Netflix adds Hajime no Ippo anime sequels in January 2025

Modified Jan 17, 2025 20:00 GMT

Netflix adds Hajime no Ippo anime sequels in January 2025 (Image via Madhouse)

Friday, January 17, 2025 saw Netflix add the sequels to the original television Hajime no Ippo anime series, titled Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger and Hajime no Ippo Rising. The two sequels continue the television anime adaptation of mangaka George Morikawa’s original shonen manga series of the same name.

This latest Hajime no Ippo anime news also marks the first official United States release of the Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger series, the first television sequel to the original anime. Likewise, the two tiles were specifically added to Netflix in the United States on Friday, with no news of the release hitting other international markets as of this article’s writing.

Hajime no Ippo anime sequels’ release on Netflix marks a major historical moment in anime industry

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Part of what makes this latest Hajime no Ippo anime news so significant is that it marks the aforementioned first official United States release of the New Challenger sequel series. Morikawa’s series is one of the most popular anime and manga series of all time, with the former being especially well received in the United States. Likewise, this official release has been long-awaited by longtime fans of the franchise.

Both newly added anime series are streaming on Netflix in Japanese with English subtitles. Subtitles in other languages are available, but no alternate language dubs for the series have been made available as of this article’s writing. It’s likewise unclear whether or not any alternate language dubs will be coming in the future. However, this seems unlikely given how Netflix has traditionally handled updating dubs for series on the level of Morikawa’s.

Crunchyroll previously streamed the Rising anime, which is the second sequel to the original series, but it has since been removed from the platform. It’s unclear why Crunchyroll was able to stream the second sequel to the Hajime no Ippo anime, but not the first. However, the platform’s apparent inability to obtain the full series likely played a role in eventually removing the franchise from its offerings. In turn, this may have benefitted Netflix in its latest acquisition.

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Netflix began streaming all 75 episodes of the original television anime series in Japanese with English subtitles, and with the original English dub in June 2024. The extra 76th episode is also available on the platform, but is streaming exclusively in Japanese audio with English subtitles. The company briefly describes the series as follows:

“Rescued from bullies by professional boxer Mamoru Takamura, young Ippo Makunouchi takes up boxing to pursue what it means to be strong.”

Morikawa’s original manga began serialization in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine in October 1989, where it is still ongoing with regular serialization today. The series currently has 142 compilation volumes released in Japan.