Ippo. 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 four-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". 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 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 both fighters. Ippo has a habit of running into his opponents before matches, giving him a chance to learn more about their backgrounds and even sympathize with them. Ippo is an extremely timid and modest person who never assumes that he is strong enough. He instead draws courage from seeing the strength of his opponent and realizing that he is able to stand up to it. 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 toward the Japanese Featherweight Championship and eventually the world championship. Along the way the audience is given glimpses into the other characters' pasts, motivations, relationships to others, and current boxing trials. A colorful cast of supporting characters and opponents as well as side stories concerning their paths in the boxing world rounds out the series.
Media
Manga
Hajime no Ippo is written and illustrated by George Morikawa. The manga has been published in Kodansha's shōnen manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Magazine since October 11, 1989.[2] It has run in the magazine for over 30 years,[3] and reached its 1000th chapter in December 2012.[4] It became the 8th longest running manga series with over 1300 chapters released in Japan as of 2021. Kodansha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was published on February 17, 1990.[5] As of July 15, 2022, 135 volumes have been published.[6] In June 2021, it was announced that the series would get a digital release, for the first time in 33 years of publication, starting on July 1 of the same year.[7]
Anime
Hajime no Ippo has been adapted into an anime series franchise. The first 75-episode anime television series, produced by Madhouse, Nippon Television and VAP and directed by Satoshi Nishimura, aired on Nippon TV between October 4, 2000, and March 27, 2002.[8] The episodes were collected into twenty-five DVDs released by VAP from March 16, 2001 to March 21, 2003.[9][10] The last DVD includes a special episode which did not air in Japan, numbered 76.[10] A television film titled Hajime no Ippo: Champion Road aired on April 18, 2003.[11] An original video animation (OVA) titled Hajime no Ippo Mashiba vs. Kimura was released on September 5, 2003.[12]
A second series titled Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger aired on Nippon TV from January 6 to June 30, 2009.[13][14]
In 2009, Rikiya Koyama, the voice actor of Mamoru Takamura, revealed on his blog that a sequel to the Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger television series was being planned. At the end of his blog entry, he wrote, "Of course, a sequel is also being planned!!".[14] In July 2013, it was reported in that year's 34th issue of Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine that a third season of Hajime no Ippo would air in the fall 2013 season.[15][16] The third season, titled Hajime no Ippo: Rising, ran for 25 episodes from October 5, 2013 to March 29, 2014.[17][18] Hajime no Ippo: Rising was streamed on Crunchyroll.[19]
In North America, the first series was licensed by Geneon Entertainment in 2003, which released it under the name Fighting Spirit.[20] Geneon distributed Fighting Spirit on 15 DVDs with five episodes per disc. The first DVD was released on July 6, 2004 and the fifteenth released on December 19, 2006.[21][22] The DVDs included English and Spanish language tracks, as well as the original Japanese. The TV film Champion Road was released on North America on January 9, 2007.[23] There were no plans to release the OVA, Mashiba vs. Kimura. Disc sales of the series did not perform well.[24] In September 2020, Discotek Media announced that they had licensed the series, including the 76 episodes, Champion Road and, for the first time in North America, the OVA Mashiba vs. Kimura.[25] The first Blu-ray Disc set (episodes 1–24) was released on January 26, 2021.[26] The second set (episodes 25–48) was released on March 30, 2021.[27]
Music
The music for the first anime series was composed by Tsuneo Imahori, who also did the third opening theme song. 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 and Final Round. The music for the second series was composed by Yoshihisa Hirano. In the third series, Yoshihisa Hirano and Tsuneo Imahori are credited for the music.
Anime theme songs
- Opening theme songs
- "Under Star" by Shocking Lemon (episodes 1–25)
- "Inner Light" by Shocking Lemon (episodes 26–50, TV movie)
- "Tumbling Dice" by Tsuneo Imahori (episodes 51–76)
- "Hekireki" by Last Alliance (episodes 77–102)[28]
- "Yakan Hikou" by Wasureranneyo (episodes 103–127)
- Ending theme songs
- "Yuuzora no Kamihikouki" by Mori Naoya (episodes 1–25, TV movie)
- "360°" by Mori Naoya (episodes 26–50, 75, OVA)
- "Eternal Loop" by Saber Tiger (episodes 51–74, 76)
- "8 AM" by Coldrain (episodes 77–102)[28]
- "Buchikome!!" by Shikuramen (episodes 103–127)
Video games
There have 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. 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 before its Western release. 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.[29] 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.
