Fighting Spirit (2000) s01e46 Episode Script

1
ORIGINAL WORK BY GEORGE MORIKAWA
HAJIME NO IPPO: THE FIGHTING!
The semi-final is coming up soon.
Both of you do your best!
-Right.
-Right.
Man, he's carefree.
He gets to fight his final right away.
Yeah, but is he a stamina monster or what?
He still has the energy to shadowbox
after running so hard.
If you look at his fight record alone,
he's definitely a monster.
He's an invincible hopeful
with nine consecutive KO's.
They both have no losses,
but he leaves a different impression
than Takamura-san.
When I first met the big guy,
I thought I'd never be able
to catch up to him,
but Ippo is clearly much better than
He's already passed us?
I won't accept that!
Takamura-san is a natural.
His talent is way above
that of your average Joe.
However, Ippo is a guy
who got this far through effort.
I won't let him leave me in his dust.
I agree!
I'm nervous because
the match is coming up soon.
If we lose, we'll not only
be outdistanced by a junior,
we'll waste the chance
that finally came our way
after four years of hard work.
If we win two more
Title match!
-All right, let's do it!
-Yeah!
Uh, right!
Let's all do our best
aiming for the victory.
You little
BE THE GAZELLE!
OTA INN
Hey! What are you guys doing here?
Oh, Ippo says he wants to watch
the Chavez video.
Chavez is a textbook fighter,
so I thought I'd study him.
Well, come on in.
Chavez Chavez video
Ah, here it is.
How come it's buried
in a pile of dirty magazines?
The champion belt's buried in there, too.
How could you?
I'm only interested in the world title.
And we're dying to get our own belts.
If you want it that bad, you want mine?
Not!
-Goddammit!
-Aoki-san!
Sheesh. Please don't use old jokes on us.
Well, I'll also be going now.
That was bad. They're already nervous
about their upcoming matches.
-What do you mean? I cheered them up.
-What?
Listen, the belt isn't something
someone gives you.
It's something you have to take
with your fists.
That's what I taught them
by playing the bad guy myself.
He's sure good at quibbling.
What is it? All right,
then how did you encourage them?
I told them to do their best.
I wanted them to be proud
of the match,
regardless of winning or losing.
It's true that guys who have it too good
can't stick to reality.
Four years?
Yep. It took them
four years to get this far.
But if they lose this one,
they can't try for a title match
for another year.
A whole year?
It must be like
being on the edge of a cliff.
They're too neurotic right now to sleep
at night to get the rest they need.
Their anxiety makes them
train from dawn to dusk.
The vicious cycle won't let them fight
in their best condition.
Whenever they realize this,
the anxiety returns.
Do you think a little "Do your best"
will perk up guys
in that kind of position?
You're right. But what should I do?
How the hell should I know?
What's this?
Videos of Aoki-san
and Kimura-san's opponents.
Damn, he makes so much work for me.
KAMOGAWA BOXING GYM
What's with the kid's wide swing?
All right, switch!
Now he's distancing himself.
Hey, why don't you rest a little?
You've been tag fighting us
for eight rounds now.
I'm fine! I can still fight!
I appreciate the thought, but
Take him down! He says he wants to do it.
Of course, if you can worry about others,
that's a different story.
It takes a lot of guts
to mimic our opponents.
That's for sure.
But, you know, now we've done everything
that needs to be done.
Yeah! All we have to do now
is give it our best.
That sounds like something Ippo'd say.
Damn, it's catching.
Well, I think I'll be able
to get some real sleep tonight.
Let's both go
for our title matches together.
I'll go for mine alone if necessary.
You bastard!
Don't say stuff like that now!
Sorry.
A-CLASS BOXER PRIZE TOURNAMEN
It's finally time.
They'll win, won't they, Takamura-san?
What are you getting nervous for, moron?
That's a flawless punk face!
That's nothing! He hasn't got
a thing on Aoki-san's punk face.
Oh, yeah.
That's him! The froggie-jump boxer!
Jump! Jump quick!
It's the frog! The frog!
It looks like "Frog"
has become his ring name.
Why, you I knew you'd distance yourself.
REMAINING TIME
THREE MINUTES
Round four!
There's no difference
in our points so far.
I'm gonna belt him one now!
-That's
-He's gonna do it!
-The frog!
-Jump for it!
He got squashed before he could jump!
