KAMOGAWA Boxing Gym
He's in here?
Yeah. I read it in this magazine.
Ooh, there he is!
What are you gonna do?
I have no choice but to march in!
OK!
When you enter the gym, you say "Good afternoon!"
Monthly Boxing Fan What's with this old geezer?
You want to join up? I suppose I'll let you off this time.
However, what's with that hair?!
- Ow! - Smarten yourselves up!
Boxing is more than winning or losing!
It elevates you both physically and spiritually!
It begins and ends with manners! It is akin to a martial art!
- What the...?! - Lose the hair and come back!
Hey, aren't those the same guys?
Yeah.
It's so clean and breezy that it's gross.
Damn it, this was the only thing that could conceal the buzz cut.
If we stay in his gym, our day to pulverize him will come.
We only gotta be patient until then!
What?!
You're saying YOU'RE gonna teach us how to box?
That's right. I'm trainer Shinoda. Pleased to meet you.
Well, let's get right down to it...
Punches? We're doing punches, right?!
Punches deadly enough to knock down Takamura with a single blow!
What? Punches?
We're doing something else?
Then we're guarding!
Defense is more important than offense!
Actually, that's not quite it, either.
Then what are we doing?
Spit it out already.
For starters...
Yeah?
Go running!
When you can run this course in under 40 minutes...
I'll teach you how to punch and guard.
This far in 40 minutes?
That's gotta be impossible.
What? Do you think so?
It might be impossible for the likes of you.
But, wow, Shinoda-san sure is being easy on you.
When he was training me...
he told me to get my butt back here in 35 minutes.
That's fine by me!
One hour 3 minutes 48 seconds?
This is out of the question.
Damn it!
I'll show you!
Aoki! Kimura!
I'm thirsty. I'll have a sports drink.
Me, too!
Get some for us, too.
Damn! Why the heck are we the gophers?!
Patience, patience!
You in the rear! Don't run in baby steps!
Damn it!
Two Weeks Later
I'm toast. My hams hurt so bad I can't move.
Same here.
Kimura, gimme a smoke.
I don't got any.
Hanging around with those guys knocks the wind out of me.
I can't afford to have a smoke.
Damn! Look how damned healthy we've become.
Run around like a carriage horse, cussed out by old geezers...
used as a gopher by every guy around. It all sucks.
It pisses me off!
My hams hurt!
Moron.
Two Months Later Well, you're sure starting to look the part.
Two Months Later What? You think so?
Hey, what are you up to?
I'll tell you. THIS is a right straight.
What?! All I've been taught is the jab!
Shinoda-san, that's not fair! Teach me that, too!
S-Sure.
Left hook!
Right uppercut!
Four Months Later
Your step-in is too soft! That's why it doesn't sound good!
Shut up! I don't need you to tell me that!
Hitting it with all you got won't cut it!
Your motion is too obvious!
I'm sayin' you go like this! This!
Geez, don't blubber on like you're hooked on it.
You're the moron who was doin' the talking.
Anyway, I'm sort of starting to get the gist of it.
Maybe we could pull it off now.
You know, give Takamura a whupping!
Hey, you guys get into the ring!
You're about ready to start sparring, right?
I'll be your partner.
- I've been waiting for this. - I've been waiting for this.
Don't be shy and hit me with everything you got.
I ain't the same guy I was four months ago, buddy.
The look on Takamura's face changed! This just might do it!
I don't think so!
Kill me. Have the mercy to finish me off.
All right, next!
You're pathetic! I'll give you an example!
Both of you still have a long way to go.
We'll pick it up again tomorrow.
Damn it all...
You'll pay for this!
One More Month Passes...
Come on! What's wrong?!
One More Month Passes... You need to do more than throw out your left.
Quit harping, you bastard!
Utilize that competitive spirit!
Put out the most punches and take it into an exchange!
Why, you...
Don't lose your cool when you're hit!
You have speed! Don't force it into an exchange!
Take me with your rhythm!
Damn it.
More punches! I need to throw more punches or I won't score!
I gotta move around more, more.
I want to see more punches!
