01x03 - A Woman's Battle

[bunniefuu]

Makunouchi


Holds



On


To

The

National

Title

!!!!


Heroic

Infighting

Death


Match

!

Heroic


Infighting

Death

Match

!

I will k*ll

Makunouchi

Makunouchi Fishing Boat

Kikumoto Boxing & Sports Gym

Band of Boxers

Japanese Lightweight Champion

[Kikumoto]

[Kamogawa]

Imae Katsutaka

Aoki Masaru

Champions
Carnival

Japanese Lightweight Title Match

The Goddess of Victory

That match was out of this world!

You should really come to one of them!

No way.

Why should I have to go see my own son getting beaten half to death?

It'd be bad for my heart.

Is that right?

Hello!

Oh, what is it?

Um, I'm wondering how Ippo-san is doing.

I'm worried since he took a lot of hits.

I'm afraid he hasn't even
gotten out of bed yet.

He's bedridden? Now I'm really worried!

Are you a friend of his?
Why don't you go see him?

Sure! Thanks for letting me in!

When was the last time a girl came to visit him?

He is the national champion, after all.

Girls should be flocking around him.

Girls? Around Ippo?

He's Korakuen's hero!

You're the only one not in the know!

Hello.

Coming through

He's all swollen!

All these bruises means he's fought really hard.

Our faces are so close!

Will he notice anything?

Ippo-san, it's me, Nanako.

His round face is so adorable!

It's too much to handle!

There's no use fighting it.

Itagakimasu.

What are you doing?!

“There's no use fighting it, so itagakimasu "?

You're Itagaki-kun's baby sister, aren't you?

It's “Nanako.” Um

And you are?

Are you Ippo-san's girlfriend?

Makunouchi and I know each other. I'm Kumi-

Yeah, already know.

You're that grim reaper, Mashiba-san's, little sister.

So, why are you even here, Kumi-san?

“Why am I even”?

I'm an actual nurse!

I'll show you how you really take care of a patient!

Right.

Wring out the towel, but not too much.

I did the towel thing already.

Then let's check his pulse.

Don't move him while he's sleeping!

Maintain air flow! Heart rate and temperature normal!

He's not in an emergency room.

This is an outrage! I was supposed to be the first one to see him!

Nuts to you! I was here first!

Well I knew him before you did!

Is that something to brag about?

Can we use our indoor voices?

Ippo-kun is trying to sleep.

M-May I have your name?

Gosh, his towel is crooked.

Honestly, two women can't do the job right?

I'm deducting points.

P-Points?

I don't believe we've met, although I have seen both of you at the Hall a lot.

Iimura Mari, age 23. I work as a sports writer.

We're only 3 years apart, yet she's a lot more sedate.

She told us both her name [/i]and age.
Talk about complacent!

I'm Mashiba Kumi.

Itagaki Nanako! I'm sixteen years old and still young!

She didn't need that “young” part!

So he now has three girls in there.

Good going, Ippo.

So which one of them is Ippo's type?

I think Ippo may have already
found his sweetheart.

I thought I was going to get his thoughts about the match, but that's not going to happen.

So you're leaving?

By all means!

But since I'm here, I might as well look around the champion's bedroom.

Found an album!

However, it's wrong to look through these without permission.

That'll be an invasion of privacy.

I'm still looking!

No fair! I want a look too!

He's wearing a backpack!

This must be a sports festival.

He's all the way at the end.

He's still cute!

Who'd believe this boy would become a champion?

Even I'm surprised!

Why are you two palling around?

I'm deducting points from both of you!

Ippo-san looks so manly in the ring, yet so adorable when out of it!

There's no woman who's immune to that contrast.

Y-You're so right!

Nanako-chan is so cute and cheerful.

Mari-san is beautiful and more grown up.

What about me?

I still have a huge albatross around my neck.

It looks like this is the first time either of you has set foot into his room.

Yes, meaning?

It means that neither of you are in a relationship with him yet.

I've always had a front-row seat
to his training and matches.

My intention is to view him as just news material.

But when it comes to Makunouchi Ippo the boxer or Makunouchi Ippo the man

I've recently found myself not
entirely sure who I'm covering.

You heard what she said! What are we going to do?!

H-Hold on!

I-I know!

I propose we leave his care to me, since I'm a nurse.

You're telling us to get lost, aren't you?

I see. So you're keeping him for yourself?

I didn't mean it like that.

You should be the one leaving, Kumi-san!

But I'm an actual nurse!

I'm here for news coverage.

Nanako-chan, you got what you came for!

No! I'm not leaving!

Th-This is getting out of hand.

You two need to leave!

No way.

No! No! No!

Ladies, why don't you have some tea?

All that yelling must have made you thirsty.

