Episode 27 (Season 1)

Death Match
Episode Information
Previous	The Battle for Distance
Episode	Season 1 #27 (Watch Online)
Next	Victory or Defeat
Japanese Title	死闘
Romanized Title	Shitō
Arc	Rookie King Tournament: Finals Arc
Manga	Round 82 (p.2-19) Round 83 (p.1-19) Round 84 (p.1-19) Round 85 (p.2-16)
Air dates
Japanese	April 10, 2001
English	June 21, 2005
Music
Opening	Inner Light
Ending	360°

Death Match is Round 27 of the Hajime no Ippo anime, which is the adaptation of Jōji Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo series.

Summary

Ippo attempts another body blow, but is stopped again by Mashiba's Elbow Block. At Kamogawa's advise, Ippo tries to use his jabs, but is stopped by Mashiba's own. The positions are inverted, with Ippo against the ropes and Mashiba initiating his finishing pattern. Ippo, despite his pain, still utilises his right and is once again blocked by Mashiba. Ippo is now determined to keep hitting the elbow block with his right until one of them gives in. Mashiba, now annoyed by Ippo's perseverance, feints a Flicker Jab, but instead delivers a Chopping Right. Ippo is stunned and Mashiba tries to finish him, but in a dual exchange, Ippo hits Mashiba's elbow again while receiving a hit to the face. After the exchange, Mashiba is unable to keep his left arm up, therefore becomes unable to use his Hitman Style. Seeing the opportunity, Ippo charges at him. After the damage inflicted by Ippo's consecutive strikes, Mashiba becomes unable to use his Flicker Jab, due to the pain in his left arm. Realising that he was the winner of the exchange, Ippo quickly rushes in and delivers combinations of body blows to Mashiba's body. As Ippo dominates the fight, Mashiba begins to lose control of his legs. Determined to finish the fight, Ippo goes on the attack, but suddenly starts suffering from the damage he has received. Despite this he manages to keep standing and trade blows with Mashiba. Ippo clearly has the upper hand as Mashiba is on shaky legs. Mashiba catches Ippo with a clinch, but the latter gets away ready to strike when the bell rings. Both fighters go to their corners as they tell themselves how they will win the fight. In Mashiba's corner, his second tells him to use his feet and distance himself from Ippo. Kamogawa on the other corner notices that Ippo's fists are bleeding, and realising that he can not convince him to stop (as he is using Miyata as an example of someone who bet his career for the tournament), advises his boxer on how to win the fight by taking the minimum amount of damage to the injured hand. As the second round begins, both fighters begin to exchange blows, with Ippo dominating once again. Kumi, unable to watch the beating her brother is receiving, walks out of the Kōrakuen Hall, but is soon stopped by Tanaka who convinces her to cheer for him as they re-enter the hall. Ippo, who has outclassed Mashiba, is ready to finish the fight, but the latter begins to remember his sister and the reasons he has for fighting. Despite the massive pain from the damage in his left arm, he is able to once again switch to the Hitman Style. Confident that Mashiba will not be able to use his left arm, and that the Hitman Style is only a "bluff", Ippo advances intending to finish the fight, but is extremely surprised when he receives a Flicker Jab to the face. Mashiba, despite the severe pain, manages a combination with both arms, finishing with a Chopping Right that sends Ippo down. As the referee counts, notes to himself how strong Mashiba is, and begins to lose hope. However, upon noticing Mashiba's shaking legs, Ippo regains his confidence and stands up with much struggle after holding the ropes.

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
Masaru Aoki	Wataru Takagi	高木 渉	Takagi Wataru	Jim Taggert
Tatsuya Kimura	Keiji Fujiwara	藤原 啓治	Fujiwara Keiji	Grant George
Manager Yagi	Toshihiko Nakajima	中嶋 聡彦	Nakajima Toshihiko	George Z. Cole
Ryō Mashiba	Masahiko Tanaka	田中 正彦	Tanaka Masahiko	Terry Roberts
Tōhō Gym Coach	Yukitoshi Hori	堀 之紀	Hori Yukitoshi	Richard George
Tanaka Transportation President	Yōsuke Akimoto	秋元 羊介	Akimoto Yōsuke
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

Episode Credits

Role	English Name	Japanese	Rōmaji
Screenplay	Ryōsuke Nakamura	中村 亮介	Nakamura Ryōsuke
Storyboard	Ken'ichi Kawamura	川村 賢一	Kawamura Ken'ichi
Director	Ken'ichi Kawamura	川村 賢一	Kawamura Ken'ichi
Animation Director	Toshiyuki Kan'no Masanori Shino	菅野 利之 筱 雅律	Kan'no Toshiyuki Shino Masanori