Tomorrow's Joe (2011) - full transcript
What does a young orphan urchin do in the slums of Tokyo? He gets into trouble, into brawls, into fights and eventually he lands in jail. Except this one is not just beating, he has a raw ...
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"TOMORROW'S JOE"
(Ashita no Joe)
Yamashita Tomohisa
Iseya Yusuke
Karina
Kagawa Teruyuki
Executive producer - Hamana Kazuya
Consulting producer - Iyoda Hidenori
Original comic by
Takamori Asao & Chiba Tetsuya
Screenplay - Shinozaki Eriko
Director - Sori Fumihiko
I told you kids not to play in there!
Get out!
Hurry! Let's get out of here!
Those little brats.
This is all he has?
- I don't have any money.
- Quick! Run!
Let's get out of here!
Ah!
No! No! Don't touch my pork cutlet!
I said no!
But you don't have any money.
Mate, give me a refill.
Hey, you're gobbling down a lot of food,
so buy me a refill with your money.
It's old man Danpei.
Old man, if you want to drink,
go out and earn some money!
Shut up, you brats!
You're obviously loaded with money,
so buy me one refill at least.
No.
- Just one drink would be fine.
- Old man!
You're stuck doing this forever, huh?
If you have money to
be drinking during the day,
then pay back
what you owe me too.
Surely paying back your debts
instead of drinking is the way to go!
- Hey, do something about them!
- Ouch!
- Do something!
Don't touch me.
So you think you can say
something worthwhile to me?
You've got a good punch on you, don't you?
How about teaming up with me?
- You want to team up with me?
- You're built to be a boxer.
It's sad to see you're
still living in the past!
Miss, it's dangerous to get out here.
Ah!
Old man!
You think I want to have anything to do
with you these days?
- You think I'd want that?!
- No, no...
What the hell do you want?!
- I'm Joe.
- Huh?
- Yabuki Joe.
- Huh?
You bastard!
Your right upper cut was good!
It got him good!
See! It's hitting him well!
Hey, hey, hey,
how about aiming for tomorrow with me?
Tomorrow?
I'm talking about boxing! Martial arts!
I could turn you into a first class boxer.
- I'm not interested.
- Let me at him!
You're the real thing.
You've got great moves.
And you have a good shoulder
on your small physique.
- You're got a good waist too.
- What are you going on about!?
- Let me at them!
Just enjoying today is good enough for me!
They were the first ones to throw a punch!
They started the fight!
- Police, let Joe out!
- Let Joe out!
What the heck are
you talking about?
He has a list of previous
offenses a foot long.
Previous offenses?
What are previous offenses?
Theft, extortion, violence.
He's been a worthless
lout since he was a kid.
Eh! Wait on! Wait! Wait!
What's with him?
Darn it...
I'm not going to give up!
I'm not going to give up on you!
Joe~!!
Yabuki Joe's parent's whereabouts were
unknown from a young age.
Sympathy should be given
to him on that accord.
But he has shown no remorse
since being arrested and
there is a high likelihood
of him re-offending.
Consequently I sentence him to a period
in prison of a minimum of one year.
This is Yabuki Joe.
He's in here with you.
What a coincidence.
I never expected you to put up
such a good fight earlier.
But you've finally been caught.
No, I'm not trying to upset you.
You're a much better guy than those
who join the gangs.
Your name is Yabuki Joe, right?
I'll call you Joe, okay?
My name's Nishi. In here I'm your senior...
Stop chatting and hurry up
and clean the loo.
Sorry about that.
I hadn't realized that I was
just chatting pointlessly.
I'm sure it must
be really filthy.
It really is very filthy. It stinks!
Hey! You're in my way!
Can't you even manage
something as simple as this?
I'm sorry!
Hey!
Sorry,
but you have a face that looks
like a toilet, so I mistook it for one.
Don't f*ck with me, kid!
Stop it!
Stay in there and calm down!
Shut up!
Let me out.
"From Tange Danpei"
"For the sake of tomorrow"
"Jab"
Danpei, you sure have changed.
I want to build my own gym.
I have to work hard for his sake.
Boxing again?
Correspondence education?!
"For the sake of tomorrow #1 Jab"
"To be able to create an opening
or to stop your
opponent on his feet,
throw a short left punch."
"To do this, don't drop your elbow from
below your left armpit."
"Aim for a slightly internal angle and try
to hit with a curved, swooping motion."
I don't need to know how to punch!
Take that!
Ouch!
What do you think you're doing!?
Bring it on!!
Oh! He'd only just gotten out of
solitary confinement!
Hey! You want to go back to
solitary confinement again?!
Don't you want to hurry up and
get back to freedom? You won't like this!
I am free. See!
I am free no matter where I am!
Is freedom to you just being able to
hit anyone whenever you please?
That's a cheap freedom.
Wait...
Joe!? Joe...
you should just leave it at that.
Don't muck around! Come and get me!
I don't plan on having extra time added to
my sentence because of some stupid fight.
- You think you can beat Rikishi?
- He's a pro boxer!
- Yeah!
He's going to keep trying?
"Aim for a slightly internal angle"
"Hit with a curved, swooping motion."
He got hit.
Rikishi, that's enough!
Let go of me! Let me get him!
Stop it.
There's no way a novice can beat him.
I got him with the jab.
"For the sake of tomorrow
#2 Straight right punch"
Ah! It's a postcard from Joe!
Don't play around here, kids.
What does it say?
There are no greetings.
It just says,
"There is a man who I want to knock
down no matter what."
"So please keep sending me postcards."
"The one you sent today...
was rather useful."
"To be able to continue to wear
down your opponent after a left jab,
you need to follow up straight
away with a straight right."
"This is a basic attack move
in boxing that works well."
"To throw a straight right punch,
put all your weight into your right fist."
"Try to hit in a straight line
to punch into your target."
"Then bring back your fist on the same
course and same speed as you'd thrown it."
"It is a great punch that can knock down
your opponent in an instant."
"For the sake of tomorrow #2 Snap"
"A boxer's life is in his wrist."
"Making your snap strong will also result in all
your other punches being twice as effective."
Try it.
You want to keep it up? Huh?
Here he is.
Oh, Joe! Have you been well?
Have you been practicing?
I can't get out yet,
so what are you doing here?
It's because this lady
got in contact with me.
Hello.
Say hello to her.
She's Shiraki Yoko.
She's the daughter of the
influential Shiraki family.
H... hello. Hello. Go on, Joe.
Shut up. Besides,
why are you bowing down to her?
What the heck...?
It's fine. I'll just tell
him why I asked to see him.
I want you to be in a boxing match.
What do you mean?
In America they have used boxing
as a focus for the energy of
the inmates and it has succeeded
in decreasing the troubles.
I wondered if that method
may work here too, so
we have decided to hold
an exhibition match.
Shiraki owns a boxing gym.
This also sounds like a good idea to us.
I'm not interested.
Joe! Joe!
Don't kid me.
It's obvious that it'll just
a promotion for her gym.
Rikishi Tooru... He would be your opponent.
He's one of the boxers from our gym.
You really do manage to cause trouble,
don't you?
Even I know of Rikishi's name!
If he hadn't created
that incident and been jailed,
he would be a boxing champion right now.
That's why I've been practicing
seriously the whole time.
Anyhow, just tell me what the next punch is
"for the sake of tomorrow."
Do you understand the meaning of
"tomorrow"?
Huh?
Hit me.
Then I'll teach you...
a punch that will cause
you to either sink or swim.
What are you thinking wanting to
have a match with someone like him?
I heard you had a fist-fight with him.
This isn't like you, Rikishi.
What would you do if your sentence was
lengthened because you created trouble?
You'll be released
from here soon.
That's why I want to use
this chance to hone my skills.
You are Shiraki Gym's ace.
You don't need to fight an amateur
to have your face be known.
He was good enough to
have been a pro boxer.
Well, only his jab was.
Don't worry.
I'll show you I can easily
knock out an amateur opponent.
