Musings from Singapore

Tag: anime

I Really Like This Thing, mini Ep.: Hajime no Ippo’s Soundtrack

Beats that awe and inspire.

Every now and then, I’ll do a mini follow-up to my I Really Like This Thing articles. This is usually when I feel like there’s something about it that I really want to talk about, but that didn’t fit – due to length or consistency concerns – in the original piece.

For this first one, I’ll be talking about the music of Hajime no Ippo, and its importance to the storytelling of the anime.


What makes for a good soundtrack?

The obvious first answer is that the songs themselves must be pretty awesome. Can’t make a delicious stew with rotten ingredients, right?

But what transforms a playlist of nice songs into a great soundtrack is how they simply make sense – to each other, to the subject matter, and even down to specific moments in the show or game.

It’s a matter of value adding and enhancing.

With that in mind, as a follow up to its original I Really Like This Thing post, I’d like to put the spotlight on the Hajime no Ippo soundtrack.

Openings

Of course, we’ve got to start with the first thing you see and hear.

Opening 1: Under Star

Artist: Shocking Lemon

We actually… do not begin with one that checks all the above criteria! What you’ll come to realize is that the series soundtrack suffers heavily from Engrish – there’s a fair amount of misused English words that don’t seem to make sense.

That said, I still feel that this song does well as the very first intro song to the series. Putting the lyrics aside, the emotion that the vocals convey is one of desperation. It’s the same desperation Ippo has to become strong. He’s been weak all his life, and after being rescued by Takamura, he sees a chance to finally leave that behind, and he’ll do whatever he can to not let that opportunity slip.

Opening 2: Inner Light

Artist: Shocking Lemon

MUCH better! Although the lyrics still don’t really fit all that well, this intro begins STRONG.

Ippo is clearly much stronger and much more confident now. This opening started being used just as the anime was gearing up to follow Ippo’s road to the Japan Featherweight Title.

He’s no newbie trying to shake off the loser tag anymore – he’s an up and coming contender.

The visuals are strong too – it shows the many opponents he faces along the journey, and that he might get knocked down, but he’s never giving up.

Without spoiling too much, the title of the song and the way Ippo’s eyes light up in green at the end hint towards (awesome) events to come.

Opening 3: Tumbling Dice

Artist: Tsuneo Imahori

Short but sweet, and without vocals. In my opinion, this works as a little bit of kick to add to the main course that was Opening 2.

Visuals-wise, we’re well into the action now. Opening 2 showed him getting ready to start on the path to national glory; here, he’s right in the thick of things.

A lot of emphasis is placed on his biggest rival, Sendo Takeshi, too.

(Sendo is amazing and is strongly-written enough to be a protagonist in his own right, but that’s a story for another day.)

Opening 4: 霹靂 (“Hekireki” / “Thunder”)

Artist: Last Alliance

The intro of the second season, Hekireki works well as a re-introduction to the world. The song paces a whirlwind refresher course of a video, eager to bring us right back to the action.

The visuals take us back to the basics of training – we see Ippo doing his roadwork and in the gym – before reminding us that he’s well and truly a professional now. We even get the privilege of being “knocked out” by him at the end, of all things.

We also get glimpses into the secondary storylines featuring other boxers, highlighted by the Takamura v. Hawk fight I mentioned in the first article.

Opening 5: 夜間飛行 (“Yakan Hikou” / “Night Flight”)

Artist: Wasureranneyo

My personal close-second favourite behind Inner Light, Yakan Hikou is the opening for the third (and thus far final) season of the anime.

Spoiler alert: Ippo is the Japan Featherweight champion now*. The challenge now lies in defending his title against opponents who have dissected and figured out his techniques and tactics.

(*Remember: knowing that he’s the champ isn’t the real spoiler. How he became the champ is more important, and something I won’t talk about.)

I love this song, as the chorus screams of a deep desire to soar and succeed, despite all the obstacles and difficulties to overcome:

飛んでいくんだ 飛んでいくんだ
I’m flying, I’m flying
ほら
See
一等星が 一等星が見えた
The first star, I saw the first star
泣いているんだ 泣いているんだ ほら
I’m crying
一緒なんだ 一緒なんだ僕も
Together, together with me
夢のようなこの世界が
This dream-like world
僕らを待つんだ 僕らを待つんだ
Will wait for us

It speaks to Ippo’s neverending goal to get better, and his willingness to put every bit of him into doing so.

My personal favourite detail of the visuals: when Coach Kamogawa slams his fists on the ring mat, I get chills every time. One can only dream of having someone so dedicated to your growth and well-being, who will make the hard decisions with you (and not just for you).

