History Awesome / AshitaNoJoe

** From left to right: [[https://endersgirrrl.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/ashita-no-joe-poster1.jpeg Danpei Tange, Joe Yabuki, Toru Rikiishi, and Youko Shiraki]]. Not seen but still present: Youko's IconicDress.
** As expected by a Japanese production, the gloves (and the vast majority of the equipment) are of the Winning brand. However the brand redesigned its logo since then, that you can see [[url=https://wjapanstore.com/ here]]. And yet, as seen (not well) on [[http://ani-culture-production.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/338350_256760624359905_102790143090288_660640_1471995667_o.jpg this poster]], the gloves have the old logo.
** In short, they went through immense effort to reproduce as much as they could of this legendary series to show in about two hours... And, as you can [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yba31kh0CTU here]], they succeeded.

** As expected by a Japanese production, the gloves (and the vast majority of the equipment) are of the Winning brand. However the brand redesigned its logo since then, that now looks like [[url=http://www.winning-usa.com/progloves/progloves_02.jpg this]]. And yet, as seen (not well) on [[http://ani-culture-production.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/338350_256760624359905_102790143090288_660640_1471995667_o.jpg this poster]], the gloves have the old logo.

** As expected by a Japanese production, the gloves (and the vast majority of the equipment) are of the Winning brand. However the brand redesigned its logo since then, that now looks like [[url=http://www.winning-usa.com/progloves/progloves_02.jpg this]]. And yet, as seen (not well) on [[http://ani-culture-production.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/338350_256760624359905_102790143090288_660640_1471995667_o.jpg this poster]], the gloves have the old logo.

*** In the same vein, Mendoza had never fought a match to the distance, always winning well before it... And yet, he had prepared himself to resist for fifteen rounds against a monster hitter like Joe. His victory at the points is deserved, after all.

** Carlos' counter for Joe's rope trick: he goes for an uppercut... That misses Joe and ''grabs the upper ring ropes, making them rigid and keeping Joe to use them to increase his uppercut's power, before going for the real, devastating attack.

* Joe's first match after Rikiishi's death is one for him: even with his inability to hit someone's face]], Joe completely dominated the match against an opponent that had ''fourteen victories in a row'', and defeated him in a single round. This would be only the start of a long streak of fights won in one or two rounds by either knocking the opponent out or [[KnowWhenToFoldEm the opposing corner throwing in the towel.

** As required by the plan, Carlos holds back a lot, Nango, [[ThisIsGonnaSuck after initially being ready to get killed]], seems having the advantage... And then Carlos brutally drops him with two incredibly powerful punches [[TryingToCatchMeFightingDirty followed by elbow strikes]] that only Joe noticed, that he immediately plays as lucky punches, luring Harajima in the trap... And reigniting Joe's passion, as he's apparently the only one to have noticed the elbow strikes and the sight just made him want to fight him.

* The fight between Joe and Rikiishi, fought not just with fists but also, ''especially'', with intelligence, with both boxers coming in with good tactics and then improvising new equally good ones when the previous one gets countered. Just the final exchange is enough to explain how formidable the confrontation of tactics was: [[spoiler:near the end Rikiishi drops his guard to invite an attack he'll use the Triple Counter on, Joe, after an initial scare, realizes the Triple Counter worked on Wolf because he was too weak and he's strong enough to knock Rikiishi out on the Double Counter phase and attacks, and when he uses the Double Counter he has barely the time to get scared when Rikiishi enacts his ''real'' trap, dodging and tagging him with an uppercut that knocks Joe out]].
** The match was one especially for Rikiishi: he had starved himself to delirium to get in the bantamweights, and yet went the whole eight round [[spoiler:and won, even if it got him killed]]. There's a reason everyone believes the only thing keeping him from becoming the featherweight world champion is [[spoiler:his death after this match]]: [[TheAce he's just that good]].