Ippo and Takamura have also appeared in the 2009 crossover video game Sunday vs Magazine: Shūketsu! Chōjō Daikessen as playable characters.
Hajime no Ippo: Victorious Boxers was nominated for The Electric Playground's 2001 Blister Awards for "Best Console Fighting Game", and D.I.C.E. Awards for "Best Fighting Game of the Year" nomination but lost all to Dead or Alive 3 for Xbox.[30][31]
| System | English Title | Japanese Title | English Translation | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PlayStation | N/A | はじめの一歩 THE FIGHTING! | Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting! | 1997 |
| PlayStation 2 | Victorious Boxers: Ippo's Road to Glory[32] | はじめの一歩 VICTORIOUS BOXERS | Hajime no Ippo: Victorious Boxers | 2000 |
| Game Boy Advance | N/A | はじめの一歩 THE FIGHTING! | Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting![33] | 2002 |
| PlayStation 2 | N/A | はじめの一歩2 VICTORIOUS ROAD | Hajime no Ippo 2: Victorious Road[34] | 2004 |
| PlayStation 2 | Victorious Boxers 2: Fighting Spirit | はじめの一歩 ALL☆STARS | Hajime no Ippo - The Fighting! All Stars[35] | 2004 |
| Wii | Victorious Boxers: Revolution | はじめの一歩 Revolution | Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting Revolution[36] | 2007 |
| PSP | N/A | はじめの一歩 THE FIGHTING! Portable Victorious Spirits | Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting! Portable Victorious Spirits[37] | 2007 |
| Nintendo DS | N/A | はじめの一歩 THE FIGHTING! DS | Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting! DS | 2008 |
| PlayStation 3 | N/A | はじめの一歩 THE FIGHTING! | Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting![38] | 2014 |
Reception
Hajime no Ippo won the 15th Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category in 1991.[39] The series also received a Special Award at the 43rd Kodansha Manga Award, commemorating 110 years since Kodansha's founding in 2019.[40] On TV Asahi's Manga Sōsenkyo 2021 poll, in which 150.000 people voted for their top 100 manga series, Hajime no Ippo ranked #47.[41]
By September 2008, the Hajime no Ippo manga had over 73 million copies in circulation.[42] By November 2019, it had over 96 million copies in circulation.[43] By December 2021, it had over 100 million copies in circulation.[44]
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".[45] Gia Manry of Fanboy.com listed the series as one of their "Top Ten Underrated Manga".[46] IGN listed Hajime no Ippo: Rising among the best anime series of the 2010s.[47]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Marshall, Dallas (January 8, 2013). "Fighting Spirit". THEM Anime Reviews. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on December 4, 2011. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
- ^ 森川ジョージ「はじめの一歩」30周年をインタビューとマンガで振り返る書籍発売. Natalie (in Japanese). September 18, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
- ^ 「はじめの一歩」1000回を井上雄彦や高橋留美子らが祝福. Natalie (in Japanese). December 5, 2012. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
- ^ [Hajime no Ippo (1)] (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on March 12, 2005. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
- ^ "はじめの一歩(135)" [Hajime no Ippo (135)] (in Japanese). Kodansha. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
- ^ Mateo, Alex (June 22, 2021). "Hajime no Ippo Manga Gets Digital Releases on July 1". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
- ^ "Madhouse.co.jp" はじめの一歩 (in Japanese). Madhouse. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ (in Japanese). VAP. Archived from the original on June 3, 2004. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ a b (in Japanese). VAP. Archived from the original on August 17, 2004. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ (in Japanese). VAP. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
2003年4月18日にはテレビ・スペシャル「Champion Road」が金曜ロードショーにてオンエアされました。 (The TV special "Champion Road" was aired on April 18, 2003)
- ^ (in Japanese). VAP. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ Loo, Egan (November 27, 2008). "2nd Hajime no Ippo Show Named, Dated: New Challenger on January 6". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ a b Loo, Egan (June 12, 2009). "Sequel to Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger Being Planned". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ Nelkin, Sarah (July 19, 2013). "3rd Season of Hajime no Ippo Anime Green-Lit". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ Nelkin, Sarah (August 23, 2013). "Hajime no Ippo Rising TV Anime's Cast, Staff Announced". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ (in Japanese). Nippon TV. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ (in Japanese). Nippon TV. Archived from the original on July 4, 2009. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (October 4, 2013). "Crunchyroll to Stream Hajime no Ippo Rising Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ Macdonald, Christopher (November 1, 2003). "Geneon Licenses". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 4, 2007.