The best closers

夕空の紙飛行機 (“Yuuzora No Kami Hikouki” / “Evening Sky’s Paper Airplane”)

Artist: Mori Naoya

A song of hope and heart, and one that points to a better tomorrow to come.

ぶちこめ (“Buchikome” / “Beating”)

Artist: Shikuramen

I like the energy of this one, and it’s fun seeing more characters “joining” Ippo on his run as the song goes on.

(Note: I might be making a mistake with this translation – it might actually be 打ち込め, which means “driving”. I think both meanings still work though.)

Special mention theme song

Black and Blue

The Tiger of Naniwa

I mentioned Sendo Takeshi earlier. I won’t be able to do him justice in such a short blurb, but he is definitely one of the best characters in the whole series.

Unerringly one-minded in his quest to be the best, he is a ferocious competitor in the ring (hence his nickname, The Tiger of Naniwa) and a breath of honest fresh air outside of it.

His theme song encapsulates his approach: menacing to begin, before a complete eruption of almost-unhinged force and power that aims to kill.

The tone-setters

Most of the songs in this last video are used in “in-between” parts of the anime – pre-fight entrances, non-crucial moments within matches, and so on.

They might not be highlight pieces, but they play as strong a role as any in the storytelling of Hajime no Ippo. They convey the weight of the moment, build up to grander events, or set the tone.


Music and sound design play an absolutely crucial role in the overall experience of a show or video game, or anything else that incorporates them.

And that’s the key word: experience. Each part of a piece of content matters – visuals, gameplay, writing, music.

The truly special ones are those that mesh all these together in a way that makes sense, in a way that is complementary. It’s not just a television show or a video game anymore – it’s a whole-ass experience.

Hajime no Ippo is one of those special ones.

Give it a shot, you won’t regret it.

I Really Like This Thing, Ep. 3: Hajime no Ippo

Timely reminders of the virtues of hard work and perseverance – and the importance of the details.

Welcome back to the I Really Like This Thing series, where I do my best to introduce something I, well, really like. They could be music, movies, games – anything, really. The point is for me to share. Worst case, you think my taste sucks. Best case, you learn about something cool.

For the third installment, I talk about the long-running (30 years and counting!) manga/anime: Hajime no Ippo.


Life… kinda sucks, doesn’t it?

You can have all these plans; lose weight, work on your craft/career to open doors to more opportunities for yourself, be a good friend, etc. You can put in the time and energy to plan just how you want to do these things.

Then have it blow up in your face anyway because of factors outside your control.

Maybe it’s a difficult client, maybe it’s multiple bad days at work that leave you too checked out mentally to go for a run, maybe clashing schedules put months between opportunities to meet your friends.

Life is some real tough shit sometimes.

Control what you can

It’s a pretty common piece of advice that every over-thinker inevitably comes across – don’t let the things you can’t control overwhelm you. Just concentrate on the things that you can actually make a difference with, counting on no one but yourself.

Close the laptop at 6:30pm on the dot. Go for a run every evening. Lock down a date each month to meet your friends.

I’ve realized that sometimes not quitting just means not actually deciding to quit.

Kein Chua, co-founder of The pick and roll

It’s easier said than done, of course. But if you break it down to individual steps, it’s infinitely more doable.

And never has that principle been illustrated more poetically and accurately, both on a macro and micro level, than in Hajime no Ippo.

The very first issue. Ippo becomes much more swole over the course of the story.

The first step

Written by George Morikawa, Hajime no Ippo is a manga and anime about boxing. The title literally translates to “the first step”, which is a great tone setter for what the story is about.

It follows the growth and development of Makunouchi Ippo, who begins the story as a shy, socially-awkward but well-meaning high school student.

Dude straight up gets bodied.

He starts off with low self-confidence, but after being introduced to boxing (and finding out that he loves it), he starts on a path of passion and growth that comes to define his life.

Through it all, Ippo remains humble. Even after finding success, his dedication to his craft is still uppermost, not the fame or anything else. The author goes to great pains to show how Ippo obsesses over becoming a better boxer. He mumbles to himself incessantly, mulling over new concepts and techniques. He makes detailed notes – complete with anatomical diagrams – of how he and his opponents move and fight. He does his roadwork (aka, running) consistently and without complaint.

Every word he jots down, every footstep on each of his runs – they all matter.

Ippo’s gym mates – Takamura Mamoru, Kimura Tatsuya, Aoki Masaru – all have their own stories too. Same goes for Kamogawa Genji, owner and head coach of the Kamogawa Boxing Gym, which they are all members of.