** Seeing Gondo inflict a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown on the defenseless Wolf, Joe intervenes, Gondo takes a look to Joe, recognizes him as the boxer that struggled against Wolf and is known to have fallen on hard times after [[spoiler:killing Rikiishi]]... [[OhCrap And realizes he still has more than enough fight to mop the floor with him and his clients]], and [[KnowWhenToFoldEm stands down and stops his clients from getting mauled]].

** A subtle one for Nishi: [[spoiler:during the beating, he's the first to notice that Joe cannot hit someone's face anymore]]. It would take ''weeks'' for the ''Japanese champion'' and the presidents of the other boxing clubs (save for one) to notice...
* Joe's first match after [[spoiler:Rikiishi's death]] is one for him: even with [[spoiler:his inability to hit someone's face]], Joe completely dominated the match against an opponent that had ''fourteen victories in a row'', and defeated him in a single round. This would be only the start of a long streak of fights won in one or two rounds by either knocking the opponent out or [[KnowWhenToFoldEm the opposing corner throwing in the towel]].
** One for Yoko: she's the first outside the Tange Boxing Club to notice [[spoiler:Joe's weakness]], and all it took her was to see this match. Not bad, for someone who admits to knowing little about boxing...

* When the other boxing club presidents start plotting against Joe, Yoko shows up mid-meeting, as she was a boxing club president too, and announces she'll deal with Joe upfront, without needing underhanded tactics as what they were planning, and they would be better stay out of her way. The other president chalk it up to the whims of a spoiled heiress... Except this was the only warning they would get of her summoning and unleashing Carlos Rivera, sixth in the bantamweight ''World Boxing Council rankings'' and known as the "Uncrowned King" because, apparently, ''even the world champion fears him''. They learn to fear her, and ''stay out of her way'', when they see [[spoiler:the Japanese champion being brought to the hospital in a stretcher wet of his own piss]].

** Tiger Oozaki, the JBC bantamweight champion, comes in knowing of Joe's weakness... And ''gets dropped halfway during the first round'', establishing that, had Joe been able to [[spoiler:hit his face]], he would have won easily.

** Harajima, #1 in the JBC rankings, also comes in knowing of Joe's weakness, and gains an early advantage... And then [[spoiler:Joe punches his face]] and knocks him down. While he manages to stand, Harajima had the fight knocked out of him, and Joe would have won had he not [[spoiler:felt ill, puked, and fainted for the shock of punching someone in the face with all his strength]].

** Nango is the #2, knows Joe's weakness... And Joe ''knocks him out'', even if he still [[spoiler:feels sick for punching his face]]. Nango only wins because the referee gives him a long count (because he had been distracted by [[spoiler:Joe puking]] in the manga, because he had been ordered by the JBC to favor Nango in the anime), resulting in Joe [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beating the crap out of Nango with fouls]] and getting disqualified in the manga[=/=]Nango surprising and knocking Joe down and the bribed referee giving him a short count.

** As required by the plan, Carlos holds back a lot, Nango, [[ThisIsGonnaSuck after initially being ready to get killed]], seems having the advantage... And then Carlos brutally drops him with two incredibly powerful punches [[spoiler:[[TryingToCatchMeFightingDirty followed by elbow strikes]] that only Joe noticed]], that he immediately plays as lucky punches, luring Harajima in the trap... And reigniting Joe's passion, as he's apparently the only one to have noticed [[spoiler:the elbow strikes]] and the sight just made him want to fight him.
*** In the anime, Carlos used [[spoiler:the elbows]] for a single reason: to see if Joe would catch on them (he did). He could have dropped Nango all the same even without those...
*** The secret weapon has an added layer of awesomeness: not only it's next to impossible to notice, but, as Yoko explains in the manga, even if the referee noticed [[spoiler:the elbow strikes]] he'd obviously think of them as an accident. This is actually shown in the anime: Inaba, one of the circus boxers and formerly the #3 featherweight in the JBC rankings, noticed them too, and explained it was ''obviously'' a lucky accident. Joe almost fell on his knees in awe when Inaba made him realize just how well it had been thought...

