Episode 8 (Season 2)

A Blow from the Soul
Episode Information
Previous	The Devil's Advent
Episode	Season 2 #8
Next	Qualifications for Succession
Japanese Title	魂の一撃
Romanized Title	Tamashī no Ichigeki
Arc	Revenge Arc
Manga	Round 337 (p.9-19) Round 338 (p.1-19) Round 339 (p.1-19) Round 340 (p.1-19)
Air dates
Japanese	February 24, 2009
Music
Opening	Hekireki
Ending	8AM

A Blow from the Soul is Round 8 of the Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger anime, which is the adaptation of Jōji Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo series.

Details

• Locations Introduced: General Hospital

Summary

Date launches his Heart Break Shot, but to the terrible shock of everyone, Ricardo uses his elbow to block it and breaks some bones in Date's right hand. Takamura thinks that Date won't be able to use his right for any kind of punch now. Ricardo goes on the attack, hitting Date with a left to his face while believing that Date has nothing left now that his trump card failed. Ricardo throws a combination of left and rights as Date attempts to block them all. Ricardo lands a right on Date's face that makes his bloody mouthpiece fly into the audience area. As Date gets pushed to the ropes, he notices that his mouth is full is blood and his tongue can't reach the bottom of his mouth since Ricardo broke his jaw. He also notes how his ribs and the joints in his right hand are broken as well. Date thinks that Ricardo has taking everything he needed to win, and that he may never had a chance to begin with.

The ninth round ends and Nakadai tries to convince Date to end the fight. Date no longer remembers why it is that he is fighting, and he knows he has had all his tools and weapons taken away from him. As he considers quitting, Aiko walks over and hands him his mouthpiece covered in blood before telling him that they will watch to the end. Nakadai realises that Date doesn't want to give up yet as Date tells him that he will win. In Ricardo's corner, Bill is surprised by the fact that Date's seconds plan to let the match go on, but Ricardo tells him that in boxing there's no telling what could happen next as long as he is standing, there's the possibility that a miracle could happen. Ricardo adds that his job is to lower that possibility to zero, even if it makes that Date becomes an "unfortunate accident." When Aiko sits back down, she thinks about how she wanted to stop the fight, but did not try to do it as she feared Date would revert to his old self seven years ago when he lost in Mexico.

The tenth round starts with the audience cheering Date on as he attacks Ricardo with multiple lefts that Ricardo dodges. While Aoki and Kimura praises Date's lefts, Takamura notes that Date's right is broken, so all he has is his left, a fact that he knows that the champion is aware of. Easily dodging Date's lefts, Ricardo decides to prepare a counter against Date's next left to finish the match. Just as Ricardo was about to throw a right counter, Date pulls back his left he sent out as a feint, and lands a right on Ricardo's face, shocking Ricardo and the audience. Ricardo steps back, while Date steps forward to attack him with lefts and rights that Ricardo dodges. Date remembers that the reason for which he fights, is to show the woman he loves how "cool" he really is. Ricardo lands a left straight on Date's face, feeling the bones breaking in his jaw through his fist, worried that Date really might become an unfortunate accident. Date lands a left on Ricardo's face and then twists his right wrist to prepare for another Heart Break Shot. As Date thinks that Ricardo can break all the bones he wants, but in exchange, he will take his life, Date throws the Heart Break Shot, which hits its mark. With Ricardo's time stopped, Date throws a left hook aimed for Ricardo's face. Just as it was about to hit, Ricardo sways back to dodge the left. Ricardo thinks how Date's speed and timing were perfect, and if his power matched them, he would have been frozen in time, but since his right fist was broken, he did wasn't able to cut him down. He knows that when he is asked which boxer he respects the most, he will answer that he lives on an island nation in the Pacific, a samurai he met in Japan. As Ricardo throws a right, he realises they will not meet in the ring again, but he will never forget his name, bidding Date farewell after landing a powerful right Corkscrew Blow that downs Date. The referee immediately signals an end to the match, resulting in Date's loss and Ricardo's eighteenth WBA world featherweight title defence victory. Date is taken out of the ring by a stretcher as the audience applauds his efforts.

