Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger - Iron Brian The battle of Hawk is getting intense, and it’s still not over by any means. But this episode was a pivotal one, finally bringing us the iconic shot from the OP credits (manga version above) animated in the ring. In characteristic Ippo fashion the first few rounds of this epic deathmatch have played out via a series of turnarounds. Takamura went down twice but put Hawk on the mat once and is currently ahead in a brawling exchange - though by the looks of next week’s preview we can expect another turnaround or two before the fight’s over. Obvz. After all that build-up did you think it would be easy? The relationship between Takamura and Coach Kamogawa has been a major focus of the Hawk arc so far and that finally gets some resolution here, with Takamura proving that Kamogawa’s boxing style is effective at the world level. Of course he’s still not the true inheritor of Kamogawa’s fists (that role belongs to Ippo, duh) so after dropping Hawk with the jab Kamogawa taught him, Takamura begins to let his natural talent and brawling instinct come to the fore. Interesting though kind of silly from a North American perspective is the emphasis this fight has been putting on national identity. Takamura is the bearer of a profound Japanese national pride and expectation that feels a bit out of place in the world of pro boxing - although I guess it has some real life parallels, when you think of how the Phillipines consider Manny Pacquiao a national hero for putting their country on the map. With relatively few Japanese world title-holders it makes sense for the country to rally behind Takamura, but what I feel is a bit silly is how Hawk’s national identity is similarly constructed. His trainer appeals to him in his corner to “remember the city you grew up in”, prompting a flashback to the “streets of New York” ripped right out of West Side Story. I had to stifle a laugh when Hawk said “My town…” in wistful Japanese accented English. It seems like the manga-ka based Hawk on the backstory of somebody like Mike Tyson - a fighter with prodigious natural talent but a seriously troubled background growing up poor in Brooklyn (not to mention his problematic relationship to women) - but processed this backstory through a decidedly Japanese lens. I’m actually kind of fascinated by Hawk as a complicated representation of American culture from a Japanese perspective now.
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