Anime like Hajime no Ippo: THE FIGHTING!

Ashita no Joe

Studio: Mushi Production , Fuji TV
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Slice of Life , Sports

Joe, a teenage orphan in the slums of the Doya streets, meets Danpei, a homeless, alcoholic ex-boxing coach. Danpei, seeing Joe's boxing talent, decides to train him. When Joe is sent to a terrible juvenile home for petty crimes, he meets Rikiishi who becomes his boxing rival. Danpei arrives at the home to help Joe to train in order to defeat Rikiishi. When Joe decides to seriously pursue boxing, Danpei cannot get a coaching license because of his reputation as a drunk.



Tags: Boxing , Anti-Hero , Coming of Age , Delinquents , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Class Struggle , Primarily Male Cast , Rehabilitation , Ojou-sama , Orphan , Prison , Yakuza , Homeless , Police , Crime , Time Skip , Educational , Gangs , Bullying , Primarily Teen Cast , Achromatic

Megalo Box

Also known as Megalobox.

Studio: TMS Entertainment , 3xCube , Kodansha , TBS , Bandai Namco Arts , TMS Music
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Sci-Fi , Sports

"To be quiet and do as you're told, that's the cowardly choice." These are the words of Junk Dog, an underground fighter of Megalo Box, an evolution of boxing that utilizes mechanical limbs known as Gear to enhance the speed and power of its users. Despite the young man's brimming potential as a boxer, the illegal nature of his participation forces him to make a living off of throwing matches as dictated by his boss Gansaku Nanbu. However, this all changes when the Megalo Box champion Yuuri enters his shabby ring under the guise of just another challenger. Taken out in a single round, Junk Dog is left with a challenge: "If you're serious about fighting me again, then fight your way up to me and my ring."

Filled with overwhelming excitement and backed by the criminal syndicate responsible for his thrown matches, Junk Dog enters Megalonia: a world-spanning tournament that will decide the strongest Megalo Boxer of them all. Having no name of his own, he takes on the moniker of "Joe" as he begins his climb from the very bottom of the ranked list of fighters. With only three months left to qualify, Joe must face off against opponents the likes of which he has never fought in order to meet the challenge of his rival.



Tags: Boxing , Martial Arts , Male Protagonist , Athletics , Primarily Male Cast , Revenge , Primarily Adult Cast , Cyberpunk , Disability , Dystopian , Yakuza , Artificial Intelligence , Tanned Skin , Delinquents , Time Skip , Motorcycles , Drugs

SLAM DUNK

Also known as Slam Dunk.

Studio: Toei Animation , TV Asahi , Funimation , Animax
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Slice of Life , Sports

Hanamichi Sakuragi, an entering Shohoku high school freshman holds a record for being rejected by 50 girls during middle school. His nearly 2 meters height and bright red hair causes most students to write him off as a delinquent.

One day, a girl named Haruko Akagi approaches Hanamichi without any fear. When she asks Hanamichi: "do you like basketball?" Hanamichi falls head over heels for the girl of his dreams. Without missing a beat, Hanamichi tells her he loves basketball, and the two head to the gymnasium where Hanamichi learns about the slam dunk. He also learns of Rukawa, one of the country’s top basketball prospects, also a freshman at Shohoku.



Tags: Basketball , Shounen , School , Educational , Primarily Male Cast , Male Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , Delinquents

Ashita no Joe 2

Also known as Tomorrow's Joe 2.

Studio: Tokyo Movie Shinsha , Annapuru , Shaft , Nippon Television Network
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Slice of Life , Sports

Yabuki Joe is left downhearted and hopeless after a certain tragic event. In attempt to put the past behind him, Joe leaves the gym behind and begins wandering. On his travels he comes across the likes of Wolf Kanagushi and Goromaki Gondo, men who unintentionally fan the dying embers inside him, leading him to putting his wanderings to an end. His return home puts Joe back on the path to boxing, but unknown to himself and his trainer, he now suffers deep-set issues holding him back from fighting. In attempt to quell those issues, Carlos Rivera, a world renowned boxer is invited from Venezuela to help Joe recover.

Tags: Boxing , Tragedy , Coming of Age , Rehabilitation , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Philosophy , Foreign , Historical , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Urban , Class Struggle , Language Barrier , Delinquents , Ojou-sama , Yakuza , War , Military , Bar , Mafia , Love Triangle

Grappler Baki (TV)

Also known as Baki the Grappler.

Studio: Group TAC , Funimation
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Sports

Baki Hanma is a young fighter who yearns to follow in the footsteps of his father, Yujiro, and become the strongest fighter in the world. Through that he trains tirelessly and fights constantly to hone his skills and develop his body to achieve these goals. Many intense battles lay ahead of Baki as he goes about his quest to be the best and ultimately take the title of "King" from his father.

