Now, there are so many key moments that I can’t cram into this paragraph from early on in the series. We then witness the trials Ippo endures to prove how serious he is about becoming a pro boxer. Right there, that’s the moment our boy Ippo gets with the shits. After viewing the tape and seeing Tyson’s transformation, Ippo asks the question that’ll haunt him and us for years to come: Takamura gives Ippo a tape of Mike Tyson, explaining that Tyson’s demeanor was the same as Ippo’s in his youth until he became reborn. Takamura realizes he has power and that his work on the fishing boat gave him the muscular build to be a serious threat as a boxer. Ippo hits the heavy bag so hard that skin from his knuckles flies off. Ippo learns the first steps to throwing a proper punch from Takamura. Ippo wakes up in the Kamogawa boxing gym (thanks to Takamura) and this is where it all comes together. By chance, Takamura Mamoru happens to be jogging by and comes to his aide. Ippo gets picked on often due to his polite demeanor. His father died at sea saving a crew member’s life. He doesn’t have time to make friends as he helps with his mother’s fishing business. It’s impossible for you not to love this kid. The most polite, modest, and good-natured kid. In Japan’s late 1980’s era, we meet Makunouchi Ippo. “Get used to me, far from what I used to be” If you don’t, then in order to understand the heartbreak you need to get familiar with where it all started for Makunouchi Ippo. If you know the series you know what I mean. Hajime No Ippo is an incredibly beautiful story about a kid that falls in love with boxing… but it’s also the most devastating literature I’ve ever kept up with. I’m nervous even writing this because I’m so passionate about the series and I want to do it justice. It’s safe to say, all my shares of emotion are invested into this series.

I read it every day and everywhere I went for months. I started the series when it was about 800 chapters deep. In 2010, he told me to check out Hajime No Ippo created by Morikawa Jouji in 1989. Remember when Diddy shouted, “What I’m supposed to do now? Huh? What I’m supposed to do now? It’s all fucked up now.” That’s how much of a wreck this chapter and series has left me. Seven years later, chapter 1202 of Hajime No Ippo has me staring up into at the rain like Vegeta. “You’ll love the action and story,” he said. “You should check out this boxing manga,” he said.

Hajime no ippo manga chapter 976