Ashita no Joe

Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow
あしたのジョー
Rocky Joe
Tomorrow's Joe

Manga8.920595 votes20 volumes · 171 chaptersFinished

DramaSlice of LifeSportsCombat SportsShounen

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About this title

Synopsis

Joe Yabuki has learned how to toughen up and stop trusting others after a troubling youth spent bouncing between orphanages and fending off bullies. After finally escaping the cycle of violent temporary homes, Joe adopts a delinquent lifestyle in the streets of San'ya, a slum in Tokyo. He makes his way through the world with his fists, picking fights with anyone he pleases. Danpei Tange, a washed-up and alcoholic former boxing coach, notices Joe's animalistic combat ability and attempts to mentor the wild teenager. Despite developing an explosive relationship, the two form a close bond and rely on each other to look after the other homeless children in San'ya. Unable to abandon his destructive habits, Joe is arrested for petty crimes. In jail, he meets and fights with lifelong friends and rivals, including the boxing prodigy Tooru Rikiishi. Continuously challenging Rikiishi to fights, Joe is knocked out time after time due to his savage brawling style failing in the face of Rikiishi's controlled boxing technique. But eventually, Joe stuns his rival with a knockout blow, earning Rikiishi's respect and the promise that they will one day meet again inside the professional ring. Finding a reason to live within boxing, Joe takes life head-on with a new purpose. As he rises through Japan's amateur and professional boxing scenes, he contends with painful loss and increasing injury. Joe's passion for fighting is all-consuming, and he grapples with the idea that a life without boxing may not be one worth living. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Publication notes

Ashita no Joe has sold over 20 million copies, was adapted to two anime series and films, as well as two live-action films in 1970 and 2011. Both the titular character and series have become an incredibly influential part of Japanese pop-culture. The series has been published in English as Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow by Kodansha USA under the Vertical Comics imprint since December 24, 2024. It was published in French by Glénat Editions and in Italian by Star Comics.

Published

Jan 1, 1968 to May 13, 1973

Authors

External links

MyAnimeList page KodanshaKodansha USA Wikipedia

MAL rank: #19
Members (MAL): 65,366
Favorites (MAL): 4,764

Related titles

Adaptation

Main characters

Joe Yabuki6440 fan favorites
External profile
The protagonist of the story. He is known for his long bangs and for always wearing a worn out beige coat and a red flat cap. Not long after birth he found himself in many orphanages and facilities. However, he quickly grew tired of the boring life and frequently escaped, eventually finding his way to the Doya Town the story takes place in. Joe is rude and quick to fight, but he can also be very frivolous at times. Because of his rough upbringing he is a delinquent who likes his solitude, but he later grows to appreciate his new friends and rivals. He is not very good at understanding women, and essentially only treats them nice out of obligation. Homeland/Country: Japan Height: Around 5'5 to 5'6 (Looks smaller in Season 1, Looks taller in Season 2) Occupation: Professional Boxer Current Affiliation: Tange Boxing Gym Weight Class: Bantamweight (115 to 118 Pounds Weight Limit) Natural Weight: Bantamweight but this changes in the 2nd half of the series and Joe becomes a natural Lightweight (135 pounds Weight Limit) because of his growth spurt change in bone mass and muscle mass. Joe weighed himself at 132 pounds before the weightcut to keep competing at Bantamweight. Boxing Style/Stance: Orthodox Stance, No Guard Stance, "Turtle" Cross Arm Stance and Brawler Stance/Infighter Stance Signature Blows/Techniques/Speciality: The Cross Counter or Variations of it. Double Cross Counter, Triple Cross Counter. Left Jab, Body Blows, Gut Punch, Counter, Uppercut, Right Hook, Overhand Right and Corkscrew Blow/Punches He is a bantamweight and his specialties include the cross counter and the No Guard stance. He has extraordinary punching strength, fortitude, and fighting spirit, often standing up after taking killer blows and has been known to counter cross-counters (a double-cross), possessing a raw, natural talent for the sport. He has even countered double crosses with a triple-cross, implying he has high-level technical abilities. Following his fight with Rikiishi, he begins to better develop his guarding. (Source: Wikipedia)
Tooru Rikiishi736 fan favorites
External profile
Joe's rival in Ashita no Joe. Tōru Rikiishi is Joe's most personal and significant boxing rival. The two first meet in the juvenile detention center, he was a boxer but was sentenced to the juvenile detention center because he punched an audience member half to death after they said that the match was rigged in Rikiishi's favor, enraging him. Joe challenges Rikiishi without knowing he was once a professional boxer and manages to punch him in the face once before Rikiishi knocks him out in one punch. He is quintessential in motivating Joe to start taking boxing seriously, even if his only reason is to beat Rikiishi in a rematch. Homeland: Japan Height: 5'11 Boxing Style/Stance: Orthodox Stance, No Guard Stance and Brawler Stance Weight Classes: Welterweight (147 pounds Weight Limit), Lightweight (135 pounds Weight Limit), Featherweight (126 pounds Weight Limit) and Bantamweight (115 to 118 pounds Weight Limit) (Source: Ashita No Joe Manga & Ashita No Joe Pilot Episodes) Natural Weight: Welterweight (147 pounds) Speciality/Techniques/Signature Blows: Triple Cross Counter, Powerful Straight Right and Powerful Uppercut (Source: Wikipedia)
Danpei Tange126 fan favorites
External profile
Danpei is Joe's serious, cautious and responsible mentor who gets him started in his boxing career. He is fond of sake, being overly cheerful when drunk which contrasts with his strict everyday self. He is also very polite when talking to people that hold higher ranks than himself, something that annoys Joe, who doesn't care for such things. Prior to meeting Joe, it is stated that Danpei used to be a boxer himself. However, after the loss of one of his eyes, we learn that he was forced to give up on his own boxing career, aiming to become a coach instead. But due to his violent, strict, passionate and even desperate approach in training his boxers (who couldn't take it and abandoned him for better gyms) he became jobless and eventually a homeless alcoholic. After meeting Joe and claiming that he has massive potential for the sport, he gives up on drinking due to the former's aversion to alcoholism (only drinking on special occasions) and vows to train him to be Japan's or even the world's best boxer, with the hope of a better tomorrow for the both of them.
Yoko Shiraki86 fan favorites
External profile
Yoko Shiraki is a young woman born to the Shirakis, a very wealthy family who is known for their activities in the boxing field. She is the main female protagonist in Ashita no Joe. She is very polite, graceful and kind to other people, always acting exactly as expected from a daughter born to a family with a higher rank, donating to charities from time to time. As so, she clashes in both appearance and personality with most of the other characters who know nothing but poverty and hardship. One of those characters is Joe who is the first to remark that her so called 'kindness' is completely fake, implying her sympathy for the poor is merely a way to make herself feel superior over those who have nothing to eat. She is often very shocked by his actions but as time goes on she comes to be the one who understands him best. She is disliked by Joe as an 'evil woman' who tries to control his life by always having something to do with most the situations he finds himself in later in the series.