Production value

Morikawa has a background in boxing, and his understanding of everything about the sport, from training to matches and even coming to terms with a loss, are all well-represented.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the fights themselves, which are beautifully illustrated and animated so you can feel the weight behind every punch thrown. There are also inspired soundtrack and sound design choices, the latter of which I’ll talk a bit more about later.

An early fight in the series – Ippo vs. Ozuma

3-Step program

What’s a sports manga/anime without signature abilities, right? Here’re Ippo’s:

From a complete novice, he learns how to harness his innate ability to punch really hard to come up with the devastating Liver Blow.

The Liver Blow is basically a body blow that’s anime-d to the Nth degree, but you still feel its power.

This helps him win his first matches, but as you might expect, as he goes up the ranks he comes to realize that the “Liver Blow” alone isn’t enough. He meets an opponent that requires him to learn a new move – the Gazelle Punch.

It’s a pretty long video, but this is the level of emphasis the author puts on showing exactly how Ippo improves his craft.

From there, the next one is the highlight move of the whole manga/anime. Even if you’ve never watched or read Hajime no Ippo, you might have come across this term in passing: The Dempsey Roll.

Breathtaking.

Let’s go back to the sound design point from earlier. Listen to how the sheer power of the Dempsey Roll is represented by the sound of jet engines revving up and finally blasting off. Then, silence. Silence for just long enough to impress upon the viewer the weight of the moment.

And, the animation. You feel the weight behind every movement – how Ippo decides to step in, shift his weight and weave and bob faster, and finally, how he gets into the rhythm of the rolling sequence.

None of it is just for flash and pizzazz either. By engaging the viewer in every possible way – aurally, emotionally, physically – Hajime no Ippo establishes a connection with them that they can truly feel to the core of their being.

Trust the process

Let’s pause for a moment. I’m a writer, and a storyteller. Most of the games I play are RPGs, or otherwise have a strong story element to them. And, for the most part, after I’m done with a game or book or movie, I don’t go back to them.

All of which to say: spoilers are one of the biggest no-nos in my book. They affect my enjoyment of all of the above, sometimes ruining the experience entirely.

Therefore, don’t worry that I’m just putting Ippo’s three signature moves out there just like that. They’re spoilers, but actually no, not really.

Because, you see, that’s the best thing about Hajime no Ippo – its beauty lies in the process.

The story takes great pains to show him learning everything from scratch. It takes a while before he even knows how to throw a jab – the most basic punch in boxing – properly.

Additionally, in between learning each of these moves is a whole lot of story: about his training, about his friends and coach, about his opponents – and they all weave together beautifully to show how and why he comes to fight the way he does.

Ippo can punch really hard from the get-go. That doesn’t come from nowhere, it’s because he’s built up great upper body strength from helping his mother with the fishing boat family business. Takamura is a genius-level natural when it comes to boxing, and he’s cocky about it – what keeps him tied to this small gym? Everything has a really good explanation.

The details matter, sometimes in ways you don’t recognize at first.

And don’t worry – if you watch the anime, you’ll realize that all I’ve done by showing his three moves is merely foreplay.

The best fight

Keeping with my stance that spoilers essentially don’t matter for this series, I’ll finish with my absolute favourite fight of the whole series: Takamura vs. Bryan Hawk.

The joys of YouTube; full fight with English subs!

That’s right, my top pick of the numerous fights in the series doesn’t even involve the protagonist. That’s how well Morikawa fleshes out the key supporting characters.

It’s Takamura’s first world title challenge, having conquered Japan; Bryan Hawk is a detestable human being who, among other things, punches the elderly Kamogawa in the lead-up to the fight. During the fight, we see Takamura, who’s been largely unbeatable in all his matches so far, legitimately challenged and pushed to the brink. We find out about what keeps him going through everything.

We don’t follow Takamura’s journey from scratch the way we follow Ippo’s, and we definitely won’t be able to relate as easily to his natural talent as we would with Ippo’s hard work. And yet, this fight’s story, told through events before as well as during the match, leaves an emotional impact that I would argue is the deepest of the whole series.


We tend to remember life via the moments that stick out. That one time you got top in class, or your first breakup. It’s all the times you felt like the happiest person in the world, or when you wished you never existed.

However, these events don’t just come out of nowhere. Whether you realize it or not, there are many steps and factors that come together to make these highlight (or lowlight) moments happen.

And once you realize that, there’s nothing that can’t be overcome.

Whatever your goals are, no matter whether you’re in a good starting position or you just had your plans fall apart, it all begins with a single step.

Take that first step today.