Tags: Martial Arts , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Cultivation , Shounen , Coming of Age , Primarily Adult Cast , Time Skip , Foreign , Dissociative Identities

Hajime no Ippo: Rising

Also known as Fighting Spirit: Rising.

Studio: MADHOUSE , VAP , Kodansha , MAPPA , Nippon Television Network
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Sports

Ippo continues to defend his Japanese Featherweight title from an ever stronger pool of challengers. Meanwhile, Takamura challenges for his second WBC title in the middleweight class, and Aoki challenges for the Japanese Lightweight title.

Tags: Boxing , Shounen , Primarily Male Cast , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , Athletics

NOMAD: Megalo Box 2

Also known as MEGALOBOX 2: NOMAD.

Studio: TMS Entertainment , Tohokushinsha Film Corporation
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Sci-Fi , Sports

The second season of Megalo Box.

In the end, “Gearless” Joe was the one that reigned as the champion of Megalonia, a first ever megalobox tournament. Fans everywhere were mesmerized by the meteoric rise of Joe who sprung out from the deepest underground ring to the top in mere three months and without the use of gear. Seven years later, “Gearless” Joe was once again fighting in underground matches. Adorned with scars and once again donning his gear, but now known only as Nomad.



Tags: Boxing , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Foreign , Time Skip , Dystopian , Coming of Age , Rehabilitation , Disability , Cyberpunk , Drugs , Found Family , Motorcycles

Aoashi

Also known as Aoashi.

Studio: Production I.G , Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions , NHK Enterprises , BANDAI SPIRITS , Marvelous , Production I.G
Status: Finished
Genres: Sports

Ashito Aoi is a young, aspiring soccer player from a backwater town in Japan. His hopes of getting into a high school with a good soccer club are dashed when he causes an incident during a critical match for his team, which results in their loss and elimination from the tournament. Nevertheless, he catches the eye of someone important who happened to be visiting from Tokyo. How will things turn out for Ashito?



Tags: Football , Male Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Seinen , Heterosexual , Ensemble Cast , Coming of Age , School , Bullying , Time Skip

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru

Also known as Run with the Wind.

Studio: Production I.G , Nippon Television Network
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Sports

Former ace runner of Sendai Josei High School, Kakeru Kurahara is chased away from a convenience store for shoplifting. Shaking off his pursuer, he runs into Haiji Kiyose, another student from his university. Haiji is impressed by Kakeru's agility and persuades him to live in Chikusei-sou, the run-down apartment where Haiji resides along with eight other students. Having lost his entire apartment deposit at a mahjong parlor, Kakeru accepts the offer reluctantly. However, Haiji reveals a secret during Kakeru's welcoming party: the apartment is actually the dormitory of the Kansei University Track Club. He unveils his ultimate goal of participating in the Hakone Ekiden—one of the most prominent university marathon relay races in Japan. Unfortunately, all the residents apart from Haiji and Kakeru are complete running novices. Worse still, none of the inhabitants are even remotely interested in being involved with Haiji's ridiculous plan! With only months before the deadline, will the fourth-year student be able to convince them otherwise and realize his elusive dream of running in the Hakone Ekiden?

Tags: Athletics , Primarily Male Cast , Male Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , School Club , Primarily Adult Cast , Fitness , Rehabilitation , College , Outdoor , CGI , Twins , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things , Heterosexual , Tanned Skin , Food , Trains

Eyeshield 21

Also known as Eyeshield 21.

Studio: Studio Gallop , NAS , Nihon Ad Systems , Sentai Filmworks , TV Tokyo Music , Animation Planet
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Sports

Welcome To the Gridiron of the Damned! Huge hulking bodies throw themselves at each other, while a tiny lithe body runs between them for the goal! No, it’s not a game of football, it’s Sena Kobayakawa trying to evade the monstrous Ha-Ha brothers down the halls of Deimon High School! But wait! Sena’s incredible skills at not getting caught have been spotted by the devilish (possibly actually demonic) captain of the school’s embryonic American style football team, and when Sena asks to be the teams manager, he gets thrust onto the field as a running back instead! But there are two BIG catches: first, to keep the identity of their new “star” player an absolute secret, Yoichi makes Sena wear an opaque visor on his helmet and gives him the alias of “Eyeshield 21.” And the second catch? Well, in order to hit his fastest “speed of light” running mode, Sena usually has to be absolutely terrified. Not that THAT will be a problem with the monstrous players that he’ll soon find himself running from! The insanity hits the streets when the feet meet the cleats in EYESHIELD 21!



Tags: American Football , Shounen , Male Protagonist , School , Primarily Male Cast , School Club , Coming of Age , Bullying , Slapstick , Delinquents , Tragedy