List of Fighting Spirit Characters - Other Characters

Other Characters

• Kazuo Makunōchi: Ippo's deceased father. Not much is known about his past other than he was a fisherman who loved to get into fights, and that he had a powerful punch. He died when Ippo was much younger, saving his friend Sakuma in a storm. Ippo's mother said that Kazuo was more suited to be a boxer than Ippo was. In a flashback in volume 56, Kazuo said Ippo was weak and he was going to "train" him. It is unknown what training he was planning to put Ippo through. It is through his strategy that Ippo beat Miyata (When Kazuo was to fight a stronger opponent, he would picture his opponent as a fish and all the tension would go away). He also won his match against Iwao Shimabukuro with the same strategy.

• Hiroko Makunōchi (幕之内 寛子, Makunōchi Hiroko?): Hiroko is Ippo's widowed mother. She is a very kind and strong willed woman who cares for her son a great deal. She started running the fishing business after her husband, Kazuo, died after saving his friend Sakuma. Though she refuses to attend any of Ippo's matches because she doesn't want to watch him get hurt, she supports his boxing wholeheartedly because she knows how much joy it has brought to his life and how it has helped him with his self-esteem. Since Kazuo's death, Ippo and Hiroko have been more or less alone in the world; so the strength of their family bond is no surprise. Voiced by: Yorie Terauchi

• Kumi Mashiba (間柴 久美, Mashiba Kumi?): Kumi is Ryo Mashiba's sweet-natured, but hard-working and willful younger sister, and as such understands him better than anyone else. She will do almost anything to support her brother and make him happy, including going to his matches even though she doesn't like to see him get hurt. Ippo becomes infatuated with her early on, but didn't have a chance to tell her until more than a year later, when they met in an hospital as patient and nurse some months after the Ippo/Mashiba ring. They become friends and Kumi comes to like Ippo back, but their relationship tends to suffer from their friends' and relatives' constant interference, and also was somewhat strained after Ippo thought she was smitten with Dr. Sanada, until Kumi herself clarified the mistake after their match but didn't get a chance to say that Ippo was the one she really loved. Kumi tends to be modest and shy, but she will stand up for her brother and friends at a moment's notice. Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi, Yuka Hirata (New Challenger).

• Ginpachi Nekota (猫田 銀八, Nekota Ginpachi?): Making his home a lonely shack up in the mountain forests, Nekota is Kamogawa's best friend of over fifty years. Occasionally, Kamogawa will visit him in the mountains, once taking Ippo and the others there to train for upcoming fights. While a meddling old geezer who tends to overstay his welcome, he is nonetheless loyal, good-hearted and trustworthy to the boys at the Kamogawa Gym. Nekota proved a far greater technical boxer than even Kamogawa; but as a result of their constant spars, he developed the beginning stages of punch-drunk syndrome. Despite this condition, Nekota took it upon himself to challenge an arrogant American military officer, Ralph Anderson, in a boxing match to boost Japanese morale. Though Nekota had the upper hand, Anderson won by throwing an illegal rabbit punch, which resulted in permanent mid-brain damage. Voiced by: Ichirou Nagai

• Yuki (ユキ?)- A beautiful young woman who adored sunflowers. Yuki met Kamogawa and Nekota at a boxing match in the 1950s. Smitten, they offered to put her up at Kamogawa's house to protect her from American soldiers. It was soon revealed, however, that Yuki was a victim of radiation poisoning from the American bombing of Hiroshima, and that she had come to Tokyo in hopes of living out her last days in happiness. When Nekota left Tokyo to live in the mountains, Yuki went with him; Kamogawa asked her to take care of his now-impaired best friend. Although—or perhaps because—Yuki had fallen in love with Kamogawa, she spent the rest of her life in the mountains with Nekota as per his request, dying peacefully some time later.

• Dankichi Hama (浜 団吉, Hama Dankichi?): A former friend and rival of Kamogawa and Nekota. In his younger days, Hama boxed along with the two, but never managed to reach their level, partially due to his unusually fragile jaw. Nevertheless, he is a brilliant tactician who, since having left Japan for Mexico, is renowned for his successful training of several champions, including Sanada Kazuki. Hama still harbors deep feelings of rivalry towards Kamogawa, and strives to one day train a boxer that can defeat Makunouchi or Takamura. He is currently the trainer of Alexander Volg Zangief in America. Voiced by: Seizō Katō

• Masahiko Umezawa (梅沢 正彦, Umezawa Masahiko?): A classmate of Ippo's, Umezawa was the leader of a group of students who would regularly bully him. Together with his two flunkies, he made a habit of beating Ippo up, until the day that Takamura stopped him. After an initial failure to confront the fledgling boxer, Umezawa soon began to cheer Ippo on in his matches, and eventually took a job at the Makunouchi family fishing business to help out when Ippo's mother became ill. His ultimate goal, however, is to become a manga artist, and he eventually left his job to pursue it. In spite of all they went through in high school, the two are now the best of friends. Voiced by: Mitsuaki Madono

• Minoru Fujī (藤井 稔, Fujī Minoru?): A reporter for a boxing magazine that has been following Ippo's career since his fights with Miyata. Occasionally he drops by with information concerning opposing fighters in upcoming matches for the Kamogawa gym members. Voiced by: Kenichi Ono

• Mari Īmura (飯村 真理, Īmura Mari?): A 23-year-old sportswriter who works alongside Fujii. Iimura's calm indifference and sharp wit serve often to put off those who would judge her only for beauty, but she is an avid boxing fan and, though less experienced than some, an outstanding journalist. Voiced by: Emi Shinohara

• Nanako Itagaki (板垣 菜々子, Itagaki Nanako?): Manabu Itagaki's younger sister. A flirtatious "genki" girl, Nanako is 16 years old and extremely interested in boys, harboring a particular taste for fighting men. She develops a crush on Ippo shortly after Itagaki introduces them, and finds herself competing with Kumi and Iimura for his attention.

• Yamaguchi-sensei (山口先生?): A young female doctor whom Ippo asks for help after his match with Ryo Mashiba, since he sustained a serious injury during the fight but still wished to stay true to his promise to face Sendou. She develops a training menu to allow him to train and fight without causing excessive strain on his damaged bones. Yamaguchi is a very attractive woman with a beautiful and well-developed body, which at times distracts Ippo's friends (especially Takamura) from practice; but when her skills are needed, her efficiency and professional manner are admirable. Yamaguchi is also an expert in judo. Voiced by: Yuko Kobayashi

• Mr. Sakaguchi: A boxing promoter for the OPBF. He has a personal vendetta against Miyata for defeating his champion client Arnie Gregory. He is currently promoting Randy Boy Jr. as part of his revenge. He is short, high strung, and greatly resembles an Asian Don King. His nationality is unknown, but he can speak fluent English. Even his own boxers seem to dislike him as shown by Arnie firing him and Randy constantly ignoring him or telling him off. After Randy's loss to Ichiro Miyata, Sakaguchi nullified their contract. Shortly after Takamura's title defense the same night he accidentally struck Sakaguchi (who he thought was responsible for his less than stellar defense) and Sakaguchi has since stated that he will never return to Japan. Mr. Sakaguchi possesses some of the same mannerisms, personality traits, and even haircut as promoter Don King. Voiced by: Minoru Inaba