Hajime no Ippo - The First Step - Vol. 138 Ch. 1410 - At The End Of The Death Match

[BasilD]

Wonder what ricardo's thinking about that made him smile, maybe he found that the smash was challenge enough to contest his position as the greatest in the world
Or maybe he's happy that Wally is finally out of the story /jk

 

[Amplify]

 

[Yiledute]

wally shouldnt die tho

But why? he has basically served his purpose in the narrative. He was a physical representation of raw talent against Ippo, and now served as a sacrifice paw to show just how ridiculously powerful he is if he can defeat someone like Wally this way.

If not die, then at the very least be like Sawamura after the accident.

 

[brndndss]

But why? he has basically served his purpose in the narrative. He was a physical representation of raw talent against Ippo, and now served as a sacrifice paw to show just how ridiculously powerful he is if he can defeat someone like Wally this way.

If not die, then at the very least be like Sawamura after the accident.

I've always liked Wally, and i think a death would be really impactful, I don't think watching someone die will push ippo back into the ring, quite the opposite

 

[Yiledute]

I've always liked Wally, and i think a death would be really impactful, I don't think watching someone die will push ippo back into the ring, quite the opposite

It worked for Rocky when Apollo (a rival that Rocky didn't manage to defeat) was killed by Draco. Ippo has already shown that he is capable of wanting revenge (against Sawamura and that other guy that he defeated with one punch). But more than revenge, Wally repeatedly said how thanks to Ippo he was able to last longer in the fight with Ricardo. And if we get Sendo to lose too, then it would add even more fire to him, these people that have become stronger thanks to fighting Ippo, he may feel a sense of compromise to do something about it.

 

[Amariithynar]

But "they" didn't cut it, it was Ricardo. He pushed Wally to the point that running and jumping around wasn't good enough anymore. And I don't know what you mean by "running Ricardo ragged", Ricardo at the very most was beginning to actually try.

Except it was doing just fine against Ricardo, until the ref stepped in and said he had to stop.

 

[Amariithynar]

I dunno... I think it would have been better if Ricardo didn't smile. Still the unphased, unmoved champion.

Wally managed to pull out the Death God side of Ricardo, which is what that smile was. Understandable if you don't recall that Ricardo actually is a fiend internally, and wears a mask of gentility by rigidly following the rules.

 

[andrmnh]

Not enough in it between them for a fatal KO. And wouldn't it unnecessarily disrupt the arc. I think a near-death match would be more suited between Ricardo vs. Sendo where they pick off where this match ended.

 

[Graywing]

Except it was doing just fine against Ricardo, until the ref stepped in and said he had to stop.

Exactly. The ref shouldn't have gotten involved. Even his corner manager apologized as he had to step in and ask for a "favor" and got it since they have the home field advantage. It was pretty sad since he's supposed to be the "best" and needed the ref to intervene in his match so he could do better.

 

[AngelHQ]

Exactly. The ref shouldn't have gotten involved. Even his corner manager apologized as he had to step in and ask for a "favor" and got it since they have the home field advantage. It was pretty sad since he's supposed to be the "best" and needed the ref to intervene in his match so he could do better.

I mean, Wally was about to make a foul, but that doesn't give the ref the right to just stop the fight. It might have become a rule changer a la Shaquille O'Neal in basquet if not for that. But I guess it's more dangeerous in boxing since it's easier for sportsmen to get crippled or die, so it might be fair after all.

 

[alidn1415]

This fight was every bit I wanted it to be, from a narrative standpoint. If Wally dies it would make it S tier for me. Not because I wish him death, but because it would paint Ricardo as a way bigger villain than any of the others. Sawamura, Hawk, Anderson, none of them have actually killed anyone in the ring.

Ricardo almost killed Date, he even finished the fight to purposely avoid killing him. So it would elevate the stakes a lot if this time Wally actually died as a consequence of this fight

Y tho that's so sad, besides we have seen much bloodier fights

 

[Yiledute]

Y tho that's so sad, besides we have seen much bloodier fights

The only bloodier fight was Kamogawa's fight against Anderson. Besides, people dying because of brain damage in boxing is something real that at most has only been lurking in the manga, but we haven't seen anyone actually succumb to it.

 

[exxeld]

Damn it was only ever gonna end this way, but seeing Ricardo's true feelings as we see challengers approach the peak is hype as fuck. Ricardo in the end was a monster too unsurprisingly, which means we need someone ferocious like Sendo to be able to approach the peak too. Especially after Wally's hand off, are we gonna see Sendo come out on top and then have another Lallapallooza once Ippo's finished being retired, with Sendo at the peak again?