One of the most underappreciated genres within the medium of anime is sports anime. Though live-action sports dramas (and comedies) tend to place a much bigger focus on the drama than the actual sports, animation allows for doing both in equal measure. The best sports anime make the audience fall in love with the characters and their interpersonal stories, their triumphs and failures, their dreams and tragic backstories, while at the same time teaching audiences about the specific sport with stunning
displays of athleticism and sportsmanship.
A sports anime can become so popular that it basically introduces entire generations to a sport, such as "Captain Tsubasa" inspiring generations of soccer players like Zinedine Zidane and Andrés Iniesta or "Slam Dunk" making basketball popular in Japan (and eventually becoming an essential anime movie everyone should watch).
Then there's some sports anime that manage to be considered among the very best TV shows ever — regardless of medium or genre. Such is the case with the boxing anime "Fighting Spirit," better known as "Hajime no Ippo," which IMDb users ranked among the top 250 shows ever at number 146 (above acclaimed shows like "Primal," "Mindhunter" and "Justified"). Based on the manga of the same name by George Morikawa (that has been ongoing since 1989!), the anime adaptation by studio Madhouse came out in 2000 and ran for 76 episodes before getting additional movies and new seasons.
There is a reason Michael B. Jordan was inspired by "Hajime no Ippo" when making "Creed III" his directorial debut: It is one of the best anime of all time.
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A Quintessential Underdog Tale
"Hajime no Ippo" follows a high school student named Ippo Makunouchi, who spends his days either avoiding relentless bullies or helping his mother run the family fishing charter business. Eventually, he decides to take up boxing as a way to defend himself from bullies, and the series follows Ippo's exploits as he trains to become a professional and later a champion.
It's easy to see why this is such a popular show, as one of two major boxing anime (the other one being the grittier and more mature "Tomorrow's Joe"), "Hajime no Ippo" is a quintessential underdog story. Essentially "Rocky" but in anime form, the story of Ippo is one full of ups and downs, with thrilling fights that lead to championship titles or crushing defeats. A big part of what makes the anime (and the manga even moreso) unique is that it follows Ippo's career across a long timespan, and we see the slow effect fighting has on his body, and how the careers and lives of his friends and rivals change throughout the years.
A boxer's career is very fragile, and the show constantly explores the many ways in which one's dream can end abruptly, like a fighter being dropped by his gym for losing two consecutive fights, leading to insufficient income to take care of his sick mother. Ippo also suffers greatly from impostor syndrome, which becomes important for his development and trajectory.
The show is also just simply a great boxing story, in that we get some of the most exhilarating fictional boxing matches ever put on the screen.
Hard-Hitting Animated Boxing
"Hajime no Ippo" is not just a great character drama, but it also feature some incredible boxing sequences. The kind of fluid motions, expressive movements, changes in perspective, and impossible angles are simply not something that could be done in live-action. Take Ippo's signature move, the Dempsey Roll, which is a very real boxing move; to see it portrayed with steam emanating from Ippo's movements and accompanied by the sound of a jet engine running heightens the action and simply makes for a much, much cooler moment every time it happens.
It is this heightened realism that is inherent to anime and makes sports anime special, because it can make any sport better than it is. Watching Ippo punch an opponent really hard with a hook is thrilling, sure, but to then have the screen freeze as we get inside the characters' heads and explore their motivations and backstories through flashbacks before returning to the action adds emotion to every fight. And yet, the show does still have realism when it comes to the fighting techniques, which helps inform viewers about the real sport and the history behind it.
That is something "Haikyu" also does very well, another sports anime on the IMDb top 250 list (at number 157). This more recent show is the perfect gateway into sports anime, and it's a fantastic combination of character stories and simply stupendous sports action. Whether you've never seen a single second of volleyball, or you're an expert, the show is all about appreciating the artistry and skill involved in the sport, the technicality, the physical prowess, the tactics and even the psychology of playing a team sport. After watching a sports anime like "Haikyu" or "Hajime no Ippo," it's near impossible to watch the real thing without wishing you could pause and read the competitor's thoughts.
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Read the original article on SlashFilm.