- ^ . Geneon Entertainment. Archived from the original on October 20, 2006. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ . Geneon Entertainment. Archived from the original on October 20, 2006. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ . Geneon Entertainment. Archived from the original on October 20, 2006. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ Koulikov, Mikhail (May 13, 2007). "Geneon Entertainment - Anime Central 2007". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
During the question and answer session that concluded the panel, they mentioned that because Hajime no Ippo did not perform as well as hoped, it is not likely that Geneon will acquire the 2003 Hajime no Ippo - Mashiba vs. Kimura OVA.
- ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (September 14, 2020). "Discotek Licenses Rose of Versailles, Hajime no Ippo, Project A-Ko Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ^ Sherman, Jennifer (January 27, 2021). "North American Anime, Manga Releases, January 24–30". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ Mateo, Alex (March 30, 2021). "North American Anime, Manga Releases, March 28-April 3". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ a b . Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
- ^ . PALGN. Archived from the original on September 8, 2007. Retrieved May 4, 2007.
- ^ Staff (January 25, 2002). . The Electric Playground. Archived from the original on July 13, 2003.
- ^ "Best Fighting Game of the Year". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ "PlayStation 2 - Victorious Boxers". PlayStation Underground. Retrieved April 4, 2007.
- ^ . Entertainment Software Publishing. Archived from the original on March 19, 2007. Retrieved March 24, 2007.
- ^ "Hajime no Ippo 2: Victorious Road for PS2". GameSpot. Retrieved April 4, 2007.
- ^ GameSpot. "Victorious Boxers 2: Fighting Spirit for PS2". Retrieved April 4, 2007.
- ^ . MouRa. Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2007.
- ^ . MouRa. Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. Retrieved August 1, 2008.
- ^ "Hajime no Ippo game announced for PS3". Gematsu. September 9, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
- ^ Joel Hahn. "Kodansha Manga Awards". Comic Book Awards Almanac. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
- ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (May 10, 2019). "43rd Annual Kodansha Manga Awards' Winners Announced". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
- ^ テレビ朝日『国民15万人がガチで投票!漫画総選挙』ランキング結果まとめ！ 栄えある1位に輝く漫画は!?. animate Times (in Japanese). Animate. January 3, 2021. Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
- ^ Loo, Egan (September 15, 2008). "Hajime no Ippo Reportedly to Return to TV in January". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- ^ 「はじめの一歩」の“限定お宝本” ボクシング・フェザー級トーナメント入場者に非売品小冊子をプレゼント、特別展も開催. Sports Hochi (in Japanese). November 18, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ 人気漫画家39人が選ぶ！本当にすごい漫画はコレだ！2022 [39 Popular Manga Artists Choose! This is a Really Amazing Manga! 2022]. Manga Michi (in Japanese). January 1, 2022. Event occurs at 1:07. TV Asahi.
- ^ . Anime Academy. Archived from the original on February 15, 2012. Retrieved January 8, 2009.
- ^ Manry, Gia (January 8, 2008). "Underrated Manga: Hajime no Ippo". Fanboy.com. Retrieved January 8, 2009.
- ^ "The Best Anime of the Decade (2010 - 2019)". IGN. January 1, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
External links
- Hajime no Ippo official manga website at Pocket Shōnen Magazine (in Japanese)
- Hajime no Ippo official manga website at MAGAMEGA (in Japanese)
- Hajime no Ippo 30th anniversary website at Weekly Shōnen Magazine (in Japanese)
- Hajime no Ippo 100th volume commemorative official website (in Japanese)
- Hajime no Ippo official anime website at Nippon TV (in Japanese)
- (in Japanese)
- Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger official website at VAP (in Japanese)
- Hajime no Ippo: Rising official website at VAP (in Japanese)
- Hajime no Ippo (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia