< Hajime no Ippo

Hajime no Ippo/Characters


This is a list of the characters featured in Hajime no Ippo. Very incomplete, so please help?

Kamogawa Gym

Ippo Makunouchi

A shy, humble boy, Ippo lost his father Kazuo at a very young age and now spends his free time helping his mother run their fishing boat business. His introverted nature naturally attracts bullies who like to beat him up.

During one of those beating-up sessions, he is saved by Mamoru Takamura, who takes him to the Kamogawa boxing gym where he also discovers his powerful punch. Turns out working your life long lifting extremely heavy stuff builds a muscle or two. Ippo joins the Kamogawa gym and begins his boxing career to find out the meaning of strength.

Ippo is truly an unwritten paper of a student, closely following what he is taught to the best of his ability. He is famous for his ridiculously powerful punching power and endurance, often giving him spectacular comeback K.O.s. His defense isn't bad either, as he uses the peek-a-boo style of Mike Tyson. Despite his shy behaviour outside the ring, he shows remarkable courage and determination inside it. He is the current Japanese featherweight champion.


Mamoru Takamura

Big, loud-mouthed, perverted and mean, Takamura is a jerk. He is also undefeated two-time world champion and the idol of everyone at the Kamogawa gym. Because despite his bullying behaviour, he is something of a big brother to the other boxers: he is the one that got all of them into boxing and occasionally uses his vast knowledge to give them advice. Due to his status as the golden champion, he's also their idol. As much as he looks like someone with a giant ego and nothing to back it up, Takamura is something of a Guile Hero, rarely being defeated in anything even unrelated to boxing. He used to be a delinquent feared by everyone on the streets, until coach Kamogawa discovered him and got him into boxing, for which Takamura is very thankful. And despite his normally dirty behaviour, he is honest and serious about boxing. Despite being a natural genius, he is also a hard worker.

We first meet Takamura as he saves Ippo from bullies and takes him to the boxing gym. He has a troubled (due to his jerkass personality) but nontheless close relationship to coach Kamogawa. Kamogawa notes that he loves to see Takamura fight in the ring. Takamura is actually the disinherited middle son of the Takamura Development company. He was kicked out after starting a huge fight during one of his older brother Suguru's rugby matches. Despite that, his sister and little brother still support him.

Takamura gains his first title in an epic fight against Bryan Hawk, WBC Junior Middleweight Champion. He later climbs up a weight class and fights against David Eagle for the next title. Another one of his most notable feats is beating a bear in a fight. The story even made it into the local news, which resulted in the temporary nickname Bearslayer. It also gave him three huge scars on his chest, but those only make him look even manlier.

Word of God has it that he's the best boxer in the series. He's described in-story as the ideal boxer, combining athleticism and skill as well as intelligence and instincts. His strength and stamina are almost superhuman and his instincts border on the supernatural. Upon their first meeting, Kamogawa described him as a "diamond that didn't need to be polished", easily able to take the Japanese title at that point already. Kamogawa also believes that Takamura has completely surpassed his teachings and thus often lets him fight however he wants in the ring. He's only had real trouble in two fights so far (his two matches for the world title) and often knocks out his opponent in the first round in showy fashion. Due to his boxing insight, he often serves as the Mr. Exposition during matches of other people.


Masaru Aoki

Ippo's senpai and Kimura's best friend. Aoki provides much of the gym's comic relief and exercises one of the world's most unusual fighting styles. A few of his signature techniques include the fan-favorite Frog Punch, double punch, an untorqued (ineffective) corkscrew punch, and the utterly ridiculous Lookaway (which has also been adopted by Takamura). In the past, he and Kimura were the toughest high-school thugs around, but now Aoki's real job is at a ramen restaurant. Due to the numerous times being dumped by the pretty girls in high school, he's developed a taste for women with unattractive faces. He has fought for the Japanese lightweight championship, losing in a draw, and shares an apartment with his girlfriend, Tomiko, a friend of Kumi Mashiba whose nice personality and good body more than compensate for her less-than-stellar face. Aoki seems to be based on either former world champion Jorge Páez, or hardcore fight fan hero Emanuel Augustus for their offbeat fighting styles and records. His current record stands at 20 Matches 11-6-4 (W-L-D), with 6 KOs, and the best rank he reached is 1st in Lightweight. His signature "Look Away" technique is based on a skill former World Middleweight Champion Jake LaMotta had used in his career and his signature move the "Frog Punch" is based on real-life former world champion Koichi Wajima whose signature move was called the "Frog Jump".

