Episode 53 (Season 1)

So That I Can Be Myself
Episode Information
Previous	The Challenger
Episode	Season 1 #53 (Watch Online)
Next	Fists of the Champ
Japanese Title	俺が俺であるために
Romanized Title	Ore ga Oredearu Tame ni
Arc	Challenge for the Throne Arc
Manga	Round 174 (p.2-19) Round 175 (p.2-19) Round 176 (p.2-18) Round 177 (p.3-13)
Air dates
Japanese	October 16, 2001
English	April 25, 2006
Music
Opening	Tumbling Dice
Ending	Eternal Loop

So That I Can Be Myself is Round 53 of the Hajime no Ippo anime, which is the adaptation of Jōji Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo series.

Details

• Characters Introduced: Ricardo Martínez, Aiko Date, Yūji Date, Aiko's Brother
• Locations Introduced: Aztec Stadium, Ōarai Golf Course, Jackson, Ishikawa Hospital

Summary

After roadwork, Date arrives to the Nakadai gym and has Nakadai bring him two sparring partners from weight classes above him. Nakadai explains to Okita that Date is attempting to surpass the level he had when he was in his prime six years prior when he challenged the world. Date easily defeats the much heavier opponent and begins feeling pain from the scar on his nose. After training, Ippo goes over to Takamura's place in order to watch Date's match against Ricardo Martínez. They find a magazine with pictures of the match, and Takamura briefly tells Ippo the events leading to Date's retirement. He also states that despite being who he was when younger, Date can no longer win at his age. Ippo however believes that he fact that he is trying so hard after all that time, makes Date even more fearsome. Later that night, Date is remembering with Nakadai how they went to Mexico, and how his scar always throbs reminding him of his defeat at the hands of the champion. In the past, motivated by the thought of gaining the acceptance of Aiko's parents, Date trains hard and leaves for Mexico in order to face Ricardo. Despite being confident and calm in his opponent's home, Date loses the fight and gains his scar. When he returns to Japan, Date finds that his wife suffered a miscarriage and decided to not inform him, so that he could fight without worries. After these events, Date retires from boxing. Three years later, Date is living with Aiko and they have a new child. He has a desk job at a company where he is becoming successful. However, despite the happy appearance, it is clear that something upsets Aiko, and Date usually wakes up at night having a dream about becoming champion and holding in his arms, his baby that was not born. In an attempt to accept his new life, Date repeatedly tells himself that his current situation in the best; he has a new child, Aiko says she is happier than before, and he is now being promoted in his company. Despite all these things, Date claims that he does not feel alive anymore. When Date gets home, he is disturbed by the sight of his boxing trophies, and decides to throw them away. However, Aiko opposes his decision and begins crying, refusing to pretend she is living a happy life. She tells him that he never returned from Mexico and that their son will never see the man his father once was. The next day, Date quits his job and begins training to regain his condition. He goes to Nakadai at his gym and requests his help in returning to the world of boxing. In no time, Date once again becomes the JBC featherweight champion and defends the title four times. Back in the present day, Date is worried about leaving his home for training camp, but after talking it over with Aiko, he decides to begin training with Nakadai like they did for the world title match. At the day of Takamura's weigh-in, they find out that Takamura is 200 grams over weight. He leaves in order to return and re-weigh in three hours, and Ippo accompanies him. While in the sauna, Takamura reflects with Ippo about the irony of being ranked number one despite the fact that there is someone better. He explains that the champion has a special power because he is a king, and that he will demonstrate it that night. Before Takamura's match begins, Ippo is surprised by Date, who is waiting to wish Takamura luck as a fellow champion. Ippo tells him what Takamura said about the power of a champion, and Date recognises this as he states that someone who knows this, will not lose. Before leaving, Date tells Ippo that his punches are weak and that he will not be able to take the featherweight belt.

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 Epcar
Manager Yagi	Toshihiko Nakajima	中嶋 聡彦	Nakajima Toshihiko	George Z. Cole
Eiji Date	Masaki Aizawa	相沢 正輝	Aizawa Masaki	Rafael Antonio
Nakadai Gym Coach	Mitsuru Ogata	小形 満	Ogata Mitsuru	Micheal Sorich
Keigo Okita	Hiroaki Hirata	平田 広明	Hirata Hiroaki	Marvin Lee
Aiko Date	Sakiko Tamagawa	玉川 沙己子	Tamagawa Sakiko	Midge Mayes
Date's Son	Naomi Wakabayashi	若林 直美	Wakabayashi Naomi
Aiko's Older Brother	Seiji Sasaki	佐々木 誠二	Sasaki Seiji	D.C. Douglas
Live Announcer	Jin Horikawa	堀川 仁	Horikawa Jin	Ron Allen
Official	Shōji Izumi	泉 尚摯	Izumi Shōji

Episode Credits

Role	English Name	Japanese	Rōmaji
Screenplay	Ryōsuke Nakamura	中村 亮介	Nakamura Ryōsuke
Storyboard	Yasuhiro Sugimura	杉村 泰弘	Sugimura Yasuhiro
Director	Yasuhiro Sugimura	杉村 泰弘	Sugimura Yasuhiro
Animation Director	Gorō Kitano	北野 五郎	Kitano Gorō