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1[[quoteright:230:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ring_ni_kakero_vol_1_reprint_7593.jpg]]
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3''Ring ni Kakero'' (リングにかけろ Ringu ni Kakero?), or ''Put It All in the Ring'', is a manga created by Creator/MasamiKurumada. A total of 25 volumes were published in ''Weekly Magazine/ShonenJump'' between 1977 and 1981. It is one of the magazine's best-selling manga series of all time, with over 13 million copies sold, as well as one of Kurumada's personal favorites.
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5The sequel, ''Ring ni Kakero 2'', was published as a {{seinen}} in ''Super Jump'', between 2000 and 2009. It had 26 volumes. The anime is actually pretty recent, its four seasons running from 2004 to 2011.
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7The story centers around the life of a young boxer named Ryuuji Takane and his sister Kiku, who is also his coach. Their father had been a famous boxer but is now deceased. Ryuuji and his sister both inherited their father's talent for boxing: Ryuuji inherited his strength and techniques, while Kiku picked up his talent for analysis and strategy. Ryuuji and Kiku leave home to train and become famous in order to help their lonely mother, Chiyo. On the way to stardom, they have to defeat the strongest challengers all over the world...
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11!!Ring ni Kakero has the following tropes:
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13* AbortedArc: "Froggy" Rokusuke Ono, a 25-year-old amateur boxer struggling for a professional boxing license, has almost the same spotlight as Ryuji in the early ''manga''... But he almost dissapears from the story when the FiveManBand members are introduced. Likewise, most of Ryuji's surrounding cast, with the exception of Jun Kenzaki, get almost completely out of focus roughly at the same time.
14* AbusiveParents:
15** The Takane siblings's [[ParentwithNewParamour stepfather]] is an irresponsible drunkard who abuses the HELL out of Chiyo and the children.
16** Shinatora's dad wasn't the best parent either.
17* TheAce: Jun Kenzaki and Takeshi Kawai are portrayed as more naturally talented than Ryuuji.
18* BreakTheCutie: The Takane's past. They go to Tokyo pretty much to run away from their stepdad, in addition to fulfill their dad's dreams.
19* BrotherSisterTeam:
20** Ryuji and Kiku, with him as a prospect boxer an Kiku as TheStrategist.
21** Also the Kawai siblings, Takeshi and Takako.
22* CharlesAtlasSuperpower:
23** In this universe, if you train boxing hard enough, your left hook will be powerful enough to scorch the side of a building and pavement.
24** The Kaiser Knuckles only takes this trope to ridiculous levels.
25** To say nothing of Jun Kenzaki actually crushing atoms with his punches.
26* ComingOfAgeStory: For both Ryuuji and Kiku, who must grow not just as a BrotherSisterTeam but also as persons.
27* CrapsaccharineWorld: The Tokyo of TheSeventies is described as this in the beginning.
28* {{Delinquents}}: The Black Shaft team hires a bunch of these. [[spoiler: They kidnap Kiku and Ryuuji has to fight to get her back]]
29* DefeatMeansFriendship: As a Shounen Jump flagship title, to be expected. Many characters that had abrasive traits have mellowed out considerably after being defeated.
30* DisappearedDad: Ryuuji and Kiku's dad was a promising boxer who died of illness.
31* DoggedNiceGuy: Roku, one of the boxers in the gym Kiku and Ryuuji live in, has a massive crush on the waitress Setsuko. [[ShipperOnDeck Ryuuji ships them]].
32* DrugsAreBad: In his way to his first day of junior high, Ryuuji walks on a bunch of school kids lazing around. One of them is a girl named Sachiko Kimura, and she's clearly seen sniffing glue from a bag.
33* {{Expy}}: It's Ryuuji, not Seiya! And it's Kenzaki, not Ikki!
34** You could think this is a case of OnlySixFaces, but actually this is deliberate on Kurumada's part. He abides by the "star system" concept and therefore has archetypes he re-uses across his works, hence why the relationship between Ryuuji-Kenzaki matches Seiya-Ikki for the first arc of ''Manga/SaintSeiya''.
35** Also, it is not a coincidence if Kawai, who shares roughly the same archetype as Shun, Kawai, follows a similar CharacterArc [[spoiler:(Pulling a FaceHeelTurn, having a dark destiny forced upon themselves, and eventually overcoming it.)]]
36** Likewise, you could say Kawai shares some traits with Hyoga, both can be quite vicious and outright ruthless, and are being called "noblemen" in their respective series, [[spoiler:and depend on a family member to unhealthy levels, and have to learn to grow out of this.]]