That's nothing! Hey!
What happened to your voice?
You won't be able to beat Rikishi or
anyone with punches like that! Hey!
Chairman Shiraki!
I'm so excited about this.
Boxing is a secret sport.
That's why I've left running the gym up to
my grand-daughter here.
Here you go, Joe.
- I don't need it.
- Your opponent is a pro.
What are you so afraid of, old man?
I'll topple his with those
punches I've mastered.
Joe, today I'll have you see what hell is.
Hey, this match will be done
under amateur rules, right?
Of course.
There will be 3 rounds to the match.
If they're knocked down 3 times in one round,
they'll lose by technical knock out.
Hey!
- There's no K.O even if they're knocked down 3 times.
- Eh?
Keep the match going until one of them
is knocked out completely.
That's against the rules!
Isn't a match like this with opponents of such
different weights be against the rules too?
Rikishi is featherweight,
but Joe is much lighter than that.
What shall we do?
We can't accept such demands.
It's fine.
It'll be over in one round anyway.
Right, it's been decided. Thanks.
You're pretty incredible, old man.
You really think these punches
will knock him down that well.
You'll be the one who gets knocked out.
- Rikishi!
- Beat the living daylights out of him!
Down! Stay back! 3... 4...
- 5...
- Get out of my way!
- Rikishi!
- Rikishi!
- Rikishi, could you KO him pretty soon.
- Yeah! KO~
Fight!
Joe~!!
Down!
Stay back!
2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8...
- Hey...
- What the hell...?
Fight!
Didn't you say you'd
KO me in the first round?
Joe!
This is bad.
Rikishi is really mad right now.
This is all you can do, Joe. You can cope.
Mm... it hurts, old man!
This is bad! He's like a rock!
Old man, what kind of
punches did you teach Joe?
He's being pummeled up there!
All we can do is wait.
That's all I can, Joe.
Down! Stay back!
2...
3...
4...
5...
6...
7...
8...
9...
Will he manage to throw that punch?
Will he manage to throw it?
This is it...!
A cross-counter...?
Hitting as you're being hit.
Simultaneously hitting each
another with a counter-punch.
A double knock out?
You did it! You did it! Joe,
you did it! Joe! You did it, Joe!
Thank you for taking care of him.
Thank you for everything.
I do apologize.
Somehow I can't help but miss him.
He is a trouble to be around.
He's an unusual fellow.
Rikishi attacks! Rikishi attacks!
Rikishi lands one to the face!
A right! He lands the straight punch.
Rikishi is dominating his opponent.
The guy's on his last legs.
A left! He goes down!
Rikishi completely dominated with his
offensive moves that toppled his opponent.
He knocked out Saburo in the first round.
Rikishi won the match!
I'll be waiting.
Hey, let's get going.
Here we are.
Ah!
- No, no...
- Someone had dropped some money.
- Just leave it.
See! Look!
"Tange Danpei Club"
I created this gym for you.
How about doing it seriously? Boxing.
"Mammoth Nishi, Yabuki Joe,
Chairman: Tange Danpei"
What's Mammoth?
That's me.
You finally got released, Joe?
Do you know why this bridge
is called Tears Bridge?
It's because this is the bridge
which people cross to these slums in
tears when their life has fallen
apart and they've lost all hope.
They don't even have a roof to live under.
That means that they don't even have
a place to rest for the night.
But they don't have any other place to go.
If things have turned like that,
all they can do is try to
cope in these slums.
You should walk the other way
across this Tears Bridge.
"Tomorrow" will never come
if you don't spend today well too.
Be covered in blood...
be covered in sweat and dirt...
... be covered in scars...
... and be so strange that
people call you crazy.
It's because of the day called "today"...
that tomorrow will also come.
Joe...
You should look toward tomorrow
as you fight your way through.
Be able to leave this town
with your head held high.
Hey, give it a 1, 2! Come on, 1, 2!
Oh, 1, 2! Yeah, that's it!
Yeah! That's it!
Yeah, that one! Keep it up!
Again, 1, 2! Keep it up! Come on!
Go on! Go on! Lift your chin up! Your chin!
- Hey, hurry up! What are you doing?
- Ah, yeah...
Off we go!
Wait up...
He seems to be serious
about this fighting business.
- Have you gotten carried away?
- Yeah!
- Dear...!
Have you finished that yet?
Hey! Look, hit him properly! Properly! Hey!
Joe~!
- Joe, there's trouble!
- Joe, hurry! Hurry! Joe!
Joe, hurry! Hurry!
Joe...
What do you want now?
Back off, Joe.
He's not one to be messed with.
You're still mouthing off as usual.
I heard that you guys passed
the pro boxing test.
Today we're here to celebrate that.
You guys are usually so half-hearted,
but this time you looked serious when
you said you wanted to box.
If that is true, I won't raise
a finger to stop you.
I used to always play around
by boxing when I was a kid too.
Come to my gang if things
don't work out here.
I'd be willing to look after you any time.
Don't keep hanging around
this half-serious place.
Well, who knows how long
this poor club will be here for anyway?
You didn't know, Joe?
It says on the signs "No gyms in this town!
Sports gyms are banned in this town!"
All of the gyms were ripped down and
they were banned from rebuilding them.
Ah, the person behind
that was the Shiraki family.
Shiraki?
Mm. It was because of a proposal from
that Shiraki Gym's owner that you hate.
She proposed turning the
entire town into arenas and
gyms, making everything
into sports facilities.
Apparently she had started secretly
preparing everything many years ago.
It isn't right.
The people in these slums
have nowhere else to go as is.
Joe~!!
It's been decided! Your debut match!
- It's hard to hear?
- It's fine.
- I get it. I get it. I'll fix it later.
- Go off into the venue.
- Do that later.
Move! Move!
Joe! You're ready to go? Do it, then!
Put more speed into it.
It's all about the speed. So...
In the red corner from Hokutosei Gym,
weighing in at 118 pounds,
it's Urusei Takeiho~!!
In the blue corner from Tange Gym,
weighing in at 117 2/3 pounds,
it's Yabuki Joe~!!
In the blue trunks with red gloves,
from the Tange Boxing Club,
it's Yabuki Joe.
We're looking forward to
a good fight from Yabuki.
This is the pro debut match for him today.
Oh! Yeah, that's it! Keep that up!
That's it, Joe! This should
be a piece of cake.
That's it! Box him into a corner!
Box him in! Keep at him! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
Oh my? What is this all about?
Yabuki has dropped both
his arms to his sides.
Yabuki has no guards up.
- What are you doing, Joe?!
- Put up your guards, Joe!
That little brat...!
What is he trying to do?
He's inviting his opponent to punch him.
Oh my! Will Yabuki go down now?
Down!
He's not getting back up.
It's a KO! We have seen
the appearance of an outrageous boxer,
Yabuki Joe!
He went from no guards to a
skillful cross-counter punch
to win brilliantly in the
first round through a KO.
A KO in the first round?!
Joe won~! Yippee~! Joe won~!
Stop!
Rikishi has won!
What a wonderful victory!
With his world ranking #5
punching strength he managed to
tear apart his opponent with
a KO in the second round.
Rikishi,
congratulations on your victory today.
Thanks.
Your world ranking has gone up too.
Which boxer are you most
interested in at the moment?
Naturally that is
the current champion...
Before that, there is a man
who I have to knock down first.
Who is that?
Rikishi! Rikishi, who is it?
Rikishi, please tell us who that is.
- You're still influenced by him?
- I just want to settle things.
Settle things?
It would just be an exhibition fight.
Besides, your weight class
and Yabuki's are different.
Yeah.
That's why he saw my weight
and pushed his own weight up
to bantam class which is one
class below mine to debut.
So what? You're a world ranked fighter.
He's just a new,
emerging boxer.
The worlds you live in are different.
Please....
let me do my World Champion match
after I've settled things
with this guy first.
There is was! His infamous cross-counter!
Since debuting he has won all 8 matches
with a cross-counter KO punch.
