Ever since the death of Ippo's father, Hiroko has been the only parental figure in his life. Ippo deeply loves her. He has helped her out at the Makunouchi Fishing Boat since he was a child. He is willing to do anything from quitting school to quitting boxing to help Hiroko when she becomes too overworked. Ippo deems his mother more valuable than his boxing and natural talent.[1] Itagaki could.. That said, Takamura is at halfway of his goal, so unless he somehow increase the pace of his title hunting (or Morikawa decides to really speed up the pace of the story), we are nowhere near the ending of the manga. Oh, and by the way, Morikawa promised Ippo vs Miyata, twice. And moved the ball like Lucy to Charlie Brown, twice.
Hajime no Ippo (はじめの一歩; lit. 'The First Step') is a Japanese boxing -themed manga series written and illustrated by George Morikawa. It has been serialized in Kodansha 's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine since October 1989, with its chapters collected in 145 tankōbon volumes as of January 2026. It follows the story of high school student Ippo Makunouchi, as he begins.. What role does Coach Kamogawa play in Ippo's retirement? Coach Kamogawa supported Ippo's decision to retire, recognizing the potential dangers of continuing to fight and prioritizing Ippo's well-being. What does Ippo do after he retires? Ippo becomes a full-time assistant trainer at the Kamogawa Gym, helping to train and mentor other boxers.