Hajime no Ippo

20th century 21st century adapted to anime adapted to game adapted to movie adapted to ova / oav adapted to stage play americans travel to japan award-winning work black characters boxing character growth classic manga comedic facial expressions coming of age dead parents determined protagonist dogs extended flashbacks facial expressions fisherman friendly male lead friendship hard-working protagonist high school huge cast of characters injury/ies japan long-running story love polygon multiple couples muscular male lead nurses old man partial nudity perverts polite male lead professional sports rivals rivalry romantic subplot sexual innuendo slow romance strong characters strong male lead strong to stronger symbolism tournaments trainer-trainee relationship training unarmed combat unrealistic fighting violence weak to strong young male lead