Episode 60 (Season 1)

Rival
Episode Information
Previous	A Determined Gaze
Episode	Season 1 #60 (Watch Online)
Next	Comeback Anxiety
Japanese Title	ライバル
Romanized Title	Raibaru
Arc	Road Back Arc
Manga	Round 202 (p.1-19) Round 203 (p.1-19) Round 204 (p.1-14, 18-19) Round 205 (p.2-19)
Air dates
Japanese	December 4, 2001
English	June 27, 2006
Music
Opening	Tumbling Dice
Ending	Eternal Loop

Rival is Round 60 of the Hajime no Ippo anime, which is the adaptation of Jōji Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo series.

Details

• Techniques Introduced: Deadly Smash
• Locations Introduced: Narita Terminal 1

Summary

Now knowing that his opponent is just pretending to not be hurt, Sendō gets back up after much struggle and to the praise of the audience. With only seven seconds left in the sixth round, Volg goes on the attack but the damage from the body blows, impede him from advancing. In a desperate attempt, Volg launches his White Fang again but misses right before the bell rings. Despite Yanaoka's advice, Sendō refuses to back away and decides to challenge Volg to a fight. On the other corner, Volg is warned by Ramuda about the strength the cheers can give a losing fighter. The seventh round starts and Sendō is decided to live up to the expectations, but he is once again outclassed by Volg's technical skills. Volg reminds himself that he is not fighting for cheers, but because he loves the sport. Waiting for Volg to get close enough, Sendō simply blocks all the shots and throws the Smash at the right moment. Despite being able to block the hit, Volg is still sent backwards and is unable to correctly place his feet. Sendō notices this and approaches him but instead of immediately attacking, he switches to Southpaw and delivers a Smash with his dominant arm. Receiving the full power of the punch, Volg immediately falls to the canvas. Unconscious at first, Volg wakes up upon hearing Ramuda encouraging him. He has problems regaining control of his body but motivated to fight against Ippo one more time, he manages to get up when the referee's count is at eight. Both fighter are standing on shaky legs as they attempt an exchange, but it is Volg who is forced to clinch in order to remain standing. The bell rings ending the round, and the the fighters can barely make it back to their corners. Both fighters go through the remaining rounds at a seemingly equal level until the bell for the tenth round rings. They both think the scores are too close, so in the final round they definitely must achieve a knockout. In the middle of the exchange, Volg slips but the referee marks it as a down. Volg and his trainer protest but the referee does not change the decision and orders him to keep fighting. With only thirty seconds left, Volg attempts to finish it but is unable to do so before the bell rings. Now the fighters, seconds and spectators await the decision that will declare the new champion. The judges score the fight and declare Sendō as the winner, despite the fact that Volg apparently slightly dominated the fight. Ramuda, angry and in shock protests against the decision, but Volg tells him they should leave. Sendō approaches Volg and tells him that he does not feel like the winner, so in a rematch he will defeat him by knockout. Volg refuses to acknowledge the challenge, as he suspects it was his last chance. As Volg leaves the ring, the audience celebrate their new champion. After watching the match, Ippo is fully motivated to gain the JBC title and starts training. At Kamogawa gym, he receives a phone call from Fujii, who informs him that the Otowa gym has decided to end their contract with Volg. Ippo is in shock when he hears that Volg will be leaving for Russia the same day. Ippo is extremely upset about the way Volg has been treated, but every other member of the Kamogawa gym knows that it is only natural. Kamogawa explains to Ippo how the business in a gym works with a foreign expensive fighter. He also states that the reason for which Volg fought so well against Sendō, was because he knew it was his last chance. Ippo then remembers how Volg survived the Smash and how Ramuda was protesting, and realises it was because they knew already what would happen if he lost. Takamura gives Ippo money (stolen from Aoki) for a cab to the airport. Ippo arrives at the Narita Terminal 1 and asks for the way to the flight to Russia, but he spots Volg, who is getting ready to leave. Volg admits to Ippo that he has regrets and that a boxer is measured by his results, so it is normal that since he failed in the professional ring, he would be sent back. Ippo cheers him up, and Volg lets him know that not everything was in vain. He tells Ippo that thanks to him, he is now aware that he does like boxing. He also states his plans to continue and become something beyond a national champion one day. Before leaving, Volg gives Ippo his old gloves and speaks his last words in Japanese: "Sayonara". As Volg leaves, Ippo begins crying and promises to never forget he fought with such a man.

Trivia

• Despite Kamogawa speaking, the voice actor is not credited.

Anime-Manga Differences

See also: Anime-Manga Differences

• Ippo's conversation with Takamura, Aoki, and Kimura at the Kamogawa gym about the match between Sendō and Volg is removed from the anime.
• Takamura, Aoki, and Kimura's comments on Volg being sent to Russia are removed in the anime, and they only appear when Takamura gives Ippo Aoki's money for a taxi.
• Ippo riding in a taxi is removed in the anime.

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
Masaru Aoki	Wataru Takagi	高木 渉	Takagi Wataru	Jim Taggert
Tatsuya Kimura	Keiji Fujiwara	藤原 啓治	Fujiwara Keiji	Grant George
Ichirō Miyata	Tomokazu Seki	関 智一	Seki Tomokazu	Jason Palmer
Reporter Fujii	Ken'ichi Ono	小野 健一	Ono Ken'ichi	Hamilton Fox
Takeshi Sendō	Masaya Onosaka	小野坂 昌也	Onosaka Masaya	Doug Erholtz
Trainer Yanaoka	Naoki Tatsuta	龍田 直樹	Tatsuta Naoki	Dave Mallow
Volg Zangief	Toshiyuki Morikawa	森川 智之	Morikawa Toshiyuki	David Lelyveld
Coach Ramuda	Motomu Kiyokawa	清川 元夢	Kiyokawa Motomu	Micheal Sorich
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
Sendō's Second	Yasuhiko Tokuyama Naohiro Yamamoto	徳山 靖彦 山本 尚弘	Tokuyama Yasuhiko Yamamoto Naohiro

Episode Credits

Role	English Name	Japanese	Rōmaji
Screenplay	Ryōsuke Nakamura	中村 亮介	Nakamura Ryōsuke
Storyboard	Sumio Hiratsuka	平塚 住雄	Hiratsuka Sumio
Director	Kentarō Nakamura	中村 賢太郎	Nakamura Kentarō
Animation Director	Tomoaki Kado	かど ともあき	Kado Tomoaki