Training is Serious Business. Seriously Disturbing.

Yuto Takeda is trying to defend his junior welterweight title against that remorseless fighting machine, Yu. How's that going for him?

About as expected, then.

Volume 6 of The Boxer consists of the majority of Takeda's attempt at a title defense, before shifting gears to Yu's preparation for challenging middleweight champion, Fabrizio Santorino. The Takeda fight had already taken a bad turn when Yu demonstrated he could perfectly mimic Yuto's in-boxing fighting style. Except his superior athletic talent meant he could do it even better.

All Takeda's got is what's carried him this far: a relentless drive to keep trying, keep pushing. To prove he can do it. Secretly, to make his dad proud of him. JH shows repeated panels of different people looking on. A sick kid in the hospital, the young guy that gave up boxing after challenging Yu on his first day at the gym, and Yuto's high school friend, Yamaguchi, the one who ran away to work on a ship and, for a moment in the prior volume, looked like he was going to throw himself in the sea. Turns out he came home and opened a small store, got his mom into rehab. He thinks Yuto's doing this to show people like him not to give up, and doesn't want to see him take more punishment for that.

There's also Misaki, Yuto's coach and adoptive parent. She's watching Yuto keep getting up for more beatings and wondering if her friends would be angry how she raised their kid. If she should have pushed him away from boxing. There's a flashback to a conversation where Misaki, a little tipsy, admits she worries that, since he's put everything into the idea hard work will overcome, when Yuto finds the point that's not true, he'll break.

And then, I'm not sure what JH is going for. It seems Takeda, recalling that conversation, where Misaki told him to cherish life and not cling so tight to the burdens he puts on himself, lets go and. . .gets better at boxing? Allegedly, he's found "freedom", which means he's finally stopped worrying about the exact mechanics of how to throw punches or move, and is just doing it? His eyes start glowing, in a way that reminds Yu of Injae when he defied Bakesan.

And he shatters Takeda's jaw. I mean, I knew something like that was coming, so it's kind of whatever. Too many volumes still ahead for Yu to be moved by the spirit of loving athletic competition, or the bonds of brotherhood. What actually annoys me is, in a rage, Misaki attacks Yu. Except JH, who established Misaki is a gold medalist boxer, has her throw the stereotypical hysterical girl slap. The woman probably has a better jab than Takeda did! And fine, she's not going to hit Yu either way, but K steps in. K, who we are shown crying tears of joy as Yu nearly murders someone. Let Misaki hit him. There shouldn't be any "reflexes too fast" bullshit protecting that sociopath.

Anyway, another belt claimed, Yu moves on. Welterweight and Junior Middleweight are dispatched in a couple of pages. The Santorinos, Fabrizio and his older brother Marco, pose a different challenge. They like to play mind games. Bugging Yu's house, spreading rumors of tax evasion, paying a homeless guy to try and spill something dangerous on Yu while he's running. None of it does any good, though the fact Carmen, who works for K, moves in to watch over Yu produces an unexpected result.

No, not that she poisons him. Frankly out of nowhere, Carmen instantly catches feelings for Yu. Apparently it's been 5 years since K brought him in, but they've hardly been shown interacting. I have no clue the age gap, since Carmen was already working for K then. She starts encouraging him to smile (terrifying), or dress nicer. They go to an amusement park, which runs counter to her advice that they have to severely restrict Yu's interactions with anyone but her or K. It does lead to a chance meeting with Jean Pierre, the former lightweight champ, who has changed in the intervening years.

Except Carmen gets really catty with Stella, Jean Pierre's wife, which, eh. Stella's been shown as very dramatic, but it's still a weird look on Carmen. K agrees, as, dissatisfied with whatever changes he's seeing in Yu (and Jean Pierre noticed something different as well), he takes her off Yu-detail and replaces her with some Super Mario-looking guy. Too bad nobody told the Santorinos. . .

Hard Work Means No Play

Injae got the first win of his boxing career over the awesomely named Rock Kang. Unfortunately, now he must face Kang's big brother, Boulder Kodos!

OK, that's a lie, he's just shadowboxing with his memories of Bakesan (currently on his way to prison for 6 years.) The fifth volume of The Boxer shifts focus back to Yu's career. Now the lightweight champion, he's being aimed directly at the junior welterweight champion, Yuto Takeda. Most of the volume is focused on Takeda, emphasizing his contrast to Yu.

