Episode 56 (Season 1)

The Power that Stands in the Way
Episode Information
Previous	The Japan Featherweight Title Match
Episode	Season 1 #56 (Watch Online)
Next	Conclusion
Japanese Title	立ちはだかる力
Romanized Title	Tachihadakaru Chikara
Arc	Challenge for the Throne Arc
Manga	Round 187 (p.1-19) Round 188 (p.1-19) Round 189 (p.1-19) Round 190 (p.1-14)
Air dates
Japanese	November 6, 2001
English	June 27, 2006
Music
Opening	Tumbling Dice
Ending	Eternal Loop

The Power that Stands in the Way is Round 56 of the Hajime no Ippo anime, which is the adaptation of Jōji Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo series.

Summary

In his corner, Ippo explains that when he hits an opponent, he can usually tell how much damage it did, but this time he feels as if his punches did not hurt Date. Kamogawa in disbelief, tells him that he simply got too caught up in the fight and did not notice the damage. Meanwhile the champion is visibly upset about losing not only the exchange, but the round as well. When Okita tells him to use his own boxing, and not challenge Ippo in his own game, Date replies that it is also his boxing. The third round begins and Date refuses to back away, so he once again accepts the in-fight. They start a seemingly even exchange, but at Kamogawa's instruction, Ippo delivers a body blow, followed by a straight that lands cleanly. Ippo once again feels he inflicted no damage, because (as Takamura and Kamogawa realise) Date is swinging his head to minimise the damage received. Ippo once again connects a series of punches but Date nullifies the damage and throws a punch that sends Ippo to the canvas, marking the first down of the match. Astonished by the abilities of Date, Ippo] is in shock and unable to move. Realising the referee's count is at five, he immediately gets up as he has no damage. As Kamogawa orders, Ippo advances knowing that Date must be in pain from the exchange. Ippo attacks, causing the audience's cheers to become even louder. However Kamogawa tells Yagi that when Ippo's hits connect, Date moves his guard along with the punch, meaning he is receiving no damage and Ippo feels the same lack of response from his hits as he did before. Ippo slowly becomes desperate when he realises that not even his body blow can not hurt the champion. He then attempts a larger swing with more power in it, but Date uses the opportunity to deliver a right. With his opponent stunned, Date initiates a series of powerful blows that immediately overwhelm Ippo, who can do nothing but blocking. By the time the gong sounds, Date emerges victorious from an exchange where he should be the underdog. When Date returns to his corner, he lets Nakadai know that as tiring as the previous round was, the next one will be worse because it is the round where he will knock Ippo out. Meanwhile the challenger is disappointed as he can not land a damaging punch. Kamogawa instead, praises his performance and explains Date's technique. He also tells Ippo that he can still win the fight if he follows the plan. They go for an in-fight again, and just like the previous, Date dominates the trade. Ippo is unable to defend himself, as the champion follows up every punch with another. Remembering what Kamogawa said about precise and compact punches, Ippo throws a punch that Date neutralises, but follows up with another that hits cleanly. Finally getting a good response from his hits, Ippo begins throwing body blows, and ends the combination with his Gazelle Punch, which once again connects cleanly. Despite not being able to neutralise the punch, Date remains standing and states he can not fall to someone like Ippo. Ippo in shock at the sight of someone surviving the punch that knocked out Volg, remembers Date's words about his "light punches". Date throws a right at a still surprised Ippo, who quickly blocks the shot. However, Ippo realises too late that the punch is no straight, but a Corkscrew Blow instead. The punch goes through the guard and lands straight on his face. Date continues to overwhelm a desperate Ippo, who is wondering if he can not defeat Date due to his powerful champion's fists. Determined to land his Heart Break Shot, Date throws corkscrew after corkscrew in an attempt to hit the heart. Ippo realises Date's intention, but knows that a wide swing will expose his heart. After getting hit with a body blow, Ippo sinks down at the ropes, wondering how he can fight someone like Date.

Anime-Manga Differences

See also: Anime-Manga Differences

• In the manga, Kamogawa mentions George Foreman in Round 189. In the anime, Foreman is not mentioned.

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
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
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
Live Announcer	Jin Horikawa	堀川 仁	Horikawa Jin	Ron Allen
Ring Announcer	Katsuyuki Konishi	小西 克幸	Konishi Katsuyuki
Referee	Shōji Izumi	泉 尚摯	Izumi Shōji	Edward Zilla
Masahiko Umezawa	Mitsuaki Madono	真殿 光昭	Madono Mitsuaki	Ron Allen
Teacher	Masashi Hirose	広瀬 正志	Hirose Masashi	Ron Allen
Classmate	Shinji Kawada Yumiko Daikoku Yū Urata	川田 紳司 大黒 優美子 浦田 優	Kawada Shinji Daikoku Yumiko Urata Yū

Episode Credits

Role	English Name	Japanese	Rōmaji
Screenplay	Kenji Sugihara	杉原 研二	Sugihara Kenji
Storyboard	Hiroyuki Yano	矢野 博之	Yano Hiroyuki
Director	Kentarō Nakamura	中村 賢太郎	Nakamura Kentarō
Animation Director	Noriyuki Fukuda	ふくだ のりゆき	Fukuda Noriyuki