Anime all-stars · Superhuman
Gon Freecss vs Ippo Makunouchi
A rock thrown by a Hunter against a boxer whose fist became a hurricane.
Tale of the tape
| Hunter x Hunter | Universe | Hajime no Ippo |
|---|---|---|
| Superhuman | Tier | Street level |
| Jajanken: rock, paper and scissors charged with enormous Nen | Strength | The Dempsey Roll and a chin made of stone |
| Pure-hearted to the point of recklessness | Weakness | Too kind, and his opponents know it |
| 1–0 | Record on Versus | 1–2 |
The Arena
Gon Freecss walked into the Kamogawa Boxing Gym by accident, following his nose to the smell of hard work and sweat, and found a quiet young man with enormous shoulders hitting a heavy bag so hard the chains rattled. Gon watched with his mouth open. “That’s amazing!” he shouted. Ippo Makunouchi turned around, embarrassed. “Oh, um, thank you.”
Gon asked if he could try. Ippo showed him how to stand and how to throw a jab. Gon hit the bag once, and it tore off its chains and flew across the gym into the wall. The entire gym went silent. Coach Kamogawa’s cane hit the floor. “Who,” he said, “is this child?”
Ten minutes later, Gon and Ippo were standing in the ring with gloves on, and Takamura was taking bets.
Round One
Ippo came in low behind a peek-a-boo guard, bobbing and weaving, and landed a liver blow that would have dropped any boxer in Japan. Gon gasped and laughed at the same time. “That hurt! What was that?” He threw a wild punch back, and Ippo slipped it and countered with a hook to the jaw.
Gon was stronger and faster, but he did not know boxing, and Ippo did. For the first round, Ippo controlled the fight completely, cutting off the ring, punishing every opening, and the gym cheered. Gon kept smiling, studying every punch, learning.
In the second round, he started bobbing and weaving too. Ippo’s eyes widened. The boy had copied his style in three minutes.
The Turn
Ippo did not want to hurt the boy, but he could feel Gon’s strength growing, and he knew he could not hold back much longer. He began to sway his body in a figure eight, faster and faster, the air whistling around him. The Dempsey Roll. Takamura grinned. “He’s doing it.”
Ippo came in like a hurricane, left, right, left, right, punches with the full weight of his rolling body behind them. Gon blocked the first few, then took one on the jaw and one on the temple and staggered back into the ropes, dazed, his legs shaking. For a moment, it looked as if the boxer would win.
Gon shook his head, grinned, and crouched low. “Okay,” he said. “Now it’s my turn. First comes rock!” Nen gathered around his fist like a glowing sun.
The Finish
Ippo saw the light around Gon’s fist and felt, like a wild animal, that something terrible was coming. He rolled again, faster than ever, and Gon waited, eyes closed, counting the rhythm of the roll. Left, right, left, right. Then he opened his eyes. “Rock!”
He did not throw it at Ippo. At the last instant, he turned and punched the canvas beside him. The ring exploded upward, the boards splintering, the ropes snapping, and the shock wave threw Ippo out of the ring and into a pile of gym mats. He lay there blinking at the ceiling, unhurt, as the dust settled.
Gon climbed out of the wrecked ring and offered him a hand. “I didn’t want to hit you with that,” he said. “It would have hurt you a lot.” Ippo laughed weakly and took his hand. “Thank you. I think.” Coach Kamogawa stared at his destroyed ring and quietly sent Gon the repair bill.
The verdict
Gon Freecss wins
Ippo is the better boxer and his Dempsey Roll hurts even Gon, but Gon is superhuman, copies boxing in minutes, and his Jajanken Rock carries enough Nen to destroy the entire ring.
- NenJajanken gives Gon a punch far beyond any human boxer’s.
- AdaptationHe learns Ippo’s style in a single round.
- DurabilityGon takes the Dempsey Roll and gets up.
How the rematch could go differently: Under strict boxing rules with no Nen, Ippo’s skill and Dempsey Roll would win on points every time.
Who do you think wins?
Who would win in a fight between Gon Freecss and Ippo Makunouchi?
Gon Freecss wins. Ippo is the better boxer and his Dempsey Roll hurts even Gon, but Gon is superhuman, copies boxing in minutes, and his Jajanken Rock carries enough Nen to destroy the entire ring.