Uh, sure.

I-Itagakimasu.

I-I've just lost points.

I guess I should be happy about all this.

I may baby him a lot, but I'm proud to be his mother.

He's drawn a lot of attention ever since he started boxing.

But I'm not proud of his physical strength.

I'm proud because he's such a nice boy, which is all I can hope for.

I get worried sick even when he tells me he's just going to practice.

And now he comes back with his face this swollen.

Boxing is what makes him get out of bed every morning, so I can't ask him to quit.

But, at the very least

I want to give him some time

to rest up in peace.

Oh, Ippo.

Umezawa-kun.

Man, you should've seen the fight that happened while you were sleeping.

A fight? Between who? Who won?

Was it won by KO? Decision?

I-I think it was won on grace and style points.

I'm finally able to move around.

I bet everyone at the gym is training hard.

There's Itagaki-kun's rookie title matches and Takamura-san's title defense.

But first up is

Aoki-san's first attempt at the national title!

Hello!

Oh, Senpai!

Itagaki-kun, how are you feeling?

Never been better!

Ippo, you're here?

Shouldn't you be sleeping at home, you feeb?

I'm still having trouble keeping my head up.

Who's that scrawny-looking guy?

Did we get a new member while I was gone?

Hey. Long time, no see.

A-Aoki-san?

No way! What the heck happened to you?!

Please don't yell.

What I did was take my weight-loss regimen too far.

You know the guy's a walking bundle of nerves.

And with his title match coming
up, he lost sight of himself.

Relax. I'm a boxing veteran.

I'll get my old body back by the
time the match rolls around.

This title match is my last chance, you know.

So I'm betting everything on this.

I think he's going to lose.

He might lose.

He's gonna lose.

He will lose.

So how are you feeling?

Fine, thank you.

You sure picked a tough opponent.

You still did great, kid.

I finally figured out something during that match.

Now I know why you're avoiding
a match with Miyata-kun.

Shimabukuro-san beat my Dempsey Roll with concurrent hits.

But if I hadn't matched his punches
and instead took full hits

I thought I was able to fight Miyata-kun once I mastered the Dempsey.

We'll settle this in the pro ring.

You got it! In a pro ring!

I'll admit you've gotten stronger.

You've even mastered your signature move, the Dempsey Roll.

But it still amounts to squat!

He left you behind.

And far behind at that!

Miyata-kun's deadliest punch,

his counter is the Dempsey
Roll's Achilles' heel, isn't it?

The Dempsey works because it swings back and forth rhythmically like a pendulum.

But because you can set a watch to it, a counterpuncher like Miyata

will take advantage of that timing.

I knew you would figure that out for yourself.

Also, you can assume all your future opponents are cognizant of that fact as well.

The timing of those damaging mirror punches must have turned on a collective light bulb among them.

The Dempsey Roll's weakness was exposed to the public the other night.

I know.

Come now, guys!

The match is still fresh in our minds. Let's save this talk for later.

Okay. I'll see you later.

A-Actually

What?

That's not all I figured out.

I know the Dempsey has its weakness,

but I'm not that dismayed over it.

That last match was really hard on me.

But I'm still here, and my next matches will be just as hard, if not more.

You think you'll still remain standing? Don't be naïve.

You'll still train me hard, Coach.

And you'll be there to cheer me on, Yagi-san.

I never would have gotten here if I had relied on my own strength.

But a lot of people are lending me their strength.

Then, and now,

and from here on out!

I thought he'd be more disheartened.

But instead he's upbeat and looking to stay on top.

Ippo-kun has sure grown.

I'm home!

I guess I have the physical strength, but I'm nowhere near as strong as my dad.

So I'm going to get even stronger.

In order to go where I promised to go.

Great, nothing wrong here. I've recovered.

I can even do some sparring.

Time to go help Aoki-san!

A-Aoki-san?

No way!

Yeah, I was trying to put on a little weight, but

You call this "a little"? Are you
going for the sumo title?

That's what we call a “rebound.”

He's completely lost sight of himself.

Relax, guys.

I'm a boxing veteran. I'll get
in shape before the match.

This title match is my last chance, you know.

So I'm betting everything on this.

I think he's going to lose.

So what do you really think?

Will Aoki-san win?

He's the underdog however you look at it.

But an upset victory isn't out of the question, is it?

No.

His opponent is an orthodox boxer who sticks to fundamentals.

If Aoki can mess up his opponent's rhythm using his unpredictable fighting style

Then he'll win?

Still

I can see his attitude changing once he becomes a big-shot champion.

But I say

the odds are still 6 to 4 against him.

Should we be glad?

Leaving that aside, he's very knowledgeable about the opponent.

He must have watched those videos inside and out.

