Anime · Nippon TV
Fighting Spirit
The moment you back down is the moment you lose!
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Tomokazu Seki
Ichiro Miyata (voice)
101 eps
Kohei Kiyasu
Ippo Makunouchi (voice)
126 eps
Rikiya Koyama
Mamoru Takamura (voice)
126 eps
Wataru Takagi
Masaru Aoki (voice)
126 eps
Keiji Fujiwara
Tatsuya Kimura (voice)
126 eps
Jurota Kosugi
Ralph Anderson (voice)
25 eps
Hidenobu Kiuchi
David Eagle (voice)
25 eps
Kenji Utsumi
Genji Kamogawa (voice)
101 eps
Toshihiko Nakajima
Haruhiko Yagi (voice)
101 eps
Hisao Egawa
Iwao Shimabukuro (voice)
25 eps
Sanae Kobayashi
Kumi Mashiba (voice)
101 eps
Shin-ichiro Miki
Ryuhei Sawamura (voice)
25 eps
Masaya Onosaka
Takeshi Sendo (voice)
101 eps
Akemi Okamura
Reiko Mikami (voice)
101 eps
Emi Shinohara
Mari Iimura (voice)
101 eps
Hiroyuki Yoshino
Akira Shigeta (voice)
101 eps
Kiyoyuki Yanada
Takuma Saeki (voice)
101 eps
Koji Tsujitani
Ryuichi Hayami (voice)
101 eps
Masahiko Tanaka
Ryo Mashiba (voice)
101 eps
Masaki Aizawa
Date Eiji (voice)
101 eps
Nobutoshi Canna
Yusuke Oda (voice)
101 eps
Unsho Ishizuka
Miyata's father (voice)
101 eps
Yorie Terauchi
Hiroko Makunōchi (voice)
101 eps
Toshiyuki Morikawa
Alexander Vorg Zangief (voice)
101 eps
Kenichi Ono
Minoru Fujii (voice)
101 eps
Akio Otsuka
Bryan Hawk (voice)
26 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Fighting Spirit actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Fighting Spirit reads strongest on Character Depth, Spectacle and Bingeability.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
The story
What it's about
Makunouchi Ippo is an ordinary high school student in Japan. Since he spends most of his time away from school helping his mother run the family business, he doesn't get to enjoy his younger years like most teenagers. Always a target for bullying at school (the family fishing business grants him a distinct odor), Ippo's life is one of hardship. One of these after-school bullying sessions turns Ippo's life around for the better, as he is saved by a boxer named Takamura. He decides to follow in Takamura's footsteps and train to become a boxer, giving his life direction and purpose. Ippo's path to perfecting his pugilistic prowess is just beginning...
The run
Seasons
3 seasons · 126 episodes.
Season 0 · Complete
Specials
20033 episodes
Best episode · S00E01 Boxer's Fist
Season 1 · Complete
The First Step
200075 episodes
8.6IMDbBest episode · S01E71 Time for the Showdown
Season 2 · Complete
New Challenger
200926 episodes
8.1IMDbIppo Makunouchi continues his boxing career and his goal on knowing the meaning of being strong, and the desire on fighting his idol Ichiro Miyata once again. Along him are pro boxers Takamura, Aoki and Kimura that each one of them aspire to their own dreams. the continuation after Ippo won his Japan Championship match.
Best episode · S02E12 Requirements for a Pro
Season 3 · Complete
Rising
201325 episodes
8.6IMDbHajime no Ippo: Rising continues Ippo's quest to become stronger, featuring the same cast of loveable dimwits from Kamogawa Gym, as they put their bodies and hearts on the line to make their way in the harsh world of professional boxing. With a will of iron, Ippo steps into the ring once again.
Best episode · S03E09 A Savage Scenario
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S01E75
One Step Further
Ippo and Sendo's match concludes.
- Directed by Kentaro Nakamura
S01E33
Smash Force
Makunouchi takes the smash improved Sendo, and crashed into the ropes, but do not fall! Alas, his legs tremble, Sendo and the opportunity to boost its smash. Ippo then chooses the combat body to body pure to prevent Sendo launched its smash, blow midway. Both boxers are equal forces in this area, and no stroke reaches its target.
- Directed by Mitsuyuki Masuhara
- Written by Kenji Sugihara
S01E03
Tears of Joy
Ippo loses his first sparring session, but shows enough potential to be accepted into the gym.
- Directed by Hitoshi Nanba
S01E08
Promise to Meet Again
Ippo trains with Takamura and discovers the hardship of pro boxing.
- Directed by Akira Mano
S01E07
The Destructive Force Of One CM
Ippo and Miyata are in the last round of the rematch
- Directed by Yuji Yamaguchi
S01E27
Death Match
Ippo VS Mashiba continues.
- Directed by Kenichi Kawamura
Recently aired
Latest Episodes
S03E23
The Courage to Live
- Directed by Kenji Muto
- Written by Satoshi Nishimura
S03E22
Flower of Hope
- Directed by Kim Dong-jun
- Written by Satoshi Nishimura
S03E21
The End of the Death Match
- Directed by Masami Hata
- Written by Tatsuro Inamoto
S03E20
A Lesson Never Forgotten
- Directed by Chiharu Sato
- Written by Tatsuro Inamoto
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
- Photo unavailable
Kenichi Kawamura
Writer
Fuuta Takei
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Tatsuro Inamoto
Writer
Ryosuke Nakamura
Writer
- Photo unavailable
久野惠里
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Kenji Sugihara
Writer
- Photo unavailable
大内真一
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Yasuko Kamo
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Satoshi Nishimura
Writer
- Photo unavailable
吉原崇郎
Writer
- Photo unavailable
土谷三奈
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Katsunari Ishida
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Atsuo Ishino
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Jun Shishido
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Sei Moriwaki
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Hideo Takayashiki
Writer
- Photo unavailable
门胁康裕
Writer
Fumie Muroi
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Atsushi Nakagawa
Writer
Tatsuhiko Urahata
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Kazuyuki Fudeyasu
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Jun Nakagawa
Writer
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Hiroshi YamashitaProducer
- Mitsuru OshimaProducer
- Tomohiro ShindoProducer
- Toshio NakataniProducer
Writing
- Kenichi KawamuraWriter
- Fuuta TakeiWriter
- Tatsuro InamotoWriter
- Ryosuke NakamuraWriter
- 久野惠里Writer
- Kenji SugiharaWriter
Direction
- Yoshito HataDirector
- Kenichi KawamuraDirector
- Kim Min-sunDirector
- Mihiro YamaguchiDirector
- Kentaro NakamuraDirector
- Yasuhiro MatsumuraDirector
Cinematography
- Yuya KumazawaDirector of Photography
- Hisao ShiraiDirector of Photography
Music
- Tsuneo ImahoriOriginal Music Composer
- Hideki TaniuchiOriginal Music Composer
- Yoshihisa HiranoOriginal Music Composer
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- NetflixStreaming
- PhiloStreaming
- Crunchyroll Amazon ChannelStreaming
- Netflix Standard with AdsStreaming
- RetroCrush Amazon ChannelStreaming
- Cineverse Amazon ChannelStreaming
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