| Wanpo | |
 | |
| Appearances | |
|---|---|
| Manga | Round 269 |
| Anime | Round 75 |
| Last Appeared | Recurring |
| Personal | |
| Japanese Name | ワンポ |
| Gender | Male |
| Homeland |  Tokyo, Japan
|
| Family | Hachi (Father) |
| Occupation | Dog |
| Voice Actors | |
| Voice Actor | Takagi Wataru |
Wanpo (ワンポ, Wanpo), is a recurring character in Hajime No Ippo.
He is Makunouchi Ippo's pet dog and the son of Hachi. He lives with Ippo and helps with Makunouchi Fishing Boat. He sometimes follows Ippo during his training, road work, or to Kamogawa Boxing Gym.
Background
Wanpo is the son of Nekota Ginpachi's dog, Hachi. He was 1 of 5 in the litter, where he has 4 other siblings that live with Nekota. Not a lot is known about his mother. According to Morikawa Jouji, Wanpo's dog breed is a hybrid of Akita dog and Alaskan Malamute, where it can be rather large. He was named by Makunouchi Hiroko.
History
Lallapallooza
Nekota giving Ippo a puppy
After defeating Sendō Takeshi for the second time for the JBC Featherweight Title, Ippo fell asleep for two days. When he wakes up, Umezawa Masahiko mentions Aoki and them want to throw him a party to celebrate it. Ippo met with the Kamogawa Boxing Gym, Nekota Ginpachi, and Mashiba Kumi in Sugar Ray a few days later to help celebrate his victory and his 20th birthday on November 23rd.
During the victory Celebration, Nekota gifts Ippo a puppy. The puppy precede to crap on Ippo's Championship Belt. At that time he ended up defecating on Ippo's then-brand new belt, earning the nickname Pooping Champion (ウンコチャンピオン, Unko Chanpion) by Takamura.
Kimura Tatsuya vs Mashiba Ryō
Ippo explaining Wanpo's name
After Kimura lost the JBC Junior Lightweight Title match to Mashiba, he told reporters after it that he decided to retire as a boxer.
When Ippo visits Kamogawa Boxing Gym, Ippo's puppy followed him to the gym. When they ask Ippo if he decided on the dog's name yet, Ippo mentions "He's 'Wanpo' written in Katakana, where his mom thought it up on a play on his name. (Where 'Ippo' means 'First Step', 'Wan' is how the Japanese say the English word 'One'.) Takamura makes a joke about naming him Chinpo.
When Kimura arrives, Wanpo starts barking at him. After hearing about Wanpo's name, it gives Kimura an idea. He tells Aoki and Takamura that he won't be needing a farewell party. He explains the boxer "Kimura Tatsuya" retired after that match, but adds he will change his name to 'Kimura Tatsuya' (in Katakana), where he will have a new debut.
Makunouchi Ippo vs Sanada Kazuki
Wanpo following Ippo on his date with Kumi
Prior to the match, Wanpo starts following Ippo on his training and roadwork. Wanpo also follow Ippo on his date with Mashiba Kumi that he was forced to go on after a fierce arm wrestling competition. Wanpo helped break the ice with Kumi, but the date ended up turning sour toward the end.
Beach Trip
Takamura kidnapping Wanpo
After Ippo defeated Hammer Nao, Takamura, Itagaki, and Kimura are planning to go to a training camp. Since Ippo isn't able to join them, Takamura kidnaps Wanpo instead, and mention that he think Wanpo's been getting fat, and will put him on some weight management.
Later, Aoki arrives with Kumi and Tomiko, and Ippo goes on vacation with them to the beach. Well on the beach, Wanpo spots Ippo with Kumi, Tomiko, and Aoki. He even runs into his father, Hachi. When Nekota heard that they were going to the beach to train, he decided to join them.
During the night, Takamura ends up in the ocean where he is thinking his drowning. Wanpo goes to find help. When he returns with Itagaki and Kimura, they find Nekota and Hachi past out and Takamura swing arms in the ocean.
Baseball Match
Taihei Arc
Ippo and Wanpo find Taihei and his gang bullying Teru Okazaki.
Appearance
After growing into adulthood, he has come to greatly resemble Hachi. Wanpo's dog breed is a hybrid of Akita dog and Alaskan Malamute. He appears a little flabby at time, but he exercises regularly when he runs behind Ippo when he is training.
Personality
He tends to be excite toward certain people when he sees them. He is friendly toward most people unless hostile toward Ippo.
Gallery
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Trivia
- Wanpo is voiced by Takagi Wataru, the same voice actor for Aoki Masaru.
- His name is a pun on Ippo's own name. Ippo (一歩) meaning One Step in Japanese, while Wanpo is merely replacing the character for One (一) with the English word One (ワン, Wan).
