The Japan Featherweight Title Match is Round 55 of the Hajime no Ippo anime, which is the adaptation of Jōji Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo series.
Details[]
- Techniques Introduced: Neck Spin, Under-the-Ear
- Locations Introduced: Sports Gym
Summary[]
After mitt practice, Kamogawa tells Ippo to go home and rest for the fight. As Takamura, Aoki, Kimura, and Tomiko watched Ippo's training outside the ring, Aoki tells Ippo to go to the storage room after e showers. After Ippo showers he heads to the storage room, where Aoki wants Tomiko to do fortune telling on Ippo. While Ippo doesn't want it done, Takamura and Kimura holds Ippo still and tells Tomiko to tell the fortune. Tomiko places tarot cards down and starts telling Ippo's fortune for tomorrow only to be interrupted by Kamogawa. As the boxers leave the Kamogawa gym, Kamogawa and Yagi begin to leave as well while reminiscing when Ippo first opened the gym's door, and now he is a main eventer about to challenge for the JBC featherweight title. As Ippo heads home, he is glad that he was able to relax after the fortune telling. He remembers his last sparring match with Date, but is confident the result will be different. At the Sports Gym, Date's doctor tells him that the results of his tests show that he is in perfect condition for fighting, and that he pities his next opponent. As Date walks home, he notes to himself that Ippo has no reason to be pitied, because unlike Date himself, he is still young. Date thinks about how he resigned himself a long time ago that his next loss means retirement, so he plans to pulverise Ippo. Ippo gets home after the weigh-in, and notices that his mother is not there, but left his lunch consisting of fried pork chops and a red snapper with the head attached ready. After eating, Ippo reflects on all he has achieved and how far he has gotten. After eating, he heads out for the Kōrakuen Hall. Outside of the Kōrakuen Hall, Umezawa organises a cheering squad for Ippo, that includes their former professor, Takemura, Matsuda, and more of their former classmates. In his changing room, Date wonders if it is the colder weather making his old wound on is nose sting. In Ippo's changing room, Ippo shadowboxes until a staff member tells him to get ready to go to the ring. Both boxers are introduced by the announcers as they enter the ring. After they go to their corners, they wait for the gong to sound. Ippo and Date approach each other with caution, fearing experience and power respectively. As a test, Date sends a quick jab, which Ippo easily dodges and uses to close the distance. Ippo displays his technical weaving asking for a trade, and in response, Date throws another jab. Both fighters begin the exchange, but as Ippo is confident that the Heart Break Shot will not reach him at close distance, he seems to have the advantage. Date baits Ippo into going down so that he can land an uppercut, but Ippo dodges and leaves Date open for an attack. Realising he has no time to block or dodge, Date simply receives the liver blow with the intention of attacking immediately after. After landing his hit, Ippo receives one to the face but keeps on fighting. Slowly getting annoyed, Date lands a hit on Ippo, who gets shaken despite being guarded. After being immobilised by the under-the-ear right hook, Ippo loses control of his feet. Date realises this, and launches a one-two that lands cleanly on his opponents face. Ippo protects himself, but Date's uppercut blows his guard away. Open for an attack, Ippo receives several hits he can not defend himself from. With only thirty seconds left, Ippo goes on the offensive but is received once more by punches from the champion. Date throws his Corkscrew Blow, but Ippo blocks and uses the opportunity to push Date against the ropes. Date assumes they are too close to hit each other, but is surprised by a painful body blow. Despite the damage, Date is still able to continue, but Ippo's offensive rush stops him from doing so. Date receives another hit to the face that almost knocks him out, so he clinches. Remembering that Ippo can inflict damage at such distance, Date pushes him back again. The gong sounds with a ten to ten score, declaring the round a draw. At the corner, disappointed by the fact that he was not able to set the pace, Ippo is encouraged by Kamogawa, who tells him that he did a good job against the champion. Meanwhile in his corner, Date, Nakadai and Okita have a discussion on how much Ippo has improved, which leads to Date recognising him as his most powerful challenger ever. The second round begins with Date knowing that he will have a better chance with left hooks and spinning him around, but instead he decides to beat him at his own game to prove his superiority. As the entire hall is full of cheering audience members, both the fighters begin a trade in which Ippo clearly has the upper hand. When Ippo realises that Date can barely keep up, he initiates the motion for a liver blow. Date guards against it, but realises to late that it is a feint set for a straight that apparently lands cleanly. After the straight, Ippo follows up with several hits that land on Date's face, swinging his head from side to side until the gong sounds. As he walks to his corner, Ippo states that for some reason Date is not hurt, and that he did not feel his punches causing any damage.
Anime-Manga Differences[]
See also: Anime-Manga Differences
Credits[]
Characters are named as they appear in the credits.
Episode Credits[]
| Role | English Name | Japanese | Rōmaji |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screenplay | Daisuke Aranishi | 荒西 大介 | Aranishi Daisuke |
| Storyboard | Ken'ichi Kawamura | 川村 賢一 | Kawamura Ken'ichi |
| Director | Shin'ichi Masaki | 政木 伸一 | Masaki Shin'ichi |
| Animation Director | Toshiyuki Kan'no Hiroshi Kōjina |
菅野 利之 神志那 弘志 |
Kan'no Toshiyuki Kōjina Hiroshi |
[]
| Challenge for the Throne Arc | |||||||||||||||||||
| Manga Volumes | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 21 | 22 | |||||||||||||||||
| Manga Rounds | |||||||||||||||||||
| 170 | 171 | 172 | 173 | 174 | 175 | 176 | 177 | 178 | 179 | ||||||||||
| 180 | 181 | 182 | 183 | 184 | 185 | 186 | 187 | 188 | 189 | ||||||||||
| 190 | 191 | 192 | 193 | 194 | 195 | ||||||||||||||
| Anime Rounds | |||||||||||||||||||
| 50 | 51 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | ||||||||||||