Sagasou Kotae wo kikanaide
Mitsuketai Girigiri no shobu de
GET LIFE Jikan wa sonna ni naize
Sorega START WAY
I WANT THIS ONLY
Sagashi motomeru
Ano giniro no hikari no naka de
Dareka wo kizutsukete
Jibun mo kizutsuite
Dakedo owarazu ni
Tada oimotome
Nani mo miete naikeredo... WHY?
Kitto konomama
NO PAIN TRANCE CONTINUE
Listen to this intense cheering!
What an amazing guy Sendo-san is!
But I won't give up first! I must hit back for all I'm worth!
This is cool! This is so cool!
This is it! I've been wanting to do this forever, Makunouchi!
Round 34 "The Rookie King"
It doesn't hurt! It doesn't hurt!
I'm not done yet!
Ippo, lash out more!
Yeah! Hit him, hit him, and finish him off!
Rocky! Hurry up and beat that guy!
Beat him and buy us video games!
Both contenders maintain the intense fistfight with terrific force!
They are total equals!
It is impossible to predict the outcome!
What power!
I'm not about to lose! I must strike back!
The liver blow isn't working!
It... It's no good! I have to lash out or else!
I must hit back!
Oh, a hit-for-hit!
They have both stopped in their tracks!
Now, who will it be? Who will be first to step out?
Ippo! Ippo!
Kid, stand your ground!
Oh! Sendo takes the initiative!
Take that!
Sendo makes a bullish rush! Makunouchi is pinned down!
Sendo out punches him!
I have to lash out! I have to hit back!
I must hit back!
This match is mine!
There it is! Sendo's smash!
It scores a direct facial hit!
Kid!
That definitely hurt! Makunouchi is going to fall!
Whoa, a punch from below lifts him up again!
Sendo will not permit him to fall!
I have to lash out. I have to hit back!
Good! Keep going and give him all you got!
I know it already!
Oh, no! Makunouchi lowers his guard!
Ippo!
Sendo poises to smash!
Ippo-kun!
I have to lash out...
Kid!
Yes!
Now you're through!
What?!
Oh, dear! Makunouchi crumples over, to his great fortune!
He misses the smash by a hair!
I must... lash... out!
Aah! Makunouchi scores a right!
It scores a direct hit on Sendo's unprotected temple!
H- How about that?
How about that?!
Oh, my! Sendo doesn't flinch and he proceeds to strike back!
Ooh! All right, that's the way, Sendo!
B- But that's impossible. I felt a solid impact!
Sendo goes wild! He makes a bullish rush!
Thirty seconds remain in Round Three!
Will the match be settled in the time remaining?!
Sendo connects left!
Then right!
Sendo attacks, buoyed by the calls for Rocky!
But can he even hear our voices from the spectator stands?!
The cheers are simply deafening!
An upper connects!
A right!
Punches shower on Makunouchi!
Can he endure for the seven seconds remaining?!
Hang in there, kid!
Can Sendo bring him down?!
Oops! Will Makunouchi fall?!
The bell rings! Makunouchi is saved by the bell in the nick of time.
What?! Sendo's fists stay in motion!
He can't hear the bell for the cheering! Neither can the referee!
Makunouchi is pummeled standing stock-still! This is dangerous!
Hey, something weird is going on! Didn't the bell ring?!
The three minutes are up! Stop them!
Referee, the bell! The bell has rung, referee!
Stop!
Stop, Sendo!
Sendo!
Sendo, the bell rang! Return to your corner, Sendo!
Approximately ten seconds into the ending bell for Round Three...
Makunouchi takes a merciless beating!
The follow-up attack after the bell is a foul.
However, the referee has full authority of what goes on inside the ring!
Since the referee in question did not notice the round end...
Sendo's actions have been deemed unavoidable!
But technicalities aside, my greater concern is for Makunouchi's health...
after taking such dangerous blows in a virtually defenseless state!
H-He's strong.
Sendo-san is really strong.
I know, so stop talking. Now sit down and get some rest.
I... I can't.
If I sit down... I won't be able to get up again.
I... I have to get up.
Just sit there!
Damn! But how is it possible?
When I hit him in the temple, I felt the impact in my right fist.
So how is he still standing?!
Sendo feels the same.
You took far more hits than he did.
However, you're still standing. I'm sure that sucks for him, too.
Are you all right, Makunouchi? How should we handle the next round?
I-I can do it! I-I'm still okay.
But still...