Yabuki Joe really isn't
someone to be messed with!
I've never seen an
unconventional boxer before!
You really are such an idiot!
Is the cross the only punch you know?
Are you listening, Joe? Huh?
It's not just about winning.
It's about boxing properly too.
Let me fight Rikishi now.
I knew this is how things would turn out.
You plan on taking on Rikishi
with your cross punch?
Take him on?
Joe, Rikishi is a world ranking boxer.
I only turned pro because
I want to fight him.
A match?
Mm. I'd like to have him go against Yabuki
who is flying so high at the moment.
Have who go against him?
Maybe you know him? It's Wolf Kanagushi.
Of course I know him. He's ranked highly
in the Japanese bantam class.
Based on his current form,
I don't think it would be unusual
for your boxer to have a match
with someone of Wolf's class.
You've got to be kidding!
Are you planning on crushing Joe?
Old man...
I will turn down such greedy matches.
Joe, off we go.
"We are against unjustly
ignoring the people!"
"We protest it!"
You've got to be kidding me!
Look at these children!
Were can they go if
we're thrown out of here?
- Hey, you say something too!
- This is our home!
Who cares about your sports center?
Let us continue to live here!
Yeah!
I've already spoken to the
owners of this land and its buildings.
If you have any
complaints, please speak to them.
How dare you!
- Stop it!
- Let me go! That hurts!
Leave it for today.
To compensate,
I'll do that match with Wolf.
Wolf? Do you mean that Wolf Kanagushi guy?
- Joe, you have to beat him!
- Yeah, crush him, Joe!
Joe~!
I'll get in contact with
Chairman Tange about the particulars.
Anyhow... I've seen how rich people
usually look at poor people.
But your eyes... seem full of hatred.
When I beat Rikishi,
let me fight that other guy next.
Let me fight Rikishi.
Don't try to stop us with
your silly schemes.
Forget about Rikishi.
We will keep battling until
our fists are willing to accept it.
Don't step any further into a man's world.
Women have fists too.
Yeah! Throw a left! That's it!
Again! Again! Hey! Hey!
Alright! Towel, Joe. Good work.
- Yabuki, how do you feel about the match?
- How do you plan on fighting him?
- Don't get in the way
while he's practicing!
I can't believe
you went ahead and
accepted a match
without my permission.
Chairman, what are his
chances of victory against Wolf?
His chances?
Who knows what anyone's
chances are before a match?
Thinking like that shows
you know nothing about boxing!
But his opponent said
he's confident of victory.
Yes, yes.
He said he's studying cross-counter
punches with a line-up of experts.
Eh?
The formalities for a World Championship
match are in progress.
Miss,
we've spoken about that...
I added several conditions to it,
but gave the general okay for it.
- Miss...
- You're planning on getting in my way too?
Sorry, but I'll be off now.
You're so weak letting
her walk all over you.
What? You're going to ignore me?
Even though I came all this
way to watch your match.
Hey, Rikishi...
Oh my, what are you doing here?
That's right,
you two know each other, don't you?
What a great world to be in.
If you win,
even a criminal can become a star.
- You want to pick a fight with us?
- Bring it on!
- Rikishi,
I'm still seeing a doctor for the
injury from when you hit me 2 years ago.
Do you know the reason
that the brilliant
boxer Rikishi Tooru was
charged for assault?
- I don't want to know.
- He half killed a certain reporter.
It was because the reporter was
about to write that Shiraki family's
grand-daughter, Shiraki Yoko,
actually grew up in the slums.
Imagine what the mass media would do if they
knew the Shiraki family had ties to the slums...
Hit me! But I'll write about it as payback.
- Hm?
- Stop acting so full of yourself!
Here.
Treat your fists well.
You call yourself a pro?
Is it that embarrassing to have people
find out you grew up in the slums?
How pathetic.
I bet she's just trying to destroy
the slums to hide her own past.
It's not up to you to decide
whether that is pathetic or not.
Nice to meet you.
Hey! How dare you kids do that to her!
The ones she hates aren't them.
The town is bad. It is that town
that caused them to be that way.
Stop it! Stop it!
She can't go near that town.
Because someday it may
come to get her back again.
Those are the emotions she
keeps inside herself each day.
So?
So you're working hard for the sake of
that rich girl that you feel sorry for?
What? You want to fight?
I'm more than willing to
take you on right here.
If we don't have gloves on,
it's just a pointless fist-fight.
These are everything to me.
Yabuki...
Give up your gloves.
I don't care if you knock Wolf down
fair and squarely or not.
We have to settle things between us.
Wolf is in fine form these days.
He's just entered the ring.
Yabuki has toppled all his opponents so far,
but today his opponent is Wolf Kanagushi.
What tactics will Yabuki
use in this fight today?
Joe is on TV!
What? Oh! He is!
This is his fight with Wolf!
- Oh, Joe!
- You can do it!
Today don't let your guard down.
Make sure to show some proper boxing today.
Don't try to throw a cross punch.
Rumor has it that he studied
cross punches very carefully.
Fight!
Right, the fight has begun.
Yabuki Joe is known for his
famous cross-counter punch.
What tactics will he use today?
Ah! Straight away Yabuki goes for no guard!
Idiot!
There's something you want to do, right?
I'll play along.
There it goes! The cross-counter punch!
Down!
The one who fell was Yabuki.
Yabuki was knocked down.
- What happened? Yabuki Joe is down.
- 6...
7...
8...
9...
He stood back up.
Yabuki stood up again on the count of 9.
- Ow, ow, ow...
- Don't look downward!
- That hurts!
- Whatever! Snap back into it! Come on!
He isn't a wolf.
- He's like a unicorn baby.
- Stop talking and take some deep breaths.
Let's look at the punch that
knocked Yabuki down in slow motion.
What happened to Yabuki?
You can see after this that Wolf
followed up his cross-counter.
This is more than a cross-counter.
It is a double cross-counter!
He won't be able to win.
There's no way a guy from a
gym in the slums like this
can put up a fight against
a guy from a huge gym.
Ouch! What was that for?
That hurt.
A cross-counter is a punch
that uses the power from your
opponent's punch to hit back
with double the usual force.
But this was double that,
turning it into an unbelievably
forceful punch.
- Joe, you can do it!
- Joe, you can do it!
Down!
3...
4...
5...
6...
7...
8...
You're okay? Good.
- Fight!
- Put up your guards! Guards! Joe!
Chairman Tange is screaming
at him to put up his guards.
Ah, but once again he's gone for no guard.
You idiot!
Stop! Don't hit him!
- Down!
- Joe~!!
It's over.
Rikishi...!
Get up, Yabuki!
You plan on bowing out before
you even get to fight me?
- Please step back.
- Get up, Yabuki!
- Please get back.
- Get up! Get up!
Hey... he got back up!
Fight!
- Joe, do some boxing! Boxing, boxing!
- Yeah, throw some punches!
- Put your guard up!
Boxing! Dodge him!
Listen to what I have to say at times! Joe!
Stop ignoring me!
- Joe!
- What the heck are you doing!?
Did you see that? That's our Joe!
Brilliant! He's an amazing boxer!
That... is even more than a double.
It was a triple cross-counter...!
He has the skills of a god.
What will his fate be?
Do you plan on losing weight to
get into the bantam class?
You only just scraped into
the featherweight class as is.
Why are you that determined to fight him
that you're going this far to lose weight?
That sad guy and I are
part of the same world.
I won't accept that.
Miss,
why are you so against me fighting him?
Because he's not an opponent that you
need to go to such extremes to fight!
Is that your only reason?
Aren't you more concerned than I am?
About that guy named Yabuki Joe.
It's the first time
I've met someone like that.
He's someone that I want to beat,
even if it may cost me my life.
You won't be able to cope with one of
Yabuki's cross-counters in this condition.
He can hit me with
a cross-counter if he wants.
Again!
Keep it up! Keep going!
Bring it on!
Come on!
Hit!
Bring it on! More! Faster!
