Fighting Spirit

- Season 1

(2000)

Ippo gets invited to see a movie with his new classmates but can't go since he has to work at his mothers fishing store. On the way home he gets beaten up by some of his bullies before a boxer, Takamura Mamoru, steps in. Ippo faints and is brought to the Kamogawa boxing gym. When Ippo wakes up Takamura draws a picture of one of the bullies, places it on a punching bag and forces him to punch it. Doing that, Ippo feels something stir inside him and he later starts to watch videos and buys magazines about boxing. Eventually Ippo asks Takamura to train him in boxing. ...

Ippo's goal is to catch 10 leaves, with only a week to do so. While balancing school and work, Ippo is also practicing his jabs.

At first, it seems that Ippo could not keep up with Miyata. Ippo keeps taking hit after hit and gets knocked down twice. After receiving some advice from Takamura, Ippo keeps getting back up to fight.

Ippo finally begins his training in the gym. First, Kamogawa himself, helps Ippo to focus on his jabs and the one-two technique. After getting the hang of it, Kamogawa instructs Ippo to practice shadow boxing.

Ippo begins training with coach Kamogawa for about in order to prepare for a rematch with Miyata. During that time, he begins working on more techniques. Also, he learns more about Miyata's father, who was a former professional boxer.

A representative from a boxing magazine comes to Kamogawa's Gym on the same day Ippo and Miyata have their rematch. With Takamura as referee, the rematch begins. Both fighters begin their four-round match, each displaying their progress.

After a powerful knockout from Miyata, Ippo insists on standing up again and completing the match no matter what.

With Miyata nowhere to be found, Ippo seems distracted in his training, so Kamogawa sends him to train with Takamura. Ippo experiences all the hardship his mentor endures since he prepares for a championship match.

Ippo finally applies to get his featherweight boxing license. During the exam, he meets Ryo Mashiba. Ippo finally gained his license. Back at Kamogawa's Gym, Ippo is about to learn the name of his opponent in his debut match.

After determining Ippo's opponent, Ippo and Oda prepare for their match

The awaited moment has come, And Ippo's first official match against boxer Oda has begun

The news of Ippo's boxing spreads in the school, which makes the thugs secretly admire him and insist on attending his next match.

The Rookie Championship is about to begin. Ippo's first opponent is an American soldier, Jason Ozma. To prepare Ippo trains with Takamura. Ozma trains for the people he came to know in the Japanese gym where he was based.

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Ippo starts his semi-final match

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Ippo wants to fight Sendo so he goes to an orthopedic doctor to get his fist looked at. Ippo then starts an intense training regime.

A recap of the boxing matches that have taken place thus far.

Ippo is still having trouble with his right fist but his match with Sendo begins.

Ippo tries a different fighting stance making his match with Sendo only get more intense.

Ippo and Sendo keep fighting, the crowd starts cheering Sendo on and the match reaches its climax.

Ippo graduates and takes photos with people from his school. New people join the gym and are put to the test by running with Takemura, Ippo, Aoki, and Kimura.

Kimura, Aoki, and Takemura each fight their match. Ippo spars with the featherweight champion, Date.

Dante uses his secret weapon on Ippo, the fact that Date used it on Ippo made Okita challenge Ippo to a real match.

Okita uses moves that makes him unpredictable for Ippo. Okita also uses a fighting style like Dante and he uses a corkscrew.

Miyata's in Thailand and he get's a tough opponent with a great record, Jimmy Sisfa.

Miyata's fight with Jimmy Sisfa begins, Miyata starts off bad and when that happens Miyata tries a counter punch.

Aoki, Kimura, and Ippo all try going A-class. Yamada has his first fight. All the guys want to go to training camp.

Ippo's mother collapses from overworking so Ippo has to look after the family business. Ippo thinks about quitting boxing so that his mother doesn't overwork herself again.

Ippo Prepares for his match against Saeki, the speed star, by trying to improve his movements and become faster.

Ippo's match with Saeki has begun, but Saeki is so fast that Ippo can't land a hit on him. Ippo Is left with a blind spot after getting his eye swollen making it even harder to track Saeki.

After all, the guys are done with their matches they go to karaoke. Takemura lets everyone know Yamada is leaving so they give him a send-off.

