Tomorrow's Joe

Apr 1, 1970

A former boxer and current drunkard named Danpei Tange meets a drifter named Joe Yabuki and sees potential in him. Tange offers to teach Joe how to box, but Joe isn't easily convinced.

Apr 8, 1970

Danpei is severely hurt after trying to protect Joe from the yakuza. Joe goes to visit the head of the yakuza group to try to get reparations for Danpei.

Apr 15, 1970

Danpei works hard day and night to save up for Joe and his boxing gym. Meanwhile, Joe uses the slum kids to con some money out of people and he runs into a woman named Yoko Shiraki.

Apr 22, 1970

Joe holes up in an abandoned building after he gets caught lying to con people out of money.

Apr 29, 1970

Tange sends Joe a letter to teach him boxing while he's at the police hospital waiting for his fate.

May 6, 1970

Joe ends up in a juvenile classification home and is quickly put into his place after trying to be cocky against his fellow inmates and their boss Nishi.

May 13, 1970

Joe, Tange, and the kids show up to court to hear if Joe will be sent off to the juvenile training school.

May 20, 1970

Joe and Nishi spend their first night at the Toko Special Juvenile Training School and are quickly put into their places.

May 27, 1970

Joe and Nishi are sent out with the rest of the inmates to do some farmwork. Later on, Nishi comes up with a plan to help Joe escape the island, but they meet a man named Toru Rikiishi.

Jun 3, 1970

Joe is completely out of it after getting punched by Rikiishi. However, later on, he had a huge surprise in store for everyone.

Jun 10, 1970

Joe continues to practice boxing while he's alone in solitary. Danpei and the kids try to find a way into the juvenile training school when they unexpectedly run into Yoko.

Jun 17, 1970

Joe tells Yoko why he treats her so badly. Rikiishi tries to interfere and Yoko proposes that they settle this in a boxing match. Tange finally gets to train Joe again in person.

Jun 24, 1970

Joe and Rikiishi prepare for their upcoming match. After seeing just how powerful Joe's new punch is, Rikiishi devises a unique training method to counter it.

Jul 1, 1970

Joe and Rikiishi finally have their first match. But for some reason, Danpei tells Joe to let Rikiishi keep knocking him down. Who will be the winner in the end?

Jul 8, 1970

Moved by the fight between Joe and Rikiishi, the inmates also start boxing.

Jul 15, 1970

Tange becomes the full-time boxing coach at the juvenile training school on Nogiku Island. Joe seems to finally be interested in training more with Tange, but Tange suddenly seems distant.

Jul 22, 1970

Joe keeps trying to get Tange to coach him again, but Tange just keeps ignoring him and concentrates on training Aoyama. No one expected Aoyama to get into the tournament, but he then somehow defeats the rep for dorm 7, Numata.

Jul 29, 1970

The dormitory boxing tournament begins and everyone finds out just how Aoyama defeated Numata.

Aug 5, 1970

Joe and Aoyama's match finally begins, but who will come out on top?

Aug 12, 1970

Joe and Aoyama's match concludes and Tange reveals something to our two fighters.

Aug 19, 1970

Rikiishi tells Joe that they need to have their match sooner because something came up, so they have an unofficial match out in the rain.

Aug 26, 1970

Rikiishi leaves Toko Special Juvenile Training School and Joe feels empty inside. Meanwhile, the final match of the dorm boxing tournament is about to begin.

Sep 2, 1970

Following Rikiishi and Aoyama, Nishi is also going to leave the juvenile training school, leaving Joe all alone.

Sep 9, 1970

Joe finally leaves the juvenile training school and goes back to the slums where he's welcomed back with open arms, and Danpei has a surprise for him.

Sep 16, 1970

Joe finally feels like something might be changing in his life, but then he is visited by Guerilla, who's on the run from the police.

Sep 23, 1970

Tange goes to the Japan Boxing Association to get his gym officially recognized. Meanwhile, Joe starts working at the grocery store Nishi works at.

Sep 30, 1970

Tange is unable to get the license for his gym, but then, an unexpected visitor gives them an unbelievable offer.

Oct 7, 1970

Joe goes to see the All Japan Rookie Championship Tournament and figures out a way to get one of the members of the Boxing Association to give Tange the license he needs for his gym.

Oct 14, 1970

Tange is able to get the license for his gym after the stunt Joe pulled at the All Japan Rookie Championship Tournament, but he says that Joe's not ready to become a pro yet himself. However, Joe's got his own ideas.

Oct 21, 1970

Joe and Nishi go take the pro boxing test and Joe finds out that it's not as easy as he thought it would be.

Oct 28, 1970

Joe passes the B-rank exam and takes his first real step towards becoming a pro.

Nov 4, 1970

Nishi and Joe both have their debut matches in the pro ring.

Nov 11, 1970

Everyone celebrates after Joe's first victory. Noriko gets him violets but those are quickly overshadowed by the giant bouquet of roses Yoko sends him.

Nov 18, 1970

Ishikura watches Joe win a boxing match and decides he wants to be just like him. He then suddenly shows up to Tange's gym wanting to join, but Tange surprisingly refuses.

