The top 15 best boxing anime and manga to watch right now

The top 15 best boxing anime and manga to watch right now

Claudia Kogi
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:19 PM

There are several genres of manga. Boxing anime has some of the most incredible hand-to-hand fighting and fierce main characters that are not only a kids' corner but also for adults who are into animation.

Boxing anime on Netflix
The top 15 best boxing anime and manga to watch right now. Photo: BeFunky.com (Modified by author)
Source: UGC

Unlike other boxing movies and films, once you watch any boxing anime, you sure don't return to the usual films. Is it the characters? Is it the fact that these movies contain mysterious figures? What exactly is it about boxing anime on Netflix that keeps fans so engrossed?

What are some of the best boxing anime on Netflix?

Netflix is often recognized for updating every kind of new movie or series for its enthusiasts. Touching all genres always ensures that every category of fans is satisfied. According to various online sources, here are some of the best boxing anime you need to watch right now.

15. Rokudenashi Blues

Cool boxing anime
An anime poster of the movie Rokudenashi Blues. Photo: @RokudenashiBlues (Modified by author)
Source: Facebook

The narrative's protagonist is Teiken High School misfit Taison Maeda, who aspires to be the world's best boxer. The manga chronicles Maeda's (along with his friends and enemies) three years of high school as they develop into some of the most renowned and skilled fighters in all of Tokyo's high schools.

  • Original Release: 11 July 1992 / 24 July 1993
  • Running Time: 30 minutes / 85 minutes

14. B.B

Ry Takagi gets assaulted by a motorcycle gang one night after leaving the club where he was playing the trumpet. A traffic collision results from the brawl moving to the street. As Ry fights to control his "fire blood" and the wrath that easily overtakes him, he ultimately gives up on his music career and enters the world of underground boxing.

  • Original Run: 6 April 2018 - 27 June 2021
  • Number of Episodes: 26

13. Megalobox

What is the boxing anime called?
The movie poster of the anime boxing movie Megalabox. Photo: @Megalabox
Source: Facebook

In the future depicted in the series, registered people enjoy comfortable lives in affluent cities. In contrast, others who are not registered must eke out an existence in a shantytown on the fringes of these cities.

The Megalobox is a well-liked sport in every social class in this universe. It is a kind of boxing that the Gears have improved, and exoskeletons are worn on the shoulders and arms.

The plot centres around Junk Dog, a young man from the ghetto who competes in arranged fights in an underground ring where his master orders him when to win and when to lose. He longs for actual battles since he finds this arrangement unsatisfying.

He is initially hesitant when he hears that the formidable Shirato Group is funding a major Megalobox competition because he feels this challenge is out of his league.

  • Original Run: 6 April 2018 - 27 June 2021
  • Number of Episodes: 26

12. Honō no Tenkōsei

The main character, Noboru Takizawa, is sent to the new Jakuniku Gakuen school, where conflicts are settled through athletics or wrestling. However, following a confrontation with the student, Koichi Jenouchi, the school attendant, decides to discipline the student for being an hour late, as required by the headmaster.

Yukari, a new classmate of Takizawa, saves him from this. Koichi Zenouchi, a student, and Saburo Ibuki, a school employee, get into a brawl after class about who gets to date Yukari. Yukari sparks Takizawa's romantic interest.

  • Original Run: 21 May 1991
  • Number of Episodes: 2

11. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

The work covers several generations of said lineage, adapted in each part by placing a descendant as the protagonist, beginning with Jonathan in 1880. The plot revolves around the tale of the Joestar bloodline, a powerful family of British origin destined to combat evil supernatural forces using acquired powers.

The moniker JoJo, which appears in the work's title, is a pun made up of the characters' names who appear in each portion and may be shortened to "Jojo" to be used as a nickname.

  • Original Run: 6 October 2012 - present
  • Number of Episodes: 164

10. Nozomi Witches

A traditional boxing anime with a retro aesthetic is Nozomi Witches. It centres around Ryoutaro Shiba, a new neighbour, and Nozomi Egawa, a well-known actress. Ryoutaro must become a boxer, according to Nozomi.

He joins his school's boxing club and quickly discovers, against his initial intentions, that he has a penchant for the sport after showcasing a natural skill. Ryoutaro is trying to understand what Nozomi wants from him as he finds himself in a world that he never imagined he would be in.

  • Original Run: 5 August 1992 - 10 March 1993
  • Number of Episodes: 3

9. Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple

New boxing anime
A movie poster of the boxing anime Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple. Photo: @TheMightiestDisciple
Source: Facebook

Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple maintains a comic tone throughout its length, unlike many combat anime that skew serious, violent, favour, and strong dramatic sequences. The program centres on Kenichi, a child who is hysterically weak and studies self-help books to attempt to get stronger.

He asks the sassy new girl in class, Miu, to teach him how to fight since he is tired of his frailty. She brings him to her grandfather's dojo, where she assures Kenichi that he will learn all he needs to know about self-defence—provided he can make it through the brutal training.

  • Original Run: 7 October 2006 – 29 September 2007
  • Number of Episodes: 50

8. Slow Step

As it prominently incorporates aspects from both genres, Slow Step may be a boxing anime or a romantic drama. The central conflict is a love triangle involving Minatsu, a softball player, her classmate Shu, and their buddy Naoto, an aspiring boxer. Despite her affection for Naoto, Shu is in love with Minatsu.