37** Ishimatsu shares traits with Unicorn Jabu, and is likely a form of AuthorAvatar, when you compare with how he draws himself in ''Ao no Jidai -Ichigo Ichie-'', and how much Ishimatsu mixes very serious and self-aware moments, and ComicRelief.
38** Kazuki Shinatora turns out to share a lot of traits with Shiryu, if not the face. As for the face, it seems to draw from a personal friend of Kurumada if ''Ao no Jidai'' is to be trusted.
39** If there is a badass feat of prowess or downright ridiculous manliness to accomplish, or cathartic punishment to dish out that will send everyone gaping in awe, leave it to either Jun Kenzaki or Phoenix Ikki.
40** In the Ashura arc, the heroes must overcome nine gates to rescue one of their long-time allies, and every gate has at least one assigned protector. Years later, the heroes of ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' must overcome the guardians of the Twelve Houses to rescue one of their long-time allies. Ironically, the Ashura arc is considered [[ArcFatigue the most pointless arc of the series]], yet ''Saint Seiya'''s Twelve Houses arc is considered the SignatureSeriesArc.
41* FlawlessVictory: The protagonists insist on accomplishing this. This means for team matches that merely taking one loss is not acceptable, and ups the stakes considerably, more often than not leaving Ryuji to fight the final match against the most powerful remaining opponent, risking being confronted with their efforts being AllForNothing.
42* {{Foil}}:
43** The Kawai siblings are a foil to the Takane siblings. Both Kiku and Takako might be bona fide geniuses when it comes to boxing, but they know they are women in the Showa era male-dominated society of Japan, and so decide to realize their dreams of stardom through boxing by training their younger sibling. However, the Kawai siblings are in a very unhealthy codependent relationship, which they are forced to acknowledge and get over.
44* GirlishPigtails: Kiku wears her hair like that.
45* HeroicRROD: [[spoiler:Happens to Jun after the initial fight with Ryuuji. From then on, Ryuuji fights for both of their dreams for a time.]]
46** [[spoiler:Ultimately, every protagonist suffers this... This is especially visible for Ryuuji and Jun, but it has nonetheless very long lasting, nasty consequences visible in the sequel for those who survived...]]
47* HotTeacher: Asaoka-sensei, Ryuuji's unflappable and sexy junior high teacher. Very much [[MaleGaze so.]]
48** BadassTeacher: She also slaps Ryuuji and the local bully for beating each other up, without any fear or hesitation.
49* HowWeGotHere: At some point, we see one of Ryuuji and Kenzaki's most important matches. From then on, the narrative switches to Kiku explaining how this came to be.
50* InnocentlyInsensitive: As a kid, Kiku truly wanted Ryuuji to toughen up and train so he'd become a good boxer like their dad. Bad thing, this was so hard at fist that poor Ryuuji was traumatized.
51* JapaneseDelinquents: Some of Ryuuji's junior high classmates, especially Akira Tajima. [[DefeatMeansFriendship Ryuuji ends up befriending Tajima after the deal with the boxing club]].
52* JapaneseSchoolClub: When Ryuuji gets into junior high, he decides to check on the boxing club. Where the new students (including the bully who beat him up at the start of the day) are totally curb-stomped by the senpais. Ryuuji then fights ''all'' of them... and wins.
53* OfficialCouple: Roku and Setsuko. Later, [[spoiler: Kenzaki and Kiku. Their son, Rindou, is the protagonist of the sequel.]]
54* TheOjou: Kanako Sanjou, a young girl from a rich family who befriends Ryuuji and Kiku.
55* NoSwastikas: There is a German team, with very specific and fashionable trench coat uniforms, and in the anime they are very big on the pride of the German people... Three guesses as to what they say in the manga, and the two first don't count.
56* NationalStereotypes: The American team is leaden by a SoulBrotha named "Black Film/{{Shaft}}" who also recruits a DeathRow inmate, a [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels Hells Angels]] and a [[TheKlan Klansman]]. In the international arc, the [[MachoLatino sole Mexican team member shown]] unsuccesfully [[LatinLover tries to hit on Kiku]], the Italians are a team of ''[[TheMafia mafiosi]]'' whose main tactic is RemovingTheRival before their fights, the French are [[DudeLooksLikeALady effeminate]] yet [[EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench gorgeous]] quintuplets (who look like they've been ripped straight out of ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles''), the Germans are [[GermanicEfficiency science-obsessed]] [[AllGermansAreNazis Nazis]], and the Greeks are named after (and ambiguosly related to) the deities, myths and heroes of Myth/ClassicalMythology.