Where Yu's the epitome of natural talent, Takeda is described, even by his coach, as almost entirely lacking in talent. The epitome of hard work. What's more, he fully buys into the idea that if you just keep trying, you can overcome any challenge. He feels like he should protect and inspire others, give them hope they can persevere and triumph as well. This as compared to Yu, who gives zero shits about anything other than his cat.

Yuto's backstory is that he looks up to his father, who was a silver medalist in judo and became a cop. Misaki, who was a gold medalist boxer before opening her own gym, was childhood friends with Yuto's mother and father. When Dad dies rescuing a woman from some muggers, and Mom is claimed by a lifelong illness weeks later, Misaki's left with in charge of a child she has no idea how to raise.Yuto wants to protect people like his dad, so he's got to be strong, so boxing.

Except he has no talent. It's actually kind of a neat contrast with Jean-Pierre. We were told the lightweight champ would slowly go through the motion of throwing a punch, making himself aware of every bit of what his body was doing and what it should be doing, in pursuit of perfection. Takeda has to go through every motion, every piece of action that goes into throwing a single jab and memorize it to then cram each piece together, because otherwise he can't do it at all.

There's some ups and downs in Takeda's story. A classmate he tries to help, who ends up running away and looks on the verge of committing suicide. A gifted fighter that abuses his skills as hired muscle, that beats Takeda again and again and again (and again and again, and so on), until Takeda starts making abrupt leaps in skill.

I'm not sure what JH's is going for with the strange growth curve. Setting up a certain development in the title fight with Yu for one, but otherwise, I'm not sure what it's meant to represent, if Takeda is supposed to lack in athletic talent. Can you brute force talent into existence?

Either way, it's the brute force he and Misaki are counting on to defeat Yu, as the strategy is simply to keep the pressure on Yu, give him no room to breathe, take every hit without stopping, until Yu gives out from exhaustion. Will that work? Ehhhhh, no.

Against a Rock with a Hard Fist

This looks like a scene from a horror movie I'd regret spending 90 minutes watching.

Volume 4 of The Boxer picks up where volume 3 left off, with lightweight champ Jean Pierre Manuel flat on his back after Yu started to let loose. Of course, this only excites Jean, that he's finally seeing the perfection he's always sought, so he comes back for more. His attempts to adapt to Yu's abilities are useless, and all he can do is take punishment from a fighter that is not going to stop unless told to, coached by a psychopath only too happy to watch Yu beat someone to death.

JH pauses between knockdowns to delve into Jean's childhood, how his disappointment with his lousy parents informed his life and his pursuit of something not tainted by failure or flaw. And then, when it looks like things are about to begin again, the fight's interrupted. I'm not sure I buy that Jean could be pulled back from such a destructive course so easily, and the whole heartwarming aspect kind of ignores how, last volume, he was beating up muggers in alleys and stealing their blood to use in a painting. But it feels like the end of the fight is more about laying hints of K's motivation. His fighter not only wins, but wins so conclusively Jean, who was undefeated in 38 fights before this, leaves the ring to retrieve the belt and hand it over himself, and K's furious.

Rather than immediately jump into K's next target, welterwight champion Yuto Takeda, the story shifts back to Injae, who's about have his first bout. Being trained by the same guy that introduced K to Bakesan in volume 1, Injae unfortunately draws a tough match-up for his debut. A veteran with the very cool name of Rock Kang. JH spends several pages on how Injae tries to train for the match against a fighter his coach describes as, 'a perfected version of you,' and then we get the fight itself.

As opposed to the easy triumphs Yu experiences, Injae's fight is a seesaw affair. It's also very much boxing like you see in the movies, both fighters throwing punches constantly, though we do see both fighters working to either evade or at least block punches. Injae shakes off a knockdown right out of the gate, and even appears to have the advantage after 2 rounds. At which point Rock's superior experience is shown to take over and Injae's in a fight to survive, questioning whether this is going to be his only fight before a fade to obscurity.

