Y-You see...
his favorite is...
oriental girls.
Japanese girls are especially excellent.
Come on, let's shake hands, Takamura!
Let's shake hands.
Enough with your damn attitude!
I'll kill you on behalf of all of Japan!
Calm down, Takamura-san!
Not here!
Oh man, causing a fight right before the title match might be a bad idea.
Please stop, Takamura-san!
The title match!
Die, faggot!
He caught Takamura's bare knuckle punch!
Takamura-san!
Let go of his hand!
Let...
Boy, don't panic.
We're shaking hands.
Simply shaking our hands.
That bastard...
called grabbing my knuckles a handshake.
My... knuckles!
I stand corrected.
We have yet to see...
Takamura-san truly pissed off.
His true power...
In December, at Ryogoku Kokugikan...
on the stage of the world title match!
Man, they made bigger news of this than the actual match.
That's because it's rare to see such an undisciplined display.
But this is still nothing.
Things will get even busier as the world title match draws near.
The world title match, huh...
I wonder how many boxers there are throughout the world?
When you think about that, being at the top is truly amazing.
The world is so big, after all.
I've never even dreamt about being the world champion...
I hope he'll make it!
A new champion comes out of Kamogawa Gym!
Man, that's so awesome!
Yo.
Getting fired up, huh?
Hell yeah!
We're about to see the first world champion from this gym!
Japan is too small for Takamura-san.
He's such a perfect fit to be a boxer.
We're way confident about it.
I second that.
Personally, I hope he'll kick Bryan Hawk's ass.
That insult was a national disgrace.
Yeah, yeah.
You can't respect a world champion like him.
I'm sure he can do it!
I mean, he forced the opponent out of the ring!
Losing is unthinkable!
I agree...
or I hope I can.
Wanna take a look?
Hawk has forced his opponents out a couple of times as well.
It's true that Japan is too small for Takamura.
But Hawk is also a rarely seen world-class boxer.
What do you think, Ippo?
W-What "what?"
You sparred with Ricardo Martinez!
You're the only one here who's directly experienced a world champion!
Still, don't ask me.
Ricardo Martinez fought in a theoretically sound style. He was artistic.
But this... this man...
is at the top of a completely different world.
That's right.
His fighting style is far different from modern technical boxing.
Animal-like senses, fighting instinct,
and arrogantly aggressive self-confidence are the weapons he uses to slaughter his enemy.
His spontaneous style is a sign of his wildness.
Allow any chance and he will throw a KO punch from any stance.
He will never miss that chance.
Any punches he's particularly good at or some special moves?
It can't be determined.
Because he's equally strong with both hands.
We could say that his body is his strongest weapon.
Man, that's exactly like the style we know so well.
He's exactly like Takamura-san!
If the wildest boy in Japan is Takamura-san,
Bryan Hawk is the world's worst wild boy.
They're so much alike.
Their boxing styles too,
even to the point that they're both arrogantly self-confident.
If Takamura-san went to the U.S. in the reverse situation,
I'm sure his favorite food would be blonde chicks.
I just pictured that.
What a downer.
They are alike, but I wonder about their skills?
Why are you even thinking about that?
Did you think about Takamura-san losing?
That won't happen!
I know that.
But Takamura-san also suffers from weight control problems.
He still won't lose!
I hope he won't either!
But you saw Bryan Hawk!
He's real!
His strength is way beyond normal!
You're turning to our enemy?!
He won't lose!
How can you be so sure?!
You're more anxious than anyone else!
Stop it already!
Let's believe in Takamura-san!
Didn't we all pick up boxing because we met Takamura-san?!
Aren't we all grateful to him?!
Don't we all hope that he'll win?!
Let's believe that he will become the world champion!
I'll make this an exception.
I won't hold back.
Don't complain, even if you end up dead.
You're right.
If we didn't meet him...
Yeah, we wouldn't have started boxing.
Winner: Kimura!
I did it!
