Fans of the boxing manga series "Hajime No Ippo" received the shock of their lives after the release of chapter 1202 which saw Makunouchi suffer his second consecutive defeat in what was supposed to be his big comeback fight.
He was looking to make an impressive return after a crushing knockout defeat to second-ranked Alfredo Gonzales several months prior. Instead, a desperation counter from his Filipino opponent sent him face first to the canvass yet again.
It was Makunouchi's second straight loss and the third overall for his career.
It's not entirely uncommon to see anime and manga protagonists experience defeat. In fact, it plays a huge part of the characters' development as growth is a common theme in many manga storylines.
However, even the most notorious loser-type characters have been known to bounce back almost immediately after being pounded into the dirt and get told how weak or unskilled they are. Naruto has done so time and again, "Slam Dunk's" Sakuragi has done it, and "Fairy Tail's" Natsu Dragneel has proven that no matter how mercilessly beaten one gets, he can always come back stronger with enough training.
This was not the case for Ippo, unfortunately. After previously being counterpunched into oblivion and realizing his own shortcomings at the hands of Gonzales, He had committed himself to strengthening his body and, with the help of Coach Kamogawa, develop a better version of his Dempsey roll to be able to get back into world title contention.
Nobody, except author George Morikawa, saw the loss coming. When the opening bell rang, everyone was excited to see the new Ippo and wondered how he would dominate his opponent who, prior to the fight, has been built up as nothing more than fodder.
And it certainly seemed that way. Early in the fight, Antonio Guevarra was already battered, demoralized and in absolute awe of Makunouchi's power.
In the fourth round, however, Just as Ippo sets Guevarra up for his improved Dempsey roll (which he had been so obsessed to defeat his opponent with), The Filipino had flashes of his family whom he swore to lift out of poverty with his boxing. Mustering enough courage, the southpaw Guevarra unleashed a vicious counter left straight that connects flush to Ippo's face, knocking him out.
This left readers in a state of shock and confusion, with many in social media questioning what Morikawa's motives were for giving the hero another (and somewhat meaningless) loss.
There were some who even speculated that the manga was nearing its end due to the author's persistent health issues.
The defeat was difficult to stomach, especially for fans who have followed Ippo since the beginning. With his newfound resolve, nobody would think that he would fall to somebody that he dominated for three full rounds.
Nevertheless, the fourth round of that fight seemed to expose another flaw in Ippo's character, one that his friend Takamura already lectured him about: He is still a human in the ring.
After his second loss to Gonzalez, Takamura berated Ippo for being soft and that to succeed in the world stage, one must cross a certain line within himself and leave his humanity behind, as the world stage is no place for humans but rather beasts. It is something Takamura has already done long ago and something Ippo appears to have no intention of doing given his kindhearted nature.
After this upsetting defeat, however, it will be determined what Ippo's decision is going to be if he wants to get back to his winning ways. Will he retire? Will he continue to fight as he is? Or will he take Takamura's advice and become a beast himself?
Either way, readers can only wait for George Morikawa to make up his mind.