Aoki and Kimura fight their matches. Kamogawa wants Ippo to train his legs to get flexible muscles so that he can deliver a more powerful punch that can beat Volg.

Ippo meets Volg after Volg gets lost. Volg tells Ippo that he boxes so he can get money for his mother.

The match with Ippo and Volg begins and the two boxers seem to get the edge over one another quite a bit.

The fight between Ippo and Volg carries on. Ippo takes a lot of hits and gets knocked down a couple times.

After many rounds, Ippo and Volg are both exhausted. After the match is finished Volg visits Ippo in the hospital and meets Ippo's mother.

Ippo wakes up after a couple days at the hospital. When Ippo is in the hospital he meets Mashiba's sister, Aoki, Kimura, Takemura, and Ippo go on a group date.

A recap of some of Ippo's fights told by Date.

Date's past is revealed. Takemura gets ready for his match.

Takemura has real trouble at the beginning of his match. Ippo finds out that Mashiba won the championship and celebrates with him and his sister.

Ippo's title match with Date has begun, Date is surprised by how much better Ippo is since the last time he sparred with him.

Ippo punches Date in the face quite a bit but Date isn't taking the full impact of the punch because he's twists his neck.

Both Ippo and Date are beaten up bad. The match reaches the climax.

After Ippo loses he finds out that Sendo and Volg will fight for the title. Kamogawa tells Ippo that he shouldn't go to the gym for three months because of all the damage from his fights. Ippo goes out with Kumi, Mashiba's sister.

Ippo watches his match with Date. Ippo goes to watch the title match with Volg and Sendo, when he's there he runs into Miyata and spectates the match with him.

Volg and Sendo face off with the crowd cheering for Sendo, in the end, the match comes down to a decision by the judges.

Aoki, Kimura, and Ippo will all be making their comeback match with Ippo being the main event. Kamogawa trains Ippo to have a better defense but overworks himself and collapses he then ends up in a hospital.

Aoki, Kimura, and Ippo have their comeback matches. Ippo tries a new move, the Dempsy Roll.

Aoki, Takemura, and Ippo visit Kimura because he has a high fever. Aoki's and Kimura's life as delinquents is shown.

A look at how Aoki and Kimura became boxers and joined the Kamogawa gym, also shown is their debut matches.

Sendo beats Saeki the speed star comfortably. Sendo wants a fight with Ippo. All the guys from the gym go to training camp in the mountains and meet Kamogawa's friend.

The guys learn that killer intent can make it seem like your throwing a punch. Kamogawa and Nekota's history with one another is told. Takamura battles a bear. Everyone finishes training camp.

Ippo spars with Shigeta who's ranked fourth among Japanese featherweights and who also uses southpaw. People find out about Takemura fight with a bear. There is talk about Takemura getting a world title fight.

Aoki, Kimura, and Takemura all fight their fights. Before fighting Takemura makes a grand entrance wearing a bear pelt and fight his match only using his left hand. Nekota starts teaching at the gym for a bit.

Sendo begins his title defense match with Shigeta the southpaw user. Sendo fights Shigeta but gets more angry with him as the fight goes on.

Ippo invites Kumi to the zoo. Kumi lets Ippo know that she was the one who wrote idiot outside the gym. Sendo's grandma tells Iimura Mari about Sendo's childhood and how he was brought up.

Ippo reads Mari's article. Ippo invites Nekota to his fight. Both Sendo and Ippo have their weigh in. Sendo and Ippo begin their rematch with Ippo getting a very early knockdown on Sendo.

Sendo and Ippo's fight begins guns blazing with the two giving each other blow for blow. Ippo finds out that Sendo has the advantage of having a bigger frame.

Ippo starts the third round by charging at Sendo but then hesitates which leads to Sendo beating Ippo all through the third round. The fourth round is a different story being more in the favor of Ippo.

A flashback shows how Sendo joined his gym. Ippo gets knocked down two times but when he gets up the fifth round gets more brutal. The fifth round ends and after that, the sixth round begins and is just as brutal as the last round.

The match between Ippo and Sendo finally reaches its conclusion after seven ruthless rounds.

The story about how Kamogawa got Takemura to join his gym and how he trained him. Takemura has his debut match.