He gave us the chance to know those feelings of accomplishment and fulfillment.
He's not a role model as an individual, but I'm still grateful for those feelings.
Try this.
I'll show you boxing if you can grab ten leaves.
The encounter with Takamura-san...
was the encounter...
with boxing.
Man! Please win!
I sure wanna see him up there.
I believe he will.
I really believe...
that the man we admire will become the world champion.
You hear that?
Ippo admires Takamura-san, huh?
Don't say "we."
Don't group us with you!
No good will come from admiring that screwed up man.
He'll end up grabbing Kumi-chan's boobs.
You're so twisted.
Huh?
What is it? Don't get behind.
Well...
we started boxing after meeting Takamura-san.
But I was just wondering why he started boxing.
I think Coach recruited him when he was in a brawl in town...
But ya know, I don't know any of the details.
Actually, we don't know much about his private life.
It's full of unknowns.
Yeah...
Then let's go ask him!
Takamura-san!
Good evening!
Takamura-san!
Good evening!
What?
Was he jerking off?
No!
Th-There was a woman!
He was doing her?!
Not that either!
Um...
Are you Mamoru-chan's friends?
Ma-Mamoru-chan?!
H-How are they related?!
I don't know!
What's going on?
Did Mamoru-niisan come home?
H-His brother?
Does that mean...
I'm his older sister, Kyoka.
And I'm his younger brother, Wataru.
T-Takamura-san has siblings...
I've known him for over five years, but I never knew.
On top of that, he's the son of the head of Takamura Development Company?
Takamura Development is a big firm that handles resort development and construction of hotels!
The family forbids us from seeing Mamoru.
But we really wanted to give him a cheer before his title match!
You said you're Mamoru-chan's friends.
Are you from Kamogawa Gym?
Y-Yes.
Thank you so much for helping him out.
He's such a child, but please be good friends with him.
Nah, he's the one who helps us out.
Takamura-san is the leader of the gym.
We admire him!
Oh my.
Liars!
They act like this when they face pretty girls.
U-Um, if you're from Kamogawa Gym...
is one of you Aoki?
A-A-Aoki?
What about him?
Wataru-chan!
Mamoru told us to watch out for him.
Watch out?
It's not easy to say, but...
He said that Aoki-kun is always touching his weenie and stinks, so stay away.
That he's a pervert.
Don't worry.
My name is Kimura.
I-I'm—
I-I'm Makunouchi.
Nice to meet you.
Makunouchi? The Japanese champion?!
This is great!
How can this be?!
What about you over there?
What?
Come on, introduce yourself.
Hurry up.
Hurry...
Aoki's got some guts using Ippo's name right in front of him.
What will you do now, Ippo?
At this rate, I'll become Aoki.
M-My name is Itagaki.
One lie led to another lie!
He told us that everyone is nice except for Aoki-kun.
I'm glad you all seem nice.
Right, Itagaki-san?
He stinks, so—
I think he's a pretty good guy.
It's getting complex...
Anyway, I wonder why Takamura-san kept quiet about his siblings?
If I had a beautiful sister and a cute brother, I'd brag about them.
It's because he thinks that the Takamura family and he no longer share any ties.
No ties?
Actually, it's us who made him think that way.
I think he was uncomfortable with us.
There was no place for him from the beginning.
No place? But...
He's the heir of a large corporation, right?
How would the eldest son have no place in the family?
Mamoru is the second son.
The eldest son's name is Suguru.
I heard that your world title match is confirmed.
Let me start by congratulating you.
Dad mentioned your name in a good mood for the first time in ages.
He said that you can come back to the family if you become the world champion.
You've only caused trouble for the family.
You need to make up for it with all you got.
I didn't cause any trouble, and I don't intend to make up for anything.
I don't fight for other people's sakes.
You call the extension of street brawling a fight?
What blasphemy.
Do you know how much shame we've received because of you?
Yes...
To us, your existence was trouble enough.