Please help me out.
Good night.
"Storage room"
Yeah, I really can't watch
what Rikishi's doing any longer.
He hasn't taken even a drop
of water into his body.
It's suicidal.
He's trying to drop even more weight,
despite being down to just
skin and bones as is.
Shut up!
If you can't watch what he's
doing, then don't look.
It's up to him to do
it if he wants to.
Hey, Joe! There's no need
to abuse the reporters!
Sorry about that.
Let's leave it at that for today.
Water...
Water...
Sorry. I was the one who did that.
Because if you drink cool
water straight away...
your body won't cope.
It's okay.
Your weight won't suddenly increase
with just that amount of water.
Please!
Don't push yourself any further than this!
Thanks to you I'm able
to come to my senses again.
Thanks.... Miss.
88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99
Up you go! Okay! Here goes!
Here goes!
You can do it! Here you go!
Keep going! Go on!
- Come on!
- Okay, here goes!
Last set! 30 more to go!
He'll like this.
It looks good. Make it even darker.
- Wait up, you!
- Hang on, hang on!
Go on. You have something to say to him,
right?
Oh... that... you know,
match of yours... good luck for it.
It's rare for anyone from these
slums to make it, so you have the
hopes and dreams of all of us
resting on your shoulders too.
Fight for us too!
Jo, we'll be supporting you!
We're behind you, Joe! Joe!
I'm in the middle of training,
so please keep it short.
I want you to cancel
the match with Rikishi.
Wait!
Please!
Because if he keeps this up,
he'll ruin his body!
I'll do anything I can!
So please!
You stepped on it.
You can't stop Rikishi or me.
It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor.
Not when we're up there in the ring.
We'll keep punching until one of us falls.
That's all there is to it.
You have a good punch too.
But your way of using it is wrong.
117 1/2 pounds.
- Yes.
- Okay.
That's okay, isn't it, Chairman Shiraki?
Okay next is Rikishi. Go ahead.
118 pounds.
That's the top limit.
Okay.
That's okay, isn't it, Chairman Tange?
Certainly.
- Joe...
- Old man...
At times like this we can't say anything
like what we heard yesterday.
Go for it!
We're all here watching you!
Show him who we are!
You can do it! You can do it!
Hit him with a right punch!
See! Look! Look! Look at Joe's pants!
Rikishi, we're backing you to win!
Rikishi, KO your opponent!
Now we'll hold the special
match of a bantam class round.
In the blue corner from Tange Gym,
weighing in at 117 1/2 pounds,
it's Yabuki Joe~!
In the red corner from Shiraki Gym,
weighing in at 118 pounds,
it's Rikishi Tooru~!
Yabuki Joe versus Rikishi Tooru
- it's a personal fight
that is about to come true
after crossing the weight issue.
Both watch out not to
throw high or low blows.
Make this a fair, just fight that
is suitable for this special match.
That's all from me.
At the weigh-in yesterday
it seemed that Rikishi had
dropped his weight as much
as was physically possible.
Yes, but he seems to
have recovered well today.
Can we say that Rikishi Tooru is
physically recovered enough?
Right, it's time for the much
anticipated first round.
The gong has sounded. They both have their
eyes on each other's faces from the start.
Who will be the first one to throw a punch?
Oh my!
Naturally he's done it again!
Yabuki is going for no
guard against Rikishi too.
He could've made
contact if he wanted.
Damn it!
He's pretending to throw crosses.
Yabuki's cross-counter is one which he throws
when his opponent throws a straight right.
Yes.
Yabuki's cross won't work on
an upper like was just thrown.
Joe! Don't keep waiting
for the punch you want!
Jump on in and
throw some punches!
- That's it, Joe! Like that!
- Yabuki has made contact with Rikishi.
These punches must be
making their mark on Rikishi.
Keep it up! Keep it up!
Joe, you're doing great!
- Joe, go for it!
- Don't let up on him!
Joe~!!
He's down! Yabuki Joe!
He was floored by Rikishi's uppercut.
Yabuki was struck hard.
Fight!
Stop!
Rikishi really is someone
to be reckoned with.
You have to put everything into it.
Fight him with some proper boxing.
Joe, Joe, Joe! Remember the things
"for the sake of tomorrow." #1, 2, 3!
Okay! Here goes!
Off you go!
Right, it's the second round.
Ah! Yabuki has his guard up!
Yabuki usually goes with no guard,
but this time he's put his guards up.
Short! Short! Short!
It's working! Keep it up!
Get up! Stand back up, Joe~!!
Rikishi is down! Rikishi was knocked down!
Down! Stay back!
3...
4...
5...
6...
7...
8...
- You're okay.
- I'm fine.
Fight!
He fell rather strangely just then.
Is Rikishi slightly concussed?
He hit his head, but stood back up again.
Rikishi has put his guards down.
Rikishi is going for no guard first!
What do you want?
- Don't kid with me!
- Stop! He wants your counter punch!
Yabuki has also dropped his guard.
It's turned into an outrageous match!
Alright, Joe. That's good!
Hey, hey, hey,
don't be stupid!
We don't need to watch
you just stand there!
Yabuki, show us your moves!
If nobody throws any
punches, we all lose!
Shut up!
You don't know what you're talking about!
It's going well.
The first one to throw a punch will lose.
But I'll lose on points
if it stays like this.
But if you throw your cross,
he'll counter it.
You'll be ruined if you do that.
Think it through calmly, Joe. Okay?
It's because I was sullen.
I was always angry.
I didn't have any hopes or dreams.
I was wrong for throwing them away.
But I blamed it all on
society and rebelled.
Then I met Rikishi.
Before I was a boxer...
.. no matter what I did...
... it never felt like how I feel
when I'm in the ring.
I never knew this feeling of completeness
that makes my passions burn.
It's burning such a bright red.
Burning...
It's firing me up.
Thanks... old man.
Fight!
It's over.
All of it is over.
The one who claimed victory in
this legendary fight was Rikishi!
You won! That was a splendid victory.
Joe, just lie still. Joe... come on. Hey!
I never expected you
to throw an upper then.
You both put up a great fight!
Joe, you did great!
Joe~!
It was a great fight!
Rikishi!
- Get a doctor! Hurry!
- Rikishi!
Rikishi~!
Get him straight into the doctor's office!
Rikishi...
Rikishi...?
Rikishi!
Rikishi...!
Rikishi...!
Rikishi...!
Rikishi...
I guess Joe isn't coming?
It was an accident.
As well as having lost so much weight,
he also struck his temple
during the sixth round.
Then also banging his head on the rope
like that caused a blood clot in his brain.
I couldn't do anything.
Rikishi said to give these to you.
He said he'll be waiting
for you in the ring.
Rikishi was so fired up that he didn't mind
putting his life on the line to fight you.
He left you with boxing.
Don't let his feelings go to waste.
We'll be waiting.
You still haven't heard from him?
It's been 10 days now.
I guess he probably isn't coming back.
What a waste.
Plenty of other boxers have
experienced the same tragedy before.
But only one in ten boxers
are able to cope with it.
Stop telling me things that are irrelevant!
Of course he'll come back!
- We're just saying...
- Shut up!
- Get out!
- Oh, sorry, sorry. We'll go outside.
- Get out!
Would you be willing to keep these for him?
I'd like you to give them to
Yabuki when he gets back.
Ah... ah!
I'm planning on canceling the demolition
and reconstruction of the slum area.
Eh?
Watching their match made me realize that
I'd always been running away
from who I truly was.
I'm sorry.
I just wanted to tell that to someone.
Yeah.
We were called scum,
but boxing was the one thing that
we could cling onto to keep
ourselves afloat and alive.
Do you think I'll let it end here?
Isn't that right... Joe?
Joe...
- Ah, thanks for the meal.
- See you.
Now we will start the ten
count gong to remember
the first anniversary of
Rikishi Tooru's death.
"Rikishi Tooru"
Ah!
Joe~!
Joe~!
Joe, welcome back!
