A young drifter named Joe Yabuki wanders through the slums of Tokyo, but when the local ruffians try to give him a hard time he teaches them a rough lesson with his fists. The spectacle sparks a gleam in the eye of an old drunk who happens to be watching—Danpei Tange, a failed boxer and former coach who sees something special in the boy. He pleads with Joe to train with him off, but the cocky young fighter brushes him. Later, though, when Joe is arrested and put in a juvenile detention facility, he realizes that he’s going to need to hone his raw fighting skills if he wants to survive. Thus is born a partnership that might just take Joe all the way to the top…
Is this the best episode?
No consecutive run of top-rated seasons detected yet.
Loading episode ratings...
Teruhiko Aoi
Joe Yabuki (voice)
Fuyumi Shiraishi
Sachi (voice)
Shūsei Nakamura
Tōru Rikiishi (voice)
Jūkei Fujioka
Danpei Tange (voice)
Ryusei Nakao
Rivera Carlos (voice)
Noriko Tsukase
Chuukichi (voice)
Kei Moriwaki
Noriko Hayashi (voice)
Keiko Ozaki
Mrs. Mendoza Jose (voice)
Norio Wakamoto
Ryuuhi Kin (voice)
Junko Hori
Kinoko (voice)
All 126 episodes plotted by IMDb rating
Loading episode ratings...
This may take a moment for shows with many seasons.
79 episodes • 1970Avg: 10.0
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Those are the Eyes of a Beast! | Apr 1, 1970 | 8.0 |
| 2 | The Live in the Square Jungle | Apr 8, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 3 | Face the Fangs of the Beast | Apr 15, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 4 | Shed Tears for the Burning Fist! | Apr 22, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 5 | For the Sake of Tomorrow! Part 1 | Apr 29, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 6 | Explode! Left Jab! | May 6, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 7 | Don`t Judge the Wolf! | May 13, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 8 | Toko High Security Juvenile Prison | May 20, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 9 | His Name is Rikiishi Toru! | May 27, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 10 | Scream of the Red Sunset! | Jun 3, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 11 | Burn at the Bottom of Hell! | Jun 10, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 12 | Shout at the Burning Sun | Jun 17, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 13 | Stand in the Ring of Destiny | Jun 24, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 14 | Is it Time for the KO Gong Yet!? | Jul 1, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 15 | White Mat's Lullaby | Jul 8, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 16 | The Setting Sun of Treachery | Jul 15, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 17 | Alone in the Middle of a Storm | Jul 22, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 18 | Ring Ropes of Despair | Jul 29, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 19 | The Fearsome Liver Blow | Aug 5, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 20 | Battle Scarred Victory | Aug 12, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 21 | A Small Fight with a Big Honor | Aug 19, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 22 | The Legendary Rikiishi Tooru | Aug 26, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 23 | Farewell, Juvenile Prison | Sep 2, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 24 | Return to Slum Town | Sep 9, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 25 | Law of the Stray Dog | Sep 16, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 26 | License of Despair | Sep 23, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 27 | Bridge to Tomorrow | Sep 30, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 28 | Wager for Glory | Oct 7, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 29 | Challenge for Tomorrow | Oct 14, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 30 | The Ordeal of the Pro Test | Oct 21, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 31 | Spread Your Wings, Pro Boxer | Oct 28, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 32 | The Road to the Shining Ring | Nov 4, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 33 | Hooray for the First Victory | Nov 11, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 34 | The Aspiring Boxer | Nov 18, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 35 | Do Your Best! Nishi! | Nov 25, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 36 | Wolf Kanagushi Bares His Fangs | Dec 2, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 37 | Training Furiously | Dec 9, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 38 | The Greatest Six-Round Bout in History | Dec 16, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 39 | The Triple Cross of Victory | Dec 23, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 40 | An Oath to the Snow | Dec 30, 1970 | 10.0 |
| 41 | Rikiishi Tooru`s Challenge | Jan 6, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 42 | A Man`s World | Jan 13, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 43 | A Cruel Weight Loss | Jan 20, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 44 | Rikiishi Tooru`s Hard Fight! | Jan 27, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 45 | Sway Back to Defeat Rikiishi! | Feb 3, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 46 | The Man Who Risked Death | Feb 10, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 47 | The Two Before the Storm | Feb 17, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 48 | Showdown of Destiny | Feb 24, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 49 | An Endless Deathmatch | Mar 3, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 50 | End of the Battle | Mar 10, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 51 | Burnt-out Life | Mar 17, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 52 | Farewell, Rikiishi Toru | Mar 24, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 53 | The Man I Hate | Mar 31, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 54 | The Ten-Count Bell of Sorrow | Apr 7, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 55 | The Wandering Ballad | Apr 14, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 56 | The Wolf Revives | Apr 21, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 57 | A Wounded Beast | Apr 28, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 58 | The Body Blow of Victory | May 5, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 59 | The Looming Black Shadow | May 12, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 60 | The Fierce Sparring | May 19, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 61 | The Thrown Towel | May 26, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 62 | Rikiishi Toru was Alive | Jun 2, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 63 | The Final Challenge | Jun 9, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 64 | Enter Carlos | Jun 16, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 65 | As Long as There's the Ring | Jun 23, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 66 | Setting Out for Tomorrow | Jun 30, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 67 | A Little Adventure | Jul 7, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 68 | Fixed Match | Jul 14, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 69 | Lullaby of the Ranch | Jul 21, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 70 | The Guy I'm Worried About | Jul 28, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 71 | Carlos the Uncrowned Emperor | Aug 4, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 72 | Return to the Shining Ring | Aug 11, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 73 | The Cross Counter Returns | Aug 18, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 74 | Setting Out Today | Aug 25, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 75 | Carlos, Magician of the Ring | Sep 1, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 76 | The Burning Challenge | Sep 8, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 77 | Battle of Men | Sep 15, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 78 | Duel!! Carlos Vs. Yabuki Joe | Sep 22, 1971 | 10.0 |
| 79 | Let the Shining Tomorrow Burn in the Distance!! | Sep 29, 1971 | 10.0 |
47 episodes • 1980Avg: 10.0Golden Era
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | And Then, He Returned... | Oct 13, 1980 | 10.0 |
| 2 | One Man, One Flower... Venture into the Ring | Oct 20, 1980 | 10.0 |
| 3 | Messenger From Hell... Joe Yabuki | Oct 27, 1980 | 10.0 |
| 4 | Back Then, The Ten-Point Bell Ringed | Nov 3, 1980 | 10.0 |
| 5 | The Phantom... Strike the Temple! | Nov 10, 1980 | 10.0 |
| 6 | Howl... Dogs Will Bite | Nov 17, 1980 | 10.0 |
| 7 | Wandering... Like a Wild Beast | Nov 24, 1980 | 10.0 |
| 8 | That Guy... Burning Man Carlos | Dec 1, 1980 | 10.0 |
| 9 | And then... The Beast Revived | Dec 8, 1980 | 10.0 |
| 10 | The Christmas Eve Gift | Dec 15, 1980 | 10.0 |
| 11 | Beginning of the Struggle... Carlos VS Joe | Dec 22, 1980 | 10.0 |
| 12 | Night of the Snow Storm... The Endless Fight | Dec 29, 1980 | 10.0 |
| 13 | The Tange Gym... Is Indestructable | Jan 5, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 14 | Where is... Joe's Youth? | Jan 12, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 15 | For Whose sake...? Deadly Rush | Jan 19, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 16 | Distant Aim... Road to the World | Jan 26, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 17 | A Figure Seen... A Great Target | Feb 2, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 18 | Those Knuckles... The Mark's Message | Feb 9, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 19 | Fighting Machine... Dragon Kim | Feb 16, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 20 | My Bantamweight... Weight Loss Challenge | Feb 23, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 21 | Rikiishi... I Hear the Song | Mar 2, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 22 | And... The Morning's Measurement | Mar 9, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 23 | The Burning Beast... And Ice | Mar 16, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 24 | The Gong Chimes.. The Ring of the Devil | Mar 23, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 25 | In Round 6... A Miracle Occurred | Mar 30, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 26 | A Champion... And a Loser's Glory | Apr 6, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 27 | Boxing... A Requiem | Apr 13, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 28 | José... In Hawaii | Apr 20, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 29 | Yabuki's... New Defense | Apr 27, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 30 | Grand Champion... José | May 4, 1981 | 9.0 |
| 31 | Meaning... of the V Sign | May 11, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 32 | Farewell... Dear Old Things | May 18, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 33 | The 13th King Comes From America!? | May 25, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 34 | He... Fell with the Card | Jun 1, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 35 | The Champion ...Alone | Jun 8, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 36 | Yoko's... New Attempt | Jun 15, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 37 | The Wild Child… Harimao | Jun 22, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 38 | Unexpected Visitor... Gondo Goromaki | Jun 29, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 39 | Two Beasts... in the Jungle | Jul 6, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 40 | Joe Fired Up… The Target is Near | Jul 13, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 41 | José arrives in Japan… The Match Date Approaches! | Jul 20, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 42 | A Shock… Yoko's Premonition | Jul 27, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 43 | Joe and Danpei... Two Everyday People | Aug 3, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 44 | Yoko... Her Love | Aug 10, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 45 | Joe VS. José... The Gong of the Match Rings | Aug 17, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 46 | The Violent... Endless Fight to the Death | Aug 24, 1981 | 10.0 |
| 47 | The Great End | Aug 31, 1981 | 10.0 |
