HAJIME NO IPPO: ONE OF THE MOTIVATIONAL ANIMATED SERIES OF 21st CENTURY
‘Hajime no Ippo made me
a Boxer’ ‘Hajime no Ippo showed me the importance of life and the hardships a person should experience for succeeding in their journey to greatness’.
The above-mentioned comments are from
the viewers who managed to make out time from their hectic schedule to watch
one of the inspiring and energetic boxing animes of the 21st century. I
was dumbstruck when I found out that most of the pro-boxers of this era got
inspired by this anime and started their career in Boxing. To be honest, I
used to have an interest in sports like WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT
(scripted) but never felt like watching a Bout where fighters adore the gloves
for some serious violence. ‘Hajime no Ippo’ changed my insight on boxing.
‘Boxing is one hell of a violent sport full of jabs, hooks, cuts, and BLOOD’.
Hajime no Ippo is a Japanese boxing
manga written and illustrated by Jyoji Morikawa (George Morikawa) that has been
running for 30 years and it’s still going on. This is one of the few Manga that
falls in the category of the shonen genre. Till now the manga has 128 tankobon
volumes. The first volume was published back in 1989.
Hajime no Ippo got it’s first anime
adaptation back in 2000 which ran till 2002. The first season has full 76
action-packed episodes. The first season was followed by a movie named as
Hajime no Ippo: champion road which was released back in 2003. This was
followed by two more seasons.
Let’s get to the main topic.
Why am I writing an article on this
20-year-old Anime? What’s special in this anime.
Hajime no Ippo © Madhouse studio/ Nippon Tv
One of the propitious messages this
show delivered to its viewers is to be Persistent and hardworking until you
succeed in your life. An inner urge to endure all the hardships and problems
will make you strong. Ippo is a timid high school kid who didn’t socialize much
due to his hectic schedule and acts as a punching bag for the bullies until one
day he accidentally met a pro boxer who rescued him from a difficult situation.
After that unexpected meeting, Ippo’s life changed. He worked relentlessly to
be a boxer.
The story sounds simple but it isn’t.
Allow me to share the four reasons
why you should watch this underrated Gem.
Hajime no Ippo new challenger © Madhouse studios/ Nippon Tv
1)
Character development: If you want to
find out the essence of character development then you should watch this
series. It took them 50 episodes to turn a high school kid into a ferocious
boxer who thrive for one goal i.e to be strong. You will get addicted to this
show by witnessing the dedication and diligence of the main protagonist (Ippo).
2) A show which is devoid of protagonist-antagonist theory: A pure sports drama that never tried to delineate the same old mundane postulation of a ‘hero who sets off in a journey to take out the villain’. Each and every character has their own back story that puts them in a grey light. You will find it difficult to classify them as a person filled up with evil or good intentions. In other words, when Ippo will fight against his rival you will never feel like hating or disliking his rival you will think yourself as a neutral audience enjoying the bout.
Comic timing is perfect: Jyoji Morikawa should be praised for his skills of adding up comical references in a
serious sports manga based on boxing. Apart from boxing, the series has numerous
sequences that portray quality humour. Though most of them sound a bit adult it will be enough to make you guffaw like a mad man.
Hajime no Ippo © Madhouse studios/ Nippon Tv
4)
Boxing redefined: Ashita no joe is
one of the most popular boxing mangas in Japan that was published back in the 60s. Hajime no Ippo turns out to be its successor. With the superior quality of
animation compared to the later one and a better fight sequence made the show
more interesting and energetic. Though the moves look a bit exaggerated and
unrealistic still it’s full of entertainment.
It’s a shame that most
of the weebs (a person who lives in the world of anime) didn’t know about this
amazing show. One of the prime reasons behind its unpopularity is its manga.
The manga hasn’t been published in English due to which most of them don’t know
about this anime. Another important reason behind its lack of fame is the
genre of the anime. Most of the weebs don’t like to watch anime based on
sports.
As a sports freak, I
would recommend you to watch this anime. I am sure you will not get
disappointed.
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