57** Averted with the world bantamweight champion from the last arc, who is literally named [[CrystalDragonJesus Jesus Christ]] and has the ability to give his rival a long hallucination about the Literature/BookOfGenesis... And hails from Monaco, of all places.
58** ''Ring ni Kakero 2'' adds new countries to the international Junior boxing championship, namely Egypt, Spain and Chile. The Egyptian boxer [[CurseOfThePharaoh can curse his opponents]] and is powered by literal PyramidPower, the Spaniard boxer [[TorosYFlamenco is a flamenco dancer and fights as in a bullfight]], and the Chilean boxer is a savage, growling fighter [[MassiveNumberedSiblings with a massive family]].
59* PintSizePowerHouse: Ishimatsu Katori is the shortest of the main characters and often confused for a Junior High student, but he is also the residing heavy hitter of the group!
60* PleaseDontLeaveMe -> IWillWaitForYou: The Takane children decide to run away from their abusive household, but their mother Chiyo catches them in the train station and begs them to stay. They refuse, but promise to come back for her when Ryuuji becomes a proper boxer; as she watches them go Chiyo promises to wait for their return.
61* PluckyGirl: Kiku utterly refuses to let go of her and Ryuuji's dreams. As a proof, [[spoiler: when her and Ryuuji's stepfather refuses to give them food and even beats their mother Chiyo for saving some for them, Kiku SNAPS and beats him with her bare fists, using her father's techniques, and then force feeds him rice while loudly calling him out on his bullshit.]]
62* PrincelyYoungMan: Kenzaki and Takeshi fit the IceKing type.
63* PromotionToParent: In practice, Kiku gets this when she and Ryuuji escape from Yamaguchi to Tokyo. They later get pretty much HappilyAdopted by a local doctor.
64* TheRival: Several, but the biggest one is Jun Kenzaki.
65* SamePlotSequel: ''Ring ni Kakero 2'''s arc progression is very similar to the one of it's prequel:
66** ''Ring ni Kakero'' follows Ryuji Takane's growth as a boxer in Japan, after rebelling from his stepfather, until he becomes the best boxer in the nation and gathers a Japanese team ➜ a foreign team challenges the Japanese (USA) ➜ the Japanese go on a journey to defeat another ancient Japanese team (Shadow) ➜ the main team participates in an international contest (against Italy, France, Germany and Greece; and minor cameos from Mexico and Holland) ➜ a team of Twelve Olympians challenges Japan in search of a {{Macguffin}} ➜ a mysterious Japanese clan (Ashura) challenge Ryuji, with the help of one of the former main heroes ➜ the main character and his rival Jun Kenzaki enter the WBA Bantamweight championship to demonstrate who's the best.
67** ''Ring ni Kakero 2'' follows Rindō Kenzaki's (the son of Jun Kenzaki) growth as a boxer in Japan, after rebelling from his father, until he becomes the best boxer in the nation and gathers a Japanese team (with a Shadow member) ➜ the Japanese go on a journey to challenge a foreign team (Germany) ➜ two foreign teams challenge the Japanese (Italy, France) ➜ the main team participates in an international contest (against USA, Italy, France, Germany and Greece; with minor cameos from Egypt, Spain and Chile) with the help of a mysterious new Japanese hero from the Ashura clan ➜ a team of Twelve Olympians challenges Japan in search of a Macguffin ➜ the main character and his rival Ryūdō Omura (who is identical to Ryuji Takane) enter the WBA and WBC Bantamweight championships to unify them and demonstrate who's the best.
68* SerialEscalation: One of the earliest [[TropeCodifier trope codifiers]] on ''Magazine/ShonenJump'':
69** The series starts as a relatively realistic boxing drama, although by the time of the [[TournamentArc all-Japan Junior boxing championship]] happens, some of the characters start displaying unrealistic [[SignatureMove signature moves]]. The following arc reunites the [[FiveManBand best five fighters]] from the previous arcs and pits them against a team assembled by the American Junior champion [[InternationalShowdownByProxy in a Japan VS USA tournament]].
