Well, anyway...I wanted to say my piece about one of my all time favorite anime series, Hajime no Ippo. Despite not having any real interest in becoming a boxer myself, this series really speaks to me. The pursuit of becoming a man, a strong man, a man with a will that cant be broken. Everybody loves an underdog story right?
If you've been following the series like I am, you probably watched this particular part I'm about to gush over. The part I'm talking about is the story of Nekota and Kamogawa, two prominent trainers in the Kamogawa gym. These four episodes follows after Takamura's win against Eagle, and it highlights the start of a vow between Nekota and Kamogawa and another person.
A younger Kamogawa, Yuki, and young Nekota during postwar Japan.
The story sets off with Kamogawa and Nekota being prizefighters residing in Tokyo, just after the war between the Japanese and American, and the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Living off what they can scrounge up day after day, they became talented fighters. But once an American showed up, beating Japanese fighters to a pulp, things got heated.
Look at that smug motherfucker.
Suffice to say, Kamogawa and Nekota weren't having none of it, being degraded and looked down. This is where they meet Yuki, a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing who wen to Tokyo. She said that the people of Tokyo gave her hope and strength, seeing how they rose up after the war. It was heartbreaking when she confessed to Kamogawa her situation and why she chose to stay with the two of them, having nowhere else to go.
Kamogawa and Nekota were rivals and best friends, and their strength as fighters were the best they could be. Kamogawa relied on his strength and will, while Nekota was much more surgical and agile. They both excelled inside the ring, almost like they're trying to kill each other, but their bond was stronger than any other.
But tragically, after a bout with his friend, Nekota finally succumbed to being punch drunk. It was excruciating for Nekota, not only because of the pain and suffering it caused, but being unable to show or even mention to Kamogawa that it was their last fight that led to his condition. Kamogawa only found out about the condition when Yuki mentioned it to him, but he completely understood why Nekota kept quiet about it only after he was beaten by the American.
This led to Kamogawa having the drive to fight against the man who put his friend to a coma, but more than that, he didn't want to look weak in front of these two individuals who were fighting their own battles, Yuki and Nekota, showing ultimate resolve and an iron will to survive. Kamogawa risked his life to fight as hard as his friends did, and won.
Having shattered both his hands during his final battle, Kamogawa can no longer fight inside the ring, Instead, Kamogawa resolved that he will be the one to sow the seeds, having someone inherit his spirit, and his fists, and that the vow will be complete once he accomplished to send that successor to the highest peak.
Iron Fist and God of Wind.
One could say that Takamura is that successor Kamogawa has been looking for, but he himself denied this. He said that Takamura would have gotten them even without his help. He never really inherited his iron will, his samurai spirit. That's where Ippo comes in. The story moved Ippo and drove him forward to become part of that promise to Yuki. His hands will be the one to carry the fighting spirit Yuki, Nekota, and Kamogawa shared. Fight on Ippo! For Yuki!