Aoki is ranked 7th in JBC Lightweight rankings.


Tatsuya Kimura

Ippo's senpai and Aoki's best friend. He is the smooth, collected type and a romantic at heart, but trains as hard as anyone. His style incorporates a fast left and faster footwork and is considered by Miyata to have "no weaknesses" yet, it also doesn't have strengths either which creates Kimura's weakness. In the OVA, which was dedicated to Kimura, he is in training for his bid for the Japanese junior lightweight championship against Ryo Mashiba, he developed a devastating vertical combination known as the Dragon Fish Blow, which Kimura learned while watching his pet fish jump up and eat his meal in front of him. Another interesting fact is that, out of all the opponents that had fought Ryo Mashiba, Kimura is the only one Ryo had feared during a match. In the past, he and Aoki were the toughest high-school thugs around, but now Tatsuya's real job is at his family's flower shop. His current record stands at 24 Matches 17-5-3 (W-L-D), with 8 KOs, and the best rank he reach is 3rd in Jr. Lightweight. However, this rank was enough for him to get a title match, because the 1st & 2nd resigned from fear of Mashiba.

Kimura is ranked 7th in the JBC Jr. Lightweight rankings. After losing to Ryo Mashiba, he announced his retirement from boxing. Shortly after, unable to stay away from boxing, he returned saying he'd spell his name in katakana (タツヤ, Tatsuya) instead of kanji (達也,, Tatsuya). Kimura's character seems to be at least partially based on former world champion "Fearless" Freddie Pendleton, who had been a journeyman fighter his entire career, yet was still able to fight on even terms with some of the best in the world with his high level of skill.


Genji Kamogawa

Head coach and founder of the Kamogawa gym. He fought as a prizefighter in Japan shortly after the end of the Second World War. Along with his friends, Ginpachi Nekota and Dankichi Hama, Kamogawa developed a style of fighting that both presumably became the forerunner of boxing in Japan and emphasized scientific theory in its techniques. In his prime, Kamogawa's talents included the fearsome, yet self-destructive, Tekken (Iron Fist) blow which is a left hook body blow enough to knock someone down and an unyielding spirit which has been passed onto his students. As a coach, Kamogawa's wealth of knowledge and experience has been tapped into on multiple occasions during training as well as in matches. He may seem to be a bit gruff towards his boxers, but maintains very strong relationships based on trust and spirit; i.e., he rescued Takamura from his life as a thug by introducing him to boxing. Although he rarely admits it aloud, he is extremely proud of his two best reliable straight-forward boxers, Takamura and Ippo.

During Ippo's comeback fight, Coach Kamogoawa was hospitalized due to over fatigue. Therefore not being able to teach Ippo a technique that would utilize both attacking and defending simultaneously. He was shocked during Ippo's match with Ponchai when, during the timeout after the first round, Ippo declares a Knock Out within the Second Round. Coach Kamogawa's pride was lifted up, however, when Ippo did the Dempsey Roll for the first time, not even knowing what it was called.

Ippo's matches with Volg and Sanada proved how tight the bond between the Coach and his athlete is. During Ippo's fight with Volg, Ippo made a remark to Kamogawa: "Amazing". Kamogawa thought that Ippo was referring to Volg's Power. Ippo stated "I followed everything you taught me during training and it's working.". During the end of the fight with Sanada, Ippo was sitting on the neutral corner due to the damage he sustained from the fight. Kamogawa reached out a hand to Ippo to let him up and Ippo stared in amazement at his Coach's hand, referring to it as "The hand that pushed me to exceed my limit".


Haruhiko Yagi

Manager and Assistant Trainer of Kamogawa Boxing Gym, he also acts as a cutman during matches. Called "Yagi-chan" by his pupils, he is the one responsible for the gym's finances, equipment maintenance, promoting matches and acquiring and selling tickets. He knows a great deal about boxing himself, having been a boxer at Kamogawa Gym once.