Later, at the Kamogawa gym the gym members read the magazine that covered the match between Date and Ricardo. As Aoki and Kimura wished that Date would have won, Takamura tells them that it is over and that Date did a great job living up to his role as the supreme challenger. Takamura doesn't think that the WBA featherweight belt will be going anywhere until Ricardo retires. As Takamura mentions that Date will most likely retire, Ippo hits the sandbag hard, and asks for the three to not talk about Date retiring. Fujii arrives to the gym and tells everyone that Date has regained consciousness at the hospital and that there is no brain damage. Takamura convinces Ippo to go talk to Date as there will be a meaning to them meeting each other. Fujii drives Ippo to the General Hospital. In Date's hospital room, Aiko admits that she already noticed that since his match with Ippo, Date's scar on his nose stopped aching and he had already regained his identity. She thinks about how she wasn't able to say it back then that seeing him full of confidence again made her happy and proud. Finally able to say it, Aiko welcomes home Date. When Ippo enters the room, Aiko informs Date. Upon hearing that Ippo arrived, Date struggles to talk to him. Date puts his right hand up, asking Ippo to do the same. When Ippo puts his hands near Date's right hand, Date gives him a "baton pass" and tells him it is his now. Before Ippo leaves, Yūji asks him if he will be the next one to challenge Ricardo since he is the JBC champion in order to get revenge for Date. Ippo apologises, and tells him that he can't do it as he is now since Ricardo is too strong. Upset about this, Yūji calls him a weakling and a coward, but his mother reaffirms that Ippo said "as I am now...".

Anime-Manga Differences

See also: Anime-Manga Differences

Credits

Characters are named as they appear in the credits.

Role	English Name	Japanese	Rōmaji
Ippo Makunouchi	Kōhei Kiyasu	喜安 浩平	Kiyasu Kōhei
Mamoru Takamura	Rikiya Koyama	小山 力也	Koyama Rikiya
Masaru Aoki	Wataru Takagi	高木 渉	Takagi Wataru
Tatsuya Kimura	Keiji Fujiwara	藤原 啓治	Fujiwara Keiji
Eiji Date	Masaki Aizawa	相沢 正輝	Aizawa Masaki
Ricardo Martínez	Masashi Sugawara	菅原 正志	Sugawara Masashi
Bill Stewart	Masayuki Omoro	小室 正幸	Omoro Masayuki
Coach Nakadai	Mitsuru Ogata	小形 満	Ogata Mitsuru
Minoru Fujii	Ken'ichi Ono	小野 健一	Ono Ken'ichi
Yūji Date	Naomi Wakabayashi	若林 直美	Wakabayashi Naomi
Aiko Date	Sakiko Tamagawa	玉川 紗己子	Tamagawa Sakiko
Live Announcer	Jin Horikawa	堀川 仁	Horikawa Jin
World Match Ring Announcer	Kenji Nomura	乃村 健次	Nomura Kenji
World Match Referee	Dai Matsumoto	松本 大	Matsumoto Dai
Audience	Kazutoshi Hatano Yutaka Kōno Raimai Yamashita	波多野 和俊 河野 裕 山下 雷舞	Hatano Kazutoshi Kōno Yutaka Yamashita Raimai

Episode Credits

Role	English Name	Japanese	Rōmaji
Screenplay	Kazuyuki Fudeyasu	ふでやす かずゆき	Fudeyasu Kazuyuki
Storyboard	Ken'ichi Kawamura	川村 賢一	Kawamura Ken'ichi
Director	Satoshi Ōsedo	大脊戸 聡	Ōsedo Satoshi
Animation Director	Yoshiaki Tsubata Noriyuki Fukuda (Assistant) Ichirō Uno (Action)	津幡 佳明 ふくだ のりゆき 夘野 一郎	Tsubata Yoshiaki Fukuda Noriyuki Uno Ichirō