Episode 76 (Season 1) (2025)

Boxer's Fist is Round 76 of the Hajime no Ippo anime, which is the adaptation of Jōji Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo series.

Details[]

• Characters Introduced: Sakura

Summary[]

At the Kamogawa gym's meeting room, Kamogawa finishes being interviewed by a reporter on an article about Takamura. The reporter asks Kamogawa to let her speak to Takamura next. Kamogawa opens the office door to find out that Takamura was eavesdropping on them. Takamura claims that he was worried Kamogawa was going to do something to the reporter, but Kamogawa says that he isn't perverted like him and he hasn't changed since the day he came to the gym. Takamura tells Kamogawa that he was the one who got scouted by him and he just accepted. Kamogawa scolds him for not having enough awareness as the champion. The reporter wishes to learn more about the pre-debut days of Takamura. As Kamogawa says that is was nothing special, Takamura throws him out of his office and plans to tell her about his pre-debut days. While Kamogawa is angry, Yagi is reminded of the fond memories of Takamura's pre-debut days, and thinks that Takamura is the Kamogawa gym's saviour since the gym didn't have the energy back then that it does today. Ippo mentions to Kamogawa that he wants to hear about Takamura's first days. Kamogawa tells him to finish his workout menu first and kicks him out of the gym for him to do roadwork. Kamogawa looks at a picture on the gym's wall of Takamura wearing his JBC middleweight belt and begins to remember the past.

One night, Kamogawa found high school student Takamura beating up other students in a brawl. He noticed Takamura's punches looked beyond even that of ordinary pro's. Kamogawa walked over to Takamura and stops him from continuing to beat a student who was unconscious, warning him that he would become a murderer. Kamogawa felt around Takamura to check his muscles, finding out that he has natural and soft muscles, making him a talented boxer. Wanting to get Takamura into the ring, Kamogawa asked him if he wants to fight so much, then he will show him a place where he can fight officially and be praised for punching people: the boxing ring. While Takamura claimed that he doesn't like rules, he decided to try it out to kill time. Takamura followed Kamogawa to his gym and was watched by Kamogawa and the other staff as he hit the sandbag. Afterwards, Takamura commented on how boring the gym looks, wanting it to be more exciting to get in the mood. Kamogawa claimed that boxing is about training one's body and soul, so there is no need for mood. Takamura asked Miyata's father for a spar, but Kamogawa stopped him, noting that he already knows his strength, so there is no need for a spar. Kamogawa gave Takamura a map showing where he will be doing his roadwork. Kamogawa proceeded to chase Takamura, riding behind him on a scooter as he ran. After the training session, Takamura left for the night and told Kamogawa to let him hit someone tomorrow. Kamogawa instructed Takamura to run the same course they took three times in the morning and evening before coming back to the gym. Shinoda told Kamogawa that Takamura's time for the training was under thirty minutes, wondering if he played a sport before. Miyata's father noted how good Takamura's punching power and cardiopulmonary functions were, thinking that he is a rare talent.

The next morning, Kamogawa arrived to Takamura's place to make him do roadwork. Takamura didn't want to do it at first, since he doesn't consider roadwork a part of boxing, however, once Kamogawa mentioned that he would show him punches after the training, Takamura decided to do it. After the roadwork, Kamogawa had Takamura punch the sandbag with only his left. Takamura became irritated that he could only use his left, so he hits the sandbag hard with his right. Kamogawa taped up his right arm to his body to prevent him from hitting with his right. After hitting the sandbag, Kamogawa followed Takamura on his roadwork course once again. The next day, Kamogawa waited for Takamura to follow him on his roadwork before heading to the gym and forcing him to only use his left on the sandbag. Kamogawa left the gym to run some errands and has Shinoda watch over his training. Later, when Kamogawa came back to the gym, he was shocked when he sees that Takamura has placed pictures of women all over the gym's walls to increase the mood. Seeing that Takamura doesn't have enough on his training menu, Kamogawa had Takamura pull him and Yagi on the scooter with a rope tied around his shoulders. For multiple days Takamura did the same training. One day, while in the locker room, some gym members noticed that Takamura has been losing weight. Takamura claimed that since Kamogawa made him run everyday, his already well-toned body became perfect. When the gym members noted that Kamogawa hasn't lost his muscles much, Takamura got angry for comparing him to Kamogawa, stripping to show them that the appearance of his penis is impossible for old men, causing them to give him a round of applause. After getting out of the gym's shower, Takamura overheard Yagi telling Kamogawa that he has a fever, grinning as it means he can do whatever he wants.