I... I'm all right. L-Like the Chief said...
I took the greater number of punches...
but I'm still standing.
Th-That's why I'm okay!
I haven't lost just yet!
I understand.
Since the man himself is saying so...
A-All right.
Kid! All you need is one more effort!
Right. I'll do my best.
Any more will be life-threatening.
If you wobble even slightly in the next round, I will not hesitate.
Don't hate me for it.
We know who's going to win now.
In his current state...
Makunouchi will probably fall over with one little push.
Ro-o-cky! Ro-o-cky!
That's all you have to do now. They're waiting for you to finish it.
Listen to them. Everyone's calling for you.
Game systems!
You'll buy them for us when you're Rookie of the Year, right?!
You wouldn't lie to us, Rocky, would you?!
Get real! If I bought one for each of you, that'd be 200,000 yen!
The fight money won't cover that!
Uh, how much would I have to add to the All-Japan purse?
You promised, so you gotta buy them for us!
I know, I know.
Just wait. It'll only take a little longer.
Just wait.
I'm almost there.
Seconds out!
Okay! Go, Sendo! Finish him off!
Go give the audience what they want!
Sendo...
Seconds out!
Now Round Four is about to begin!
Will Sendo take the win by storm?
Or will Makunouchi weather that storm?!
Damn, that's dangerous.
He looks like he could fall over any second.
Go finish him, Rocky!
He's exhausted!
Put him out of his misery!
KO him, Rocky!
Flatten the guy!
Seconds out!
The seconds in the Blue Corner still won't leave the ring.
Are they exercising caution in the face of such a huge opportunity?
Rocky! Don't tease the poor slob too much!
Seconds out!
What's wrong? Get him ready.
Seconds out!
Sendo!
Huh?
Sendo!
Huh?
What on earth has happened?
The referee suddenly signaled that the match is over!
How long?
How long have you been unconscious?
Since that single hit to the temple?
You sure gave the audience what they wanted.
You still respond to your fans even when you're out like a light.
You were charged by their cheers, though you were dead on your feet.
You wanted to fight for them... didn't you, Sendo?
The match is over!
Sendo is not responding to the Fourth Round opening bell!
He loses by default!
The entire stadium is silent.
People still do not comprehend the situation!
And the one who comprehends it least is Makunouchi!
He stands dumbfounded, still staring at the Blue Corner!
Apparently, Sendo is unconscious!
The cause is probably the single hit to the temple from Makunouchi.
Yet Sendo still fought on!
The element that kept him in motion was, without a doubt...
the spectators filling this stadium to capacity today!
At this moment, Makunouchi's hand is raised!
Makunouchi claims the Featherweight Class All-Japan Rookie title!
In the meantime, Sendo is taken away on a stretcher.
He has still not regained consciousness.
The unrecognizable face of the victor and the sorry state of the defeated...
speak volumes of the scars of battle!
Takeshi Sendo vs. Ippo Makunouchi!
Without a doubt, this will be a fight to go down in the history...
of the All-Japan Rookie Championship Tournament!
He's not moving. Is he really unconscious?
Did he fight while he was unconscious?
He lived up to our cheers to the very end.
Sendo! You're the best!
You were our Rocky to the bitter end!
Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky!
Kid!
Ippo-kun!
Chief...
What is it?
D-Did I really...
Did I really win the fight?
That's right. You're the winner!
It doesn't feel real whatsoever...
that I could beat the amazing Sendo-san.
I left the corner sure I was going to lose.
It's like a dream.
Kid?
You really hung in there.
Now, let's go.
Come on, Ippo-kun. Grab on.
Th-Thanks.
I still can't believe the match is over.
I know he isn't there...
but it feels like Sendo-san is still there looking straight at me.
It feels like Sendo-san is still sitting there...
getting ready to fight.
Team West Green Room Sendo! Sendo, can you hear me?
You're awake, Sendo.
What is it?
I can't remember.
What can't you remember? Who won the match?
That I can tell... I lost.
I lost, but...
You lost, but what? You can tell me.
H... How exactly did I lose?
What happened to me?
I can't remember that part of the match whatsoever.
Don't dwell on today's match. It was a great fight.
A great fight?
Of course I'm gonna dwell on it! What do you mean, a great fight?!
I want you to tell me how I lost the match!
Sendo!
This is all I have on me.
I know it's only enough for one system, but don't give me a hard time!
W-We'll take it for now.
However, you promised us five!
When are you going to buy them for us?!