The triangle is somewhat transformed into a square since Naoto has a crush on Maria, who is Minatsu in disguise. As these connections become complicated, the kids attempt to concentrate on their sports.

  • Original Run: 12 April 1991 - 1 November 1991
  • Number of Episodes: 5

7. Ring Ni Kakero

What are some of the best boxing anime?
Some of the characters in the Ring Ni Kakero boxing anime. Photo: @RingNiKakero
Source: Facebook

Ring ni Kakero may be an anime about boxing, but the show's themes of love and family are evident in every training montage and battle. To grant their father's dying wish for Ryuji to become a world-class boxer, siblings Takane and Ryuji flee their abusive stepfather's house.

Ryuji starts climbing the professional boxing ladder under his sister's instruction, making allies and foes along the way.

  • Original Run: 6 October 2004 - 12 June 2011
  • Number of Episodes: 36

6. Levius

A post-World War I 19th-century steampunk setting serves as the backdrop for the boxing anime Levius, which features Metal Boxing as its primary sport. It is composed of combatants that have undergone cybernetic alteration and use their machine components to outwit one another and gain notoriety and glory.

Best boxing anime
Two movie posters of the famous boxing anime Levius. Photo: @zbfghk.store
Source: Instagram

The protagonist, a young boxer with a mechanical limb named Levius, is the story's focus. Levius is prepared to go to any lengths to succeed and compete against the best after witnessing his idol bested by an enigmatic newcomer.

  • Original Run: 28 November 2019
  • Number of Episodes: 12

5. Ganbare Genki

This fantastic boxing animation is about a teenage orphan named Genki who is motivated to follow in his father's footsteps and break his father's bad reputation in the sport. After his parents passed away, his grandparents adopted him.

Genki must practice secretly with anybody he can find to compete in professional boxing and redeem his reputation because they disapprove of his boxing.

  • Original Run: 16 July 1980 -1 April 1981
  • Number of Episodes: 35

4. Baki

Baki, often known as Baki the Grappler, is an anime that focuses on martial arts and wrestling techniques rather than just boxing. It focuses on Baki Hanma, a young, well-off youngster. He has spent his entire life training to fight to live up to the expectations of a father he has never met.

Baki embarks on a training voyage where he meets warriors from all disciplines and discovers that his sense of self-worth is not dependent on his father but rather on his inner fortitude.

  • Original Run: 8 January 2001 - 30 September 2021
  • Number of Episodes: 99

3. Kengan Ashura

In the world of Kengan Ashura, there are corporate jobs and people in business, but there is also a violent underbelly. In this world, business people do not have meetings to finalize deals. Instead, they pay gladiators to fight for them.

Ouma Tokita, the main character, aspires to be the best fighter in the world. He is given a chance to do so when the Nogi Group hires him to compete on their behalf in a brutal tournament called ''Kengan'' against some highly skilled competitors.

  • Original Run: 31 July 2019 - 31 October 2019
  • Number of Episodes: 24

2. Ashita, no Joe

Self-taught boxer Joe Yabiuki has spent his whole childhood moving around between orphanages. Then, one day, he comes under attack from several neighbourhood gang members, but he quickly dispatches them all.

When veteran boxer turned alcoholic Danpei Tange witnesses Joe pull off this extremely implausible accomplishment, he immediately recognizes the potential in him.

Joe ultimately agrees to Danpei's offer to train for professional boxing after being pestered for weeks, and the difficult road to becoming a professional boxer starts.

  • Original Run: 1 April 1970 - 31 August 1981
  • Number of Episodes: 126

1. Hajime no Ippo

Fighting Spirit, also known as Hajime no Ippo and widely recognized as the finest boxing anime ever, centres around a quiet, withdrawn youngster named Ippo who is frequently teased. One day, Mamoru Takamura, a professional boxer, intervenes to protect him from his tormentors.

He introduces Ippo to Genji, his trainer, and the two push him to learn professional boxing as a method for him to vent his anger and defend himself. Ippo's adventure into the boxing world begins when they discover his hidden knack for the sport.

  • Original Run: 4 October 2000 - 29 March 2014
  • Number of Episodes: 127

Top 5 best movies about boxing

Sports movies come and go but one sport never dies in cinema and that is boxing. Boxing movies are constantly evolving and are surely getting better with time. Here are some of the best movies about boxing you should watch.

  • Untold: Deal with the Devil
  • Ali
  • Warrior
  • Tiger, Blood in the Mouth
  • Bayonet

Boxing anime is exciting due to the complex action sequences, tense competitions, and unbelievable physical feats the characters pull off. One of the most well-liked sports in Japan is brought to a larger audience via boxing anime, which has a particularly raw and uncensored sense. This fantastic boxing anime will get you pumped up for the fights, make you jump out of your seat at the deft assaults, and, in most cases, have you rooting for the underdog.

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Authors
Claudia Kogi photo
Claudia Kogi
Claudia Kogi is a Kenyan content creator with over 3 years of experience. Claudia joined Sportsbrief.com as a writer in January 2022, covering sports and relatable content.