Manabu Itagaki

The most recent addition to the roster, the charming Manabu has a prodigy's talent and was the captain of his high school's boxing team. Cheerful and a lover of bad puns (as are the rest of his family), Manabu is a fierce outboxer with extremely high speed and reflexes and whose fighting style is uncanny in its resemblance to Miyata's. His most powerful technique is a furious hail of mid-power blows known as the Hedgehog or Porcupine, which was employed in an East Japan Rookie Kings showdown with his longtime nemesis, Kyosuke Imai. Outside of boxing, Manabu is employed as an assistant at the Makounouchi family's fishing business. He has a big crush on Kumi but prefers to keep his feelings for himself because of his respect for his Idol Ippo. Itagaki's character is based on retired world champion Oscar de La Hoya for his prodigy-like natural ability and good looks, whom Itagaki has admitted to idolizing in the manga. His current record as the Rookie King of his class stands at 11 Matches 11-1 (W-L-D), with 9 KOs.

Itagaki is currently listed as 6th in JBC Featherweight rankings, also Itagaki is one of the speed square which consists of 3rd Saeki, 5th Karasawa, 7th Fukui.

Recently, It's been shown that Itagaki has become quite smitten for Kumi, but realizes feeling is not mutual.

Rivals

Ichirou Miyata

Miyata is a very skilled outboxer specializing in counters. As a rookie, he was recognized as a genius, although his great abilities stem more from hard work than one might initially believe. He's a very cool-headed and intelligent person. Despite his somewhat cold demeanor, he has a great fighting spirit and is nicer than one might think at first.

He's Ippo's main rival but also idol, as the two constantly try to top each other and grow as boxer with the other one as their goal. He's the current reigning OPBF Featherweight Champion, which he won from Arnie Gregory. Miyata has a deep relationship with his father and trainer, who was the reason Miyata got into boxing in the first place, to prove that his fathers way of boxing isn't wrong. This is why he got into boxing much earlier than any of the other boxers, long before he could even become pro boxer.

Miyata is a Fragile Speedster and very skilled counter-puncher. He loves high-risk, high-reward counters. He has very low punching power and a "glass jaw", which are significant weaknesses. He attempts to overcome these with technique and speed. He has a remarkably great fighting spirit, probably on par with Ippo's. Somewhat surprisingly, Word of God says he's the third best pound-for-pound boxer in the series.

  • The Ace (to a slight degree)
  • Achilles' Heel (his lack of physical strength and his "glass jaw" the second is inherited from his dad)
  • Bishonen (and how)
  • Chick Magnet
  • The Determinator (Yeah, really. In fact, the "green eyes of determination" that are sometimes seen first appeared in him.)
  • Fragile Speedster -> Glass Cannon (He later gains excellent counters that make his attack power much more fearsome on top of his speed, but he remains fragile, due to his weight control. To quote Kamogawa, "A blade with an incredible cutting edge is easily broken.")
  • Generation Xerox
  • Ho Yay (with Ippo. Lampshaded more than once)
  • It's Personal (towards Randy Boy Jr.)
  • Like Father, Like Son
  • Missing Mom (his parents are divorced)
  • Nerves of Steel
  • Tomokazu Seki
  • Red Baron (God of Lightning)
  • The Scrappy (his long and persona fight with Randy Boy had people screaming that he was a Spotlight-Stealing Squad)
  • Weak but Skilled (His physical strength and durability are pathetic. He makes up for it by being one of the most skilled boxers in the story, with excellent counters that compensate for his lack of strength)
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy (he took up boxing to fulfill his father's shattered dreams. In a subversion, his dad and coach isn't a stage father and they get along quite well)


Takeshi Sendo

Nicknamed the Naniwa Tiger in his hometown where he is quite a popular figure, Takeshi Sendo is a brash and hotblooded boxer. He has an elaborate backstory, so much that he had is own gaiden chapter focusing on his past. His mother died few after he was born, his dad was a firefighter who died while rescuing a boy during a blaze when Sendo was very little. Sendo continued to follow his father's advice by trying to help others. One day he and his friends got beaten up by bullies. Frustrated of being unable to protect them, he swore to do it by any means - and the next day, he grabbed his baseball bat and ambushed said bullies, beating them up as punishment. By high-school Sendo had become very extreme with his protection - he was leader of a gang of delinquents and quite possibly the most feared street fighter in Osaka. Despite that, he never attacked people but rather defended the weak. His absolute refusal to turn a blind eye or a deaf ear on such injustice got him into trouble quite often.

