Hajime no Ippo, a boxing anime that no sports lover can afford to miss

Hajime no Ippo

One of the genres that has gained more popularity in recent years has been the spokon, which immerses us in plots related to sports and there are many examples of success, such as Slam Dunk and Captain Tsubasa, the first being basketball and the second soccer, but when it comes to boxing, the undisputed champion is Hajime no Ippo, a work that delights us with fights in the purest shonen style, overloaded not only with action, but also with emotion, reflection and above all, courage. That is why we invite you to join us for a general review of everything this incredible anime has to offer.

Hajime no Ippo, a boxing story

As we mentioned at the beginning, Hajime no Ippo is a boxing story, where we follow Makunouchi Ippo, who is 16 years old at the beginning of the play. Ippo is engaged in the family business with his mother, which is fishing and boat rental. Due to the demands of this job, his free time is scarce and therefore, it is very difficult for him to make friends and practice sports.

However, one day when he was returning home, while crossing a bridge, he is assaulted by a group of bullies who studied with him at school and unfortunately, they decide to beat him under the pretext that he always smells like worms. The situation was critical for Ippo, who was unable to protect himself, but fortunately, Takamura Mamoru, a boxer, appeared and decided to help him.

However, Takamura realizes that Ippo has fainted and decides to take him to his gym, which has the name of Kamogawa Boxing Gym and when he wakes up, the boy is discouraged and to cheer him up, Mamoru invites Ippo to hit a punching bag a couple of times.

To his surprise, he realizes that the boy really has boxer's attitudes, so he decides to lend him a videotape with the best K.O.'s of Mike Tyson, the legendary American boxer and after watching it, Ippo is not only delighted, but decides to become a professional boxer and thus we can solve a big question that is often asked, what does it feel like to be strong?

All of the above was just the beginning and it is from here that the real work begins, with Makunouchi inspired to make his dream come true and to do so, he will have to push himself like never before, pushing all his limits and facing the best boxers in his native Japan.

As expected, our protagonist will enjoy incredible victories, but at the same time, he will suffer strong defeats that will make him rethink everything he is fighting for, but thanks to this, we will have a lot of action, comedy and reflection.

How many seasons and episodes does Hajime no Ippo have?

Hajime no Ippo is an anime that premiered more than 20 years ago, specifically for October 10, 2000, this being its first season, which consisted of 76 episodes, becoming a great success and therefore, ensuring its continuity, although this would take some time to arrive.

The second season was released on January 6, 2009 and was titled Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger and it continues the story where the first installment ended, with 26 episodes.

Finally, we have the third season, baptized as Hajime No Ippo: Rising and premiered on October 6, 2013, with 25 episodes.

In total, this anime has 3 seasons and between them, they add up to a total of 127 episodes, so it is not so short, although of course, it is not among the longest.

Will it have a fourth season?

As for the fourth season, we should mention that although it has been a while since the release of the third season, it is most likely that at some point we will have news about a fourth part and, although it is not the most famous anime in the world, it does have a loyal audience and highlighting the fact that there is still manga history to animate, there is a chance that we will see a fourth season, but unfortunately, we have no plausible date for it and the only thing we can do is to continue to wait patiently.

Hajime no Ippo: Movies

This anime has not only several seasons, but also a couple of movies and although these were released some time ago, they show how popular the work became in its beginnings. The first of these is Champion Road and tells the story of how Ippo must defend his championship title.

The second and last film is entitled Mashiba vs. Kimura and to the surprise of many, it is not centered on the usual protagonist and instead focuses on other boxers of vital importance to the development of the plot and therefore are among the most popular characters among fans.

Jyoji Morikawa, the genius behind Hajime no Ippo

As expected, Hajime no Ippo features a manga which is written and illustrated by Jyoji Morikawa, which is being serialized from the September 27, 1988, so we are talking about 35 years, an incredible time that is only compared to the number of chapters published.

This manga is serialized in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine and has a total of 1348 chapters divided into 132 volumes, So it is not surprising that it is one of the longest-running at present and that, to date, its end is not yet near, or at least, that is what many people suspect from the development of the plot.

Hajime no Ippo, the perfect combination of action, comedy and self-improvement.

Hajime no Ippo is undoubtedly one of the most popular spokon to date, and no wonder, since its manga has been on the market for 35 years, while the anime arrived in 2000, which translates into more than 20 years.

With a presence also at the movie level, this work has fascinated both boxing lovers and strangers and this has been thanks to its carefully crafted plot and its arduously constructed characters, which demonstrates the love and affection that its creator has for the work.

Action, emotion, drama, comedy, romance, sadness and many more elements make up this anime that continues to be a favorite of many and that at any moment, will return with more content. That is why we highly recommend this work, as you will enjoy it for sure.