-He's frog road-kill!
-One!
He waited for that.
He's an easy target
since his legs align for the frog.
But the damage should be spread out
because his legs weren't braced,
so it couldn't have hurt that much!
Keep going! Get up, Aoki-san!
Show some guts!
-He's up!
-Go, go! He's still good to go!
No matter how many times you do it,
it'll be the same!
He did it!
He feigned a frog jump
and attacked from the side.
But he'll stand up!
Oh! He got back up, too!
Nice fight!
You scumbag!
Aoki-san, keep going!
Only one more push until the final round!
Control him!
Aoki-san
He did well against an opponent
who is out of his league.
The final punch was a runaway fluke.
He got unlucky.
2ND ROUND
Go, Kimura-san!
Use your feet! Your feet!
REMAINING TIME
THREE MINUTES
6TH ROUND
ONE SECOND
It's down to points!
Kimura-san is winning, isn't he?
He was on the defensive for most of it,
but how will the judges call it?
Draw!
It's a tie!
You really stuck to your guns!
How does a draw work in a tournament?
According to a special rule
of the A-Class Tournament,
it's an extra round.
After one more, the superior fighter
will be deemed the winner.
Overtime.
Keep it up, Kimura-san!
Use up every bit of your power!
It appears as though they're matched,
but his opponent is actually one level up
in both speed and destructive power.
How far will his last push take him?
I I can't move my body.
Kimura-san!
It probably took everything he had
to get it to decision by points.
He'd already used up
every last scrap of energy by then.
The difference is very small, isn't it?
Either one of them could have won.
If that tiny difference was luck,
why couldn't it have come his way?
He trained so hard for this.
So hard.
I forgot that you're not used
to seeing family lose.
Yeah, there was only
a tiny difference between them,
but, you know,
there can be only one winner.
No matter how hard you practice
and burn with hope,
in the ring there is only
the winner and the loser
The light and the shadow.
That's what boxing is.
It's a harsh world, isn't it?
HAJIME NO IPPO: THE FIGHTING!
Well, let's go pay them a visit.
What should I say to them
at a time like this?
What did you say to them
after they lost before?
Oh, that.
There's only one thing to say.
"You asked for it!"
The time before that,
I said "You're pathetic."
The time before that,
I said "You're an embarrassment."
-And before that
-Never mind.
ROOM B
They should finish changing
and come out soon.
What'll I do? What'll I say?
Hey, sorry I took so long!
Sorry about that.
I cheered for you, you know.
Forgive me.
We did the best we could.
-You need a stronger finish.
-Whatever
They're in a more cheerful mood
than I anticipated.
I'll try to squeeze in a word too.
I didn't get outdone.
Um
Uh, no. Um
You don't have to tiptoe around us.
I can't say that I'm used to it,
but I've lost before.
But still, I'm beat.
Think I'll go home and sleep.
Good idea.
Hey!
Yes?
Yeah, you lost, but from what I saw,
it was your best fight to date.
It's no joke having a losing match
called your best bout.
No, they really were good fights!
Next it's your turn. I'll be praying
this doesn't happen to you.
Of course, I'll do my absolute best!
But my opponent is strong, and who knows
Ouch!
Don't talk so timidly.
If you can continue winning,
it'll make us more competitive, too.
I'm counting on you, Ippo.
It's not the first time they've lost.
However, it's not as if
they have forgotten how pathetic it feels.
It's impossible to grow accustomed
to regret.
Their faces were smiling,
but they spoke through clenched teeth.
It's your choice
how you'll respond to them.
I'll do it.
I'll respond to their feelings!
I got charged up and watched
Volg-san's video over and over, but
There's no opening for a breakthrough!
What should I do?
KAMOGAWA BOXING GYM
What? The Chief isn't here?
I wanted to ask him something.
He said it was an interview.
-He should be on his way back by now.
-Interview?
You could call it a talk
between famous trainers.
He says he's having
a talk with Volg's Chief Ramuda.
So it's coach versus coach
representing Russia and Japan.
In that case, I guess the old man
left in a good mood, huh?
He sure doesn't look
like he's in a good mood.
Welcome back. How did your talk go, sir?
Say, Chief? About my match with Volg-san
I've been thinking about it,
but, um Well
It's like I don't have a chance
or a decisive blow to use against him.
It's your fault for being like that!
All your fault!