Takamura-san has lived alone since he was in junior high?
He must have been a troublesome kid.
Shut up!
We didn't mean to trouble Mamoru.
He might have used violence, but wouldn't all boys pick a fight or two?
Well, I used to be rowdy too.
So even you went through that kind of phase, Makunouchi-san.
In his case, he was just too strong.
Even the smallest fight turned into big trouble.
True, when he goes wild bare-handed...
It's like having a pet gorilla set free.
B-But still, how could he have been banished from the family?
It was still okay, as long as he was fighting delinquent boys.
If only that incident at the rugby game hadn't happened...
Rugby game?
Now I remember!
Takamura Suguru is that Takamura Suguru!
The elite player of the rugby world, the one who got all the attention from the sports papers!
Is he famous?
People called him the unparalleled quarterback.
That's American football!
It's stand-off!
After he graduated university, he quit to inherit the business.
The entire country grieved for the loss when he did.
It was when Suguru was in high school.
The team lost horribly in a big game.
Lost horribly despite Takamura Suguru?
Suguru was already at a totally different level back then.
So he couldn't play well together with his teammates.
He was too good, huh...
It's the same as Takamura-san not having any sparring partners.
So, what was the incident?
Heartless fans directed all their jeers at the stand-off.
And Mamoru, who was nearby,
took out about twenty of them...
So... Mamoru got disowned by the family.
Every single one of the violent incidents you caused put shame on the family.
There were cases where you'd have been sent to a juvenile correctional facility had Dad not made his deals.
You better thank us.
I never asked for it.
Ever since I got chased out of our home when I was in junior high,
I've been living alone.
I have no reason to receive any complaints from anyone.
This is just frustrating.
I know going too far is bad, but still...
You can't just stay quiet when your brother is being badmouthed.
I would beat them up.
I'll beat the crap out of everyone who jeered him.
Even if there were over twenty of them?
I'm the Japanese champion after all!
You're really understanding!
Our parents and Suguru reject Mamoru,
but I admire him!
He doesn't run on the rails set by other people.
He lives freely, depending only on his own strength.
I think that that kind of life is really good.
You must admire Takamura-san a lot.
Stop looking so scary.
I do give you credit.
I thought you were hopeless,
but you're about to reach the top of the world.
I have a question for you, Makunouchi-san, since you've experienced being a champion.
What are the good things about boxing?
Good things, huh...
Like the exhilarating feeling when you KO the opponent?
Or the feeling of accomplishment?
Once, Takamura-san told me...
I ended up winning my debut match.
Applause came down like a squall.
It just felt awesome.
It was the first time people said good things about me.
It felt like society recognized the punches that I didn't know what to do with before.
Don't you agree that we understand what that feeling is like, Aoki-san?
Yeah, I was a delinquent too, so I know it all too well.
A-Aoki?
You idiot! You let it slip!
You're Aoki!
It was a stretch from the beginning!
What's going on? Who's who?
Stop it. It's all uncovered now.
Stop trying to make the other one Aoki—
You bastard!
What'd you do that for?!
It's Ippo's fault! All Ippo's fault!
You claimed my name, and this is how you pay me back?!
Win the title.
We'll share a company or two if you return with the title.
Return?
I can finally tell people that I have a brother named Mamoru.
They'll all be shocked to find out that there were four of us.
You may feel like calling it quits once you win the championship title.
Call the punching game quits and come home.
Lead a more stable life.
Come see me once you have the belt.
I'll see you then.
You've always been like that.
You haven't changed at all.
Return?
There's no place for me there.
There's only one place where I belong.
No wonder Mamoru-chan works so hard at it.
It's the only place where he's recognized and can express his true self.
He has such fun friends.
You've finally found a place for yourself.
A punching game, huh...
That's wrong, Suguru.
The ring is the only place for me.
I don't have a place to live if I lose it.
To me, boxing is a race for life.
I fight to protect the place where I live.