The next day, Takamura saw that Kamogawa wasn't waiting for him outside his house since he was sick, so he decided to sleep in for the day. However, since he was unable to sleep, he did his roadwork and hitting the sandbag with only his left without Kamogawa. Kamogawa entered the gym and learned that Takamura already did his roadwork and did not use his right on the sandbag, thinking that he has grown. Later, while Kamogawa watched two gym members spar and yells for them to use their left, Takamura wondered where Kamogawa gets all that energy. Yagi mentioned to Takamura that he has recently been energetic, thinking that it is because Takamura came to the gym as his spirits gets lifted when he has someone good to look after. Later at the Kamogawa gym's office, Yagi set up Takamura's debut match, informing Kamogawa that it will be in three months. Kamogawa told his staff that Takamura would not be sparring before the match, which shocked them. Three months later, on the day of the match, Takamura went to the Kōrakuen Hall. In Takamura's waiting room, Yagi revealed that he would be fighting Sakura, who has a match record of four matches, four wins, and one knockout. Yagi added that after being the inter-high school champion, Sakura became a professional boxer. He further added that Sakura has a fast left, a nice right straight, and good footwork. Takamura complained to Kamogawa that he has only done jabs, roadwork, and scooter pulling.

When it was time for the match, Takamura and Sakura entered the ring with their seconds. As Sakura shadowboxes, Yagi noticed Takamura is looking nervous. Kamogawa mentioned that he is worried. Yagi told him that they should have let Takamura spar at least once, however, Kamogawa claimed that he meant he is worried for his opponent and hopes that he at least lasts one round, or even one minute. When the match began, both boxers went towards each other. Takamura dodged Sakura's left jab and was shocked by the speed of his throw and footwork. Sakura chased Takamura, who dodged his left and barely dodged his right by stepping to the side. Sakura started backing up as Takamura chased him. Takamura became surprised at his own speed as he began catching up to Sakura. As Takamura's hand speed was faster than Sakura's he began hitting Sakura with left counters. After the second counter, Takamura grinned as he realised the reason Kamogawa trained him the way he did. Takamura hit Sakura's face with a one-two, sending him down. The referee signals the end of the match, resulting in Takamura's debut match ending with a one round technical knockout in twenty-five seconds. Takamura is surprised by the audience cheering for him. While Kamogawa gave Takamura a nod, he also told him to not get too excited just because it worked this time, as he still needs to continue growing and will have to fight against weight control next time. Takamura told Kamogawa that his champion road has just started and will soon take him to the world. Takamura stepped on the ropes at the corner and lifted his right fist into the air in celebration of his victory. Later, when Kamogawa entered the gym, he became shocked as Takamura has started painting the gym's walls yellow. After telling Takamura to leave and go run, Kamogawa told Yagi that it is a good colour, and asks for him to see how much it would take to paint it that colour.

In the present, Kamogawa stops looking at the picture and notices Ippo and other gym members hearing a strange noise coming from the meeting room where Takamura and the reporter are. When Kamogawa opens the door, he finds Takamura and the reporter topless behind a couch as Takamura was trying to make a move on her. As the reporter leaves, Kamogawa beats Takamura with his cane for his actions.

Trivia[]

• The episode was not broadcast on TV. It was released only on the final 25th DVD release of the first season in Japan.
• While this episode is considered filler, a small amount of panels from Round 383 were adapted.
• One of the pictures of women that Takamura put on the Kamogawa gym's walls was a picture of Jennifer Corvino from the 1985 Italian giallo-horror film Phenomena.

Credits[]

Characters are named as they appear in the credits.

Episode Credits[]