What's wrong? Did he diss
Japanese boxers or something?
The opposite. He praised them enough
to make my teeth rot.
In a tone of utter indifference!
Japanese boxers are superb.
Above all else,
their fighting spirit is superb.
Even in my country,
Japanese boxers' fighting spirit
is very respected.
However, and this is most unfortunate,
many Japanese boxers break down.
Why is that?
Well, that would be
because they're all desperate to win.
Japanese trainers always resort
to phrases like that.
They substitute the words
"willpower" and "effort"
for lack of skill
to pressure their pupils.
Resulting in retinal detachment,
brain damage.
Talented youths end up
washing their futures down the drain.
Are you suggesting that the trainers
have the wrong way of thinking?
I didn't say that.
Only, it's becoming clear to me,
I can't think of any fighter
who can defeat my boxer.
It's been a long time
since anything's pissed me off like that.
He not only ridiculed me,
he ridiculed the entire
Japanese boxing world!
However! Unfortunately,
there was truth to what he said.
I couldn't say anything in my defense.
That's unusual. You let him have his say?
-Shut up! Kid
-Yes, sir!
We're gonna win the Volg fight
no matter what!
I'm going to teach you
a new weapon for that purpose.
A new weapon?
-Start with a squat!
-Squat?
-Come on, get to it!
-Right!
Thrust your hands upwards with
a momentum good enough to jump with.
Like this, sir?
Good! Now do 200 of them!
200?
-What?
-Nothing.
One, two, three, four
Um, what about the new punch?
I just taught it to you.
You have good leg muscles,
but they are still too stiff.
Become a gazelle.
I want you to develop flexible muscles
like that of a gazelle.
Once you do, it will naturally give rise
to a new punch.
Gazelle?
Unless I'm reading it wrong,
that will be the key to fight Volg.
A punch that will give me
the key to fight Volg.
I have no idea what kind of a punch it is,
but if the Chief says so,
it must be amazing.
All right, I'll become a gazelle!
A gazelle!
SWIMMING SCHOOL
Hey, is he really here?
I heard it from his mom.
Apparently he's been coming here
for a week now.
I phoned her to make sure
he'd be here today, too, but
Found you!
Huh? You're all here.
Aoki-san, Kimura-san, have you
already recovered from your matches?
You bet! I'm totally recovered!
That aside, why are you doing squats
in a pool?
Well, you see, I have to make
my muscles more flexible.
I checked out a lot of books,
and they all say swimmers
are the most flexible.
Is that true?
But your body will float in water,
so I'm sure it makes it easier.
Yeah. The buoyancy eliminates stress
to the knees,
and it's good rehabilitation
for athletes, isn't it?
Since we're resting to recoup
from the match, why don't we try it, too?
-And then, you know.
-It's settled!
Hey! There's lots of hot babes in here!
-Fifty-five!
-Fifty-five!
-Fifty-six!
-Fifty-six!
Fifty-seven!
Why does my body feel so heavy?
This is more difficult in water
than it is on dry land.
Hundred ninety-nine! Two hundred!
They underestimated it.
There's resistance in water,
so your muscles are used constantly.
If you keep this up,
you'll develop incredible leg muscles.
Do you think so, too?
All right! I'm going to keep at it
and take myself to a much higher level.
Looks like you completed the groundwork.
I will now teach you the form
for the new blow.
Yes, sir!
You're getting too close. Back up a bit.
Yes, sir.
Further!
Neither a hook nor a short uppercut
can reach at this distance.
The new blow has to either be
a straight or maybe
Pose for a hook, keep your left arm
crooked at a 90-degree angle,
and punch solidly up from below!
A left hook from below.
-This is the new blow?
-You didn't hit anything, dummy!
But it's too far to reach from here.
I want you to step in hard
like you're leaping.
With one condition
I want you to duck this on the way
without touching it.
Let's see, a quick dive inside
and a hook from below.
Come on!
Step in and duck!
And then
from below!
What?
KAMOGAWA BOXING GYM
Gazelle Punch.
From a hook pose,
quickly step in and duck,
and fire using your entire body.
It's a punch that ruled the world.
But in order to connect it, I need
to overcome a barrage at close range
and win a breath-holding test
of endurance.
That's why I need more training
than ever before.
The only way to break through
is by running
and working on
my cardiopulmonary functions.
Next time, "The Fighting Spirit Within."