Karakter & Staf

Ippo Makunouchi

Utama

Male · Umur 16-

Nationality: Japanese Boxing style: Infighter, Peek-a-Boo Height: 5'5" (164.0 cm) Reach: 65" (165.0 cm) Weight Class: Featherweight Specialty: Liver Blow, Gazelle Punch, Dempsey Roll Ippo Makunouchi is the main protagonist of the series. He lives with his mother, Hiroko Makunouchi, and helps with the family charter boat fishing business. Ippo is a classic power in-boxer and is well known for his Peek-a-Boo style of boxing and hard punches which include three signature punches: a rib-cracking liver blow, Gazelle punch (an uppercut variant), and the Dempsey roll technique. His signature punches appear to be modeled after Mike Tyson, Floyd Patterson and Jack Dempsey respectively. Ippo is bullied throughout most of his school life. After being rescued by Takamura, he ends up being brought to Kamogawa Gym, where he displays an explosive punching power. After seeing a video of Mike Tyson, he becomes inspired to take up boxing to feel reborn with strength. He soon proves himself to Takamura and Kamogawa, and starts on the path to being a pro boxer.

Kouhei Kiyasu

Genji Kamogawa

Utama

Male

Head coach and founder of the Kamogawa gym. He fought as a prizefighter in Japan shortly after the end of World War II. Along with his friends, Ginpachi Nekota and Dankichi Hama, Kamogawa developed a style of fighting that both presumably became the forerunner of boxing in Japan and emphasized scientific theory in its techniques. As a coach, Kamogawa's wealth of knowledge and experience has been tapped into on multiple occasions during training as well as in matches. Although he rarely admits it aloud, he is extremely proud of his two best boxers, Takamura and Ippo.

Kenji Utsumi

Kazuki Sanada

Utama

Kouichi Yamadera

Dankichi Hama

Utama

A former friend and rival of Kamogawa and Nekota. In his younger days, Hama boxed along with the two, but never managed to reach their level, partially due to his unusually fragile jaw. Nevertheless, he is a brilliant tactician who, since having left Japan for Mexico, is renowned for his successful training of several champions, including Sanada Kazuki. Hama still harbors deep feelings of rivalry towards Kamogawa, and strives to one day train a boxer that can defeat Makunouchi or Takamura. He is currently the trainer of Alexander Volg Zangief in America. (Source: Wikipedia)

Seizou Katou

Mamoru Takamura

Pendukung

Male

Height: 185 cm (6'1") Takamura is very hearty, rude and often behaves vulgarly. He is a loud arrogant boaster who tends to refer to himself as Ore-sama (a Japanese name suffix intended for people of great importance) and he rarely ever shows a shred of consideration towards other fighters after a loss. Takamura was discovered on the streets by Coach Kamogawa Genji, and his speed, power, and technique are all high-level to the point that he is capable of handling both In Fighters and Out Boxers without too much trouble. Unlike most characters in Hajime no Ippo, he has no special finishing blow, but every punch he has possesses killer destructive power. With the wild power to always force out any situation he claims will happen, he is a man who does everything he says he will. As the one who got Ippo, Aoki and Kimura into boxing, he is well respected at the Kamogawa Gym. Even though he constantly looks down on and ridicules their achievements, his unrivalled strength and the few moments his true kindness leaks out prevent them from losing their respect for him. Takamura loves to pick on his fellow gym mates, with Aoki usually the first on his list. Although he tends to get more serious when hearing about or training for his next match, he still finds the time to play pranks on everyone and goof around. The character for Taka (鷹) in his name means hawk, and as a result he is sometimes nicknamed The Japanese Hawk by announcers and spectators (most notably during his matches against Brian Hawk and David Eagle). He lives alone at the Ohta Inn apartment complex, and his room is littered with junk, old food, pornography, and even his boxing belts. His pompadour hairstyle is his trademark.

Rikiya Koyama

Masaru Aoki

Pendukung

Male

Aoki was a punk from his childhood up through high school, at which point he encountered, fought and got beat down by Takamura Mamoru (who was then a middleweight with two wins under his belt). This loss motivated him to quit school along with his close friend Kimura Tetsuya to become boxers at Kamogawa gym. Although their initial goal was to land a clean hit on Takamura, they grew to love boxing and develop their own skills. Aoki became a clownish boxer whose signature techniques, the Frog Punch and Look-Away, eventually led him to a draw in a Japanese title match with then-champion Imae Katsuka. Currently in the series, Aoki has an ongoing rivalry with Papaya Dachiu, the lightweight champion of the Philippnes, with whom he has drawn two consecutive matches.

Wataru Takagi

Tatsuya Kimura

Pendukung

Male

Ippo's senpai and Aoki's best friend. He is the smooth, collected type and a romantic at heart, but trains as hard as anyone. His style incorporates a fast left and faster footwork. In the past, he and Aoki were the toughest high-school thugs around, but now Tatsuya's real job is at his family's flower shop. His current record stands at 13–5–3, with 8 KOs.

Keiji Fujiwara

Ryou Mashiba

Pendukung

Male

Mashiba Ryo is one of the darker characters in the series, but has shown his lighter and good natured side from time to time. He lives with his sister, Kumi Mashiba, whom he is very protective of. Their parents are deceased, having died in an accident when Mashiba was in school. He is well known for his hitman style of boxing that utilizes one of his specialties, the flicker jab; both of which appear to be modeled after Thomas Hearns. His other specialty is a close range chopping right.