*** The first anime makes the knock-out even more awesome by changing how Carlos annihilates his opponent: not with two crosses, but a single one [[spoiler:with the elbow]]. And the second ups the ante by changing the cross with an uppercut that [[MegatonPunch lifts Oozaki from the ring]].

** Carlos' manager Harry Robert claimed that Mendoza's easy victory was owed to the terrifying beating Joe gave Carlos in their final bout giving him crippling punch drunk syndrome. Late in the series it's proven that, while Carlos was suffering of some punch drunk syndrome due Joe's fists, Mendoza not only won the fight by himself, but [[spoiler:he caused the crippling worsening of the punch drunk with ''[[OneHitKill a single corkscrew punch]]'']].
** The anime actually shows the fight. It consists in Carlos throwing his fastest punches without even coming close to land one, then the moment he prepares to use his hyperspeed punch Mendoza [[CurbStompBattle starts hitting him in the face without giving him a chance to resist and downing him twice before deciding Carlos had enough]]. [[TheDeterminator Then Carlos comes back for more]]... And Mendoza hits him so hard that ''Carlos rolls over himself as he falls and bounces on the ring thrice before stopping''. [[spoiler:That last punch is later revealed to be the Corkscrew Punch that crippled Carlos]].

** The image of Joe holding the title belt to the sky while Rikiishi's image appears behind him hints at the fact this is when Joe ''surpassed him'': both of them went through a terrifying diet to face a formidable opponent (Kim for Joe, Joe himself for Rikiishi), both won after an extremely hard match, but where Rikiishi [[spoiler:died due the injuries and the starvation diet]] Joe [[spoiler:lived]] and managed to remain in the weight class.

* Right before going to Hawaii, Danpei starts fearing Joe suffers from Punch Drunk Syndrome. How does he test Joe? He and the rest of the Tange Boxing Club athletes throw dozens of basketball at Joe, with him having to hit as many as possible and dodge the rest. He delivers, with ease. Even better, [[spoiler:Joe ''did'' suffer from punch drunk syndrome already, and yet passed that and all of Danpei's tests]].
** Made better for Joe in the anime, where the test takes place after Joe beat Harimao and [[spoiler:Joe's punch drunk syndrome was already so bad he had trouble with fastening buttons]].

* At the Hawaii Mendoza has an exhibition match right with a boxer of a heavier weight class, one nicknamed the "Bull of Hawaii" for the strength of his fists. The match starts... And Mendoza puts his hands on the Bull's shoulders and ''[[NoSell takes his attacks without flinching]]'', just to prove Joe, that was in the public, that he, differently from what he and Danpei expected from a heavy hitter like him, was not a GlassCannon. Quite awesome, [[spoiler:even if it's a bluff]]. Then he takes down his opponent with ''two punches''.

** Another for Gomez: he took ''multiple hits'', surviving to the sixth round before going down. [[spoiler:It got him killed due the devastating power of the Corkscrew Punch]], but it still proved that he was stronger than even Carlos Rivera.

** Right after that hit, Joe [[spoiler:starts losing his sight in the right eye]]. It's the end, right? Wrong: that's when Joe finally ''defeats Jose Mendoza's invincible defense'' and starts hitting him repeatedly for that and the fifth round, even doing something nobody had ever done before: knock Mendoza down.

** Joe's reaction: he starts counting alongside the referee just to screw with him-and then, [[OhCrap much to Mendoza's horror]], ''puts his hands on the champ's shoulders and lets him hit him [[NoSell to no effect]]''. What trickery is this?! [[spoiler:Joe just realized that when you are held at arms' length and cannot use the torso to increase your fists' power, said fists are greatly weakened, and Mendoza used that trick at Hawaii, and in the anime in that very match, to scare Joe and hide the fact he's a ''GlassCannon'']]. And once he's bored with the game, he punches Mendoza and knocks him down. That's when Jose realizes that Joe isn't just a WorthyOpponent like the ones he defeated so far, but could actually ''win''.

