Hajime no Ippo Vol. 30 — Manga Raw / Buy Official

Here Ippo overturns an early deficit against a key contender in the Japanese featherweight scene through evolved body work and reading, sinking him with an all-out Dempsey Roll. The win vaults Ippo up the rankings, making a Miyata bout feel viable even as an event. Miyata too banks results abroad, and the distance between them finally narrows. Afterward, Coach Kamogawa quietly tells Ippo your Ippo is the real thing now, and Ippo steels himself to challenge Miyata head-on. Itagaki's vivid debut also lands, launching both the stirrings of a new generation and the run-up to the fated showdown, a major turning point for the series.