First Saga Review
-Rookie King Tournament-
Alternate Title: Hajime no Ippo
Genre: Sports, Boxing, Fighting, Comedy
Genre: Sports, Boxing, Fighting, Comedy
Plot Summary
Ippo Makunochi was a very shy high school student who never had the time to make friends because he was always busy helping his mother run their family fishing charter business. Because he kept to himself, a group of bullies got into the habit of picking on him. On one particular day these bullies decided to give him a rather serious beating, but a middle-weight professional boxer who was passing by stopped the bullies and took the injured Ippo to the Kamogawa Gym, to treat his wounds. There's Ippo decides to become a professional boxer.
Ippo Makunochi was a very shy high school student who never had the time to make friends because he was always busy helping his mother run their family fishing charter business. Because he kept to himself, a group of bullies got into the habit of picking on him. On one particular day these bullies decided to give him a rather serious beating, but a middle-weight professional boxer who was passing by stopped the bullies and took the injured Ippo to the Kamogawa Gym, to treat his wounds. There's Ippo decides to become a professional boxer.
Original Opinion
I've heard of the anime, but never seen anyone ever talk about the manga. When I did a bit of research, I've seen a few people claim it was the most underrated manga of all time. It had to be popular in Japan, because it's over 90 volumes long, but for some reason it wasn't catching on anywhere else. I decided to give it a try.
Art Style
The art style isn't bad in this. There's a lot of after image like drawings, but it works well with the story. It allows the read to understand how fast the fighters are moving. I think it really works well.
Mamoru Takamura's Fetish
This dude is a beast when it comes to fighting. I do believe they mention he hasn't lost a single match. His record is a 15 second KO. However, he's got this really weird fetish for grabbing the other boxer's penises, or talking about them. He's not gay, because they do a great job showing him chasing after ladies. However, it doesn't stop the fact that he'll random grab someone's penis, talk about their penis, or pull down their pants to reveal their penis. It's really odd and disturbing.
Boxing History
The manga does a great job with talking about older boxers. It gives a lot of good information on the sport and even goes into detailed explanations of the different boxing moves. I found it really educational as well as entertaining.
Final Opinion
I'm not a fan of sports or sports related media. However, this manga is insanely good. It's like reading a manga about a Japanese version of Rocky. In fact, they mention the Rocky movies at some point. I'm really glad I decided to give this a try. The first saga was enough to get me hooked and make me an Ippo fan. I highly suggest this to anyone who likes boxing, fighting, or watching someone weak become someone strong.
I've heard of the anime, but never seen anyone ever talk about the manga. When I did a bit of research, I've seen a few people claim it was the most underrated manga of all time. It had to be popular in Japan, because it's over 90 volumes long, but for some reason it wasn't catching on anywhere else. I decided to give it a try.
Art Style
The art style isn't bad in this. There's a lot of after image like drawings, but it works well with the story. It allows the read to understand how fast the fighters are moving. I think it really works well.
Mamoru Takamura's Fetish
This dude is a beast when it comes to fighting. I do believe they mention he hasn't lost a single match. His record is a 15 second KO. However, he's got this really weird fetish for grabbing the other boxer's penises, or talking about them. He's not gay, because they do a great job showing him chasing after ladies. However, it doesn't stop the fact that he'll random grab someone's penis, talk about their penis, or pull down their pants to reveal their penis. It's really odd and disturbing.
Boxing History
The manga does a great job with talking about older boxers. It gives a lot of good information on the sport and even goes into detailed explanations of the different boxing moves. I found it really educational as well as entertaining.
Final Opinion
I'm not a fan of sports or sports related media. However, this manga is insanely good. It's like reading a manga about a Japanese version of Rocky. In fact, they mention the Rocky movies at some point. I'm really glad I decided to give this a try. The first saga was enough to get me hooked and make me an Ippo fan. I highly suggest this to anyone who likes boxing, fighting, or watching someone weak become someone strong.