Thus, I wanna share with about the mangas that I think most interesting and worthy to read... Here's a brief review of one of them... Yosh!!

Hajime no Ippo

If I were to make a list of the BEST mangas or the MUST-READ mangas for all otakus, this manga would surely be in the top 5... I'm sure most manga fans out there would agree with me that Hajime no Ippo is the best fighting manga ever! 

Story

It is a story about the journey of Makanouchi Ippo in becoming the world greatest boxer... Despite always being picked on when he was in school, Ippo grew up to be a great and inspiring boxer... 

Drawing Style 

The artist, Morikawa Jyoji sensei, is using the 80's style of drawing... Note that this manga started in 1990 (and it is still ongoing!!), therefore the drawing clearly reflects the era... It took some time for me to get used to the drawing style because I'm more used to the contemporary ones... However, it does not interfere with the manga's entertainment values... I still can enjoy reading it... 

Even though in the real world, decades have passed by, in the manga, only a few years have passed... Therefore, the characters still wear fashion statement from the 1990's... which sometimes can be seen as ridiculous for us millennium dwellers...

Regardless of the fact, credits should be given to Morikawa sensei  for keeping the manga's continuity in tact... It has more than 900 chapters now and it seems that he wont be ending the story in the near future... 

Action

The main forte of this manga lies in it's action... The boxing scenes are superb... They're full with suspense and surprises... What makes them so brilliant is the way the artist illustrates the effect of each blow... The drawings are so detailed and awesome...

Furthermore, the artist combines scientific elements into each boxing move... How to add power to the punch? How to withstand a full force punch?? Which part of the body is most vulnerable??? This way, the fighting scenes become more logical and real... The fact that each boxer in the manga has their own unique moves and finishing blows also contributes in making it so interesting to read... I really love Ippo's brutal finishing move - The Dempsey Roll!!

Rivalry
The match that me and the rest of Hajime no Ippo's fans are all looking forward to is between Ippo and Miyata... These two are different types of boxers and they've been trying to compete with each other for years... Will they be fated to meet again in the ring and settle their scores forever?? That's the question that got me stuck on reading this manga for months...

If u notice, the rivalry of Ippo and Miyata is quite similar to Naruto and Sasuke...

Ippo and Naruto - High with stamina and possess powerful finishing blows
Miyata and Sasuke - Possess lightning speed and sharp concentration

Hmm... I guess the idea of rivalry between two main, significant characters is the recipe for success in creating a fighting/battle manga... Dont u agree??

Humor
Boxers seldom fight through out the year... Most boxers only fight once or twice in a year while the rest of the time is spent for extreme training and recovery after a fight... Therefore, how do Morikawa sensei attract readers to read the manga when the characters are not fighting?? He uses humor!

Seriously, I have so much fun reading this manga... It's hilarious!! The funniest characters are Aoki and Takamura (Ippo's senpais)... The artist is really good in creating slapsticks and Japanese puns that can really tickle u...

Anime
The anime is far more impressive than the manga... It's really good... The artwork is astounding... The action scenes are breath-taking... and the humor can drive me up the wall laughing...

Here's a sneak peek of how awesome the anime is:-

Quite awesome huh? And u got to see how destructive Ippo's signature move is... 

Well, that's it for Hajime no Ippo... I got more manga infos to share in the next posts!!