Watch Order (Release = Chronological)Recommended
0 / 5 watchedRelease order, which matches story order except for the TV special and OVA swap noted above.
TV series
- 1 Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting! 76 episodes, October 2000 to March 2002, including the DVD-only episode 76. Ippo's debut through the Japanese title win.
Special and OVA
- 2 Hajime no Ippo: Champion Road TV special, April 2003. Ippo's first featherweight title defense against Kazuki Sanada.
- 3 Hajime no Ippo: Mashiba vs Kimura OVA, September 2003. Kimura challenges Mashiba for the junior lightweight title. Side story focused on the supporting cast.
Sequels
- 4 Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger 26 episodes, January to June 2009. Title defenses plus Takamura's world title fight with Brian Hawk.
- 5 Hajime no Ippo: Rising 25 episodes, October 2013 to March 2014. Latest anime entry as of September 2026.
About Hajime no Ippo
Ippo Makunouchi starts as a bullied high schooler who stumbles into the Kamogawa Gym, and the series follows his climb from debut bouts to the Japanese featherweight title. Madhouse animated the first TV series, which aired on Nippon TV from October 2000 to March 2002 and runs 76 episodes including a DVD-only extra. George Morikawa's manga began in 1989 and is still running, so the anime covers only the early arcs.
Champion Road (April 2003) is a TV special about Ippo's first title defense against Kazuki Sanada, and the Mashiba vs Kimura OVA (September 2003) covers Kimura's junior lightweight challenge. Release order puts Champion Road first even though the manga runs the Kimura fight earlier. New Challenger (26 episodes, January to June 2009) and Rising (25 episodes, October 2013 to March 2014) continue the defenses and Takamura's world title runs. No new anime had been announced as of September 2026.
Good to know
Episode counts vary by source: 75 broadcast episodes plus the DVD-only episode 76. The manga order runs the Kimura vs Mashiba fight before Champion Road, but the anime release order reverses them, so this list uses release order. Some Netflix listings fold New Challenger and Rising in as later seasons of one show. The manga took a short health-related break in spring 2026 and remains ongoing.