Because he's such an excellent fighter, he got rather bored since nobody could satisfy his hunger for an equal. That is when Yanaoka met him and introduced him to boxing, after resisting one of Sendo's attacks. Easily becoming East Japan Rookie King, he saw Ippo Makunouchi which made him very excited, to say the least.

Sendo has an extremely aggressive boxing style, barely ever using a proper defense and preferring to take hits if he can dish out something in return. His punching power is spectacular and on par with Ippo's. He also has excellent natural fighting insincts but lacks a bit in technique.


Eiji Date

A retired Featherweight boxer and now trainer, Date was the two time Japanese Featherweight Champion and even fought on the world stage. He has been the only fighter to defeat Ippo. He lost to Ricardo Martinez twice, once in the past which is how he got his scar and the second time in an epic fight that showed his great determination.

He's a smart, technically skilled boxer with great experience. Despite the contrast to that, his boxing style is very aggressive. He is good friends with Takamura. After his second loss against Martinez, he passes on the baton to Ippo.


Ryou Mashiba

In front of the grave of his parents, then-highschool student Ryo Mashiba made two promises. First, he wouldn't rely on or believe in anyone else. Second, that he'd protect his little sister Kumi at all costs. Due to his tough life, Mashiba is unsociable and cynical, rarely seems to care about anyone other than his sister and has no concern for his opponents.

A highly intimidating character, Mashiba is former Japanese Junior Lightweight champion and current OPBF Lightweight champion. He's a vicious outboxer who's most notable for his use of the Flicker Jab. He has exceptional reach and is quite skilled, and not to mention he will do anything it takes to win, even cheating if necessary.

Ryuuhei Sawamura

A dark, remorseless boxer from Nagoya. Albeit quiet and cold, he is extremely violent and cruel when he fights, going as far as blatantly cheating even when he's at the advantage. He is a lonely individual and his only friends are his old teacher and Takeshi Sendo, though he treats neither with any respect or kindness. Despite his outwardly cold and stoic personality, he can lapse into fits of madness when he's at his worst. One of the most notable traits of his is that he doesn't box for success, but rather to torture and destroy his opponent. He will often prolong matches to continue beating his opponent instead of simply ending it. He experiences defeat at the hand of a very angry Ippo for his bad attitude towards boxing. Despite the hopes of his old teacher, his personality doesn't get better, though he does learn the value of hard work and develops an actual will for success. He later fights Mashiba for the Japanese Junior Lightweight title. Despite being brutally knocked out of the ring by Mashiba, he wins the title as Mashiba is disqualified. Due to the damage he suffered from the fight, he has a traffic accident, which forces him to retire from boxing. After that, his sociopathic tendencies seem to have calmed down, even showing a sense of sarcastic humour. Sawamura has a great eye for boxing, possibly equal to that of Takamura.

He has quite possibly the darkest past of all characters in the story. He stabbed his abusive father as a kid and his mother abandoned him when she first noticed his sociopathic tendencies. He was alone for pretty much his entire life, which is the reason why he shut himself off from other human contact to such a degree. This is made worse by the fact that he was extremely hated in his town and was constantly attacked by others. He already met Sendo in the past. Both renowed street fighters that never lost, Sendo fought him until Sawamuras old teacher intervened. The teacher later begs Sendo to become Sawamuras friend, as it is the loneliness that makes him so bad. Because of this, Sendo and Sawamura share a somewhat odd 'friendship'.

As bad as his personality is, he is an absolute genius as a boxer. His natural instincts are great and he's a gifted counter puncher. In fact, his sense for counters is mentioned to be even higher than that of Miyata. His athletic abilities are fairly average, but his high skill, analytical ability and talent more than makes up for it. It's easily possible that he could have won against Ippo, had he been serious about defeating him.


