Fighting Spirit: Mashiba vs. Kimura
- OVA
- Summer 2003
- 1 episode
- 61 min
- Madhouse
- Manga
- PG-13
- Sports
- Combat Sports
- Shounen
Contents
 | ||
| Japanese | はじめの一歩 間柴vs木村 死刑執行 | |
|---|---|---|
| Romanized | Hajime no Ippo: Mashiba vs. Kimura | |
| Genre | Sports, Combat Sports, Shounen | |
| Type | OVA | |
| Based on | Manga — George Morikawa | |
| Directed by | Hitoshi Nanba | |
| Written by | Tatsuhiko Urahata | |
| Character design | Kouji Sugiura | |
| Music by | Tsuneo Imahori | |
| Studio | Madhouse | |
| Original run | September 5, 2003 | |
| Episodes | 1 | |
| Episode length | 61 min | |
| Total running time | 1 hr 1 min | |
| Status | Finished airing | |
| Season | Summer 2003 | |
| Age rating | PG-13 – Teens 13 and older | |
| Score | ★ 8.26 (#295) | |
| On users' lists | 19,918 Kitsu, Shikimori | |
| Streaming | Crunchyroll | |
| Manga · Hajime no Ippo: Fighting Spirit! | ||
| Written by | George Morikawa | |
| Published in | Shounen Magazine (Weekly) | |
| Demographic | Shounen | |
| Original run | September 27, 1989 – ongoing | |
Fighting Spirit: Mashiba vs. Kimura (Japanese: はじめの一歩 間柴vs木村 死刑執行, Hepburn: Hajime no Ippo: Mashiba vs. Kimura) is a 2003 Japanese anime original video animation based on the manga series by George Morikawa. It is animated by Madhouse and directed by Hitoshi Nanba. It aired on September 5, 2003.
Characters
Main characters
Supporting characters
Kumi Mashiba · Father Miyata · Haruhiko Yagi · Commentator · Mother Kimura · Father Kimura · Tanaka Transportation Boss · Toho Coach
Production
Key staff
George MorikawaOriginal Creator
Hitoshi NanbaDirector
Tatsuhiko UrahataSeries CompositionKouji SugiuraCharacter Design
Tsuneo ImahoriMusicHidetoshi KanekoArt Director
MadhouseStudioStaff
| Studio | Madhouse |
|---|---|
| Original Creator | George Morikawa |
| Director | Hitoshi Nanba |
| Series Composition | Tatsuhiko Urahata |
| Character Design | Kouji Sugiura |
| Music | Tsuneo Imahori |
| Art Director | Hidetoshi Kaneko |
| Chief Animation Director | Noriyuki Fukuda |
| Director of Photography | Susumu Fukushi |
| Color Design | Yoshimi Koshikawa |
| Editing | Satoshi Terauchi |
| Theme Song Performance | Mori Naoya |
| Producer | Masao Maruyama, Manabu Tamura, Hiroshi Yamashita, Satoshi Yoshimoto |
Music
| Composer | Tsuneo Imahori |
|---|
Episodes
| No. | Title | Original air date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | — | Aired |
Where to watch
Streaming services that list Fighting Spirit: Mashiba vs. Kimura. What you can watch depends on your country. Acino does not host any video; each link leads to the service's own page.
Videos and pictures
Gallery
Ratings and statistics
Score distribution
On users' lists
- Plan to watch1,346
- Watching51
- Completed8,406
- On hold76
- Dropped183
Ratings and list counts come from Shikimori, whose scores mirror MyAnimeList. Rankings compare the titles listed in Acino.
Audience
How many people follow this anime on the largest anime databases. The numbers are refreshed every few days; one person may use several sites.
| Site | Members | Watching | Completed | Plan to watch | Dropped | Favorites |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitsu | 9,856 | — | — | — | — | 24 |
| Shikimori | 10,062 | 51 | 8,406 | 1,346 | 183 | — |
Watch order
The Fighting Spirit: Mashiba vs. Kimura story in order of release, as listed in Acino.
| # | Title | Format | Episodes | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fighting Spirit | TV series | 75 | October 4, 2000 |
| 2 | Fighting Spirit Special | Special | 1 | March 21, 2003 |
| 3 | Fighting Spirit: Champion Road (Prequel) | TV special | 1 | April 18, 2003 |
| 4 | Fighting Spirit: Mashiba vs. Kimura | OVA | 1 | September 5, 2003 |
| 5 | Fighting Spirit: New Challenger (Sequel) | TV series | 26 | January 7, 2009 |
| 6 | Fighting Spirit: Rising | TV series | 25 | October 6, 2013 |
Related works
Prequel8.26Fighting Spirit: Champion RoadTV special · 2003
Sequel8.67Fighting Spirit: New ChallengerTV series · 2009| Original work | Hajime no Ippo (Manga) |
|---|
Recommendations
Titles that share the most genres with Fighting Spirit: Mashiba vs. Kimura.
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8.05Yowamushi Pedal: Grande RoadTV series · 2014References
- “Hajime no Ippo: Mashiba vs. Kimura”. Shikimori. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
- “Hajime no Ippo: Mashiba vs. Kimura”. MyAnimeList. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
- “Fighting Spirit: Mashiba vs. Kimura”. Kitsu. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
- “Q116163656”. Wikidata. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
The facts on this page come from the databases listed above. The article text is written by Acino with AI assistance, using only those facts.