The 10 best boxing anime and manga to pump you up

Fighting anime are thrilling to watch because of the intricate action scenes, adrenaline-filled competitions, and unrealistic physical feats the characters accomplish. Boxing anime especially have a raw and unfiltered feeling, bringing one of Japan’s most popular sports to a wider audience.

A great boxing anime will hype you up for the matches, have you jumping out of your seats at the sleek attacks, and keep you cheering for the underdog in most cases. There are many amazing boxing anime out there, but here are some of the very best, ranked.

10. Nozomi Witches

Nozomi Witches is a classic boxing anime with an old-school style. It follows a famous actress, Nozomi Egawa, and her new neighbor, Ryoutaro Shiba. Nozomi insists that Ryoutaro become a boxer. Against his wishes at first, he soon finds out that he has a knack for the sport when he enrolls in his school’s boxing club and shows off a natural talent. Ryoutaro finds himself in a world he never thought he would be in, all the while trying to understand what Nozomi wants from him.

9. Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple

Many fighting anime tend to lean on the serious and violent side, opting for intense dramatic scenes, but Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple maintains a comedic tone throughout its run. The show follows a young boy named Kenichi who is hilariously weak and reads self-help books to try to improve himself. Fed up with his weakness, he approaches the badass new girl in class, Miu, to teach him how to fight. She takes him to her grandfather’s dojo where she promises Kenichi he will learn everything he needs to about self-defense…as long as he can survive the gruesome training.

8. Slow Step

Slow Step can be categorized as either a boxing anime or a romance drama as it features elements of both heavily. The main plot is set around a love triangle between a softball player named Minatsu, her classmate, Shu, and their friend, Naoto, who is training to be a boxer. Shu is in love with Minatsu, but she is in love with Naoto. However, another problem is that Naoto loves a girl named Maria, who is actually Minatsu in disguise, turning the triangle into something of a square. Things get messy as all these relationships entangle, and the students try to focus on their respective sports.

7. Kengan Ashura

Kengan Ashura is set in a world of businessmen and corporate jobs with a dark and violent underbelly. In this world, businessmen do not settle deals by having meetings. Rather, they hire gladiators to battle it out for them. The protagonist, Ouma Tokita, wants to be the strongest fighter in the world, and he gets his opportunity when he is hired by the Nogi Group to represent them in a cut-throat competition called Kengan where he must fight against some seriously tough opponents.

6. Ring Ni Kakero

Ring ni Kakero may be a boxing anime, but the show’s themes of family and love shine through every training montage and fight scene. Siblings Ryuji and Takane run away from the home of their abusive stepfather to fulfill their father’s dying wish for Ryuji to become a champion boxer. Trained by his sister, Ryuji begins making his way up the professional boxing ladder, making both friends and enemies as he rises to the top.

5. Levius

Levius is an alternate future boxing anime set in a post-war 19th-century steampunk world where Metal Boxing is the most popular sport. It is made up of cybernetically altered fighters using their machine parts to get the upper hand on each other and win fame and glory. Levius is the main character and is an upcoming boxer with a mechanical arm. When his idol is defeated by a mysterious newcomer, Levius is ready to do whatever it takes to make it to the top and battle the best of the best.

4. Ganbare Genki

This wholesome boxing anime follows a young orphaned boy named Genki who is determined to become a professional boxer like his father and clear his father’s name in the industry. He was adopted by his grandparents after his parents’ deaths. Since they do not approve of his boxing, Genki has to train in secret with whomever he can find, so he can take his place in the professional boxing world and restore honor to his household name.

3. Baki

Baki, also known as Baki the Grappler, is not just a boxing anime as it features a wide range of martial arts and wrestling practices. It follows a young and wealthy boy named Baki Hanma. He has been trained in fighting all his life, hoping to meet the expectations of a father he has never met. Baki sets out on a journey of training where he meets fighters of different fields and learns that his self-worth is not tied to his father, but to his inner strength.

2. Ashita no Joe

Joe Yabiuki is a self-taught fighter who has been bounced from orphanage to orphanage all his life. One day, he is attacked by some members of a local gang, but he effortlessly takes down all of them. Danpei Tange, a retired boxer turned alcoholic, sees Joe perform this very unlikely feat and immediately sees the potential in him. After nagging Joe for weeks to accept training for professional boxing, Joe finally accepts Danpei’s offer and begins the rough journey to becoming a professional boxer.

1. Fighting Spirit 

Also known as Hajime no Ippo and generally regarded as the best boxing anime ever, Fighting Spirit follows an introverted and shy boy named Ippo who is constantly bullied. One day, he is saved from his bullies by a professional boxer named Mamoru Takamura. He takes Ippo to his trainer, Genji, and the two encourage Ippo to take up professional boxing as a way to let out his frustrations and protect himself. They find that Ippo has a latent talent for boxing, and he begins his journey into the boxing world.