In exciting news for Ashita no Joe fans who have been looking forward to an English edition of the manga series, ICv2 recently reported that Kodansha is officially publishing Asao Takamori and Tetsuya China’s Ashita no Joe manga in English. This step ensures to break through the language barrier and allows for a wider audience to access the manga.
According to the reports, there will be eight oversized hardcover volumes of the manga available as physical copies in December 2024. Moreover, a digital edition of the same will also be published. Hence, Kodansha will begin publishing the manga, titled Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow, in English, for the first time.
Ashita no Joe: Everything we know about the manga
The manga revolves around Joe Yabuki, who leads a troubled life as he grows up amongst bullies and switching between orphanages. This ultimately leaves him on the streets of a slum called San’ya as a delinquent, and he becomes a rogue.
A boxing coach, Danpei Tange, observes Joe and decides to channel his violent disposition into boxing. As such, he takes up the responsibility to mentor him despite having a tough time communicating with him. Eventually, however, the two grow a close bond as Joe makes boxing his reason to live in the world.
Kodansha’s Weekly Shōnen Magazine began serializing the manga in 1968, and the serialization went on till 1973. By 1973, the title had 20 compiled book volumes, making it a phenomenal series in Japanese pop culture.
Additionally, along with two anime films in 1980 and 1981, a live-action film was also adapted based on the manga. Moreover, Tokyo held a stage play inspired by the manga in 2015. Furthermore, the manga seeped into the science fiction world as it inspired Megalo Box, a sci-fi action series with two seasons, in 2018.