Dr. Kazuki Sanada


Naomichi Yamada


Kenta Kobashi


Ryuichi Hayami


Takuma Saeki

Kyousuke Imai

The longtime rival of Itagaki Manabu, Imai was the one boxer who managed to thwart Itagaki in his high-school days. They fought a total of three times in the amateur ring; each time Imai was victorious. His build, KO pattern, and even hairstyle are remarkably similar to those of Itagaki's senpai, Makunouchi Ippo. Imai is ordinarily cool and composed, bearing a poker face even in the heat of battle. Eventually, Itagaki defeats Imai in a heated battle. It seems the only people who can rouse him out of this perpetual calm are Ippo, Itagaki, and Itagaki's sister Nanako -- with whom Imai is very much smitten.

Keigo Okita

Yusuke Oda

  • Bishonen / --> Gonk
  • Brilliant but Lazy (said to have been this at the beginning)
  • Big Eater (Once he stopped with the weight control, he really let go.)
  • Game-Breaking Injury (Being KO'd Ippo had some serious complications, so he had to retire.)
  • Last Second Chance (he fights Ippo to not lose the support of his gym and the love of his girlfriend Reiko, who is the daughter of the owner He loses, but manages to stay in and recovers Reiko's love and respect.)
  • Nobutoshi Canna

Kojima Hisato

The opponent for Ippo's eight domestic championship title defense. Dropped two weight classes for the chance to challenge Ippo, and has a tremendous deal of confidence in the power of his punches. Is constantly trying to anger Ippo, first by calling every opponent he's fought before trash, and then by telling him his coach is a hack. Also claims to know an, as of yet undisclosed, "weakness" in Ippo's boxing, that he claims makes it impossible for him to lose their match.

  • Ascended Fanboy : Quite possibly the biggest fan of Makunochi Ippo in the manga's universe (also, probably the ONLY fan of Aoki in the manga universe. XD) Doesn't stop him from being a complete dick to him for mysterious reasons.
  • Body Horror : His skin and bones look during the weigh-in before the fight can be considered this. Only Takamura has ever looked worse after a struggle of weight management.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars : Has a pair of scars running between the knuckles of his right hand. According to Ippo, they don't look like boxing wounds.
  • Jerkass Facade : Shown to be a lighthearted guy who deeply cares about his kouhai, loves his wife and unborn child, and respects Makunochi Ippo from the bottom of his heart. Every time he crosses paths with Ippo, though, all he ever says are cutting and condescending things.
  • Tempting Fate : you may have your reasons... but are you SURE you know what you're getting into by pushing all the berserk buttons of the hardest punching featherweight in all of Asia?
    • Fate tempted as of chapter 939 when Ippo one shot flips him onto the floor. Word of advice.... Don't push Ippo's buttons.
  • Worthy Opponent : What he says when they're together aside, he considers Ippo to be this: expecting their bout to be the hardest fought he's ever had... the kind of fight he'll "have battle scars when he walks away from." Of course, he still plans on winning.

Foreign Boxers

Jason Ozma

One of Ippo's first opponents, he is an american soldier stationed in the Okinawa base. He looks huge and scary, but is a great guy at heart.

Alexander Volg Zangief

Volg is a Russian boxer and was Amateur World Champion, born and raised by a single mother near to Leningrad/St. Petersburg. Subverting pretty much every common cliche associated with Russians, Volg is an extremely kind-hearted and soft-spoken person who initially got into pro boxing in order to pay for the medical assistance of his Ill Girl mother, after his trainer discovered his amazing talent.

Volg quickly becomes friends with Ippo, but after a loss by decision against Sendo, he is forced to leave boxing and return to Russia. Much later, his mother dies of her illness and his life is filled with an emptiness he decides to fill with boxing once again. And so he makes a comeback and decides to do so in America.

Volg is an extremely talented boxer with superb skill. While he excels at outboxing and taking points, he is forced to adopt a more aggressive infighting style in Japan, in order to attract attention as a foreigner. It is heavily implied that he could be much better than he already is, if he fought in his natural style, which we have yet to see.


