“After landing Baeksan in the hospital, Yu finds himself taking up K's offer to join his gym. The legendary coach sweeps Yu away and gives him a new hairstyle, a new place to live, and a new goal: become king of the boxing world! But K's other prodigies aren't too keen on a clueless, scrawny newbie receiving all their trainer's attention… Still, Yu may have bigger fish to fry—his first professional fight has been set, and he's facing the infamous “rookie killer,” John Taker. Can Yu's innate genius hold a candle to years of experience and underhanded tricks?!” (IZE Press)
Martial arts manga excel within a very specific formula, almost always following a young hopeful looking to prove his/her worth on the world stage. Variation in the genre exists, either through the fluctuating amount of violence, reaching extremes like “Grappler Baki” or choosing to remain in the realm of realism like in “Hajime no Ippo“. Alternatively, mangakas will create characters that differ wildly in motivations, whether it be the desire to hurt people as in “Shamo“, or someone looking at fighting as a way to cope such as in “Holyland“. Regardless of the potential extremes in tone and violence the genre sees, the foundation is always the same–one/man woman versus the world. Yet, despite titles aiming to capture the excitement of martial arts being plentiful only a handful become iconic.
Enter JH's “The Boxer”, a title that has already established itself with an explosive print debut. Having already cut its teeth through the WebToon format, the title looks to expand to a larger audience through print, as well as a planned anime adaptation recently announced. Moreover, the man behind the project, JH, is one of the most exciting talents to emerge from Korea. Combine the unique talent of JH, with increased accessibility to fans through print, and an upcoming adaptation, and “The Boxer” is poised to become a future classic. Ultimately, the title excels in the genre and will, ultimately, increase Manhwa's prominence and ability to compete with its Japanese counterpart.
Check this interview with cartoonist Ken Niimura
Perhaps this sentiment comes across as exaggerated in a series that is still ongoing, but the second volume delivers everything one would hope for in a boxing comic. Notably, the story presents Yu's first official match with a charismatic opponent known for ruining the careers of debuting fighters. While the match proves to be one-sided, JH digs into the psychology and life story of Yu's opponent to complement story-building and lore as to Yu's impact on the world of boxing. Simultaneously, JH introduces multiple figures who emerge from the shadows or are recovering from their losses to play a part later in the story. Consequently, the story of “The Boxer” is deeply absorbing and feels planned out far into the future, the potential match-ups will already have martial arts fans salivating for the next volume.
The visual presence of the book, already impressive in the inaugural release, amps up in volume 2 with the first fight perfectly capturing both the explosive action and the psychology that goes into a fight. In a single match, JH is able to establish Yu as a terrifying individual in the ring as his mere presence pushes his opponent to spiral into past trauma. Moreover, JH's willingness to experiment with visual storytelling creates impactful moments of surrealism which perfectly capture the chaos in the ring. The art is impeccable, but JH's visual style stands out in a format that often loses personality due to demanding scheduling or an overreliance on digital art.
As a long-time fan of martial arts comics, there are few titles that capture the exhilarating nature of the sport backed by such an engaging story to a degree that leaves you in awe. Undeniably, it will be exciting to see how the series develops, the reception of the anime adaptation, as well as watch JH become an iconic figure within the manhwa medium as he continues to develop with each project (keep a look out for JH's phenomenal “The Horizon” also set for release by IZE Press).