Masaru-chan! You got your old weight back!

Yeah, thank God!

We'll come cheer for
you at your title match!

Thanks!

No, thank you for making us such good ramen.

Now it's our turn to fill you up with our cheers!

Then hold on to your hats,
‘cause I'll make it a good one!

I'll knock him out in three no, five rounds!

There it is!

Speaking of KO's, did you see the end of that featherweight match?

Makunouchi's matches are always epic.

They literally blow you away!

Masaru-chan, you belong to the same gym as Makunouchi and that world champ, Takamura Mamoru, don't you?

You must see sparks flying.

Yeah, I sure do.

It must be great being a famous champion!

I wanna get me some of that attention.

Atta boy!

Go get ‘em, Masaru-chan!

Yeah!

Famous, huh?

The man I admire has gone far beyond my reach,

and I've been outstripped by one of the younger boxers.

I want to be right there with them.

I don't want to just be famous.

I want to leave behind proof that I've accomplished something in my beloved world of boxing.

I can do it! I can get that belt!

But the champion is pretty tough.

No, I can do it!

But I'm scared!

No, don't be scared!

Don't get into an accident!

I need to be in one piece for my match!

Shut up before I run you into a truck!

Christ, get a room!

Let's jet, Kimura!

Don't order me around!

We used to think we were invincible.

That everything would go our way.

But we discovered boxing
and put that crap behind us.

We ran, ran, and ran some more.

But we still weren't winning.
Our dreams were still unreachable.

We lost some, won some, then got taken
back down to earth over and over again.

Always missing it by that much.

But this time

Right, Aoki?

I've known it for a long time.

What?

Takamura-san is certainly a given, but even Ippo is made of better stuff than me.

He knows how to turn it around in a huge match.

That shrinking violet's got a lot of heart.

I may act tough, but I'm really a coward.

Like a dog who's all bark but no bite.

Ippo may have his natural strength, but he really busted his a*s to get to where he is.

When he outstripped me,

I didn't want to admit it, but I knew he could do it.

But I've done it six years running,

gritting my teeth all along the way.

There's nothing I can't do!

I'm getting that national title!

Once I become the champion, Kimura

treat me like a boss.

This is what I get for letting you flap your gums!

Watch your mouth around me!

Shut up!

Stop it!

Lose the damn match, dumbass!

Are the tickets sold out?

Yeah.

Korakuen Hall will be packed.

You couldn't attract fans because they say you're too boring and professional.

But now you can show a big crowd what you're really made of, Imae.

You said the same thing when
you had me play dress-up.

I'm never doing that again.

Nor am I putting on a show in the ring.

I will quickly shut him down.

If you KO a crazy boxer, it'll raise your stock.

KO? That's already a given.

I will also thoroughly humiliate him.

Aoki Masaru.



His fighting style is impossible to pin down.

His special move is the Frog Punch?

After completely dodging a hook, he throws an upper with his entire body.

I have his timing down.

I will squash that frog of his.

If he throws a double punch, I'll just counter one of them.

His Tailspin Corkscrew is just him twisting his body in the opposite direction of his spinning punch.

So it's just a normal straight in the end.

What about this?

Playing possum.

He makes his opponents think he's down, then rises up to knock them out.

He could win the Oscars.

H-Here I am

Here I am throwing my entire self into boxing!

I wanted to feel the heavy tension and the gratification of winning a match!

I've broken it off with women and even quit my job, just to devote myself to boxing!

I'm not going to lose.

I'm not going to let him take away my belt!

I'm glad I passed the weigh-in.

The rookie title matches are about to begin.

It wouldn't look good if I failed the weigh-in.

I'm really worried about Aoki-kun and his yo-yoing weight.

That's the champion, Imae-kun.

That man looks really dignified.

Are we clear, Imae?

Don't get emotional in front of the challenger.

I get it.

When you take that first step

you will be free to go anywhere

We all, yes we all

dream the same dreams

and there’s a whole world

waiting in our hearts

Take off

Go take off

I can see

I can see a huge star

This world

is waiting for us





s

a

i

sai

sai

s

h

o



sho

sho

n

o



no

no

i

i

i

p

p

o


da

Ah, I'll surely be finished if I don't make a change

What I need above anything else is action

If you only dream, it will never come true

Lame!

It'll only come true if you get up and go

Yay!

Put everything on the line

Let's get out there right now

If your heart is weary

If your heart is filled with rainclouds

Fire yourself up and burst through the headwinds

Give all you got in one blow,

and get yourself that win

I'm not the man I was yesterday

These are the words I want to shout

I'm still fired up

I will always feel this way

and throw myself into the mix

I will face everything head on

There is nothing that can stop me

I am a new man today