The revelation after the revelation: Ippo episode 8 analysis

SPOILERS FOLLOW FOR EPISODES 1–8 OF THE ANIME HAJIME NO IPPO

Ippo Makunouchi so far has won the audience over with his grit and realism. There’s no denying he is optimistic, but he’s not as optimistic as other shonen main characters. When the situation arises, Ippo will admit he is in over his head and feels overwhelmed.

The honesty from the aspiring 16-year-old boxer is what makes his triumph so relatable, and as a result so remarkable and awe-inspiring. To watch the boy feel fear before and during his training or matches, but persevere for the victory is what resonates with the audience. It is at its peak at this point in the show, after Ippo defeated the quick-footed prodigy Miyata. He won via TKO, after barely grazing Miyata’s chin.

But Ippo wasn’t relishing in the fact he BARELY won. No, Ippo fell into a common vice. He got laid back, because his ego was riding high off the victory. Ippo feels good after beating Miyata, and without his age contemporary around, he feels a lack of motivation. He forgets the world of boxing is bigger than his match with Miyata, and that he’ll have numerous other opponents to fight. He forgets how many hours of work he had to put in just for a grazed victory, and the job isn’t finished. Ippo starts slacking at the gym, pulling his punches and losing his fiery passion.

The old man Kamogawa senses this and assigns Ippo to train with Takamura, who competes professionally. Away from the gym, away from the other amateur boxers, Ippo experiences first hand the intense training regiment of professional boxers. He starts to regain his motivation via osmosis, reigniting the flame that made him start boxing a couple months ago.

But it has not fully returned. During a conversation, Ippo reveals he feels “lonesome” without his rival Miyata around. An angry Takamura sparks off on Ippo, saying:

“Are you coming to our gym to make friends? Didn’t you say you wanted to become a boxer? The world of professional boxing isn’t that easy!”

Ippo is startled, realizing the weight of his emotions. He didn’t sign up to box for Miyata, or to have a rival, or to take things easy after getting his first win. He signed up to become strong and the best version of himself he could be.

As Ippo grapples with this predicament, he spends the night at Takamura’s house and is an eyewitness to the horrors of professional boxing. Takamura is on an extreme diet to cut weight for his upcoming match, and as a result, he can’t sleep. Ippo hides under the covers to avoid detection as he watches Takamura scream from intense stomach pain in the middle of the night and shadow-box to distract himself.

Ippo witnesses the ugliest side of boxing beyond the bullying, punches, and journalistic jabs.

He knew that beyond ring glory, boxing was hard. That was the first revelation he received when Miyata floored him in their first fight.

But here is the new revelation after the initial, he’s now understanding just how hard boxing truly is. He’s taken aback by both the initial intense training regiment Takamura goes through everyday on an empty stomach, and the horrors of dieting.

Ippo is truly blessed with a good gym though, as he doesn’t have to focus on just the hard parts of it. He attends Takamura’s match, and witnesses him win by KO. Hard work pays off, Ippo notes. Boxing’s ugly side that occurs when nobody is watching leads to victory when the lights are the brightest.

And it fires him up, he can’t slack around and not take this seriously. Such action would be disrespectful to everyone who wants to be a serious boxer. Even if his rival isn’t here, Ippo can’t slow his walk on his journey. Because if he does, the world of boxing will eat him alive and forget about him. His motivation is fully returned, as the introspective boxer tells us:

“It’s a lot of work to be a pro, but I want to stand in that ring too.”

Like a reward from the universe, he’s reeling in Takamura’s victory and his returned motivation when he sees Miyata outside. Miyata reveals he quit the gym, because staying would make him unable to face Ippo in a professional bout. The two young rivals vow to meet in the ring again, and Ippo’s journey is finally ready to take off.