Hajime no Ippo
Hajime no Ippo: Fighting Spirit!
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Hajime no Ippo

Alternative Titles

Synonyms: The Fighting!, Fighting Spirit, The Fighting! Ippo, Hajime no Ippo Gaiden: Naniwa Tiger
Japanese: はじめの一歩
English: Hajime no Ippo: Fighting Spirit!
French: Ippo
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Information

Type: Manga
Volumes: Unknown
Chapters: Unknown
Status: Publishing
Published: Sep 27, 1989 to ?
Genres: Award Winning Award Winning, Sports Sports
Theme: Combat Sports Combat Sports
Demographic: Shounen Shounen
Authors: Morikawa, George (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.731 (scored by 3853338,533 users)
1 indicates a weighted score.
Ranked: #522
2 based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity: #166
Members: 91,246
Favorites: 7,083

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Recommendations

Both series follow protagonists who were unexpectedly thrusted into the world of boxing and discovers a passion for it. The protagonists have natural talent for the sport and carry a "never give up" mentality. 
reportRecommended by radiantfire
Both stories center around a male character and his quest to become a better boxer. Ashita no Joe is in my opinion a must read if you love manga (especially if you like sports manga). 
reportRecommended by Darkbow
Known for their hardcore nature in the boxing world, Hajime no Ippo and Rikudo crafts a story about fighting and triumph. Both series focuses on a main protagonist who becomes a boxer in the ring. However, they face many obstacles and starts off as an underdog against their adversaries. With time and hard work, they work their way up the ladder and become stronger each chapter. Hajime no Ippo is a very character driven story with its unique ability to tell stories inside the ring. Rikudo also focuses a lot on characterization including some of the grim nature of the main protagonist's background life. 
reportRecommended by Stark700
Both these serialisations feature a male protagonist who gradually becomes stronger and more confident as a result of persitent training and strong will. 
reportRecommended by radiantfire
In both of these shounen titles, we follow the journey of the male protagonist and their foray into the sport of boxing. 
reportRecommended by radiantfire
similar path of development of the protagonist through the story, very resembling minor characters and kind of humor 
reportRecommended by shithousnik
The Breaker and Hajime no Ippo takes a main character who essentially starts out as an Average Joe but presents them with opportunities to challenge themselves. Chronicling their journey, we get a guy who defies odds and makes a name in their world. Throughout both series, they face off against powerful adversaries that truly tests the limits of their abilities. At the same time, they form relationships with others with a variety of feelings ranging from rivalries, antagonistic, brotherly, and even romantic. Both series can be described as an action packed tale to tell. 
reportRecommended by Stark700
-Colorful characters -Epic scale -Hilarious comedy -Lots of machismo -Great characterization 
reportRecommended by sunup
Two great sports works, both have great characters, good comedy, engaging history and represent their respective sports very well. 
reportRecommended by BrunoGohan7
Both series feature protagonists who discovers their passion for a sport; boxing in Hajime no Ippo and tennis in Baby Steps. Both highlight a journey of hard work, failure, success and laughs as the titles of the two series allude. 
reportRecommended by radiantfire
Both the main characters are originally weak, and were bullied at the start of both of these mangas, but then they found strength in a sport that they each love playing. Hajime no Ippo being about Boxing, and Eyeshield 21 being about football. They gradually become better at their respective sports and they each overcome their own fears in order to achieve their goals. 
reportRecommended by Keita-Kun5
A tale chronicling the life of a fighter. Both series revolves around a main character who sets foot into a world where he meets adversaries who truly tests the limits of their abilities in fighting. They face struggles both physically and internally but is able to adapt. Throughout both series, they prove their worth as an underdog who slow climbs their way to the top and earns the respect of their rivals. Expect high doses of action inside the ring with intensity. 
reportRecommended by Stark700
There is quite a strong degree of action and characterization for Teppu and Hajime no Ippo. Both series has a protagonist who gets into a competitive sport that involves plenty of action in the ring. Although their personality aren't similar, they do develop unique relationships with other characters. Their storytelling can also be relatable not just for the main characters but also becomes of their connections with others. Recommended for any fans of sports manga. 