Old man...
... teach me it again.
I'll make hands for tomorrow.
Joe~! You're back, Joe~!
"TOMORROW'S JOE"
(Ashita no Joe)
Yamashita Tomohisa
Iseya Yusuke
Karina
Kagawa Teruyuki
Executive producer - Hamana Kazuya
Consulting producer - Iyoda Hidenori
Original comic by
Takamori Asao & Chiba Tetsuya
Screenplay - Shinozaki Eriko
Director - Sori Fumihiko
I told you kids not to play in there!
Get out!
Hurry! Let's get out of here!
Those little brats.
This is all he has?
- I don't have any money.
- Quick! Run!
Let's get out of here!
Ah!
No! No! Don't touch my pork cutlet!
I said no!
But you don't have any money.
Mate, give me a refill.
Hey, you're gobbling down a lot of food,
so buy me a refill with your money.
It's old man Danpei.
Old man, if you want to drink,
go out and earn some money!
Shut up, you brats!
You're obviously loaded with money,
so buy me one refill at least.
No.
- Just one drink would be fine.
- Old man!
You're stuck doing this forever, huh?
If you have money to
be drinking during the day,
then pay back
what you owe me too.
Surely paying back your debts
instead of drinking is the way to go!
- Hey, do something about them!
- Ouch!
- Do something!
Don't touch me.
So you think you can say
something worthwhile to me?
You've got a good punch on you, don't you?
How about teaming up with me?
- You want to team up with me?
- You're built to be a boxer.
It's sad to see you're
still living in the past!
Miss, it's dangerous to get out here.
Ah!
Old man!
You think I want to have anything to do
with you these days?
- You think I'd want that?!
- No, no...
What the hell do you want?!
- I'm Joe.
- Huh?
- Yabuki Joe.
- Huh?
You bastard!
Your right upper cut was good!
It got him good!
See! It's hitting him well!
Hey, hey, hey,
how about aiming for tomorrow with me?
Tomorrow?
I'm talking about boxing! Martial arts!
I could turn you into a first class boxer.
- I'm not interested.
- Let me at him!
You're the real thing.
You've got great moves.
And you have a good shoulder
on your small physique.
- You're got a good waist too.
- What are you going on about!?
- Let me at them!
Just enjoying today is good enough for me!
They were the first ones to throw a punch!
They started the fight!
- Police, let Joe out!
- Let Joe out!
What the heck are
you talking about?
He has a list of previous
offenses a foot long.
Previous offenses?
What are previous offenses?
Theft, extortion, violence.
He's been a worthless
lout since he was a kid.
Eh! Wait on! Wait! Wait!
What's with him?
Darn it...
I'm not going to give up!
I'm not going to give up on you!
Joe~!!
Yabuki Joe's parent's whereabouts were
unknown from a young age.
Sympathy should be given
to him on that accord.
But he has shown no remorse
since being arrested and
there is a high likelihood
of him re-offending.
Consequently I sentence him to a period
in prison of a minimum of one year.
This is Yabuki Joe.
He's in here with you.
What a coincidence.
I never expected you to put up
such a good fight earlier.
But you've finally been caught.
No, I'm not trying to upset you.
You're a much better guy than those
who join the gangs.
Your name is Yabuki Joe, right?
I'll call you Joe, okay?
My name's Nishi. In here I'm your senior...
Stop chatting and hurry up
and clean the loo.
Sorry about that.
I hadn't realized that I was
just chatting pointlessly.
I'm sure it must
be really filthy.
It really is very filthy. It stinks!
Hey! You're in my way!
Can't you even manage
something as simple as this?
I'm sorry!
Hey!
Sorry,
but you have a face that looks
like a toilet, so I mistook it for one.
Don't f*ck with me, kid!
Stop it!
Stay in there and calm down!
Shut up!
Let me out.
"From Tange Danpei"
"For the sake of tomorrow"
"Jab"
Danpei, you sure have changed.
I want to build my own gym.
I have to work hard for his sake.
Boxing again?
Correspondence education?!
"For the sake of tomorrow #1 Jab"
"To be able to create an opening
or to stop your
opponent on his feet,
throw a short left punch."
"To do this, don't drop your elbow from
below your left armpit."
"Aim for a slightly internal angle and try
to hit with a curved, swooping motion."
I don't need to know how to punch!
Take that!
Ouch!
What do you think you're doing!?
Bring it on!!
Oh! He'd only just gotten out of
solitary confinement!
Hey! You want to go back to
solitary confinement again?!
Don't you want to hurry up and
get back to freedom? You won't like this!
I am free. See!
I am free no matter where I am!
Is freedom to you just being able to
hit anyone whenever you please?
That's a cheap freedom.
Wait...
Joe!? Joe...
you should just leave it at that.
Don't muck around! Come and get me!
I don't plan on having extra time added to
my sentence because of some stupid fight.
- You think you can beat Rikishi?
- He's a pro boxer!
- Yeah!
He's going to keep trying?
"Aim for a slightly internal angle"
"Hit with a curved, swooping motion."
He got hit.
Rikishi, that's enough!
Let go of me! Let me get him!
Stop it.
There's no way a novice can beat him.
I got him with the jab.
"For the sake of tomorrow
#2 Straight right punch"
Ah! It's a postcard from Joe!
Don't play around here, kids.
What does it say?
There are no greetings.
It just says,
"There is a man who I want to knock
down no matter what."
"So please keep sending me postcards."
"The one you sent today...
was rather useful."
"To be able to continue to wear
down your opponent after a left jab,
you need to follow up straight
away with a straight right."
"This is a basic attack move
in boxing that works well."
"To throw a straight right punch,
put all your weight into your right fist."
"Try to hit in a straight line
to punch into your target."
"Then bring back your fist on the same
course and same speed as you'd thrown it."
"It is a great punch that can knock down
your opponent in an instant."
"For the sake of tomorrow #2 Snap"
"A boxer's life is in his wrist."
"Making your snap strong will also result in all
your other punches being twice as effective."
Try it.
You want to keep it up? Huh?
Here he is.
Oh, Joe! Have you been well?
Have you been practicing?
I can't get out yet,
so what are you doing here?
It's because this lady
got in contact with me.
Hello.
Say hello to her.
She's Shiraki Yoko.
She's the daughter of the
influential Shiraki family.
H... hello. Hello. Go on, Joe.
Shut up. Besides,
why are you bowing down to her?
What the heck...?
It's fine. I'll just tell
him why I asked to see him.
I want you to be in a boxing match.
What do you mean?
In America they have used boxing
as a focus for the energy of
the inmates and it has succeeded
in decreasing the troubles.
I wondered if that method
may work here too, so
we have decided to hold
an exhibition match.
Shiraki owns a boxing gym.
This also sounds like a good idea to us.
I'm not interested.
Joe! Joe!
Don't kid me.
It's obvious that it'll just
a promotion for her gym.
Rikishi Tooru... He would be your opponent.
He's one of the boxers from our gym.
You really do manage to cause trouble,
don't you?
Even I know of Rikishi's name!
If he hadn't created
that incident and been jailed,
he would be a boxing champion right now.
That's why I've been practicing
seriously the whole time.
Anyhow, just tell me what the next punch is
"for the sake of tomorrow."
Do you understand the meaning of
"tomorrow"?
Huh?
Hit me.
Then I'll teach you...
a punch that will cause
you to either sink or swim.
What are you thinking wanting to
have a match with someone like him?
I heard you had a fist-fight with him.
This isn't like you, Rikishi.
What would you do if your sentence was
lengthened because you created trouble?
You'll be released
from here soon.
That's why I want to use
this chance to hone my skills.
You are Shiraki Gym's ace.
You don't need to fight an amateur
to have your face be known.
He was good enough to
have been a pro boxer.
Well, only his jab was.
Don't worry.
I'll show you I can easily
knock out an amateur opponent.
That's nothing! Hey!
What happened to your voice?
You won't be able to beat Rikishi or
anyone with punches like that! Hey!
