Joe Yabuki is a young man living in the slums of Tokyo. But, one day he meets Danpei Tange, a former boxer, who discovers his... more>> potential in boxing and tries to make him into a champion. Due to petty crimes, Joe is sent to a juvenile prison. There Joe mets Toru Rikiishi, a promising boxer, who knocked him out with one blow when he attempted to escape prison. Slowly but surely, Joe realizes his own potential. Joe begins his boxing life, step by step, with only one goal in mind: To defeat Toru Rikiishi!! <<less

The story is about Hyuma Hoshi, a promising young baseball pitcher who dreams of becoming a top star like his father Ittetsu Hoshi in the professional Japanese league. His father was once a 3rd baseman until he was injured in World War II and was forced to retire. ... more>>

The boy would join the ever popular Giants team, and soon he would realize the difficulty of living up to the high expectations that came with such popularity. From the grueling training to battling his rival Mitsuru Hanagata on the Hanshin Tigers, he would have to take out his best pitching magic to met the challenge. <<less

Saotome Ai is a high school girl from a well-to-do family. When she was kid, she was in an accident that resulted in a young boy being permanently scarred between his eyes while she emerged unscathed. Although she never knew who he was, she never forgot him.... more>>

Taiga Makoto' a young man with a scar between his eyes, has had a rough life, but has emerged as a rough, tough bully - a thug and a brawler and about as rude as they come - all of which he blames on the incident that gave him his scar. When Ai and Makoto run into each other again, Ai feels guilt for what Makoto has become and decides to intervene and rehabilitate him. Is he a diamond in the rough, or just a bully? <<less

The titular Hanagata is a Junior High student who used to be an ace Little League Pitcher until he busted his shoulder. Now, in Junior... more>> High, he has decided to focus on his batting. But, the School has been banned from official games, and the baseball club has reluctant members. <<less

In the manga and anime, Tiger Mask (whose real name was Naoto Date) was a feared heel wrestler in America who was extremely vicious in the ring. However, he became a face after returning to Japan when a young boy said that he wanted to be a villain like Tiger Mask when he grew up. The boy resided in an orphanage, the same one that Tiger Mask grew up in during his childhood. Feeling that he did not want the boy to idolize a villain, Tiger was inspired to be a heroic wrestler.... more>>

The main antagonists in the manga and anime was Tiger's Cave, a mysterious organization that trained young people to be villainous heel wrestlers on the condition that they gave half of their earnings to the organization. Tiger Mask was once a member of Tiger's Cave but no longer wanted anything to do with them, instead donating his money to the orphanage. This infuriated the leader of the organization and he sent numerous assassins, including other professional wrestlers, to punish him.

Most of the environment and characters were fictitious, but real-life pro wrestlers Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba were included in the manga and anime as well. <<less