Hajime no Ippo

Hajime no Ippo is a Japanese animated television series based on the manga of the same name by George Morikawa. It was produced by studio Madhouse and broadcast by Nippon TV from 4 October 2000 to 27 March 2002. The series has 76 episodes, but the final episode was released only on DVD and did not appear on television; television broadcast therefore covered 75 episodes. The story follows Ippo Makunouchi, who begins a boxing career and faces a number of opponents. Boxing is the central theme of the whole series, and the protagonist's sporting career forms the backbone of the plot. We did not find in the sources how faithfully the series depicts boxing training and technique. We also have not been able to establish whether a boxing expert advisor took part in its production. The series is the first television animated adaptation of Morikawa's manga; further series, a television film and an OVA followed in later years.

Martial arts in this work

Origin

The series is based on George Morikawa's manga, which began to be published in October 1989 in Kodansha's weekly Weekly Shonen Magazine. The magazine is aimed at a shonen readership of boys, and in 1991 the manga won the 15th Kodansha Manga Award. After the first television series of 2000–2002 came the television film Champion Road (2003) and later the series New Challenger (2009, 26 episodes) and Rising (2013–2014, 25 episodes). An OVA was made alongside them.

People and martial arts

• George MorikawaAuthor

Details

Status

Completed

Episodes

76

Demographic

Shonen

First published / aired

Nippon TV