Chairman Shiraki!
I'm so excited about this.
Boxing is a secret sport.
That's why I've left running the gym up to
my grand-daughter here.
Here you go, Joe.
- I don't need it.
- Your opponent is a pro.
What are you so afraid of, old man?
I'll topple his with those
punches I've mastered.
Joe, today I'll have you see what hell is.
Hey, this match will be done
under amateur rules, right?
Of course.
There will be 3 rounds to the match.
If they're knocked down 3 times in one round,
they'll lose by technical knock out.
Hey!
- There's no K.O even if they're knocked down 3 times.
- Eh?
Keep the match going until one of them
is knocked out completely.
That's against the rules!
Isn't a match like this with opponents of such
different weights be against the rules too?
Rikishi is featherweight,
but Joe is much lighter than that.
What shall we do?
We can't accept such demands.
It's fine.
It'll be over in one round anyway.
Right, it's been decided. Thanks.
You're pretty incredible, old man.
You really think these punches
will knock him down that well.
You'll be the one who gets knocked out.
- Rikishi!
- Beat the living daylights out of him!
Down! Stay back! 3... 4...
- 5...
- Get out of my way!
- Rikishi!
- Rikishi!
- Rikishi, could you KO him pretty soon.
- Yeah! KO~
Fight!
Joe~!!
Down!
Stay back!
2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8...
- Hey...
- What the hell...?
Fight!
Didn't you say you'd
KO me in the first round?
Joe!
This is bad.
Rikishi is really mad right now.
This is all you can do, Joe. You can cope.
Mm... it hurts, old man!
This is bad! He's like a rock!
Old man, what kind of
punches did you teach Joe?
He's being pummeled up there!
All we can do is wait.
That's all I can, Joe.
Down! Stay back!
2...
3...
4...
5...
6...
7...
8...
9...
Will he manage to throw that punch?
Will he manage to throw it?
This is it...!
A cross-counter...?
Hitting as you're being hit.
Simultaneously hitting each
another with a counter-punch.
A double knock out?
You did it! You did it! Joe,
you did it! Joe! You did it, Joe!
Thank you for taking care of him.
Thank you for everything.
I do apologize.
Somehow I can't help but miss him.
He is a trouble to be around.
He's an unusual fellow.
Rikishi attacks! Rikishi attacks!
Rikishi lands one to the face!
A right! He lands the straight punch.
Rikishi is dominating his opponent.
The guy's on his last legs.
A left! He goes down!
Rikishi completely dominated with his
offensive moves that toppled his opponent.
He knocked out Saburo in the first round.
Rikishi won the match!
I'll be waiting.
Hey, let's get going.
Here we are.
Ah!
- No, no...
- Someone had dropped some money.
- Just leave it.
See! Look!
"Tange Danpei Club"
I created this gym for you.
How about doing it seriously? Boxing.
"Mammoth Nishi, Yabuki Joe,
Chairman: Tange Danpei"
What's Mammoth?
That's me.
You finally got released, Joe?
Do you know why this bridge
is called Tears Bridge?
It's because this is the bridge
which people cross to these slums in
tears when their life has fallen
apart and they've lost all hope.
They don't even have a roof to live under.
That means that they don't even have
a place to rest for the night.
But they don't have any other place to go.
If things have turned like that,
all they can do is try to
cope in these slums.
You should walk the other way
across this Tears Bridge.
"Tomorrow" will never come
if you don't spend today well too.
Be covered in blood...
be covered in sweat and dirt...
... be covered in scars...
... and be so strange that
people call you crazy.
It's because of the day called "today"...
that tomorrow will also come.
Joe...
You should look toward tomorrow
as you fight your way through.
Be able to leave this town
with your head held high.
Hey, give it a 1, 2! Come on, 1, 2!
Oh, 1, 2! Yeah, that's it!
Yeah! That's it!
Yeah, that one! Keep it up!
Again, 1, 2! Keep it up! Come on!
Go on! Go on! Lift your chin up! Your chin!
- Hey, hurry up! What are you doing?
- Ah, yeah...
Off we go!
Wait up...
He seems to be serious
about this fighting business.
- Have you gotten carried away?
- Yeah!
- Dear...!
Have you finished that yet?
Hey! Look, hit him properly! Properly! Hey!
Joe~!
- Joe, there's trouble!
- Joe, hurry! Hurry! Joe!
Joe, hurry! Hurry!
Joe...
What do you want now?
Back off, Joe.
He's not one to be messed with.
You're still mouthing off as usual.
I heard that you guys passed
the pro boxing test.
Today we're here to celebrate that.
You guys are usually so half-hearted,
but this time you looked serious when
you said you wanted to box.
If that is true, I won't raise
a finger to stop you.
I used to always play around
by boxing when I was a kid too.
Come to my gang if things
don't work out here.
I'd be willing to look after you any time.
Don't keep hanging around
this half-serious place.
Well, who knows how long
this poor club will be here for anyway?
You didn't know, Joe?
It says on the signs "No gyms in this town!
Sports gyms are banned in this town!"
All of the gyms were ripped down and
they were banned from rebuilding them.
Ah, the person behind
that was the Shiraki family.
Shiraki?
Mm. It was because of a proposal from
that Shiraki Gym's owner that you hate.
She proposed turning the
entire town into arenas and
gyms, making everything
into sports facilities.
Apparently she had started secretly
preparing everything many years ago.
It isn't right.
The people in these slums
have nowhere else to go as is.
Joe~!!
It's been decided! Your debut match!
- It's hard to hear?
- It's fine.
- I get it. I get it. I'll fix it later.
- Go off into the venue.
- Do that later.
Move! Move!
Joe! You're ready to go? Do it, then!
Put more speed into it.
It's all about the speed. So...
In the red corner from Hokutosei Gym,
weighing in at 118 pounds,
it's Urusei Takeiho~!!
In the blue corner from Tange Gym,
weighing in at 117 2/3 pounds,
it's Yabuki Joe~!!
In the blue trunks with red gloves,
from the Tange Boxing Club,
it's Yabuki Joe.
We're looking forward to
a good fight from Yabuki.
This is the pro debut match for him today.
Oh! Yeah, that's it! Keep that up!
That's it, Joe! This should
be a piece of cake.
That's it! Box him into a corner!
Box him in! Keep at him! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
Oh my? What is this all about?
Yabuki has dropped both
his arms to his sides.
Yabuki has no guards up.
- What are you doing, Joe?!
- Put up your guards, Joe!
That little brat...!
What is he trying to do?
He's inviting his opponent to punch him.
Oh my! Will Yabuki go down now?
Down!
He's not getting back up.
It's a KO! We have seen
the appearance of an outrageous boxer,
Yabuki Joe!
He went from no guards to a
skillful cross-counter punch
to win brilliantly in the
first round through a KO.
A KO in the first round?!
Joe won~! Yippee~! Joe won~!
Stop!
Rikishi has won!
What a wonderful victory!
With his world ranking #5
punching strength he managed to
tear apart his opponent with
a KO in the second round.
Rikishi,
congratulations on your victory today.
Thanks.
Your world ranking has gone up too.
Which boxer are you most
interested in at the moment?
Naturally that is
the current champion...
Before that, there is a man
who I have to knock down first.
Who is that?
Rikishi! Rikishi, who is it?
Rikishi, please tell us who that is.
- You're still influenced by him?
- I just want to settle things.
Settle things?
It would just be an exhibition fight.
Besides, your weight class
and Yabuki's are different.
Yeah.
That's why he saw my weight
and pushed his own weight up
to bantam class which is one
class below mine to debut.
So what? You're a world ranked fighter.
He's just a new,
emerging boxer.
The worlds you live in are different.
Please....
let me do my World Champion match
after I've settled things
with this guy first.
There is was! His infamous cross-counter!
Since debuting he has won all 8 matches
with a cross-counter KO punch.
Yabuki Joe really isn't
someone to be messed with!
I've never seen an
unconventional boxer before!
