Ashita no Joe (Tomorrow's Joe)

Tomorrow's Joe (Japanese: あしたのジョー Ashita no Jō) is a critically acclaimed boxing manga created by Tetsuya Chiba and Asao Takamori in 1968 that was later adapted into an anime series and movie. It is most commonly referred to as Ashita no Joe. Outside Japan it is also referred to as Rocky Joe or Joe.

Story

The story begins with a troubled orphan named Joe Yabuki who ran away from the orphanage walking in the Tokyo slums until he met up with former boxing trainer Danpei. Joe soon takes up Bantamweight.
Joe eventually fights against his greatest rival Rikiishi whom Joe accidentally kills during a boxing match at the end of first story.

The second part of the story picks up where the first part ended. It shows flashbacks of the match between Joe and Rikiishi as a distant memory. Joe was still shaking up from that match, both mentally and physically. Eventually, he returns to his old club and starts training again. Soon after, during matches, Danpei, Joe's trainer, figures out that Joe is having a serious problem when boxing. He is not giving shots to the face. Obviously, Rikiishi's death was more shocking than what he had expected. This took Joe quite some time to get over. He has finally conquered his fears when he faced the globally #6 ranked Carlos Rivera. It ended with a draw. Yet, this fight gave Joe tremendous fame and respect around the world; especially since Carlos Rivera was going to face the World Champion Jose Mendoza in his next match.
The story continues with Joe starting to climb the ladder after his amazing match with Carlos and finally defeating the Asian/Pacific Champion and capturing the title. After that, Joe had several successful title defense matches and won all of them. In the end, he has been given the chance to face the unbelievable World Champion, Jose Mendoza, who defeated Carlos Rivera with a KO punch in the first round, costing him his boxing career.
The anime as well as the manga ends with Joe slumped on a chair in his corner on the ring, tired and bruised but with a smile on his face after his greatest title match against the World Champion, Jose Mendoasa. Joe has fought relentlessly in that match without giving up, no matter how many punches Jose hit him with. It was a great match that went back and forth, in which Joe was able to knock down the champion more than once. In some instances, becoming the newly crowned World Champion was within reach. To Mendoza, he saw the ghost of other boxers whom he destroyed throughout his career in Joe's eyes.
The match goes all fifteen rounds with Jose getting the judges' decision as the winner. He looked fragile and old (his hair turned white). Joe was sitting on his chair in his corner waiting for the verdict. He took his gloves off and gave them to Youko Shiraki, who confessed her true feelings for him before the match. Joe died on that chair when the verdict was announced. He was smiling as if he has found the match that he was looking for his whole life. He has become "white ash", exactly what he said that he was fighting for.

Concept

The series debuted as a manga in Weekly Shonen Magazine at a time when considerable economic and social upheaval was transforming Japanese culture in the late 1960s. Joe was essentially the tragic hero representing the struggle of the lower class. His trial and sacrifice to the sport was a semi-reflection of the will of the people he was representing. By the 1970s, manga readers and college students across Japan would turn the character into an icon.