Japan
Binary Opposition in "Seishun no Ippo"
The conditions of "Seishun no Ippo" are hinted at in the visuals of the opening credits, but the viewers must watch the full first episode to understand the magnitude of those conditions. Ippo is the title character. He comes from a single parent family, which is fairly uncharacteristic of Japanese culture. Where Ippo's father is not eluded to in the first episode, and the writers leave this open to play out later on in the series. One day while walking home from school, pondering his social anxieties, Ippo comes across and unlikely father figure over the course of the episode, a strong, famous boxer. Ippo was in the midst of a severe beating by bullies at school. At one point, the bully insults Ippo's mother, and while he becomes...
He saves Ippo from a pack of the three bullies who constantly pick on him at school, and outside of school. Ippos learns that this helpful, yet brutish stranger runs a boxing gym for men. Though Ippo does demonstrate some physical strength, as shown in his efforts to assist his mother in their family's fishing business and by punching a huge sandbad in the boxing gym, Ippo lacks inner strength. He lacks self-confidence. The boss of the gym applies some tough love to Ippo in order to bring out the desire and will to become a boxer, become physically fit, and gain the confidence he needs to face the bullies and overcome his persistent social anxieties.
There are many examples of binary opposition within the first episode of this program. The…