I'm not sure what was going on at the end, when Injae feels too exhausted to dodge Rock's knockout punch, then sees the image of Bakesan knocking him the fuck out back in volume 1, and suddenly is dodging easily before unleashing his own 1-2 combo. Is he trying to prove Bakesan wrong? That doesn't seem to jibe with his stated reasons for becoming a boxer, or what he supposedly loves about it, so I don't know. Bakesan, incidentally, has become a yakuza boss, though he's pissed at the sight of Yu becoming a champion. There's no indication he has any idea what Injae's up to, and vice versa, though it feels like JH is setting them up for a rematch somewhere down the line. How that's going to work, I don't know.

A Perfect Monster

Is this the start of some terrifying, and adorable, new Planet of the Penguins? In this blogger's opinion, yes!

Volume 3 of JH's The Boxer sees Yu challenged by another up-and-coming lightweight, Qasim Al-Hajad. It's briefly set up to seem like contrasting rivals, as Qasim loudly boxes for the fun of it and uses unorthodox attacks he probably saw in video games, while Yu shows no emotion and just knocks people swiftly into oblivion with textbook form.

Just as quickly, Qasim is exposed as a bully who turns tail the moment he can't overwhelm his opponent with sheer athleticism, and as such, a disgrace to boxing. Calling back to volume 1, when Injae's father told him that, as a boxer, you can't ever stay down, no matter how outclassed you are, or it's over. The poser dispatched with ease, JH moves to the real show, Yu's bout against the undefeated lightweight champion, Jean Pierre Manuel.

Unlike in volume 2, when JH waited until the fight's began to dive into John Taker's backstory and "rookie killer" persona, we see Jean as he prepares for a bout against what might be his dream, and learn what boxing means to him. He seeks perfection through it, absolute perfect control of every part of his body. In Yu, from the first punch he threw at John Taker, Jean has seen his goal brought to life.

Then we see the extent he's willing to push himself to, in the hopes of attaining that same level. JH might overplay his hand here, as Jean not only begins roaming back alleys at night, fighting gangs that will kill him if they can. No, he goes so far as to steal some of their blood and use it to paint some vision of how he perceives Yu. Given how the fight plays out, though that isn't until volume 4, it pushes things too far.

JH draws Jean with an intense look from the start, but the further along the story goes, the thicker and rougher the lines that define Jean's face become, and the color of his pupils begins to spill over the lines into the whites of his eyes. It gives an air of someone unhinged, or maybe so tightly wound he's almost vibrating. There are also, during Jean's "training," narrow panels of blood cells rushing through arteries, or nerves firing, showing how Jean's body is reacting to the stress of the situation as he slowly attains the control he's sought. By the time of the fight, JH is stretching, almost smearing, their faces as they dodge punches. Partially to illustrate the quickness of their movements, but also to make them look less human, as they reveal the kinds of "monsters" they are.

And volume 3 ends with that looking like it still wasn't enough to keep up with Yu.

Intent Signed in Blood

That is not the face of a man that should be allowed within 500 feet of children. Or teenagers. Or, anyone really. Just shove him in a steel box and sink it.

But, like it or not, Yu's got to hospital bills that need paying. Bakesan's maybe, though I wonder if he it's Injae's bill. Doubt K cares either way. He's got his prize, so it's off to America to get him ready.

JH immediately sets in on showing hints of what Yu's capable of, as he's challenged by another young fighter who wants K to train him. Josh is a gifted amateur, has worked very hard, while Yu knows nothing about boxing beyond that time K showed him a one-two combo.

It doesn't make a difference. JH stays in Josh's mind for most of the fight, focusing on how his jealousy and confidence gradually shift to awe, terror and resignation. But we catch glimpses of Yu's thoughts, or how he perceives things. How slow everything moves for him. But even that serves only to play into Josh's mindset, as he grows increasingly disheartened, realizing what he's up against.

That done, the story skips ahead two years, to Yu's debut fight against a fighter dubbed "The Rookie Killer." Again, JH focuses primarily on this new fighter, who seems to delight in his rep as a dirty fighter who crushes the dreams of highly-touted prodigies. JH takes the time to reveal some of John Taker's backstory, how he got into boxing, why he loves it but is still willing to be this dirty fighter reviled by the crowds.

Of course, things don't go well for him here, as K gives Yu a specific plan on how to excite the crowd and make them holler for more. Even before the first punch is thrown, Taker's frightened by what he feels coming off Yu.

