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Title: Hajime no Ippo
Genres: Boxing, Sports
Author: Jyoji Morikawa
Artist: Jyoji Morikawa
Publication: Weekly Shonen Magazine
Start Date: 17 February, 1990
End Date: Still running
Number of chapters at review: 810
Number of chapters read by reviewer: 810
General Overview: Ippo Makunouchi, a strong but shy high schooler, often gets beat up by bullies. One day he is saved by a professional middle weight boxer and, as a result, becomes inspired to take up boxing and learn the meaning of true strength.
Category Ratings: (1-10 scale)
Art: 8 Hajime no Ippo is centered on boxing, so similarly, the art is also centered on the fights. Morikawa has probably perfected the drawing of boxing to a degree I doubt anyone could do it better. All the fights are very stylistic, and very exciting. Character art has steadily transitioned through the series such that at the beginning everything was somewhat rounder (faces, noses, eyes), but at this point it resembles what one might be more accustomed to seeing in other current mangas (sharper noses, longer faces, taller characters). Backgrounds tend to be training areas, gyms, the occasional forests and beaches, but this does not detract from the series at all. The main event, so to speak, is the boxing.
Plot: 7 Hajime no Ippo has somewhat of a simple plot, following Ippo and his gym mates as they train for upcoming matches and discover new strategies and techniques, culminating in exciting boxing matches (it should be noted that the spectacular fights are longer than the training sequences). Because arcs are limited to single matches, reader gratification tends to come more quickly due to shorter, non-drawn out story arcs.
Characters: 9 The main characters in Hajime no Ippo (members of the Kamogawa gym, assorted rivals) are all very memorable, each receiving their own development and fighting styles. This is where much of the comedy comes in as well, as the actions of certain characters are downright hilarious.
Theme: The themes in Hajime no Ippo are fairly typical of shounen manga: unending determination, hard work, triumphing over adversity. I'm not going to grade it as you yourself can determine how fond you are of such themes.
Originality: 7 I haven't seen any other boxing mangas, but the whole train, fight, rest, repeat sequence has been used before.
Edit: Apparently there is another boxing themed manga named 'Ashita no Joe', whose titular character Joe Yabuki served as the inspiration for the character Sendou Takeshi in 'Hajime no Ippo'. According to Wikipedia, "'Ashita no Joe' is a critically acclaimed boxing manga created by Tetsuya Chiba and Asao Takamori in 1968 that was later adapted into an anime series and movie." Perhaps someone could post a review? Thanks to Ramen4ever for the tip.
Overall: 9 With a prolific 18 years of publication, Hajime no Ippo is simply one of the, if not the best sports manga. Without resorting to melodrama teetering over the brink of stupidity (I'm looking at you Prince of Tennis), this is a series that will get you very emotionally invested into its characters. If you have not done so yet, get off your ass and read Hajime no Ippo, because there is no excuse for missing out on one of the most exceedingly enjoyable mangas out there.
[Luckas]Added manga images.[/Luckas]
Genres: Boxing, Sports
Author: Jyoji Morikawa
Artist: Jyoji Morikawa
Publication: Weekly Shonen Magazine
Start Date: 17 February, 1990
End Date: Still running
Number of chapters at review: 810
Number of chapters read by reviewer: 810
General Overview: Ippo Makunouchi, a strong but shy high schooler, often gets beat up by bullies. One day he is saved by a professional middle weight boxer and, as a result, becomes inspired to take up boxing and learn the meaning of true strength.
Category Ratings: (1-10 scale)
Art: 8 Hajime no Ippo is centered on boxing, so similarly, the art is also centered on the fights. Morikawa has probably perfected the drawing of boxing to a degree I doubt anyone could do it better. All the fights are very stylistic, and very exciting. Character art has steadily transitioned through the series such that at the beginning everything was somewhat rounder (faces, noses, eyes), but at this point it resembles what one might be more accustomed to seeing in other current mangas (sharper noses, longer faces, taller characters). Backgrounds tend to be training areas, gyms, the occasional forests and beaches, but this does not detract from the series at all. The main event, so to speak, is the boxing.
Plot: 7 Hajime no Ippo has somewhat of a simple plot, following Ippo and his gym mates as they train for upcoming matches and discover new strategies and techniques, culminating in exciting boxing matches (it should be noted that the spectacular fights are longer than the training sequences). Because arcs are limited to single matches, reader gratification tends to come more quickly due to shorter, non-drawn out story arcs.
Characters: 9 The main characters in Hajime no Ippo (members of the Kamogawa gym, assorted rivals) are all very memorable, each receiving their own development and fighting styles. This is where much of the comedy comes in as well, as the actions of certain characters are downright hilarious.
Theme: The themes in Hajime no Ippo are fairly typical of shounen manga: unending determination, hard work, triumphing over adversity. I'm not going to grade it as you yourself can determine how fond you are of such themes.
Originality: 7 I haven't seen any other boxing mangas, but the whole train, fight, rest, repeat sequence has been used before.
Edit: Apparently there is another boxing themed manga named 'Ashita no Joe', whose titular character Joe Yabuki served as the inspiration for the character Sendou Takeshi in 'Hajime no Ippo'. According to Wikipedia, "'Ashita no Joe' is a critically acclaimed boxing manga created by Tetsuya Chiba and Asao Takamori in 1968 that was later adapted into an anime series and movie." Perhaps someone could post a review? Thanks to Ramen4ever for the tip.
Overall: 9 With a prolific 18 years of publication, Hajime no Ippo is simply one of the, if not the best sports manga. Without resorting to melodrama teetering over the brink of stupidity (I'm looking at you Prince of Tennis), this is a series that will get you very emotionally invested into its characters. If you have not done so yet, get off your ass and read Hajime no Ippo, because there is no excuse for missing out on one of the most exceedingly enjoyable mangas out there.
[Luckas]Added manga images.[/Luckas]
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You are right that HNI is not as focused on the comedy as ES. I guess I was just thinking that I had more laugh out loud moments reading HNI than ES.