reportRecommended by Stark700
Both do a good job of keeping fights realistic yet still enjoyable, as well as explaining the science and methodology behind certain moves and techniques. While HnI focuses only boxing, Holyland depicts various martial arts in street fights, such as judo, karate, boxing. 
reportRecommended by eNyoron
Imagine what would have happened if Ippo from HnI was not a super naive mother's boy who remains a virgin even after reaching boxing fame but was actually the complete opposite. The result is the male lead of Shamo, a psychopath jailed as a juvenile for murder of his parents and later on a serial rapist who puts on boxing gloves. Be prepared for a chaotic, raw, sick sense of pleasure and pain as you accompany the character through his crazy journey as an outlier. 
reportRecommended by arimakenshin
Ballroom e Yookoso and Hajime no Ippo start off with a similar premise. They are both the bullied kid, and get saved by a professional sportsman (in Ippo, boxing, in Ballroom, it's a ballroom dancer). They both watch videos of said professional and want to be a pro themselves. The professional then assigns them an impossible task for beginners, and waits for them to fail... Only to be pleasantly surprised when show guts and determination and succeed. While I've seen most of the Ippo anime, I have only started reading Ballroom E Yookoso so I can't guarantee they will be similar in the end. But the  read more 
reportRecommended by arashi-chan12
Both titles revolve around male protagonists who develop a passion for a sport (boxing in Hajime no Ippo and karate in Hanza Sky). We follow their development which is often showcased through the natural sequence of training and competitive participation. 
reportRecommended by radiantfire
Both sports manga that follow the journey of a character who originally knows nothing about the sport, but have a special talent for it (Ippo’s strength gained from his work on the fishing boat. /// Robo’s robotic personality and precision trained unknowingly in youth). They start as noobs, but have talents and perseverance that allows them to aim for a higher level of competition later on.  
reportRecommended by MayDay_77
Kengan Ashura reminded me of Hajime no Ippo in many points. First, characters development. In both case, even the most useless character is being give a story, more or less well-written, and that really enhance fights. The fights are intense, the cutting is mostly perfect, and the drawing is beautiful. Both of them are references in "Fighting Manga"'s style. 
reportRecommended by leolo2001
Useless men, being bullied and being insignificant turning their lives to something good, something different, this is what's in the core of both of these manga, a fighting spirit that is not yet ignited and the story of how it actually does ignite. 
reportRecommended by FarKiD
Both Dragon ball and Hajime no Ippo are flagships of Sueisha and Kodansha (respectively). They both have intense battle scenes and arcs and have an unparalleled sense of humor. 
reportRecommended by kapppirocks
The premise of both series almost mimick one another with the major difference underlined in the sport they are focused on (boxing in Hajime no Ippo, and cycling in Over Drive). Both begin with a seemingly weak protagonist who is subjected to bullying at school. As a result of their circumstance, they both encounter individuals who would introduce them to the sport they were born to be athletes in. As such, we follow the protagonists in their quest to reach the peak of their chosen sport. 
reportRecommended by radiantfire
Both Ping Pong and Hajime no Ippo are manga based on sports, with Ping Pong being about table tennis and Hajime no Ippo being about boxing. What makes these two anime similar is the character development: both Ping Pong and Hajime no Ippo focus on several character, all with unique personalities and skills. Both focus on exploring the motivations these characters have for practicing these sports. Ping Pong and Hajime no Ippo also deal with similar themes, like for example: talent vs effort etc. 
reportRecommended by BohemianRhapsody
Its a sports genre manga where the approach is completely different in comparison to general "rookie to professional" style ,and every panel of the manga compels you to read this for 8 straight hours 
reportRecommended by section9necrosis
Boxing in a 1v1 setting, with the MC having a relatively small physique, though swift and strong punches. *The energy given off in fights is almost the same. <> Cruelty of course is much worse for slaves than in controlled matches nowadays. 
reportRecommended by RaviDavi
Both are realistic and focuses on sports execution and techniques that they represents. The dialogues are both great, very inspiring, very exciting matches, very good matches, the emotional aspect and storyline of both series is great. Both top tier, peak fictions, highly recommended.  
reportRecommended by xyaiz
