History YMMV / AshitaNoJoe

* TheScrappy: Harimao has been called a racist character and some feel that the stunts he pulls in the ring are outside the boundaries of the series' rules of realism.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The first anime series had a Big Lipped Alligator Character: the eccentric old man who acted as the doctor of the Tange Gym for a few episodes before the writers removed him from the plot entirely without any explanation of what happened to him. He was never mentioned after that and he doesn't appear in the manga (which the anime was based on).

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The first anime series had a Big Lipped Alligator Character: the eccentric old man who acted as the doctor of the Tange Gym for a few episodes before the writers removed him from the plot entirely without any explanation of what happened to him whatsoever. He was never mentioned after that and he didn't appear in the manga (which the anime was based on).

* EnsembleDarkhorse: ''Rikiishi'', big time. He's just that cool, and many viewers [[RootingForTheEmpire rooted for him]] during the prison arc due to Joe just being too much of a selfish prick at that point in the story. [[spoiler:There was even a real-life funeral for him after his death.]]

* NightmareFuel: The characters' expression after they get hit can be disturbing. Sometimes they look completely devoid of life. And it's not uncommon for them to cough blood.

* TrueArtIsAngsty: Very much so after a certain point (namely [[spoiler:Rikiishi's death]]). However, TropesAreNotBad: most people agree that the series is ''excellent'' as a drama.

** And about the third one, [[http://youtu.be/8QAQxxuBmfw well...]] [[ItWasHisSled we all know what happened there]]. Not helped by how [[spoiler: right before dying, Joe gives his bloodstained boxing gloves to Youko [[TragicKeepsake and tells her to keep them]]. Soon afterwards, Joe passes away; when Youko realizes that Joe is dead, she drops them in horror, and everyone starts standing up, and '''then''' we have THAT image...]]

* HoYaY/FoeYay: Joe and Carlos, so much. Joe at one point says that Carlos has "stolen his heart all over again".

* ItWasHisSled: If you don't know by now, [[spoiler:Toru Rikishi dies from injuries sustained from his match against Joe.]]

* ItWasHisSled: [[spoiler: If you don't know by now, he dies from injuries sustained from his match against Joe.]]
* JerkassWoobie: Ryuhi. On one hand it really sucks to [[spoiler: have your mom become a casualty of war in front of your very eyes and accidentally kill your father.]] But on the other hand, his sordid past clearly gives him a sense of entitlement; it makes him feel that he's better than anyone else in the sport, looks down on boxing as just a game that shouldn't be treated with any passion just because there are ''rules'' in the sport, and looks down on Joe especially for struggling with his weight, just because nobody else he knows had to go through what he did. Not a good way to win sympathy points.

* JerkassWoobie: On one hand it really sucks to [[spoiler: have your mom become a casualty of war in front of your very eyes and accidentally kill your father.]] But on the other hand, his sordid past clearly gives him a sense of entitlement; it makes him feel that he's better than anyone else in the sport, looks down on boxing as just a game that shouldn't be treated with any passion just because there are ''rules'' in the sport, and looks down on Joe especially for struggling with his weight, just because nobody else he knows had to go through what he did. Not a good way to win sympathy points.

* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: [[http://rinspirational.tumblr.com/post/26647831611 After he returns]] from [[spoiler: juvenile prison]], Joe is met with [[spoiler: a welcome back party and a newly built gym just for him and Nishi. He doesn't even know how to react, only staring as everybody laughs and dances in front of him. Later that night, while everyone else is asleep, [[CryCute he's crying quietly under the sheets.]] "This was the first time in his life he had ever felt loved by other people. That was the reason for his tears".]]

* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: After he returns from [[spoiler: juvenile prison]], Joe is met with [[spoiler: a welcome back party and a newly built gym just for him and Nishi. He doesn't even know how to react, only staring as everybody laughs and dances in front of him. Later that night, while everyone else is asleep, [[CryCute he's crying quietly under the sheets.]] "This was the first time in his life he had ever felt loved by other people. That was the reason for his tears".]]

* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: After he returns from [[spoiler: juvenile prison]], Joe is met with [[spoiler: a welcome back party and a newly built gym just for him and Nishi. He doesn't even know how to react, only staring as everybody laughs and dances in front of him. Later that night, while everyone else is asleep, he's crying quietly under the sheets. "This was the first time in his life he had ever felt loved by other people. That was the reason for his tears".]]

*** In the first anime, to add insult to injury, [[Rikishi falls with his hand still extended.]]

** And [[http://youtu.be/XSEq_eoeH2U one]], [[http://youtu.be/2mhqYhdTj1c well...]] [[ItWasHisSled we all know what happened there]]. Not helped by how [[spoiler: right before dying, Joe gives his bloodstained boxing gloves to Youko [[DyingDeclarationOfLove and tells her to keep them as the proof of his love for her]]; when she realizes that Joe is dead, she drops them in horror, and everyone starts standing up, and then we have THAT image...]]

* MoralEventHorizon: [[spoiler: After Joe humiliates Wolf in the locker room brawl, Wolf retaliates by ''beating up'' the neighbourhood children that Joe hung out with.]]

* TearJerker: The death of [[spoiler:Rikiishi]]. Joe finding out [[spoiler:Carlos]] has gotten a severe brain damage after his fight with [[spoiler:Jose]]. And of course, the entire finale.

* TearJerker: The death of [[spoiler:Rikiishi]], and later, [[spoiler:Joe himself.]]