Nov 25, 1970

Nishi loses all three matches so far after becoming a pro and loses his confidence. Tange, Joe, and the kids try to find a way to build his confidence back up and Kinoko finds a surprising solution.

Dec 2, 1970

Joe continues winning match after match and asks Tange when he's going to go up against Wolf Kanagushi. Tange tells him they're going to take it nice and slow, but then, Otaka sends them an invitation...

Dec 9, 1970

Joe, Tange, and Nishi are anxious about what Wolf's secret training could be. The kids decide they'll sneak into the Asia Boxing Club to find out what Wolf's training is, but things go terribly wrong.

Dec 16, 1970

Joe and Wolf's match finally begins. Whose training will bring them victory?

Dec 23, 1970

Joe and Wolf's intense match finally comes to an end. Who will stand victorious?

Dec 30, 1970

Tange takes Joe, Nishi, and the rest of the neighborhood on a hot springs trip to celebrate Joe's victory, but on their way up, they find out that Wolf may have been incapacitated.

Jan 6, 1971

The new year has arrived and Joe finds out that Rikiishi is losing weight to become a bantamweight so he can face off with Joe.

Jan 13, 1971

Joe and Rikiishi continue training for their match. However, Rikiishi is starting to worry Yoko and Mikinosuke because he is going to extreme lengths to lose weight.

Jan 20, 1971

Tange formally accepts Shiraki Gym's match request between Rikiishi and Joe and he tells Joe about Rikiishi's brutal weight loss regimen. Meanwhile, Nishi doesn't seem to be losing any weight...

Jan 27, 1971

Rikiishi has his first match as a bantamweight against Pancho Leo. Who will come out on top?

Feb 3, 1971

Joe asks Tange and Nishi to help him improve his sway backs so he has a way to counter Rikiishi.

Feb 10, 1971

While Joe continues his intense training, Rikishi is equally devoted to maintaining his weight.

Feb 17, 1971

On the day of the match, Joe and Danpei reunite with Rikishi during the weigh-in and acknowledge his impressive weight-cutting success.

Feb 24, 1971

Joe realizes that Rikishi has stabilized his body after extreme weight loss.

Mar 3, 1971

Rikishi's uppercut grazes Joe's cheek, causing it to bleed. Alarmed, Joe moves in close during the third round, leading to an intense exchange of hooks.

Mar 10, 1971

Joe fortifies his guard for the first time in his professional career, but Rikishi's fierce attack knocks him down.

Mar 17, 1971

The fierce battle ends. Joe extends a congratulatory handshake to Rikishi, who starts to smile but collapses onto the mat.

Mar 24, 1971

On the day of Rikishi's funeral, Joe leaves their condolences to Danpei and Nishi and tries to distract himself by playing energetically with the children by the riverside.

Mar 31, 1971

Joe wanders through the town on a snowy night, carrying memories of Rikishi. To Joe, who has no family, Rikishi was an irreplaceable presence...

Apr 7, 1971

Three days after Joe disappeared, a ten-count gong was held at Korakuen Hall to mourn Rikishi's death. Joe watches the scene on a street-side TV.

Apr 14, 1971

Apr 21, 1971

Apr 28, 1971

May 5, 1971

May 12, 1971

May 19, 1971

May 26, 1971

Jun 2, 1971

Jun 9, 1971

Jun 16, 1971

Jun 23, 1971

Jun 30, 1971

Jul 7, 1971

Jul 14, 1971

Jul 21, 1971

Jul 28, 1971

Aug 4, 1971

Aug 11, 1971

Aug 18, 1971

Aug 25, 1971

Sep 1, 1971

Sep 8, 1971

Sep 15, 1971

Sep 22, 1971

Sep 29, 1971

Oct 13, 1980

Oct 20, 1980

Oct 27, 1980

Nov 3, 1980

Nov 10, 1980

Nov 17, 1980

Nov 24, 1980

Dec 1, 1980

Dec 8, 1980

Dec 15, 1980

Dec 22, 1980

Dec 29, 1980

Jan 5, 1981

Jan 12, 1981

Jan 19, 1981

Jan 26, 1981

Feb 2, 1981

Feb 9, 1981

Feb 16, 1981

Feb 23, 1981

Mar 2, 1981

Mar 9, 1981

Mar 16, 1981

Mar 23, 1981

Mar 30, 1981

Apr 6, 1981

Apr 13, 1981

Apr 20, 1981

Apr 27, 1981

May 4, 1981

May 11, 1981

May 18, 1981

May 25, 1981

Jun 1, 1981

Jun 8, 1981

Jun 15, 1981

Jun 22, 1981

Jun 29, 1981

Jul 6, 1981

Jul 13, 1981

Jul 20, 1981

Jul 27, 1981

Aug 3, 1981

Aug 10, 1981

Aug 17, 1981

Aug 24, 1981

Aug 31, 1981

No one doubts Jose’s victory, but something begins to change. While, Jose is unable to knockout Joe completely, Joe masters Jose’s corkscrew punch and continues to fight with a blatant disregard for his life.