If you enjoy the humor in Hajime no Ippo and delinquent manga, you're 99% gonna love it. Both have very similar chaotic humor. Mitsuhashi from KKOW has lots of Takamura energy and vice versa. 
reportRecommended by friedcorm
If you like the boxer there is a chance will also like this manga, it's the same sport but it's more better because you see the character grow over time. In the boxer the mc he's monstrous talent from the start but in Hajime no ippo mc starts from nothing and also it's really long so it feels like you are witnessing whole like and career  
reportRecommended by Alfi706
Saga the follows a boy as he continuosly gets better and boxing, with exciting matches and nice art (especially in later volumes). And it's not a hyperbole calling it a saga. 
reportRecommended by abystoma2
Basically a female version of Ippo and she also is in MMA. 
reportRecommended by Botan-Chan45
The setting might be completely different, but the main characters of both series have one thing in common. A powerfull will and a dream they would do everything for in order to accomplish it. If you add to other memorable characters and humour to this list you get not one but three reasons why you should read these manga. They will make you feel like giving your all everyday because how else can you accomplish your life long goal? If you like these kind of settings for a story, these manga are perfect for you! 
reportRecommended by Darkbow
Although the setting and story are very different, they're similar in the way they're written: - Both series are very long and slow paced because of the amount of details they go into regarding the characters' actions and psychology. - Both protagonists, Ippo and Kaiji, remain underdogs despite getting stronger. - Both series are manly and have almost no fanservice. - Both have incomplete but faithful anime adaptations made by Madhouse, so you can watch those and then pick the manga afterwards to help with the overwhelming number of chapters. 
reportRecommended by DiabloMask
Although one is about singing and the other is about boxing, both series share a strong sense of passionate competition, which is reinforced by the friendships within both the Beatmen and the Kamogawa troop. Also, every main character/boxer in HnI, even the clown prince Aoki and street punk Sendo, gets developed in ways that actually make you feel for him. I got similar feelings reading DV with Goh and Toshi, as they started out as secondary characters until we got a look into their respective family situations. 
reportRecommended by Torisunanohokori
The two main things which make it similar is that is revolves around fighting and training in a competitive environment and second is the character Ippo like Meguru are both passive non aggressive characters . 
reportRecommended by iubkram
similar humour, some characteristics are the same, the protagonists have similar personality 
reportRecommended by justafan
Both are fighting-MUST WATCH-sport , they have the best ecchi perverted scenes . Now lets talk about heroes of both manga :- makunouchi Ippo : a virgin wimp [ with a huge d*ck ] with weak personality , girls see him cute ( not in lustful way ) , only one girl sees him hot ( I guess ) , he hates a meaningless fight BUT when he gets serious , he have his ( strongest fist in feather weight class ) . With almost no defense style at all , with his strong fists only he became the Japan champion boxer . minami Itsuki "Ikki, Babyface,  read more 
reportRecommended by Makunouchi_Ippo
Although their hobby/sports of interest are different, Yowamushi Pedal and Hajime no Ippo shares the concept of following dreams. The main protagonist starts off as an underdog but works his way up by earning the respect of others through their determination. There is intense competition present in both series that includes a variety of adversaries. Both series also combines great characterization and strategies to craft a credible story.  
reportRecommended by Stark700
Although different in asthetic and tone, both series involve protagonists who were bullied but find boxing as a means of moving forward. 
reportRecommended by radiantfire
When looking for a giant sports manga that could replace Ippo's void in my heart, I've found Initial D. Both show the protagonist's journey and dedication, giving off the rush of improvement and competition. 
reportRecommended by BolachaWaifu
Boy that was once week and against all odds turns out to be a great fighter after practicing over and over to become stronger.  
reportRecommended by bigjoe009
Both of these shounen titles feature characters who become more disciplined through boxing. 
reportRecommended by radiantfire
Hulk Hogan is really over with the marks, brother. Ippo can't work the marks, brother. Ippo's a big nerd, can't get over as a nerd, bad gimmick brother, 2/10 would not push brother. 
reportRecommended by Bryan_Danielson
Exciting boxing matches matched with interesting characters and great art. If you like Hajime no Ippo, I would suggest checking out Zero to see a similar concept done differently, more artistically.  
reportRecommended by abystoma2