So many sports-themed anime have come and gone over the years. In modern times, you've got stuff like Haikyuu!!, which focuses on competitive volleyball, and Blue Lock, which is all about soccer (football non-americano). Then there's baseball drama like Major or hype basketball series like Slam Dunk and Kuroko no Basket.

But for my money, my personal all-time favorite is Hajime no Ippo—or rather, just Season 1 of the anime.

See, unfortunately, the Ippo series now has the unfortunate reputation of its manga being incredibly dragged out and inconsistent in quality, yet it's still ongoing. The stuff I hear about supposed plot twists or lack of progression is really disappointing from people who actually read the manga.

However, to me, there’s a reason why this series got so popular and lasted so long to begin with. Season 1 of Hajime no Ippo specifically does basically everything I want from a sports-focused shounen series. Hell, I’d go as far as to say it does everything I want in a character development and action series combined into a 75-episode run.

The name of the game in this series is boxing, and Hajime no Ippo does the classic underdog story—starting with a protagonist who works his way to the top. For some reason, future seasons (and apparently the manga) tried to keep Ippo an underdog much longer than necessary, but in Season 1, his growth and progression made perfect sense all the way to the end.

I don’t know how much this aspect resonates with other people, but personality-wise, I actually relate to Ippo Makunouchi himself. I have a tendency to be overly passive and shy, and while I recognize that I have potential, I get locked into my comfort zone. Obviously, in my case, it's more about computers, programming, and anime, whereas Ippo just starts off wanting to help his mom with their fishing business and, as a result, gets physically strong.

Once he gets recruited into his local boxing gym and beats his rival Miyata for the first time, that was the hook that got me to binge the rest of the anime.

Hajime no Ippo does a great job introducing boxing terms for people who don’t know much about the sport—like me when I first watched it. At best, I only knew the basics because, as someone from a Filipino family, I was basically obligated to watch Manny Pacquiao fights when he was in his prime. But the show really takes its time showing all the little things a boxer has to do to train and get ready for fights in a surprisingly engaging and well-paced way.

Despite being 75 episodes long, I never once felt like a single episode was wasted. Whether it was training, character-building, or boxing fights, everything felt connected to Ippo’s journey while also giving some love to the side characters in his gym. A lot of battle shounen series—even ones shorter than this—suffer from pacing issues or filler episodes, but I never felt that way about Ippo.

And while the character development and storytelling are great, at the end of the day, this is still a combat sports anime, and the fights themselves are amazing. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good over-the-top fantasy action shounen like DBZ, Naruto, or My Hero Academia, but Hajime no Ippo proves you don’t need supernatural powers to make a fight scene hype. The animation is incredibly well-done, easy to follow, and packed with emotional weight.

Ippo starts with basic boxing techniques like jabs, hooks, and uppercuts before figuring out moves that specifically fit his style, like the super-awesome Dempsey Roll. The pacing of the fights is great, and the finishers feel satisfying every time.

Another thing I appreciate is how almost every opponent Ippo faces has a backstory that makes them feel like real people rather than just generic villains. It avoids the overdone trope of evil-for-the-sake-of-evil antagonists and instead makes every fight feel meaningful.

The series does a great job balancing Ippo’s progression—he rises to the top, makes mistakes, and forms strong friendships, both with his gym mates and even some of his former opponents. That said, there are a few flaws that hold it back from being completely perfect.

Most of the humor lands well, but some jokes get a bit repetitive—like Ippo’s apparently massive crotch size or Takamura being, well… kind of an ass. Ippo’s budding relationship with Kumi Mashiba is also a bit shaky at first. It’s cute once they’re clearly into each other, but early on, I struggled to see why Kumi liked Ippo in the first place.

And while Ippo winning the vast majority of his fights is necessary for the story, there were times he felt a little too invincible. That said, the few fights he does lose are crucial to his development, so it’s not a huge issue—just something that occasionally stretched believability in an otherwise grounded sports anime.

But honestly, if those are my biggest complaints, that just goes to show how much I love Hajime no Ippo Season 1. It nails the perfect progression for a main character, gets newcomers invested in boxing without dragging things out, delivers amazing fight scenes with solid technique progression, and wraps it all up with cathartic, hype-worthy finishes.

To me, Ippo Season 1 is peak shounen anime, and it’s a shame that other shounen series—even later seasons of Ippo itself—don’t quite reach this level of quality.