70** The Shadow arc throws away whatever portrayal of realism was left by the end of the previous arc: the new enemy is an organization of boxers from an old [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown unsanctioned Japanese boxing offshoot]], who challenge Ryuji to prove his true power by overcoming the challenges of a [[ItsAllUpstairsFromHere five-floor pagoda]]. After that, the best five boxers from the organization challenge Japan's five-man band, and almost every member of the cast develops their signature moves. This arc also introduces a [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement powerful brass knuckle]] that enhances the main character's strength to never before seen levels.
71** The international Junior boxing championship arc constantly introduces teams of five boxers to fight against the five main characters -- almost every enemy has its own SignatureMove. The renewed American team, the strongest team of two arcs ago (which supposedly improved since they appeared), [[TheWorfEffect gets defeated behind the scenes]] by the main team's first true rival.
72** The Twelve Olympians arc stars an alliance of the Japan team with some boxers from the Shadow / International arcs, who must fight a team of twelve Greek boxers who were [[TheManBehindTheMan the bosses behind the previous arc's strongest team]] -- almost every character from the starring team develops an even deadlier signature move. Also, to show the Olympians' power, two boxers of the five-man Greece Jr. team [[TheWorfEffect get killed by no-name mooks]]. The brass knuckle of the previous arcs turns out to be [[DismantledMacGuffin only one in a pair]], which only the BigBad possesses.
73** The Ashura arc is similar to the Shadow arc: a superhuman clan of ([[InformedAbility supposedly]]) [[HealingFactor invulnerable]] fighters challenges the Japanese team, [[FaceHeelTurn even recruiting one of them]] [[spoiler: (who turns out to be the final challenger before the BigBad, before [[HeelRealization changing sides]])]] and force Ryuji to pass the [[ItsAllUpstairsFromHere nine gate guardians]] to defeat their leader [[spoiler: (who is DeadAllAlong, but the Ashura clan didn't know it)]]. Ryuji has the opportunity to use the two legendary brass knuckles in the end of the arc, [[spoiler: and throws them away in the end]].
74** Semi-averted in the WBA Bantamweight Champion arc, which dials back to the drama and semi-realism of the early ''manga'' focusing again on the Ryuji-Kenzaki rivalry, yet keeps the outlandish signature moves of the series and even has an opportunity to add some of the most over-the-top moves yet.
75* ShoutOut: The first half of the Shadow arc has Ryuji overcoming opponents on a five-floor pagoda, just like in ''Film/GameOfDeath''.
76* ShownTheirWork: Especially in the beginning, there are rather interesting tips and info on boxing, Japanese boxers and their lifestyles, etc.
77* SpinOffspring: Pretty much every character of note gets a boxer offspring in ''Ring ni Kakero 2'': Three members of the main FiveManBand (Jun Kenzaki, Kazuki Shinatora and Takeshi Kawai) get boxing sons or nephews, as does the American team. Don Giuliano and Napoleon Valois, the leaders of the Italian and French teams, manage to raise large families of their own. The whole Shadow, Germany, Greece and Twelve Olympians teams get expies of their predecessors, and even an anonymous Ashura manages to [[spoiler:[[TheMole sneak in the main characters' team]]]]. In the latter half of the ''manga'', mysterious [[{{Expy}} expies]] of the deceased Ryuji Takane and Kiku Takane appear, and they turn out to be [[spoiler: Rindō Kenzaki's abandoned [[BastardAngst fraternal twin brother]], and [[InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals the orphaned granddaughter of a]] Kenzaki family butler, both happily caretaken by the head of the Omura gym (whose backstory gets developed in the sequel)]].
78* TrainingFromHell: All boxers underwent this to some degree.
79** Deconstructed with Shinatora and Kenzaki at the beginning. The former had his hand pretty much permanently damaged as a result of his father's brutal kendo training [[note]]Which consisted of trying to empty a basket of eggs, ''with a high speed freaking fan with freaking katana blades in the middle!''[[/note]], while the latter strained his body to the point of turning his muscles into [[GlassCannon Glass Cannons]] which resulted in him leaving to America for the recovery surgery, and little to no hope he would recover completely. Of course, this being a shounen, both cases later get {{Reconstruction}}.
80* UnrequitedLoveLastsForever: Poor Ishimatsu. [[spoiler:Though, it is his love for Kiku that has him raise Rindou.]]
81* WorthyOpponent: It should be mentioned that while mostly everyone looks down on Ryuji as some backwater kid, or a lucky stand-in for Kenzaki, the latter acknowledges this destiny extremely early on, even when other people are convinced Ryuji as the underdog will never amount to anything. This is after him getting a share of humble pie from Ryuji very early on. From this moment on, he knew they would fight each other for the championship title.

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