I told you to use your feet!
Damn! Hit him, hit him, hit him!
Don't stop moving! Move all over the place to confuse him!
Two More Months Later
You guys never improve.
Two More Months Later See me again tomorrow!
Damn it, how come I can't hit him?!
Yeah, and this is the first time...
I've ever devoted myself to one thing.
I'm starting to feel like a fool.
Here, Takamura-san.
Oh, thanks.
They've really started to make you sweat a lot.
Tell me about it!
It's difficult to baby-sit gimps like them.
Sweat?!
The guy who always dodged us like it was nothing...
is actually out of breath!
Aoki!
Yeah!
We're almost there.
Almost there.
Just a little more and we'll reach him!
We'll reach that bastard!
I just felt a slight impact.
The lucky bastard grazed him!
All right!
You see that?!
Step in a little harder and you'd have clobbered him!
Don't make such a big deal over grazing me.
Don't make such a big deal.
Shut up! To us, this is huge!
Tag me, Kimura! This time, I'll nail him!
All right, get in there!
In the end...
he got us both.
But I grazed him.
I've definitely made headway.
This is the first time this has felt real.
We've never really done anything like this, huh?
It may be out of my character to say this, but this feels kind of...
...exciting, doesn't it?
Yeah.
A match?!
We have an opening for curtain raisers.
The chief says you're ready for it.
Champs and curtain raisers are all the same in the ring.
Give it a shot and take the spotlight.
This was sort of unexpected.
It's not like we were aiming to go pro...
and the crash diets suck.
I'm gonna give it a try.
What?
We've been at this for over eight months.
It wouldn't be so bad to give it a try just once.
My opponent will have the same build as me...
and I doubt I'll lose. Think of it as fighting mano a mano.
Yeah, we've never lost to anyone except Takamura.
Guess I'll try it out.
That settles it.
The Day of the Match
Are they up after this match?
The Day of the Match As if they've already debuted. I'm tougher than they are.
Children have to wait their turn.
So, how do you think they'll do?
They're used to fighting, so I expect they'll be fine.
Room B
None of these guys look so tough.
I've got nothing to worry about. I'll win easy.
But, still...
What the hell is this? I can't stop shaking.
Damn it!
Kimura, are you doing all right or what?!
Hey, your name was called! Greet them!
Huh? Huh?!
This isn't like street fighting.
The bell's rung!
What do I do now?
What's this? What happened?
Down!
Kimura!
What's all the commotion?
What the heck's going on here?
Can you go on?
Anyway, calm down! Observe your opponent!
Just use everything you learned!
Huh?
Looks like he can't hear you.
What am I doing? I'm in Korakuen Hall, aren't I?
It doesn't feel real.
Box!
He's really scary-looking. What should I do?!
What's going on? Is Kimura losing or something?
He's not on solid ground. It's like he can't hear anything!
Move it!
Takamura!
What are you doing, you idiot?!
What happened to your guts from when you attacked me?!
Don't bother! He isn't absorbing any of it!
Kimura.
Hey! Have you reverted to the pathetic loser...
who'd play with his ball sack?!
What in the world?!
He plays with his nuts?
Die for shame!
I'm not the guy who played with his sack! That's Aoki!
Don't shout out my name so loud!
Look out! Face forward!
You have speed! Don't exchange!
Oppose me with your rhythm!
He dodges pretty good!
Go for it, debutante!
Way to go! Keep it up!
Looks like that triggered him to fight back.
Now that I got a good look at him, he's already out of breath.
Come to think of it, it's his debut match as well.
He probably trained plenty for today...
but I bet he's never fought a monster like him.
Once I look at it that way...
I've got nothing to be scared of!
Nice jab!
Aw, you idiot! You gotta guard!
That was nothing. HIS fists hurt more...
and they're faster!
You're too slow!
The winner is Kimura!
It's a turnaround KO! Not bad!
You really showed guts!
Do your best in the next one, too!
Well done. Thank them and we'll get out of here.
Yes, sir.
Thank you!
How long has it been since I bowed my head to others...
and really meant it?
