Hajime no Ippo (はじめの一歩, lit. 'The First Step') is a Japanese boxing -themed manga series written and illustrated by George Morikawa.

The Japanese title of Fighting Spirit is called ‘Hajime no Ippo’ (はじめの一歩) which means the first step. ‘Hajime’ (はじめ) is to start, ‘Ippo’ (一歩) is a step and is also the name of the main character of this series.

Let's look at the translation of each word and explanation of the anime's name: はじめの一歩 THE FIGHTING! はじめの一歩 - Hajime no Ippo - It means "The First Step" in Japanese. THE FIGHTING! - The Battle! - It is an expression in English that indicates the main theme of the anime, which is boxing and fights.

Hajime no Ippo actually means “The First Step,” and the concept of integrating relevant meaning in the character’s name is visited here as with most anime series.