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K Manga Adds Hajime no Ippo Boxing Manga in English
posted on by Alex Mateo
Kodansha's K manga service announced on Tuesday that it has added George Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo boxing manga under the title Hajime no Ippo: Fighting Spirit! The first 87 chapters (or 10 volumes) of the manga are available, and new chapters will launch every week. This is the first official English release available in the West for the long-running manga.
K MANGA describes the story:
What does it feel like to be strong? That's the question on the mind of Ippo Makunouchi, a clumsy high-school kid who gets bullied a lot. But when he runs into pro boxer Mamoru Takamura, it isn't long before the dynamite in his fists is unleashed! Dreaming of joining Takamura in the pro ranks, Ippo joins him at the Kamogawa Boxing Gym—and there his quest for true strength begins, in and out of the ring!
Morikawa expressed his gratitude to the manga's fans for reaching the milestone, and added that the manga is "halfway through" the story, and asked fans for their continued support.
Morikawa launched Hajime no Ippo in 1989, and the series is his only manga.
The manga inspired a television anime adaptation in 2000, followed by the Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger sequel in 2009 and the Hajime no Ippo Rising sequel in 2013. The series also inspired the Hajime no Ippo - Champion Road special and the Hajime no Ippo - Mashiba vs. Kimura original video anime in 2003. Geneon Entertainment released the first television anime season on DVD in North America with the title Fighting Spirit before the company ceased operations in 2007.
Discotek licensed the first anime and released the series on Blu-ray Disc. Crunchyroll is streaming the original anime adaptation and Hajime no Ippo Rising.
The manga inspired its first stage play adaptation in 2020.
Kodansha started releasing the manga digitally in 2021.