I tried so hard to look cool, I looked down on people...
thinking it was okay that way.
I never thought I'd graduate properly...
but I might have met up with old pals after growing up...
and said something anti-climactic like "I also settled down"...
and I could have turned out pretty boring.
If I'd stayed that way, that's what would've become of me.
That's it.
I was probably going nuts because I'd given up on...
ever becoming something big.
Right, Aoki?
That's it! Keep it up, Aoki!
Good! He got a boost from Kimura's victory.
Aoki!
Try harder, you thug! Intimidate him and hit back!
The winner is Aoki!
We're hooked now, right?
Whoa! I did it!
We can't give up boxing now, right?
I never thought I would get so much praise for hitting a guy.
Yeah. Shinoda-san was happy with us, too.
Anyway you look at it, it feels real when you receive praise.
It really feels like you won.
Yeah.
That's right! We won!
Yeah! We can forget the pain!
The applause fell on us like rain!
It's totally different from winning a street fight!
I never felt so good after a brawl!
I was scared big time at first.
I seriously thought I would lose.
Kimura...
I wonder what would have happened...
if I hadn't heard Takamura call out?
Actually, if we hadn't met him, and we never started boxing...
what would have happened to us?
So you're saying we owe it all to Takamura?
I didn't say that! But...
His voice made me remember the sparring...
and it's like the fear left me... like it gave me courage.
The same happened to you, right?
I won't admit that!
Don't piss on my parade, moron!
Ah, you haven't gone home yet?
Are you guys wallowing in emotion in a place like this?
Damn it.
I can't look him in the eye.
God, you guys are hopeless.
Aren't you the least bit embarrassed?
I'm plenty aware of it now.
If we hadn't met you, and we hadn't started boxing...
we wouldn't have felt that emotional our entire lives!
Being hit by you made us strong.
But how are we supposed to look you in the face and say that now?!
I'll never admit it! Never!
I'll never say... thank you.
Hey, you guys.
Uh, listen...
Just thought I'd mention it...
but don't get swelled heads over beating up other small fry.
I'm ashamed you had a hard time against puny opponents like that.
Think about my position. I sparred with you personally.
You guys are the proverbial frogs in the well! Well?!
Shut up, you!
Who the hell do you think you are?!
I'm ME!
You bastard!
You don't care how others feel!
I wouldn't be caught dead feeling as small as you!
One day, I'm gonna pop that swelled head of yours!
I won't rest until I land a shot on your snotty cheek!
I won't quit boxing until that happens...
Get your burial plot picked out...
...Takamura-san!
But that was over five years ago.
It's a little embarrassing to talk about it now.
Wow, I never knew you had a history like that.
So, when was it that you realized your dreams...
of hitting Takamura-san in the face?
I still haven't scored a clean hit to this day!
Figure that out for yourself!
I'm sorry!
I see. I didn't know you guys were so obsessed about that.
I failed to realize.
No, I should have made it my job to realize that as your senior.
That's all right.
Please don't worry about it.
If that's the case...
do you want to try it out right now?
See? Here's my cheekie-poo!
Fulfill your little dreams. Don't be shy.
I won't get back at you, don't worry.
Ippo!
Don't bring up embarrassing topics!
I'm sorry! I'm sorry!
Hey!
What the heck?!
Are ya gonna play dumb this time?!
The fish! The fish!
What?
Reiko! Reiko is alive again!
Oh, so she was merely unconscious.
Hey, lucky you.
Thank goodness.
I get up again
With my wounded body
Tomorrow's the only way to go
If that's the fate of the human race
I will grab tomorrow with my only hands
Even if I can't deal
With my long, long life
I don't want to mistake the place to live
With the place to die
I can't help myself
Dreaming the same dream
Dempsey Roll. A barrage made while moving forward...
and slipping through the opponent's punches.
Exchanging punches while weaving and counterattacking with hooks...
combine offense and defense as one.
It's a move I came up with out of sheer desperation.
But this technique is not all-powerful!
For that I need even more training!
So I can fight HIM again!
The next episode is, "The Summer of the Kamogawa Corps."