You really are such an idiot!
Is the cross the only punch you know?
Are you listening, Joe? Huh?
It's not just about winning.
It's about boxing properly too.
Let me fight Rikishi now.
I knew this is how things would turn out.
You plan on taking on Rikishi
with your cross punch?
Take him on?
Joe, Rikishi is a world ranking boxer.
I only turned pro because
I want to fight him.
A match?
Mm. I'd like to have him go against Yabuki
who is flying so high at the moment.
Have who go against him?
Maybe you know him? It's Wolf Kanagushi.
Of course I know him. He's ranked highly
in the Japanese bantam class.
Based on his current form,
I don't think it would be unusual
for your boxer to have a match
with someone of Wolf's class.
You've got to be kidding!
Are you planning on crushing Joe?
Old man...
I will turn down such greedy matches.
Joe, off we go.
"We are against unjustly
ignoring the people!"
"We protest it!"
You've got to be kidding me!
Look at these children!
Were can they go if
we're thrown out of here?
- Hey, you say something too!
- This is our home!
Who cares about your sports center?
Let us continue to live here!
Yeah!
I've already spoken to the
owners of this land and its buildings.
If you have any
complaints, please speak to them.
How dare you!
- Stop it!
- Let me go! That hurts!
Leave it for today.
To compensate,
I'll do that match with Wolf.
Wolf? Do you mean that Wolf Kanagushi guy?
- Joe, you have to beat him!
- Yeah, crush him, Joe!
Joe~!
I'll get in contact with
Chairman Tange about the particulars.
Anyhow... I've seen how rich people
usually look at poor people.
But your eyes... seem full of hatred.
When I beat Rikishi,
let me fight that other guy next.
Let me fight Rikishi.
Don't try to stop us with
your silly schemes.
Forget about Rikishi.
We will keep battling until
our fists are willing to accept it.
Don't step any further into a man's world.
Women have fists too.
Yeah! Throw a left! That's it!
Again! Again! Hey! Hey!
Alright! Towel, Joe. Good work.
- Yabuki, how do you feel about the match?
- How do you plan on fighting him?
- Don't get in the way
while he's practicing!
I can't believe
you went ahead and
accepted a match
without my permission.
Chairman, what are his
chances of victory against Wolf?
His chances?
Who knows what anyone's
chances are before a match?
Thinking like that shows
you know nothing about boxing!
But his opponent said
he's confident of victory.
Yes, yes.
He said he's studying cross-counter
punches with a line-up of experts.
Eh?
The formalities for a World Championship
match are in progress.
Miss,
we've spoken about that...
I added several conditions to it,
but gave the general okay for it.
- Miss...
- You're planning on getting in my way too?
Sorry, but I'll be off now.
You're so weak letting
her walk all over you.
What? You're going to ignore me?
Even though I came all this
way to watch your match.
Hey, Rikishi...
Oh my, what are you doing here?
That's right,
you two know each other, don't you?
What a great world to be in.
If you win,
even a criminal can become a star.
- You want to pick a fight with us?
- Bring it on!
- Rikishi,
I'm still seeing a doctor for the
injury from when you hit me 2 years ago.
Do you know the reason
that the brilliant
boxer Rikishi Tooru was
charged for assault?
- I don't want to know.
- He half killed a certain reporter.
It was because the reporter was
about to write that Shiraki family's
grand-daughter, Shiraki Yoko,
actually grew up in the slums.
Imagine what the mass media would do if they
knew the Shiraki family had ties to the slums...
Hit me! But I'll write about it as payback.
- Hm?
- Stop acting so full of yourself!
Here.
Treat your fists well.
You call yourself a pro?
Is it that embarrassing to have people
find out you grew up in the slums?
How pathetic.
I bet she's just trying to destroy
the slums to hide her own past.
It's not up to you to decide
whether that is pathetic or not.
Nice to meet you.
Hey! How dare you kids do that to her!
The ones she hates aren't them.
The town is bad. It is that town
that caused them to be that way.
Stop it! Stop it!
She can't go near that town.
Because someday it may
come to get her back again.
Those are the emotions she
keeps inside herself each day.
So?
So you're working hard for the sake of
that rich girl that you feel sorry for?
What? You want to fight?
I'm more than willing to
take you on right here.
If we don't have gloves on,
it's just a pointless fist-fight.
These are everything to me.
Yabuki...
Give up your gloves.
I don't care if you knock Wolf down
fair and squarely or not.
We have to settle things between us.
Wolf is in fine form these days.
He's just entered the ring.
Yabuki has toppled all his opponents so far,
but today his opponent is Wolf Kanagushi.
What tactics will Yabuki
use in this fight today?
Joe is on TV!
What? Oh! He is!
This is his fight with Wolf!
- Oh, Joe!
- You can do it!
Today don't let your guard down.
Make sure to show some proper boxing today.
Don't try to throw a cross punch.
Rumor has it that he studied
cross punches very carefully.
Fight!
Right, the fight has begun.
Yabuki Joe is known for his
famous cross-counter punch.
What tactics will he use today?
Ah! Straight away Yabuki goes for no guard!
Idiot!
There's something you want to do, right?
I'll play along.
There it goes! The cross-counter punch!
Down!
The one who fell was Yabuki.
Yabuki was knocked down.
- What happened? Yabuki Joe is down.
- 6...
7...
8...
9...
He stood back up.
Yabuki stood up again on the count of 9.
- Ow, ow, ow...
- Don't look downward!
- That hurts!
- Whatever! Snap back into it! Come on!
He isn't a wolf.
- He's like a unicorn baby.
- Stop talking and take some deep breaths.
Let's look at the punch that
knocked Yabuki down in slow motion.
What happened to Yabuki?
You can see after this that Wolf
followed up his cross-counter.
This is more than a cross-counter.
It is a double cross-counter!
He won't be able to win.
There's no way a guy from a
gym in the slums like this
can put up a fight against
a guy from a huge gym.
Ouch! What was that for?
That hurt.
A cross-counter is a punch
that uses the power from your
opponent's punch to hit back
with double the usual force.
But this was double that,
turning it into an unbelievably
forceful punch.
- Joe, you can do it!
- Joe, you can do it!
Down!
3...
4...
5...
6...
7...
8...
You're okay? Good.
- Fight!
- Put up your guards! Guards! Joe!
Chairman Tange is screaming
at him to put up his guards.
Ah, but once again he's gone for no guard.
You idiot!
Stop! Don't hit him!
- Down!
- Joe~!!
It's over.
Rikishi...!
Get up, Yabuki!
You plan on bowing out before
you even get to fight me?
- Please step back.
- Get up, Yabuki!
- Please get back.
- Get up! Get up!
Hey... he got back up!
Fight!
- Joe, do some boxing! Boxing, boxing!
- Yeah, throw some punches!
- Put your guard up!
Boxing! Dodge him!
Listen to what I have to say at times! Joe!
Stop ignoring me!
- Joe!
- What the heck are you doing!?
Did you see that? That's our Joe!
Brilliant! He's an amazing boxer!
That... is even more than a double.
It was a triple cross-counter...!
He has the skills of a god.
What will his fate be?
Do you plan on losing weight to
get into the bantam class?
You only just scraped into
the featherweight class as is.
Why are you that determined to fight him
that you're going this far to lose weight?
That sad guy and I are
part of the same world.
I won't accept that.
Miss,
why are you so against me fighting him?
Because he's not an opponent that you
need to go to such extremes to fight!
Is that your only reason?
Aren't you more concerned than I am?
About that guy named Yabuki Joe.
It's the first time
I've met someone like that.
He's someone that I want to beat,
even if it may cost me my life.
You won't be able to cope with one of
Yabuki's cross-counters in this condition.
He can hit me with
a cross-counter if he wants.
Again!
Keep it up! Keep going!
Bring it on!
Come on!
Hit!
Bring it on! More! Faster!
Please help me out.
Good night.
"Storage room"
Yeah, I really can't watch
what Rikishi's doing any longer.
