Can all the strategies and techniques used in Hajime No Ippo be used in real professional matches? Why do so many people enjoy the show and relate to it so much? Is Hajime No Ippo the true boxing anime in the genre? I truly think so.
The Manga Hajime No Ippo (Translated to “The First Step” in English) was created on October 11, 1989, by Manga artist George Morikawa and later adapted into an anime in October 2000 produces by Madhouse, Inc.
Morikawa took inspiration a Manga he read in elementary school called Harris No Kaze by Tetsuya Shiba, who also created manga and anime series Ashita no Joe (translated “Tomorrow’s Joe” in English) in 1968 that also was a major inspiration to Hajime No Ippo’s creation.
How Ippo’s Story Begins
The story begins with our protagonist, Ippo Makunouchi, who is an average Japanese High School student who lives with his mom, Hiroko Makunouchi. She works in a fish boat rental business started by her late husband, Kazuo Makunouchi, who died during a heavy storm after saving one of his clients (sacrificing himself in the process).
Ippo is often ignored by his more popular classmates and he’s even bullied for working in the boat rental business with his mom. The main bully is named Masahiko Umezawa. During one of these attacks, he was saved by Mamoru Takamura, a professional heavy-weight boxer for Kamogawa Boxing Gym. This event left a great impression on Ippo and pushed him to become a boxer.
Takamura told him to catch ten leaves with his hand before he could ever think of stepping into the gym. But Ippo’s determination and passion led him to catch the ten leaves with one hand, even though he was allowed to use both.
Takamura saw Ippo’s potential and passion which led him to finally allow Ippo to enter the gym; and ultimately the world of boxing. He would meet both friends and foes along his rocky journey to become the next Featherweight champion.
The boxing ring is the place where Ippo knows what being strong truly is.
Ippo’s journey is one of determination and a showcase of the indomitable human spirit as he goes through both glorious victories and somber losses. His experience in the ring explains why so many people can relate to their own journey toward achieving their goals – wherever they are in the ring or simply personal goals in their own lives.
One of these cases was an exhibit by an anonymous Reddit user of r/hajimenoippo who shared his first boxing match win and his goal of becoming national champion after being inspired by Ippo’s story and journey. This is a case where just one of many share how the show impacts the lives of everyday people.
Life Lessons From Ippo & The Real-Life Boxer
I must admit that this Anime was also a major wake-up call for me to keep pushing forward and never give up on my dreams, even if the road ahead is challenging and difficult.
Compared to most sport Animes of its type, Hajime no Ippo is one of the few Animes that doesn’t have any type of power system or any supernatural powers to assist the characters and it focuses more on real strength and real-life techniques used by boxers of professional leagues.
Ryo Mashiba, one of Ippo’s opponents during his Rookie season, uses a hitman style stance where he keeps his right arm guarding his chin while he keeps his left arm on his waist and swings in in a scythe-like motion. He then unleashes a barrage of “flicker” meant to disrupt his opponent’s rhythm and overwhelm him.
The technique was actually used by real life boxer Thomas Hearns who fought in the Middle- to Light- Heavy Weight class from 1977 to 2006. He had many nicknames like “Hitman” or “Motor City Cobra” because of his fast and deadly flicker jab, as well as the Hitman Stance that Mashiba’s character is based on.
Corkscrew Punch and the Hearth Breaker Shot
The only exception to the overall realism of Hajime is that No Ippo’s scenes are hyper-dramatized and slow things that would often happen in a blink of an eye.
One of these cases is when the character Eiji Date uses the technique Corkscrew Punch and the Heart- Breaker Shot. It’s a hit directly to the heart, freezing it for a second before a hook to the chin.
This is a punch used by Charles “Kid” Mccoy who fought in the early days of boxing.
The Heart Breaker Shot is highly impractical in real-life though, since you would have to hit the heart in between its electrical cycle (T-wave), which has a 10 to 30 millisecond window. This would make it highly unreliable and completely luck-based. Unlike the show, where it simply stuns the opponent, this punch would actually cause cardiac arrest and stop a boxer’s heart (ultimately ending a boxer’s life mid-match).
A Sports Anime Worth Watching
Even if you’re not a fan of Anime because you don’t like animated shows or you think most of them are childish, I believe that Hajime No Ippo is one of the few Sports Animes worth watching. The story of Ippo’s journey and challenges,as well as its realism of the fights make exception to the stigma that all Sports Animes are unrealistic and just complete fantasy.
I hope that Hajime No Ippo will affect how you see your journey towards your own goals – like it did for mine.
