Episode 23 (Season 1)

The Other Semi-Final
Episode Information
Previous	Forward! Forward!!
Episode	Season 1 #23 (Watch Online)
Next	To the Promised Place...
Japanese Title	もう一つの準決勝
Romanized Title	Mōhitotsu no Junkesshō
Arc	Rookie King Tournament: Finals Arc
Manga	Round 65 (p.1, 4-19) Round 66 (p.2-19) Round 67 (p.1-19) Round 68 (p.1-19) Round 69 (p.1-10)
Air dates
Japanese	March 13, 2001
English	April 19, 2005
Music
Opening	Under Star
Ending	Yūzora no Kami Hikōki

The Other Semi-Final is Round 23 of the Hajime no Ippo anime, which is the adaptation of Jōji Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo series.

Details

• Characters Introduced: Kawahara Coach, Kida, Tōhō Coach

Summary

Despite being told to rest, by both his mother and Kamogawa, Ippo decides to do light exercise but ends up doing a full roadwork session. Before going home, he stops by the Yamanaka Bakery. He sees the girl who was there last time. When she talks to him, he sends all his bread flying in the air. But catches them with jabs and explains he is a boxer. The girl asks if it is fun, to which he replies that it is. She wishes him luck and he happily leaves. As Takamura trains with Kamogawa, he begs him to rest, but once he sees Ippo running, he is motivated and continues to train. Miyata and Mashiba both make the weight limit for their fight. Mashiba tries to tease Miyata, but the latter simply ignores him, much to the former's surprise. The day of Miyata and Mashiba's match arrives, Ippo and Takamura encounter Fujii at the Kōrakuen Hall, and they walk in together. Miyata in his locker room, discusses with his father, his determination to face Ippo, who has made it that far in order to fulfil his promise. Meanwhile, in Mashiba's room, his gym mates discuss on how arrogant he is, and about his disturbing presence. Before the match begins, the entire audience is unusually quiet, waiting for the bell to ring. Fujii, Ippo and Takamura discuss and with much detail analyse the advantages and disadvantage of each fighter. They end up deciding to cheer for Miyata. As the gong sounds, both fighters immediately go to the centre of the ring and quickly exchange the first punches that mark the beginning of the match that will decide the finals of the tournament. The fight continues with a highly technical trade where neither fighter connects a hit, but as noted by Fujii, they are only "checking each other out". Miyata displays a higher level of technique and speed slightly dominating an exchange, which forces Mashiba to utilise his Hitman Style. Mashiba attempts a Flicker Jab, which Miyata appears to dodge, but is connected in the end. Stunned by Mashiba's reach advantage, Miyata realises his mistake, and switches to a Southpaw version of the Hitman Style. Thinking he is being underestimated, Mashiba attacks with another Flicker Jab, but is deflected by Miyata's shoulder. Miyata closes in, and as Mashiba attempts a straight, he is hit with a counter, sending him to the mat. Mashiba is on the floor, struggling to stand and is finally able to do so by using the ropes, as the the referee is about to instruct them to keep fighting, Miyata quickly rushes in ready to finish the fight, but is stopped by the ringing of the bell. Each boxer talks to their respective seconds in their corner, with Miyata's father congratulating him, and Mashiba's coach telling him to not rush it. The second round continues and Mashiba goes on the attack despite everyone's predictions, Miyata's father tells him to back off. Miyata ignores his father's advice as he thinks he would be laughed at, and begins a seemingly even exchange that he ends up dominating. Motivated by his upcoming fight with Ippo, Miyata unleashes a combination, that leaves Mashiba confused. Miyata has the upper hand after connecting a solid hit, but Mashiba, in desperation, attempts various hits that misses his opponent. Miyata is calmly analysing and waiting the right moment to deal the finishing blow, but Mashiba, full of hatred and refusing to lose, steps on Miyata's foot. The foul, distracts Miyata, giving Mashiba the opportunity to connect a powerful hit on Miyata's open face. With Miyata confused, Mashiba proceeds with a vicious combination that sends Miyata down.

Anime-Manga Differences

See also: Anime-Manga Differences

Credits

Characters are named as they appear in the credits.

Role	English Name	Japanese	Rōmaji	English Voice Actor
Ippo Makunouchi	Kōhei Kiyasu	喜安 浩平	Kiyasu Kōhei	Steve Cannon
Mamoru Takamura	Rikiya Koyama	小山 力也	Koyama Rikiya	Eddie Frierson
Coach Kamogawa	Kenji Utsumi	内海 賢二	Utsumi Kenji	Richard George
Ichirō Miyata	Tomokazu Seki	関 智一	Seki Tomokazu	Jason Palmer
Miyata's Father	Unshō Ishizuka	石塚 運昇	Ishizuka Unshō	George Z. Cole
Reporter Fujii	Ken'ichi Ono	小野 健一	Ono Ken'ichi	Bobby Hasting
Ryō Mashiba	Masahiko Tanaka	田中 正彦	Tanaka Masahiko	Terry Roberts
Tōhō Gym Coach	Yukitoshi Hori	堀 之紀	Hori Yukitoshi	Richard George
Referee	Shōji Izumi	泉 尚摯	Izumi Shōji	Steve Areno
Ring Announcer	Katsuyuki Konishi	小西 克幸	Konishi Katsuyuki
Live Announcer	Jin Horikawa	堀川 仁	Horikawa Jin	Ron Allen
Kumi Mashiba	Sanae Kobayashi	小林 沙苗	Kobayashi Sanae	Jennifer Sekiguchi
Athlete	Yoshinori Sonobe	園部 好徳	Sonobe Yoshinori

Episode Credits

Role	English Name	Japanese	Rōmaji
Screenplay	Daisuke Aranishi	荒西 大介	Aranishi Daisuke
Storyboard	Nanako Shimazaki	島崎 奈々子	Shimazaki Nanako
Director	Nanako Shimazaki	島崎 奈々子	Shimazaki Nanako
Animation Director	Noriyuki Fukuda	ふくだ のりゆき	Fukuda Noriyuki