JH likes metaphorical imagery. Bakesan pictured himself as a giant atop a mountain, peering down at indistinct shadows. Josh sees Yu as an immense, endless wall. Taker is unnerved by what he feels staring at Yu. Having Taker visualize it as staring down the barrel of an immense gun feels ridiculous, but if you want to sell Yu as something almost inhuman, you go big. And JH pays these things off, referring back to them. The first punch Yu throws, which essentially tells how the match will go, the sound effect is "BANG", rather than, I don't know, "whoosh" or something.

In what will also become a recurring approach, JH starts with the fight, then flashes back to K's declaration of the goal - his goal - for the fight. It's pretty obvious K is after more than just training one more fighter, but what, I'm not sure. It may have something to do with his previous fighter, who's still active and the current heavyweight champion, but mostly, JH makes K seem like some kind of sadist. Again, letting the man anywhere near any kid, let alone one who seems to give no fucks and will do whatever's asked of him, is a terrible idea.

The second volume ends with Yu having caught the eye of both the current lightweight champion and another prospective challenger for the belt, who appears to be a physical marvel himself. And we see where both Injae and Bakesan ended up in the after they left the hospital.

He Carries a Reminder. . .

. . .of every blow, that laid him low, or cut him, 'til he cried out, "I am bleeding, I am bleeding!" but the paramedics stayed away, la la la lah la la la.

Volume 1 of JH's The Boxer starts with the "legendary trainer of five world champions", K, looking for his final project. Initially, it seems like it's going to be Bakesan Ryu, a prodigy with the reflexes, agility and flexibility to embarrass a trained fighter 4 weight classes above him. He even has the flashy and impractical moves that a crowd will love, not to mention the unusual hair color and style that marks your typical manga protagonist.

And then K notices a kid just letting bullies pummel him in an alley. JH doesn't explain what K saw until the very end of the volume, but K extends the offer to Yu to train him into a champion. Yu doesn't seem all that interested, however, so it would seem K's wasting a month waiting for him to show up at the gym.

After that, the story shifts to the local high school, where we see Bakesan uses his skills to bully and intimidate weaker students, particularly Injae, a meek kid with glasses. Injae seems to want to be friends with Yu, while Yu doesn't discourage it, he doesn't exactly encourage it, either. Although with him, actually speaking might qualify as encouragement.

About the time Yu saves Injae from being hit by a soccer ball kicked by Bakesan, JH switches focus to Injae. Injae's father was a boxer (career record: 13 wins, 12 losses, 2 draws), and Injae wants to be like him. Which he decides means he can't keep taking the bullying any longer, he has to stand up and fight.

(His father, when asked about fighting someone you know is stronger, makes a point that courage in a boxer and courage in someone who isn't are entirely different and equally admirable things, so it's not him imposing some toxic notion on his kid. He outright says it's OK to run.)

Unfortunately, Yu's interference has made him Bakesan's target now. Everything comes to a head in a series of fights as Injae stands up to Bakesan despite the difference in natural talent. In turn, this determination seems to spark some interest within Yu, and he gets involved. Which is when we get a glimpse of what caught K's eye.

JH has a relatively simple, clean style. Thin lines and basic character designs that distinguish the important players from each other, but also allow him to exaggerate for effect. The way he draws the face of one of Bakesan's hangers-on when Injae hits him with a jab, versus when Yu does the same thing, is entirely different. Injae's causes the guy's head to rock back slightly. Yu's reduces it to a blank square with force lines shooting off it like an explosion. When Yu hits Bakesan with a jab, JH draws it like someone took a hole punch to Bakesan's head, as a representation of what the punch felt like.

The book's an odd mix, because JH will add panels discussing or diagramming principles of boxing, like why you don't switch which punch you're going to throw in the middle of a punch. But then there's also a lot of figurative imagery. Bakesan's got a big head about his talent, so we see him as a giant seated atop a mountain. The "chosen one", while the tiny blurry outlines of lesser fighters reach futilely towards him from below. JH uses that a few times early on, then brings it back to different effect during his fight with Yu.

Yu's an interesting choice for a lead character, simply because he's so passive. We get a couple of glimpses of his past and current living situation, but not much, and he's not forthcoming, beyond the fact he doesn't recall ever really wanting to be anything or do anything. The later volumes (at least the 2 I've read so far), reveal how JH plans to use a character like that, though.