If you become champion...
you can do it, right?
I can wait. We'll postpone your promise to us.
We'll wait until you become champion.
Next time...
Next time, swear you'll buy them for sure, Rocky!
Rocky? Are you guys still willing to call me that name?
That's what the entire audience called you.
That's the kind of fight you had!
Makunouchi, how does it feel to be the All-Japan Rookie of the Year?
What was it like fighting Sendo?
Now that you're a ranked fighter, what's your next goal?
Uh, well... I can't respond to all that at once. I, uh...
Hey, the guy's hurt!
He hasn't been fully treated for his injuries yet. That's all for today!
- No fair! - Hold on a second!
Wait...
How is he?
Oh, he regained consciousness a little while ago.
He gave us the one comment, "Today, I lost."
I... I see.
- Now go! - Chief?!
Thank goodness he's awake.
Humph. "Today," is it?
That headstrong comment is Sendo all over.
What is it?
It's like after hearing his comment...
it all suddenly feels real.
I finally feel that I won against Sendo-san today.
I did it!
KO Time: Ended at Round Three. Ippo Makunouchi. All-Japan Rookie of the Year Winner, awarded the MVP award!
Plum Village
Without further ado, in celebration of Ippo Makunouchi-kun...
Plum Village taking the All-Japan Rookie of the Year title, cheers!
Cheers!
Wow!
Thank you. Thank you so much!
Now, now, Ippo-kun. Don't be so stiff and formal.
Yeah, everybody's family at the celebration table!
It was nerve-wracking, but Ippo won right on schedule.
I'll use this victory as a pretext for...
Or at least, that was the plan...
but just look at him.
Even I know better than to drag a wounded boxer around town...
on the night after the fact.
What is it, Takamura?
Don't tell me you're plotting some insolence again.
I won't let it happen.
Give me a break. I just gave up on it, didn't I?
Jeez! What the hell did I come all the way to Osaka for?!
Oh, your beer glass is empty, Chief.
Oh... Oh, thank you kindly.
Wow, amazing! Please, have another glass.
Oh, no, no. I've had enough, thank you.
Don't be like that...
No, really, I'm fine. Let me fill up your glass instead.
What are you doing all of a sudden, you?!
That's what I'd like to ask!
That's a hell of a place to leave wide open!
Oh, no! Chief...
So, you wanna make an impression, you old sex fiend!
This is beyond absurd! Think of your age!
And what about you then?! Your punch is peeking out from below!
Shut up! I have an excuse 'cause I'm young!
BS-ing young fool!
A counterpunch!
Can someone over 70 normally do a move like that?!
You freaky geezer zombie!
Oh, shit! Stop him! Ippo, we need some help!
Huh? Ippo?
Yeah. It's true, Mom. I really won!
I'm not interested in who won. I'm more worried about your health.
You always worry like that. I'm the All-Japan Rookie of the Year.
And I also got the highest prize, and I really won!
I'm okay. I got beat up a little, but my health is fine.
I see.
I'm coming home tomorrow, so I'll bring souvenirs. See you.
Ippo?
Congratulations.
Thanks, Mom.
Congratulations, huh?
It's really incredible I got this far.
I don't know how much further I can go...
but I want to go as far as I can!
Yeah!
W-What's going on?!
Is the party over already?!
It took a turn for the worse.
What?!
Takamura-san KO-ed the Chief!
What?!
I couldn't help it!
After he threw that great punch at me, I did it by accident!
An accident?!
You're the Middleweight Champion, you know!
Shut up! At any rate, run!
And since we're already running, let's get our fill of the Osaka women!
I'm up for that action!
- Me, too! - Our fill?
Prepare to enter the adult world!
What?! This is a bad idea!
I'm still a minor, and I don't wanna!
Nani wo yattemo onaji yoni
Nando to naku machigai wo kurikaesu
Nani ga honto ni hitsuyo na mono?
Ashimoto kinishite
Shitabakari miteshimau
Sonna toki wa, hora
Ue wo muite miru
Tooku wo mite miru
ltsumo towa chigau kakudo mitsukete
Semai torimichi kao wo agetanara
360do hirogaru sekai
Roadwork. Training that takes place outside the gym...
primarily on the dart-and-dash.
It fosters basic endurance for boxing, important for maintaining stamina...
which is where daily results will generally appear.
I also found it hard in the beginning.
But now I'm totally used to it.
And that is the one most certain proof of my two years of effort!
The next episode is, "The Continuing Journey."