Masahiko Tanaka

Kumi Mashiba

Pendukung

Female

Kumi is Ryo Mashiba's sweet-natured, but hard-working and willful younger sister, and as such understands him better than anyone else. She will do almost anything to support her brother and make him happy, including going to his matches even though she doesn't like to see him get hurt. Ippo becomes infatuated with her early on, but didn't have a chance to tell her until more than a year later, when they met in an hospital as patient and nurse some months after the Ippo/Mashiba ring. They become friends and Kumi comes to like Ippo back, but their relationship tends to suffer from their friends' and relatives' constant interference. (Source: Wikipedia)

Sanae Kobayashi

Takeshi Sendo

Pendukung

Male

Sendo is an In Fighter with arm strength on par with Ippo Makunouchi. To date, he is the only boxer to face Ippo more than once in the pro ring and is his chief rival. Sendo is a featherweight and his most well known move is his powerful smash. He greatly admires boxer Rocky Marciano, to the extent that he will personally point out that he is not the same "Rocky" from the film of the same name. He is also a fan of Mamoru Takamura. Sendo is modeled after the real-life "Naniwa Rocky", boxer turned actor Akai Hidekazu.

Masaya Onosaka

Ichirou Miyata

Pendukung

Male · Umur 16-

Ever since he was little, Miyata has always wanted to be like his dad. His dad, Suzuki Miyata, used to be a boxer, until a career-ending jaw bone injury forced him to retire. Miyata takes his training dead seriously, and has always believed in his father's old beliefs, that skill can beat strength. You hardly ever see the guy smile because he thinks that he doesn't have the privilege to smile unless he wins a boxing match.

Tomokazu Seki

Masahiko Umezawa

Pendukung

Male

Umezawa was originally the leader of Ippo's bullies at high school, but later became a fan of his after he became a pro boxer. During high school he would wear his hair in a pompadour style, a trademark of many Japanese delinquents. By the time they had graduated, Umezawa's relationship with Ippo changed from fan to friends, although he was not ready to admit this at the time. During high school he was protrayed as mean and unwilling to admit that he viewed Ippo as a friend, but after graduation he grew out of his delinquent ways and was portrayed as friendly and a bit more comical. During high school and up through his years with Makunouchi Fishing Boat, he attended most of Ippo's matches, often wearing a handmade support headband and acting as Ippo's main cheer leader. After he retired from Makunouchi Fishing Boat to become a manga artist, Itagaki Manabu took over his job. It is unknown whether he has attended any of Ippo's matches since he left. In some ways, Umezawa can be viewed as Morikawa Jouji's avatar character.

Mitsuaki Madono

Haruhiko Yagi

Pendukung

Male

Yagi is the manager of the Kamogawa Gym and a contemporary of Miyata's father. His duties primarily consist of publicity and match booking, but he also takes part in managing the finances, selling merchandise, and occasionally even assists with the training now and then. He is a kind and friendly person, often adding kun to the end of the names of the Kamogawa gym members. He is a master fisherman and whenever he fishes his personality changes (in the words of Miyata's father, "he gets the face of a demon"). He is so good in fact, that it has been said that he could become the World Champion of fishing. Additionaly, numerous fishing ponds put up "No Yagi Allowed" signs after losing so many customers because Yagi was catching all the fish.

Mari Iimura

Pendukung

A 23-year-old sportswriter who works alongside Fujii. Iimura's calm indifference and sharp wit serve often to put off those who would judge her only for beauty, but she is an avid boxing fan and, though less experienced than some, an outstanding journalist. She's interested in Ippo.

Jikkyou Announcer

Pendukung

The defining voice of the Ippo franchise, the ring announcer is with us throughout every liver blow, gazelle punch, and Dempsey roll of every match. His approach to color commentating makes Howard Cosell look like Max Kellerman and is often more enthusiastic and aggressive than the fighters in the ring. He is unrivaled on the mic and unbiased toward the fights, refusing to shy away from controversial criticisms and insisting on calling it how he sees it. Many life lessons can be learned from this great man, whose mysterious past, or even name may never be revealed.

Jin Horikawa

Hiroko Makunouchi

Pendukung

Female

Ippo's mother and the owner and operator of Makunouchi Fishing Boat.

Yorie Terauchi

Minoru Fujii

Pendukung

Fujii is a veteran reporter who often knows about any given boxer's current situation. He has been following Makunouchi Ippo's career since his second spar with Miyata Ichirou and could possibly be viewed as Ippo's first fan. He often visits the Kamogawa Boxing Gym in order to give Ippo info on his upcoming opponents and is, among many others, greatly looking forward to Makunouchi vs. Miyata III. Fuji covered the Rookie King Tournament that Ippo participated. He gave more attention to Makunouchi Ippo than the other reporters because he already knew Ippo's potential. Fujii is very laid back and unkept, often looking as though he just woke up. His hair is usually uncombed and he often has stubble in addition to his regular moustache. In addition to Ippo, he also seems to be friends with Takamura Mamoru and Date Eiji. He used to be accompanied on assignments by a younger reporter, but sometime before Ippo's second match against Sendou Takeshi he gained a new partner in Iimura Mari. A seldom-noticed running gag of the series is Fujii's constant attempts to quit smoking. He changes between cigarettes and nicotine replacement tubes regularly.

Kenichi Ono