Ponchai Chuwatana


Woli

Woli is a 17 year old Indonesian man who lives on a remote island... Together with wild monkeys. He is discovered by Miguel Zail, former trainer of Bryan Hawk. Woli is a true boxing genius, and very talented. Very, very talented. His natural instincts are comparable to those of Takamura of all people. And it shows, since Woli became Indonesian Featherweight Champion after only three fights. To compare, Ippo wasn't even finished with the Japanese Rookie Tournament by then. Despite his innate talent, he has a cheerful, fun-loving and naive personality. His trainer Miguel makes it clear the he's his "last son" and that he plans to pour all of his knowledge into him and unlike with Hawk, won't rely solely on his natural abilities. Due to his one-in-a-billion talent, almost every character who has seen him predicts a great future for him.

He fights Ippo as his fourth match. It quickly seems as if Ippo is no match for him, despite Wolis inexperience. However, Ippo manages to eventually beat him due to built up damage on Woli's ribs. Neither Woli nor his trainer see the loss as something dramatic, merely a great experience for Woli, which is the only thing he lacks yet. Kamogawa makes it clear that he won't make Ippo fight Woli again, because he knows it was only his inexperience that let Ippo win the fight, and believes that Ippo won't stand a chance against a more experienced Woli.

As a prodigy of prodigies, Woli can be said to have the most potential of all Featherweight boxers. His innate fighting insticts allow him to naturally use high-level techniques without having properly trained them. For example, he throws Sendo's Smash and Mashiba's Flicker Jab simply because it was an appropriate move in the situation. His agility is top-notch as well, comparable to that of Miyata and Itagaki. He can use both outboxing and infighting and is especially dangerous in the corner, where he can easily set up counters.

Ricardo Martinez

The living legend, Ricardo Martinez is the undefeated, seemingly invincible Featherweight World Champion. He's a Mexican who enjoys such popularity that there's a higher chance Mexicans know him than their own president. Stoic and quiet, Martinez is rarely surprised by anything. He gave Date Eiji his first loss in a brutal T.K.O. In a sparring match against Ippo, Martinez knocks him unconcious in the first round with jabs alone and also easily counters the dempsey roll.

He has a revenge match against Date Eiji which he also wins without visible injuries. However, Date is the boxer Martinez respects the most, for his unbreakable spirit and willpower.

His boxing style is pretty much perfect. In his natural style, he combines intelligence and skill with instincts and violent power. His athletic abilities and reflexes are top-notch and he rarely if ever falls for someones trap. He has over 60 wins, almost all by K.O., and not a single loss or draw in his career. Word of God states that he is the second best boxer in the story, only behind good old Takamura.


Bryan Hawk

Easily the most detestable boxer in the story, Bryan Hawk was WBC Middleweight Champion until his defeat at the hands of Takamura. He loves to provoke and humiliate his opponents, has a contemptuous attitude towards boxing and is extremely arrogant, as well as too lazy to properly train. Despite that, he's even worse in the ring. Hawk is the epitome of the word 'wild', being almost uncontrollable even by his trainer and extremely violent in the ring, easily approaching Ax Crazy levels. He is beaten by Takamura in a match of epic proportions.

Hawk grew up in the slums of New York, where he survived by beating his threats with bare hands, whether they were armed or not. His trainer Miguel stumbles upon him while he's beating an already unconcious man. Shocked by the insanity in Hawks eyes, but also noticing the potential he had, Miguel invited him to a place where he could fight all he wanted and be payed for it. And a license to kill...

Like Takamura, he has unbelievable natural talent and power. He is so strong that despite rarely training, he seems invincible in the ring. Because of his violently insane personality, he is extremely dangerous and has no consideration for his opponent. Hawk is perhaps the most unorthodox boxer in the series, throwing odd punches and swaying backwards to dodge. His trainer calls his style not boxing, but simply violence. But it's the lack of skillfull boxing that makes him so dangerous, as he becomes a highly unpredictable opponent.


David Eagle

The complete opposite of Bryan Hawk in both personality and boxing style, David Eagle is the WBC Middleweight Champion. Eagle is an honorable and friendly man, always looking for a greater challenge. He used to be olympic gold medalist until he went into boxing. Because of his shining attitude, Ippo says he looks like a classic super hero. He is defeated by Takamura.

