I’ve been incredibly lucky recently. I managed to stumble upon one of the most gripping, relatable, and realistic manga series that I’ve ever read. It’s one of the longest series in existence today and still doesn’t have an ending in sight. Now my favorite manga of all time, this is my take on the story of Makunouchi Ippo in the manga Hajime No Ippo.
Let me be clear. This is not the most creative manga, or the best drawn. Frankly it’s not the best written either. The characters are a bit shallow at times, and at over 30 years in existence, it’s a manga that certainly shows its age. Yet there’s something so incredibly compelling about this story that has had me hooked from the first chapter. Now 1300 chapters in and I’m still reading this series like an addict. Although I’m not quite finished with the full series, I just couldn’t help jot down a few thoughts I had while reflecting on the story so far.
What immediately hooked me about this series is the realistic nature of how everything develops, along with how Ippo faces every obstacle that comes his way. The series starts with Ippo getting bullied by some classmates after school, with him being completely unable to defend himself and frankly scared of any violence. Before it went to far, the large and formidable local boxer Takamura stepped up out of the blue and saved Ippo from the attackers. Seeing how pathetic Ippo was, Takamura decided to help Ippo out and invited him to his boxing gym. He showed him the ropes step by step, and although Ippo had no foundation for boxing or any sort of sport in general, he does know how to work hard. Over time and though some very intense training, Ippo is able to slowly get into fighting shape and starts to dive into the world of boxing, one small step at a time.
This is exactly what I love about this story. Ippo is a guy that starts with nothing. No talent, no natural fighting instincts or any background in sports, just a good attitude and a willingness to learn and work hard. He’s never cocky, has no attitude, never talks any smack about his opponents, and is honestly a true competitor and sportsman. Nothing comes easily to Ippo, and we often see the trials of his growth over many chapters to show his progress over time. In one of the first challenges for Ippo, he is told that he has to catch 10 leaves as they fall from a tree with one hand, and only has 7 days to learn how to do it all by himself. At first he’s barely able to catch even one, and it seems impossible the more he tries. Yet over several chapters we see him very slowly figure out how to move his body so he’s fast enough, and finally starts to build more and more leaves caught until he reaches his goal, just in time to show his sensei. I really enjoyed how carefully crafted this challenge was for Ippo, and really gave me a feeling of growth from Ippo as the series continued.
Of course the main focus of this series is boxing. Most of the story is told either though Ippo’s or his fellow boxer’s different fights as they progress in their boxing careers. To me, the fights are the best part of the series. The anticipation and suspense built up to each match is always so well crafted, sometimes taking more than 10 chapters just to lead up to the action. In many cases his opponents are so vile you want to punch them yourself, while others have more emotional backgrounds that leave you questioning who to root for. Each fight brings unique challenges that force Ippo to try new tactics or fight different styles of fighters. And truthfully each punch thrown feels intensely visceral. It’s impossible to not get drawn onto Ippo’s side in most matches while he learns how his opponents attack, figuring out their tactics and developing new skills on the spot in the ring. Incredibly, it almost always ends with him using sheer willpower to outlast some of the most skilled boxers in Japan on his way to the top, which speaks volumes about this guy’s character and grit.
I really want to dig into the fact of how realistic this series is. This isn’t just some pumped up action series about deadly knockouts in the ring, or guys with ridiculous superpowers charging violently at each other. Instead we see real tactics, real training and learn the actual terminology for the foundations of boxing. We grow alongside and learn everything through the eyes of Ippo, who’s simply fascinated with everything related to boxing and only wants to grow stronger while challenging the best in the sport. It’s been a great way to get acclimated with boxing, I’ll admit. Personally I’ve never cared for anything boxing related in my life until now. Even with my background in wrestling in grade school and high school, I still never learned much in the way of boxing. Yet now I find myself completely captivated by it. Truthfully I almost want to give it a shot. I think I’m a bit too old now to really give it a go like Ippo, but just the fact that it has me thinking about picking it up shows how great this manga has made boxing look.
This brings me to the reason for the review today. I hope it’s clear by now that I love this series, so I won’t take up any more time going over everything great about it. Instead I want to talk about what I think is the core of this story, which is the concept of finding a purpose and taking that challenge on with everything you have. I think this is a common enough problem, one that I bet every person reading this has encountered at least once in their life. Yet Ippo brings a whole new life to this situation. It’s incredibly heartwarming to see someone fall in love with a sport like Ippo does, and it’s difficult not to fall in love with the sport too as we learn the fundamentals and see how much hard work goes into the sport of boxing. It’s a true coming of age story that keeps you along for every step of the ride, even the gritty and nasty bits. Yet one vital question always comes up for Ippo, even in his most successful moments, that seemingly defines his career as a boxer – that is “What does it mean to be strong?”
This is probably the craziest line for me to wrap my head around, especially coming from Ippo’s mouth as he’s fighting for the championship in Japan. We’re talking about a champion fighter, one that’s overcome obstacle after obstacle and risen to the top of his peers, but he’s still not convinced he’s strong. I believe this question holds the true purpose Ippo is looking for. He’s constantly plagued by this question. He’s chasing this ideal of strength, yet he doesn’t know where it ends. At first it was to challenge Miyata in the professional ring, then it evolved into proving to his teammates and coach that he has what it takes to be a champ, and finally seems to be coming around to simply proving to himself that he’s strong. All that he knows is he loves the sport and loves to work hard to get good at it. So even with all his victories and accomplishments, he’s fighting for something greater because he knows he can and he deserves to prove that to himself. To him, that’s what it means to be strong.
After some reflection on this myself, I started to consider how my life would be different if I took on Ippo’s attitude, asking the same question. What does it mean for me to be strong?
I don’t have a perfect answer, but I think I can take some advice from the series to help give some guidance. “Not every person who works hard is rewarded. But, all those who succeed have worked hard.” This quote is essentially the backbone for this entire series, and says just about everything you need to know about Ippo and his mindset. He’s not destined for greatness, but he knows that. He’s an average dude by all accounts. He simply works harder than anyone around to make his dreams a reality and is always willing to offer a helping hand.
I think that’s what it means to be strong. To stand in the face of adversity and come at it with everything you’ve got. Then after the dust settles, still be able to show love to the ones you care about. There may not be a guarantee of greatness or success, but if you have a chance to fight for something you love, Ippo would say to give everything possible to make that dream a reality.
I very likely will not become a boxer after this, I just don’t think that’s in the cards for me. I don’t take punches well anyways. But I can honestly say I have my sights set on a purpose, just like the one Ippo found. I want to know what it takes to be strong and push myself to my absolute limits to find it. I have no guarantee of success, but with hard work, discipline, and a positive attitude like Ippo I’m sure I can meet any goal I set my mind to.
And that’s why I love Hajime No Ippo. 10/10, if not already implied.
As always, thanks for stopping by. Rock on, stay strong.