Ashita no Joe
Ashita no Joe
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Ashita no Joe

Ashita no Joe (Japanese: あしたのジョー, Hepburn: Ashita no Jō; "Tomorrow's Joe"), also known as Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow, is a Japanese boxing manga series written by Asao Takamori and illustrated by Tetsuya Chiba. It follows drifter Joe Yabuki, who discovers a passion for boxing in a juvenile prison, and his rise through Japan's and the global boxing scene.

Ashita no Joe was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine from 1968 to 1973, with its chapters collected in 20 tankōbon volumes. During its serialization, it was popular with working-class people and college students in Japan. It has been adapted into various media, including the Megalo Box anime, a futuristic reimagining of the original that was made as a part of the series' 50th anniversary.

The manga has been widely influential, with numerous anime and manga referencing it.

Joe Yabuki, a young drifter, has a chance encounter with alcoholic former boxing trainer Danpei Tange while wandering through the San'ya slums. Recognizing his talent, Danpei trains Joe as a boxer, but Joe is arrested for fraud. He fights Nishi Kanichi, the leader of a group of hooligans, in temporary jail, and the two are transferred to a juvenile detention center. There, Joe meets Tōru Rikiishi, a former boxing prodigy, and they develop a rivalry after Rikiishi prevents him from escaping. The prison sets up a boxing tournament led by Danpei and funded by millionaire Mikinosuke Shiraki and his granddaughter Yoko. Rikiishi dominates Joe in the final until the latter hits a cross-counter, resulting in a double knockout. Feeling that the match did not resolve anything, Joe and Rikiishi vow to fight again as professional boxers.

Upon his release from the juvenile detention center, Joe joins Danpei's new tiny boxing gym together with Nishi. Joe gains popularity as an amateur boxer for his brawling style and trademark cross-counter KO wins, but he is denied a professional license until provoking champion boxer Wolf Kanagushi. Joe performs a triple cross counter on Wolf to win their match, and earns the right to fight Rikiishi in the professional ring.

Rikiishi is assured a promising career funded by Mikinosuke Shiraki, but is intent on settling his score with Joe. Because he is a featherweight, while Joe is a bantamweight, Rikiishi undergoes a taxing weight loss program. Their match is close. Rikiishi knocks Joe out in the 8th round to win, but later dies from the combined effects of weight loss and a brain hemorrhage sustained during the fight.

Joe is traumatized by Rikiishi's death. Danpei realizes that Joe is unable to deliver headshots to his opponents. Joe loses three straight fights and eventually disappears to join an illegal countryside boxing ring. He returns to fight global sixth ranked fighter Carlos Rivera. Carlos is managed by Yoko, who, having become interested in Joe, has taken over her father's gym. The fight devolves into a brawl, but Joe earns tremendous fame and respect, and he and Carlos become friends. Carlos is later knocked out in the first round by world champion José Mendoza and suffers severe brain damage.

After his fight with Carlos, Joe becomes recognized as a world ranked boxer. He struggles with maintaining bantam weight due to a late growth spurt, forcing him to undergo strenuous weight loss similar to what Rikiishi underwent. He defeats OPBF Champion Kim Yong-bi, a South Korean boxer and survivor of the Korean War, and proceeds to win several title defenses. Meanwhile, Yoko has secured the rights for Mendoza's next title defense. Fearing that Joe has lost his fighting instincts, she forces him to face Malaysian fighter Harimau before he can challenge Mendoza. Joe narrowly wins the fight.

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