Ashita No Joe, also known as Tomorrow's Joe, is probably the most important sports manga that has ever been made. Not only did its initial run from 1968 to 1973 in Kodansha’s Weekly Shōnen Magazine gain the attention of working-class citizens and young students, but it has become a genre-defining manga selling over 20 million copies since its publication 40 years ago.

The manga follows Joe Yabuki, a poor drifter, who develops a passion for boxing during a stay in a juvenile prison. After he is released from prison, he trains with his mentor and faces multiple rivals on his journey to become the best boxer.

The Rise Of Sports Manga

Although early animated shorts about sport were already being made in Japan since the 1920s, manga about sports had not enjoyed the spotlight of mainstream audiences yet. The first manga that could be classified into the sports genre was Igaguri-Kun by Fukui Ei’chi, a judo manga about a middle school student which quickly gained popularity and created the foundation for manga about other sports such as baseball, boxing and wrestling.

Another factor that helped push the sports genre into the spotlight was the 1964 Summer Olympics that took place in Tokyo. Feats like winning the golden medal in women’s volleyball catapulted the male-dominated genre into the mainstream leading to a massive increase in shoujo and josei manga. Nowadays, sport has become a classic shōnen genre, with manga like “Haikyu!!” dominating the industry and more types of sports, such as football (e.g. Blue Lock) or basketball (e.g. Slam Dunk) being featured.

An Unusual Protagonist

At first, Ashita No Joe and its protagonist may seem like your typical modern shonen manga: Joe is a misfit rejected by society who finds a mentor and challenges multiple rivals throughout his journey. He is an underdog that slowly rises to the top and gains respect from the people that once rejected him. What distinguishes Joe from other shonen protagonists is that he is simply said.. an asshole. He isn’t a kind-hearted hero who has a strong sense of justice and protects the weak. Joe is hot-headed, aggressive and lets his emotions overtake him. In the beginning of the manga Joe’s first reaction to everything is to simply throw his hands at whatever he has to face just like a stray dog who will bite its new owner cause he does not know how to react.

It may seem odd how so many people could like a person that sounds like he could be the antagonist of the manga but this is where the title Tomorrow's Joe starts to make sense. The manga is not about the Joe of today but about the Joe of Tomorrow i.e. about how we all have the chance to better ourselves every day. He is not a perfect person, but so are all the other people around him and this makes the manga much more relatable and realistic.

Turning Into An Icon

By the 1970's Ashita No Joe was already a full-fledged manga nearing the end of its publication that had become immensely popular with the working class and left-leaning university students. It showed a different view of the poor working-class citizens that was previously ignored by the industry. Joe trains in a broken down shack on the outskirts of a city where only the lower class resides, and although the working class is often depicted as alcohol-drinking criminals (a humorous device in this instance) they are shown in a sympathetic way. It is clear that these people are struggling every day but still trying their best to make it through.

The rise of Joe’s popularity is partially indebted to the social circumstances of Japan in the 1960s and ‘70s. After the occupation of the USA during the Second World War, Japan was left broken and defeated but what followed was an economic miracle. By the ‘70s the poverty rate fell down to 1% compared to 30% in the ‘50s and although living conditions drastically improved for the citizens of Japan, it also gave birth to new political movements.

Joe is a symbol of rejection against modern capitalist Japan as he ignores his fame and focuses solely on his passion, which is exactly why he became a symbol of rebellion for the working class.

An extreme example of this is the hijacking of a passenger flight by the New-Left, a Marxist movement that was well-liked by university students, also known as the Yodogo Hijacking Incident, where nine members of the organization armed with samurai swords and bombs tried to use a plane in an attempt to fly to Cuba and set a revolutionary statement. After arriving in North-Korea Moriaki Wakabayashi, who played bass in the Japanese avant-garde rock band Les Rallizes Denudés, shouted “We Are Tomorrow's Joe” via his telephone and another member of the organization said that they left Japan as “Tomorrow's Joe” that day. Even though Ashita No Joe did not try to incite a revolution, this incident is a testament to the influence the manga and especially Joe himself had.

Long Lasting Success

Ashita No Joe was already popular during its initial release, but that popularity did not decline over time. As a genre classic it has been adapted into anime, live-action films and video games. Furthermore, it has stayed relevant in rankings of top manga and anime series and been a major influence for many mangaka.

A prominent example of its influence are references to popular moments of the series such as Joe's famous cross counter (his signature boxing move). Manga ranging from Berserk to Grand Teacher Onizuka or even JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure all reference Ashita No Joe showing just how influential it was to the industry. Moreover, the influence transcends the genre itself, even being featured in cartoons like The Simpsons and Family Guy or movies like Creed III. In 2018 as a celebration of 50 years since the manga's initial run ended, TMS Entertainment released Megalobox, a futuristic boxing anime that is loosely based on Ashita No Joe. So while the initial glory of the manga may have faded, Joe’s flame will burn forever.

Text by Paul Dinter