Ippo Makunouchi has been bullied his whole life, until boxer Mamoru Takamura rescues him from his classmates and brings him to the Kamogawa Gym. Ippo asks to be trained, turns pro and fights his way to the Japanese featherweight title alongside gym mates Takamura, Aoki and Kimura, while chasing a rematch with his idol, Ichiro Miyata.
Plus 1 optional extra.
5 titles · 128 episodes · ~51 hours
Watch the 75-episode first season, then the Champion Road special and the Mashiba vs. Kimura OVA, then New Challenger and Rising. Those five tell one continuous story. Boxer's Fist, a bonus episode about Takamura's past, is optional.
Where the story starts. 75 episodes, from Ippo's first day at the Kamogawa Gym to his fight with Takeshi Sendo for the Japanese featherweight title. Episodes 31 and 52 are recap episodes.
A 90-minute TV special and part of the main story: Ippo's first title defense, against Kazuki Sanada. It follows straight on from the end of the first season.
A 61-minute OVA covering Kimura's title fight against Ryo Mashiba. The manga places this fight before Champion Road, but the two stories do not depend on each other, and New Challenger starts after both.
26 episodes, opening with Miyata's title fight against Arnie Gregory and running through Takamura's world title fight against Bryan Hawk.
25 episodes covering Ippo's fight with Shimabukuro, Aoki's title challenge, the Sawamura fight and Takamura's fight against David Eagle. The last four episodes are a flashback arc set in postwar Japan.
A bonus episode, numbered as episode 76, showing how Takamura met Coach Kamogawa and got through to his debut. Watch it any time after the first season.
⚠ Never aired on TV. It was released only on the final volume of the original DVD set, and the Geneon English dub does not include it.
Hajime no Ippo runs in a straight line. The first season takes Ippo from his first day at the Kamogawa Gym to the Japanese featherweight title. Champion Road is his first title defense, against Kazuki Sanada, and it is part of the main story, not a side special.
The Mashiba vs. Kimura OVA is Kimura's title fight against Ryo Mashiba. In the manga this fight comes before Ippo's bout with Sanada, but the anime released it after Champion Road, and watching it there works fine: neither story depends on the other. New Challenger picks up after both, so watch the two before starting it.
New Challenger and Rising continue the story without gaps. Rising ends with a four-episode flashback arc set in postwar Japan, which the manga places earlier, so the last fight of Rising is not the last thing you see.
Boxer's Fist is placed below the main run. It is an extra episode about how Takamura started boxing, released only on DVD, and nothing later depends on it.
Hajime no Ippo has 3 seasons and 2 other entries in the main run — 128 episodes altogether.
| Title | Type | Episodes | Aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting! | TV Series | 75 episodes | October 2000 |
| Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting! – Champion Road | Special | 1 episode | April 2003 |
| Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting! – Mashiba vs Kimura | OVA | 1 episode | September 2003 |
| Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting! New Challenger | TV Series | 26 episodes | January 2009 |
| Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting! Rising | TV Series | 25 episodes | October 2013 |
| Title | Type | Episodes | Aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting! – Boxer’s Fist | Special | 1 episode | March 2003 |
5 titles · 128 episodes · ~51 hours
Where each part of the anime lines up with the source, so you know where to pick up reading.
Rising ends at volume 61 with Takamura's fight against David Eagle. Sources differ on the exact chapter (Round 556 to Round 559), so the safe place to start is Round 556. The last four episodes of Rising adapt the postwar flashback from volumes 45 and 46, so the end of the anime is not where the manga leaves off. The volume where New Challenger ends could not be confirmed. As of September 2026 the manga is on hiatus.
Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting! (2000, 75 episodes), the Champion Road TV special (2003), the Mashiba vs. Kimura OVA (2003), New Challenger (2009, 26 episodes) and Rising (2013, 25 episodes). Boxer's Fist, a bonus episode about Takamura's past, is optional and can be watched any time after the first season.
Start with Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting!, the 75-episode first season from 2000. In the US it was first released in English as Fighting Spirit, which is the same show. Everything else follows on from it.
Yes. Champion Road is a 90-minute TV special, but it is part of the main story: Ippo's first title defense, against Kazuki Sanada, right after the first season ends. New Challenger assumes you have seen it.
Yes, before New Challenger. It covers Kimura's title fight against Ryo Mashiba, an important fight for one of the main gym mates. In the manga this fight comes before Champion Road, but the two stories do not depend on each other, so watching it after Champion Road is fine.
Boxer's Fist is an extra episode, numbered as episode 76, that shows how Takamura met Coach Kamogawa and got through to his debut. It never aired on TV, was released only on the final volume of the original DVD set, and is not included in the Geneon English dub. It is optional.
Only for part of the series. Geneon dubbed the first season (as Fighting Spirit) and Champion Road, and Discotek's later Blu-ray release uses that same dub. Boxer's Fist and the Mashiba vs. Kimura OVA have no English dub, and New Challenger and Rising are available only in Japanese with English subtitles.
No anime-original arcs are recorded for Hajime no Ippo. Episodes 31 and 52 of the first season are recap episodes. The anime does cut and reorder some material: the Mashiba vs. Kimura fight comes after Champion Road instead of before it, and the postwar flashback arc is moved to the end of Rising.
In the US, Netflix has all three TV seasons, with New Challenger and Rising in Japanese with English subtitles. Champion Road is on the Crunchyroll channel on Prime Video. Availability differs by region.
The anime is not finished. Rising, the latest season, ended in 2013 partway through the manga, and as of October 2026 no new season has been announced. The manga is still running in Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine with 145 volumes as of January 2026, but it went on hiatus in late March 2026 and was still on hiatus as of September 2026.
Rising ends at volume 61, with Takamura's fight against David Eagle. Sources differ on the exact chapter, from Round 556 to Round 559, so starting from Round 556 is the safe choice. Note that the last four episodes of Rising are a flashback arc from volumes 45 and 46, so the end of the anime is not where the manga leaves off.
Yes, digitally. Kodansha has been publishing the manga in English as Hajime no Ippo: Fighting Spirit! on its K MANGA app since 2023, with new chapters added each week. A printed English omnibus edition was announced in August 2026 for release in 2027.
About 51 hours for the main run: the first season, Champion Road, the Mashiba vs. Kimura OVA, New Challenger and Rising. Boxer's Fist adds about 23 minutes.