** Mendoza's comeback in the seventh round. Even in shock for what has just happened, his reaction is to try and take Joe's down with overwhelming power-and then, he realizes that [[spoiler:Joe is losing sight in an eye and he couldn't dodge him due his fists being slightly off-aim]], ''adapts and resumes dodging''. In hindsight, [[spoiler:this and the follow-up in the next five rounds is likely when Mendoza got the point advantage that won him the match]].

*** Mendoza had a perfect victory record, and the only ones that didn't end by knock-out were the ones where the opponent threw the towel. All of them, except the anime-only match against Karold Gomez, had ended by the third round... And Joe went the distance against ''that'', [[spoiler:even when weakened by his diet and in the advanced stages of punch drunk syndrome]].

*** Mendoza had a perfect victory record, and the only ones that didn't end by knock-out were the ones where the opponent threw the towel. All of them, except the anime-only match against Karold Gomez, had ended by the third round... And Joe went the distance against ''that''.

** The thirteenth round is when Joe finally gets the upper hand-by sending Mendoza in a nervous breakdown through [[TheDeterminator sheer determination]].

** Seeing Mendoza's onslaught, Yoko at first runs... Then, still horrified at Mendoza's overwhelming power, comes back just to support Joe, and steals Danpei's towel to keep him from throwing it.

** Mendoza's comeback in the seventh round. Even in shock for what has just happened, his reaction is to try and take Joe's down with overwhelming power-and then, he realizes that [[spoiler:Joe is losing sight in an eye and he couldn't dodge him due his fists being slightly off-aim]], ''adapts and resumes dodging''. In hindsight, [[spoiler:this and the follow-up in the next three rounds is likely when Mendoza got the point advantage that won him the match]].
** In the eight, ninth, and tenth round, Joe surviving Mendoza's onslaught, and actually fighting back. Mendoza praises him as a better man than himself just for the sheer determination, as he, in his place, would have thrown the towel.
** Seeing Mendoza's onslaught, Yoko at first runs... Then, still horrified at Mendoza's overwhelming power, comes back just to support Joe.

** Mendoza's comeback in the seventh round. Even in shock for what has just happened, his reaction is to try and take Joe's down with overwhelming power-and then, he realizes that [[spoiler:Joe is losing sight in an eye and he couldn't dodge him due his fists being slightly off-aim]], ''adapts and resumes dodging''. In hindsight, [[spoiler:this and the follow-up in the eight round is likely when Mendoza got the point advantage that won him the match]].
** In the eight round, Joe surviving Mendoza's onslaught, and actually fighting back. Mendoza praises him as a better man than himself just for the sheer determination, as he, in his place, would have thrown the towel.

** Mendoza's comeback in the seventh round. Even in shock for what has just happened, his reaction is to try and take Joe's down with overwhelming power-and then, he realizes that [[spoiler:Joe is losing sight in an eye and he couldn't dodge him due his fists being slightly off-aim]], ''adapts and resumes dodging''. In hindsight, [[spoiler:this is likely when Mendoza got the point advantage that won him the match]].

** Joe's reaction: he starts counting alongside the referee just to screw with him-and then, [[OhCrap much to Mendoza's horror]], ''puts his hands on the champ's shoulders and lets him hit him [[NoSell to no effect]]''. What trickery is this?! [[spoiler:Joe just realized that when you are held at arms' length and cannot use the torso to increase your fists' power, said fists are greatly weakened, and Mendoza used that trick at Hawaii, and in the anime in that very match, to scare Joe and hide the fact he's a ''GlassCannon'']]. And once he's bored with the game, he punches Mendoza and knocks him down.
*** One for Jose: the fact he ''came up'' with that trick.

*** Mendoza being knocked down was so shocking that Joe nearly won by knockout simply because ''Mendoza was too shocked to stand''.

** The location of the match is one for Kanto TV: they managed to top Yoko's baseball stadium by securing the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nippon_Budokan Nippon Budokan]]'', ''the'' most prestigious martial arts arena in Japan and the whole Far East.

** The very venue of the match: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nippon_Budokan Nippon Budokai]]. Doesn't have the capacity of the baseball stadium that Yoko managed to get, but is ''the'' most prestigious martial arts arena in Japan and the whole Far East.

