As Long As My Head's Clear is Round 1025 of Jōji Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo manga series.
Details[]
- Title Page Character(s): Ippo Makunouchi, Ryūhei Sawamura, Iwao Shimabukuro
Summary[]
Takamura is glad he stopped himself before he announced to the crowd that Itagaki was going to dominate, preventing his embarrassment. Itagaki gets up, thinking everyone is exaggerating, and the match continues. Imai knows that Itagaki is going to be on shaky feet due to his right body blow, and without his legs, Itagaki is a fragile boxer with no punching power. Itagaki sees that his legs are too numb to move, but he thinks that as long as his head is clear, he still has a chance, as he can make do with his upper body and let himself recover after a minute. Itagaki lowers his guard, a move that Date comments as risky, but he is also building up rhythm which may help him relax a bit. As Itagaki focuses every bit of his mind, Imai knows that while Itagaki looks to be taking things lightly, it is a sign his unique offence is about to kick in, noticing how the way he moves every part of his body like a feint, and if he reacts to any of Itagaki's motions the wrong way, he can end up losing sight of him, letting Itagaki fly around without taking a single hit. He notes how Itagaki's high speed movement, relentless feints, and pinpoint positioning lets his time-warp take effect, and is why he is called "Chronos". Watching in his waiting room in the venue, Ippo wonders why Imai is slow to pursue him in his big chance until he remembers that Imai took Itagaki's hooks earlier in the round which might have affected him badly, which means Itagaki has a chance. As Imai draws closer to Itagaki, the latter sees Imai's path, and even his muscle fibres. Imai throws a barrage of punches that Itagaki swiftly dodges with just his upper body moving, as well as countering one of Imai's punches.
Trivia[]
- The cover page was made to advertise that the third anime season was coming out in Fall 2013. It features Ryūhei Sawamura and Iwao Shimabukuro as they are the two boxers Ippo Makunouchi would be fighting in that season.