He hasn't taken even a drop
of water into his body.
It's suicidal.
He's trying to drop even more weight,
despite being down to just
skin and bones as is.
Shut up!
If you can't watch what he's
doing, then don't look.
It's up to him to do
it if he wants to.
Hey, Joe! There's no need
to abuse the reporters!
Sorry about that.
Let's leave it at that for today.
Water...
Water...
Sorry. I was the one who did that.
Because if you drink cool
water straight away...
your body won't cope.
It's okay.
Your weight won't suddenly increase
with just that amount of water.
Please!
Don't push yourself any further than this!
Thanks to you I'm able
to come to my senses again.
Thanks.... Miss.
88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99
Up you go! Okay! Here goes!
Here goes!
You can do it! Here you go!
Keep going! Go on!
- Come on!
- Okay, here goes!
Last set! 30 more to go!
He'll like this.
It looks good. Make it even darker.
- Wait up, you!
- Hang on, hang on!
Go on. You have something to say to him,
right?
Oh... that... you know,
match of yours... good luck for it.
It's rare for anyone from these
slums to make it, so you have the
hopes and dreams of all of us
resting on your shoulders too.
Fight for us too!
Jo, we'll be supporting you!
We're behind you, Joe! Joe!
I'm in the middle of training,
so please keep it short.
I want you to cancel
the match with Rikishi.
Wait!
Please!
Because if he keeps this up,
he'll ruin his body!
I'll do anything I can!
So please!
You stepped on it.
You can't stop Rikishi or me.
It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor.
Not when we're up there in the ring.
We'll keep punching until one of us falls.
That's all there is to it.
You have a good punch too.
But your way of using it is wrong.
117 1/2 pounds.
- Yes.
- Okay.
That's okay, isn't it, Chairman Shiraki?
Okay next is Rikishi. Go ahead.
118 pounds.
That's the top limit.
Okay.
That's okay, isn't it, Chairman Tange?
Certainly.
- Joe...
- Old man...
At times like this we can't say anything
like what we heard yesterday.
Go for it!
We're all here watching you!
Show him who we are!
You can do it! You can do it!
Hit him with a right punch!
See! Look! Look! Look at Joe's pants!
Rikishi, we're backing you to win!
Rikishi, KO your opponent!
Now we'll hold the special
match of a bantam class round.
In the blue corner from Tange Gym,
weighing in at 117 1/2 pounds,
it's Yabuki Joe~!
In the red corner from Shiraki Gym,
weighing in at 118 pounds,
it's Rikishi Tooru~!
Yabuki Joe versus Rikishi Tooru
- it's a personal fight
that is about to come true
after crossing the weight issue.
Both watch out not to
throw high or low blows.
Make this a fair, just fight that
is suitable for this special match.
That's all from me.
At the weigh-in yesterday
it seemed that Rikishi had
dropped his weight as much
as was physically possible.
Yes, but he seems to
have recovered well today.
Can we say that Rikishi Tooru is
physically recovered enough?
Right, it's time for the much
anticipated first round.
The gong has sounded. They both have their
eyes on each other's faces from the start.
Who will be the first one to throw a punch?
Oh my!
Naturally he's done it again!
Yabuki is going for no
guard against Rikishi too.
He could've made
contact if he wanted.
Damn it!
He's pretending to throw crosses.
Yabuki's cross-counter is one which he throws
when his opponent throws a straight right.
Yes.
Yabuki's cross won't work on
an upper like was just thrown.
Joe! Don't keep waiting
for the punch you want!
Jump on in and
throw some punches!
- That's it, Joe! Like that!
- Yabuki has made contact with Rikishi.
These punches must be
making their mark on Rikishi.
Keep it up! Keep it up!
Joe, you're doing great!
- Joe, go for it!
- Don't let up on him!
Joe~!!
He's down! Yabuki Joe!
He was floored by Rikishi's uppercut.
Yabuki was struck hard.
Fight!
Stop!
Rikishi really is someone
to be reckoned with.
You have to put everything into it.
Fight him with some proper boxing.
Joe, Joe, Joe! Remember the things
"for the sake of tomorrow." #1, 2, 3!
Okay! Here goes!
Off you go!
Right, it's the second round.
Ah! Yabuki has his guard up!
Yabuki usually goes with no guard,
but this time he's put his guards up.
Short! Short! Short!
It's working! Keep it up!
Get up! Stand back up, Joe~!!
Rikishi is down! Rikishi was knocked down!
Down! Stay back!
3...
4...
5...
6...
7...
8...
- You're okay.
- I'm fine.
Fight!
He fell rather strangely just then.
Is Rikishi slightly concussed?
He hit his head, but stood back up again.
Rikishi has put his guards down.
Rikishi is going for no guard first!
What do you want?
- Don't kid with me!
- Stop! He wants your counter punch!
Yabuki has also dropped his guard.
It's turned into an outrageous match!
Alright, Joe. That's good!
Hey, hey, hey,
don't be stupid!
We don't need to watch
you just stand there!
Yabuki, show us your moves!
If nobody throws any
punches, we all lose!
Shut up!
You don't know what you're talking about!
It's going well.
The first one to throw a punch will lose.
But I'll lose on points
if it stays like this.
But if you throw your cross,
he'll counter it.
You'll be ruined if you do that.
Think it through calmly, Joe. Okay?
It's because I was sullen.
I was always angry.
I didn't have any hopes or dreams.
I was wrong for throwing them away.
But I blamed it all on
society and rebelled.
Then I met Rikishi.
Before I was a boxer...
.. no matter what I did...
... it never felt like how I feel
when I'm in the ring.
I never knew this feeling of completeness
that makes my passions burn.
It's burning such a bright red.
Burning...
It's firing me up.
Thanks... old man.
Fight!
It's over.
All of it is over.
The one who claimed victory in
this legendary fight was Rikishi!
You won! That was a splendid victory.
Joe, just lie still. Joe... come on. Hey!
I never expected you
to throw an upper then.
You both put up a great fight!
Joe, you did great!
Joe~!
It was a great fight!
Rikishi!
- Get a doctor! Hurry!
- Rikishi!
Rikishi~!
Get him straight into the doctor's office!
Rikishi...
Rikishi...?
Rikishi!
Rikishi...!
Rikishi...!
Rikishi...!
Rikishi...
I guess Joe isn't coming?
It was an accident.
As well as having lost so much weight,
he also struck his temple
during the sixth round.
Then also banging his head on the rope
like that caused a blood clot in his brain.
I couldn't do anything.
Rikishi said to give these to you.
He said he'll be waiting
for you in the ring.
Rikishi was so fired up that he didn't mind
putting his life on the line to fight you.
He left you with boxing.
Don't let his feelings go to waste.
We'll be waiting.
You still haven't heard from him?
It's been 10 days now.
I guess he probably isn't coming back.
What a waste.
Plenty of other boxers have
experienced the same tragedy before.
But only one in ten boxers
are able to cope with it.
Stop telling me things that are irrelevant!
Of course he'll come back!
- We're just saying...
- Shut up!
- Get out!
- Oh, sorry, sorry. We'll go outside.
- Get out!
Would you be willing to keep these for him?
I'd like you to give them to
Yabuki when he gets back.
Ah... ah!
I'm planning on canceling the demolition
and reconstruction of the slum area.
Eh?
Watching their match made me realize that
I'd always been running away
from who I truly was.
I'm sorry.
I just wanted to tell that to someone.
Yeah.
We were called scum,
but boxing was the one thing that
we could cling onto to keep
ourselves afloat and alive.
Do you think I'll let it end here?
Isn't that right... Joe?
Joe...
- Ah, thanks for the meal.
- See you.
Now we will start the ten
count gong to remember
the first anniversary of
Rikishi Tooru's death.
"Rikishi Tooru"
Ah!
Joe~!
Joe~!
Joe, welcome back!
Old man...
... teach me it again.
I'll make hands for tomorrow.
Joe~! You're back, Joe~!