** The counter for Harimao's somersault punch bears a distinct resemblance with ComicBook/{{Superman}}'s [[SignatureMove trademark flying punch]].

** Even better in the anime, as it cutting the airport encounter and the fight with Takigawa means that Harimao had not used his gimmick moves before... And Joe tanks them all, before neutralizing the somersault punch and ''[[OneHitKO knocking Harimao out cold with that]]''.

** Even better in the anime, as it cutting the airport encounter and the fight with Takigawa means that Harimao had not used his gimmick moves before... And Joe tanks them and finds the counters for all three of them on the spot, rather than just showing off the counter for the second he had days to come up with and come up with a counter for the third during the fight.

* During their fight, [[CurbStompBattle Joe giving Harimao an even more formidable beating than Tanigawa did]], neutralizing Harimao's gimmick technique, neutralizing Harimao's ''final'' gimmick technique in such a brutal fashion the beastman had a VillainousBreakdown, and then taking out a berserking Harimao ''without fouls''.

* Since his introduction, Harimao had been hyped for his strength. Then Yoko managed to set him a match against OPBF #5 bantamweight Takigawa to get him ranked and allow him to challenge Joe for the title... And Takigawa, taking advantage that [[UnskilledButStrong Harimao's technique is incredibly poor]], gives him a terrifying beating, even ''ridiculing'' his gymmick technique of a jumping punch by [[DeadlyDodging moving to the side and letting him injure his hand on the ring's floor]]. It takes Harimao's ''second'' gimmick technique, that uses the ropes to jump, to win... And it's expressely stated that Takigawa would have won anyway had he been a bit more used to unorthodox boxing. [[{{Foreshadowing}} Just from that statement, one can imagine how his match with Joe will go]].
* Realizing that to fight Harimao he needs his old wild spirit back, Joe calls a group of special sparring partners: [[FriendlyNeighbourhoodGangster "Goromaki" Gondo and a group of yakuza sluggers]]. First four sluggers, then the rest, and finally Gondo himself. [[CrazyAwesome It works]].

* Since his introduction, Harimao had been hyped for his strength. Then Yoko managed to set him a match against OPBF #5 bantamweight Takigawa to get him ranked and allow him to challenge Joe for the title... And Takigawa, taking advantage that [[UnskilledButStrong Harimao's technique is incredibly poor]], gives him a terrifying beating, even ''ridiculing'' his gymmick technique of a jumping punch by [[DeadlyDodging moving to the side and letting him injure his hand on the ring's floor]]. It takes Harimao's ''second'' gimmick technique, that uses the ropes to jump, to win... And it's expressely stated that Takigawa would have won anyway had he been a bit more used to unorthodox boxing. [[{{Foreshadowing}} Just from that statement, one can imagine how his match with Joe will go]].

** Another for Gomez: he took ''multiple hits'', surviving to the sixth round before going down. [[spoiler:It got him killed due the devastating power of the Corkscrew Punch]], but it still proved that he was stronger than even Carlos Rivera.

** The way Mendoza wins: [[LetsGetDangerous he gets serious near the end of the third round]], whipping out his devastating Corkscrew Punch and turning a slowly losing fight in a CurbStompBattle.
** Another for Gomez: he took ''multiple hits'' before going down. [[spoiler:It got him killed due the devastating power of the Corkscrew Punch]], but it still proved that he was stronger than even Carlos Rivera.

** [[DoomedByCanon As the final fight was already decided to be between Joe and Mendoza, Karold Gomez is obviously doomed to lose]]... But he didn't become a world champion by accident, and he proves it by fighting Mendoza head-on ''on his same level'', for three rounds. Considering Carlos went down halfway during the ''first'', just that is awesome.
** The way Mendoza wins: [[LetsGetDangerous he goes all-out in the third round]], whipping out his devastating Corkscrew Punch and turning an equal fight in a CurbStompBattle.

** Leon Smiley ''standing up after the cross counter''.