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Description
Makunochi Ippo is an ordinary high school student in Japan. Since he spends most of his time away from school helping his mother run the family business, he doesn't get to enjoy his younger years like most teenagers. Always a target for bullying at school, Ippo's life is one of hardship. One of these after-school bullying sessions turns Ippo's life around for the better, as he is saved by a boxer named Takamura. He decides to follow in Takamura's footsteps and train to become a boxer, giving his life direction and purpose. Ippo's path to perfecting his pugilistic prowess is just beginning.
Note: Won the 15th Kodansha Manga Award for Best Shounen Manga in 1991.
Starts at Vol 1, Chap 1 (Hajime no Ippo); Vol 45 (New Challenger) Ends at Vol 31, Chap 269 (Hajime no Ippo); Vol 47 Chap 420 (New Challenger); Vol 61, Chap 558 (Rising)
when i started reading it, only 1000 chapters were released, and i thought i would never catch up to. Its now 1131 and ive read 1131 chapters so far. the fights are memorial and takamura is one of a kind. I do feel like Ippo is getting beaten up a little too much in some of his matches. I really wanna see just how far Ippo and Takamura will go.Recommended to everyone.
I learned 99% of what I know about boxing from this manga, so there's that. You wouldn't imagine a manga about boxing could run for 1000+ chapters and still be interesting after all this time. The author has uncanny skills. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop.
I've read up to 1035 and I think everyone should read this, that's how good I think this manga is. But it's not without its flaws, in my opinion. So I'm gonna focus on those since it's good points need not be repeated.
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
The fact that Ippo, despite being the MC, shows no true awe-inspiring strength in comparison to his opponent, 85% of the time, is kinda frustrating. Almost all his matches end with him winning (which is good and all) but the winner ends up in worse shape than the loser. It's hard to be Ippo's fan when that happens.
So many matches end in ways that make me wanna meh. For instance, the guy who dominates the match and beats his opponent senseless somehow loses because the plot demands the half-dead guy be the eventual winner, regardless of who was on the brink of victory and obviously the more skilled boxer.
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
Other than the MC's fights (which can be excused), Miyata's fight with Randy made me wanna punch the author. That one sucked. As if I needed one more reason to hate the Sasuke of this manga anymore. Ippo's homo crush on Miyata really irks me. It's always Miyata-san this, Miyata-san that. Won't you shaddap about that annoying guy already!?!
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
Itakagi's title fight was a surprise but satisfying cuz I wasn't gonna excuse the author for shoving that unlimited natural talent (over 9000!) BS down my throat for much longer. It had to be put a stop to at some point. Glad it happened when it did.
Takamura rulez. And you just gotta love Aoki. I've faced plenty of gags in plenty of manga, but Takamura's antics, which involve Aoki as the victim most of the time, nearly always make me lose control of myself. I end up LOLing, which is really rare for me.
but itagaki just reeeeeallly annoys me those last couple of chapters in which he starred kinda pissed me off. I am now a full fledged un repentant otaku. I like all types of manga not just sports or even shounen but i admit without hesitation that hajime no ippo is the absolute best. I have read dozens of manga and i'm sure to name this one in the top five for sure!!!! P.S. this manga is older than i am!!!!!
>interesting boxing manga >ippo is the strongest infighter with explosive punch but he's still far away from being a world champion ( might take another 1000 chapters for him to become one) >he likes kumi but he is definitely loves miyata more (miyata being on the top of course) >takamura is the main character in this manga >and my biggest fear is the mangaka end first before the manga itself.
Well, I don't know about others but while the recent two fights for Ippo have been not up to par and not keeping the excitement up, it feels like the mangaka has regained some of the creative, expressive juice of old. the manga once more seems focused with
//Spoiler// Miyata saying essentially that he doesn't care about "fastest in Japan" but only interested in the "fastest in the world" //Spoiler End//
among other things. I think its quite worth reading, 100 volumes or 200 volumes as long as the author is able to keep his creative/expressive juices flowing because a certain kind of stamina is necessary on a work this long about a single subject. I've fully enjoyed the ride even when it was at its lowest (Gedo). I'm glad to have read this best of all sports manga and glad to have come to terms with a sport that I'd never have encountered by choice otherwise. Please read this and do not worry about the length. I won't say its uniformly good by any choice of words but its still damn good even on the verge of the 100th volume
As an ex-competitive boxer / Thai boxer, I had to stop reading this after seeing the protagonist suffer so much head trauma, with the never-ending focus on simple 'toughness'. The fact of the matter is that you suffer permanent damage when you receive continual trauma like that, and that you will basically end up like Mohamed Ali if you don't wise up - what good is it to celebrate watching someone destroy themselves like that?
A real pro with a smart management team will do their best to avoid having too many brutal matches, as sooner or later you come back a changed man. (FWIW, I think Ali got his brain damage mostly from his training, which involved daily doses of massive head trauma to condition himself and thus be able to succeed with 'rope a dope' - it was insane training that required huge guts, but when you consider how it silenced a great thinker and social commentator, it is a terrible shame).
Anyhow, as a boxer once more, I think there is plenty to love and learn from in this manga. I really appreciated the research and references to the training that old-time greats used, as well as the many insights into different types of boxers (some of which are very pertinent). You can actually learn some useful stuff from reading this manga, if you happen to be a boxer.
The story, characters, comedy and such are all quite good, although I am not surprised to learn that it has become repetitive (based on the reviews below). I quit reading it before that, as I simply couldn't bear to watch the hero progressively destroy himself to such an extent. I have seen too many men destroyed by such a process to be able to ignore it in the manga...
I really liked the manga the first 10 volumes, but the pace is way too slow, the plot way to repetitive, the characters did not really evolve in 22 years much.
Unlike in mangas like Dragonball Z where better and stronger opponents seem plausible with transformation and stuff, Hajime no ippo as a boxing manga has gotten unrealistic and boring in its own world.
Maybe its because i've raised my standarts as i got older, so neverending plots like this one where the author will never finish it, just can't seem to interest me anymore.
It's got a classic formula that somehow always keeps you on your toes. The fights are enthralling, the artwork acceptable, and the pacing keeps the action flowing. It's not surprising that this series is about to break a 100 volumes. Try it out and you can even chip away with it in small bites.
at a whooping 94 volumes and counting this will give anybody with plenty of free time something to do. If you love boxing and are tired of the Rocky movies this seems like the manga for you. If you are not into boxing then it probably will get old.
in terms of how the matches go. After reading 900+ chapters, what seems to be the winning factor is how tough you are, if Morikawa-sensei planned to let one character win then that character would keep getting up and up, no matter how badly beaten he was. It made sense for awhile, until the formula was so played out that almost every matches with Ippo in it became so long drawn out until the inevitable "he finally did it" moment. Boring? Not quite as I still want to keep reading but it's such a shame if this series follow the pattern of 2-dimensional generic shounen.
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