Eagle is a highly orthodox fighter, best at the very basics of boxing. His technique and concentration are top-notch and his best weapon is a simple one-two. He's also rather intelligent in the ring and uses mind games against his opponent.

Another trait is his great fighting spirit, which Takamura compares to that of Ippo, even mentioning he's just like him.

  • The Ace
  • Cavalier Competitor
  • Defeating the Undefeatable: Takamura sure did.
  • The Determinator: "Just like Ippo."
  • Eagle Land: Type 1
  • Foil: He is the complete opposite of Brian Hawk in almost every imaginable way.
  • Graceful Loser
  • Honor Before Reason: He is unwilling to exploit Takamura's bleeding wound, which is something anyone would have done in that situation. The reason he didn't? He cared more about having a fight that would require him to give 100% than he did about simply winning, and a doctor stop wouldn't give him that.
  • Knight in Shining Armor
  • Lonely at the Top: He accepted Takamura's challenge, flew to Japan, and fought on enemy turf because he had never faced an opponent against whom he had to fight with everything he had, and he hoped Takamura would be the rival he'd always hoped for. His inner monologue even implies that the reason he lost their neck-and-neck fight was because he was satisfied to finally have a Worthy Opponent, and cared more about this than the outcome of the match, whereas Takamura never lost sight of his goal of taking Eagle's championship belt.
  • Red Baron (Golden Eagle)
  • The Strategist
  • Worthy Opponent


Randy Boy Jr.

The son of Randy Boy, the boxer who fought Miyata's dad and inflicted him a Game-Breaking Injury that destroyed his career. Ironically, the brain damage that Randy Sr. sustained in the same fight actually killed him some time later.. More than a decade has passed, and now Randy Jr. is a boxer in his own right. He became OPBF interim champion during Miyatas absence and naturally has a 'unison' match against him for the belt. Despite the fact that Miyata's father is indirectly responsible for his father's death, he makes it clear that he doesn't have a grudge against Miyata.

His fighting style resembles that of his father, which he claims to be a coincidence since he rarely ever saw his father. His most distinguishing feature is the fact that he's a genius switch-hitter, able to change between normal stance and southpaw very fluidly. This creates a 'satic' that disrupts the opponents rythym, especially that of counter punchers. Because of this, he's the worst possible match-up for Miyata. He has gained the ring-name "Asura" for his ability to 'go' and 'see' everywhere in the ring.


Malcolm Gedoh

The reigning Philippines Featherweight national champion, a crooked fighter who offers to fix his fights in exchange for prize money. Prior to becoming a boxer, Malcolm stole money on the streets and it led to him getting shot and scarred on the shoulder. He's known as "The Magician" for his the tricks he uses inside of the ring, such as the use his long arms to block one's vision while using good his footwork to get away from his opponent. Another trick is how he throws off an opponent's depth perception by loosening the strings on his left glove so that it flings off his unclenched fist, making his reach seem even longer. After losing the fight with Ippo, Malcolm later confessed that his loss to Randy Boy, Jr. led him to give up his world aspirations and box only for the money rather than competition.

Other characters

Hiroko Makunouchi

Hiroko is Ippo's widowed mother. She is a very kind and strong willed woman who cares for her son a great deal. She started running the fishing business after her husband, Kazuo, died after saving his friend Sakuma. Though she refuses to attend any of Ippo's matches because she doesn't want to watch him get hurt, she supports his boxing wholeheartedly because she knows how much joy it has brought to his life and how it has helped him with his self-esteem. Since Kazuo's death, Ippo and Hiroko have been more or less alone in the world; so the strength of their family bond is no surprise.

