Hajime no Ippo

Admittedly, I wanted to criticize the anime/manga industry as a whole for basically being unable to impress me for almost 5 years now before coming up with this post. Countless series are so much alike, that copycatting seems traditional to be found.

Luckily, I also remember those moments when anime continued to amaze me, as I started watching the medium in early 2004 with the animated movies Akira(1988) and Ninja Scroll(1993), and then gradually moved towards the countless series, starting with Full Metal Panic for some random reason.

And then there was Hajime no Ippo at some point, which despite looking "older", is a series about the art of boxing and it had moved me in numerous ways, not just the sport itself, but also the emotions, characters and motivations found inside.

Hajime no Ippo is a brilliant story about a weak fisherman's son getting bullied and then out of nowhere stepping up to become one of the fiercest and strongest Japanese boxers to ever appear all over the world.

It is also a hilarious comedy about competition, training, sexual puns and absurd moments. The overall plot flows great alongside the buildup of each fight that Ippo must mentally and physically prepare for.

As far as the fights themselves go, these are very intense and interesting to watch because the audience sees them thinking inbetween these flash moments of exchanging blows towards each other. Most of the opponents also have either a distinct fighting ability, a different personality or better yet, both.

The story motivated me to become stronger in general in real life too, as I got pumped up because of the adrenaline being present in it and I felt like working out, doubting no more and accomplishing goals I set up.

The world of boxing is strongly represented as international fights and fighting styles occur regulary. Carrying around their backgrounds, motivations and fists, pretty much all of the characters are worth seeing in action.

So despite my general pessimism about the industry, this is one of the select few that was able to touch me positively in several ways. Season 3 of the anime is happening as I type this, and I personally cannot wait to experience the ring's living mood once again with excitement.