Kazuo Makunouchi

Ippo's deceased father. Not much is known about his past other than he was a fisherman who loved to get into fights, and that he had a powerful punch. He died when Ippo was much younger, saving his friend Sakuma in a storm. Ippo's mother said that Kazuo was more suited to be a boxer than Ippo was. In a flashback in volume 56, Kazuo said Ippo was weak and he was going to "train" him. It is unknown what training he was planning to put Ippo through. It is through his strategy that Ippo beat Miyata (When Kazuo was to fight a stronger opponent, he would picture his opponent as a fish and all the tension would go away). He also won his match against Iwao Shimabukuro with the same strategy


Masahiko Umezawa

We first meet Umezawa as a bully in Ippo's school who is constantly tormenting and eploiting him. However, as Ippo begins to get into boxing and grow more as a fighter, Umezawa notices the changes in him and discovers a newfound admiration for the guy he used to push around. He started to watch all of Ippo's fights and invite other delinquents to do so, as they were all boxing fans. After graduation, Umezawa decides to help Ippo by working at the Makunoichis' Fishing Shop so he could focus on his training. Currently he is easily Ippo's 1# fan and one of his best friends.


Kumi Mashiba

Kumi is Ryo Mashiba's sweet-natured, but hard-working and willful younger sister, and as such understands him better than anyone else. She will do almost anything to support her brother and make him happy, including going to his matches even though she doesn't like to see him get hurt. Ippo becomes infatuated with her early on, but didn't have a chance to tell her until more than a year later, when they met in an hospital as patient and nurse some months after the Ippo/Mashiba ring. They become friends and Kumi comes to like Ippo back, but their relationship tends to suffer from their friends' and relatives' constant interference, and also was somewhat strained after Ippo thought she was smitten with Dr. Sanada, until Kumi herself clarified the mistake after their match but didn't get a chance to say that Ippo was the one she really loved. Kumi tends to be modest and shy, but she will stand up for her brother and friends at a moment's notice.

Tomiko

Aiko Date

Minoru Fujii

A reporter for a boxing magazine that has been following Ippo's career since his second spar with Miyata. Occasionally he drops by with information concerning opposing fighters in upcoming matches for the Kamogawa gym members.


Mari Iimura

A 23-year-old sportswriter who works alongside Fujii at Boxing Fan Monthly. Iimura's calm indifference and sharp wit serve often to put off those who would judge her only for beauty, but she is an avid boxing fan and, though less experienced than some, an outstanding journalist. Has an interest in Ippo, but as with most of the love in the series, her love is unrequited

Dr. Yamaguchi

Miyata Sr.

Miyata Sr. is the trainer of his son, Ichiro Miyata. He was a former OPBF champion who was headed for the World stage before having his jaw broken by Randy Boy Sr, ending his career. Broken, as both a fighter and a man, Miyata Sr. began drinking heavily, causing his wife to leave him. However, he finds hope in his son, who has picked up his boxing style without having been formally trained and becomes his trainer.

Jinpachi Nekota

Nekota Ginpachi is a long time friend and eternal rival of Kamogawa Genji. In the past he was a natual boxer with wild instincts that even Kamogawa and Dankichi said were better than theirs but never admitting to Nekota. With fast reflexes and superb agility, Nekota was as powerful as Kamogawa and Dankichi. However, after a match with Kamogawa, Nekota found himself suffering from Punch Drunk Syndrome. Knowing this, he still took on American soldier Ralph Anderson, who was a Welterweight world ranker before WWII. He was beating Anderson before getting hit by a rabbit punch, causing a Game-Breaking Injury which allowed Anderson to win. Now, Nekota is a freelance boxing trainer on par or better than Kamogawa. He frequently shows up to big fights in the Japanese boxing scene as well as to support the Kamogawa gang in their biggest of fights.

Yuki-san

A beautiful young woman who adored sunflowers. Yuki met Kamogawa and Nekota at a boxing match in the 1950s. Smitten, they offered to put her up at Kamogawa's house to protect her from American soldiers. It was soon revealed, however, that Yuki was a victim of radiation poisoning from the American bombing of Hiroshima, and that she had come to Tokyo in hopes of living out her last days in happiness. When Nekota left Tokyo to live in the mountains, Yuki went with him; Kamogawa asked her to take care of his now-impaired best friend. Although—or perhaps because—Yuki had fallen in love with Kamogawa, she spent the rest of her life in the mountains with Nekota as per his request, dying peacefully some time later.

Sakaguchi-san

Dankichi Hama

Reiko Mikami

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