Tomorrow's Joe (1970)

Action · Animation · Drama

A young drifter named Joe Yabuki wanders through the slums of Tokyo, but when the local ruffians try to give him a hard time he teaches them a rough lesson with his fists. The spectacle sparks a gleam in the eye of an old drunk who happens to be watching—Danpei Tange, a failed boxer and former coach who sees something special in the boy. He pleads with Joe to train with him off, but the cocky young fighter brushes him. Later, though, when Joe is arrested and put in a juvenile detention facility, he realizes that he’s going to need to hone his raw fighting skills if he wants to survive. Thus is born a partnership that might just take Joe all the way to the top…

IMDb rating: 8.8 (3,053 votes)
Episode average: 8.5 -0.3 vs IMDb
Seasons: 2
Streaming (US): Amazon Prime Video · Crunchyroll
Language: JA
Type: TV series

Rising trajectory: each season at least as good as the last. Rising Shows ranks whole shows by the shape of their rating trend rather than one average score, which is how you find a show that got better rather than a show that started well. See every Rising show in the explorer →

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Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 2 seasons indexed

Cast

Seasons

Season 1 (1970)

8.18 avg 79 episodes 7.7 → 9.6 30 min avg

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Those Are the Eyes of a Beast!	7.7	480
2	Life in the Square Jungle	7.9	373
3	Fangs of the Beast Exposed!	7.5	342
4	Shed Tears for the Burning Fist!	8.5	360
5	For the Sake of Tomorrow! Part 1	7.7	335
6	Explode! Left Jab!	7.9	322
7	Don't Judge the Wolf!	8.1	314
8	Toko High Security Juvenile Prison	7.4	313
9	His Name Is Toru Rikiishi!	8.0	307
10	Scream of the Red Sunset!	8.1	295
11	Burn at the Bottom of Hell!	7.5	293
12	Shout at the Burning Sun	8.0	297
13	Stand in the Ring of Destiny	8.0	291
14	Is It Time for the KO Gong Yet!?	8.7	350
15	White Mat's Lullaby	7.9	286
16	The Setting Sun of Treachery	7.7	268
17	Alone in the Middle of a Storm	8.0	263
18	Ring Ropes of Despair	8.2	263
19	The Fearsome Liver Blow	8.2	263
20	Battle Scarred Victory	9.0	351
21	A Small Fight with a Big Honor	8.8	281
22	The Legendary Rikiishi Tooru	8.4	269
23	Farewell, Juvenile Prison	8.4	275
24	Return to Slum Town	8.2	264
25	Law of the Stray Dog	6.7	267
26	License of Despair	8.2	251
27	Bridge to Tomorrow	8.5	255
28	Wager for Glory	8.5	254
29	Challenge for Tomorrow	7.9	242
30	The Ordeal of the Pro Test	8.2	242
31	Spread Your Wings, Pro Boxer	7.7	239
32	The Road to the Shining Ring	8.3	243
33	Hooray for the First Victory	7.9	241
34	The Aspiring Boxer	7.7	234
35	Do Your Best! Nishi!	7.8	238
36	Wolf Kanagushi Bares His Fangs	7.6	232
37	Training Furiously	8.6	241
38	The Greatest Six-Round Bout in History	9.0	293
39	The Triple Cross of Victory	9.4	368
40	An Oath to the Snow	7.6	231
41	Rikiishi Tooru's Challenge	7.4	237
42	A Man's World	8.4	247
43	A Cruel Weight Loss	8.7	244
44	Rikiishi Tooru's Hard Fight!	8.1	227
45	Sway Back to Defeat Rikiishi!	8.0	228
46	The Man Who Risked Death	8.7	267
47	The Two Before the Storm	8.1	240
48	Showdown of Destiny	8.6	261
49	An Endless Deathmatch	9.2	328
50	End of the Battle	9.7	552
51	Burnt-out Life	9.8	1,248
52	Farewell, Rikiishi Toru	9.3	360
53	The Man I Hate	9.3	326
54	The Ten-Count Bell of Sorrow	8.8	248
55	The Wandering Ballad	8.8	175
56	The Wolf Revives	7.8	149
57	A Wounded Beast	7.7	141
58	The Body Blow of Victory	7.8	142
59	The Looming Black Shadow	7.5	139
60	The Fierce Sparring	7.8	141
61	The Thrown Towel	7.8	140
62	Rikiishi Toru Was Alive	7.7	141
63	The final Challenge	8.2	142
64	Enter Carlos	8.1	138
65	As Long as There's the Ring	7.8	138
66	Setting Out for Tomorrow	8.2	143
67	A Little Adventure	7.6	137
68	Fixed Match	7.9	134
69	Lullaby of the Ranch	7.7	145
70	The Guy I'm Worried About	8.3	138
71	Carlos the Uncrowned Emperor	8.1	133
72	Return to the Shining Ring	7.7	133
73	The Cross Counter Returns	8.2	136
74	Setting Out Today	7.7	136
75	Carlos, Magician of the Ring	7.9	142
76	The Burning Challenge	8.0	139
77	Battle of Men	8.0	143
78	Duel!! Carlos Vs. Yabuki Joe	9.1	193
79	Let the Shining Tomorrow Burn in the Distance!!	9.6	341

Season 2 (1980)

9.07 avg 47 episodes 8.8 → 9.8 24 min avg

Rebound

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	And Then, He Returned...	8.8	369
2	One Man, One Flower... Venture into the Ring	8.7	291
3	Messenger From Hell... Joe Yabuki	8.5	289
4	Back Then, The Ten-Point Bell Ringed	8.9	294
5	The Phantom... Strike the Temple!	8.7	279
6	Howl ... the Helpless Dog	8.7	278
7	Wandering ... Like a Wild Beast	8.7	274
8	It's him ... the man who burns, Carlos	9.0	305
9	And then .... the beast returned	9.2	305
10	Christmas Eve ... the gift	9.4	356
11	The battle begins ... Carlos vs. Joe	9.5	407
12	The night of the blizzard ... the endless fight	9.8	647
13	Tange gym... lasts forever	8.9	292
14	Where is it ... joe's youth?	9.3	325
15	For who ... The rain of deadly blows	9.0	279
16	A distant goal ... The road to the world	8.8	267
17	The big goal ... is made known	8.6	261
18	His fists ... the message of the scar	8.7	262
19	The human fighter computer ... Yongpi Kim	8.5	255
20	My bantamweight ... the challenge of weight loss	8.9	271
21	I can hear... Rikiishi sing	9.0	280
22	And then... the morning of the weighing	9.2	288
23	The burning beast... and the ice	9.6	382
24	The bell rings... the ring of the demon	9.2	322
25	In the sixt assault... the miracle happen	9.7	480
26	The champion ... and the glory of the defeated	8.8	261
27	Boxing... the requiem	8.8	257
28	Joe in Hawaii	9.0	266
29	Defending the title	9.0	266
30	Great Champion... José	8.9	263
31	The sign of the champion	9.1	283
32	Return home	8.9	274
33	Another challenge	9.0	266
34	The incident	9.3	293
35	The champion hermit	9.1	267
36	The strategy of Alex	8.4	270
37	The Tiger	8.6	264
38	Risky Training	8.6	270
39	The Punch-Drunk Fighter	9.7	543
40	The Goal Is Near	9.2	318
41	Mendoza's arrival	9.2	304
42	Alex's Fears	9.0	331
43	Mountain Training	9.3	353
44	I Love You, Joe	9.7	652
45	The Battle Begins	9.7	680
46	Joe Does Not Surrender	9.8	1,227
47	The Great End	9.8	2,688

Tomorrow's Joe (1970)

Cast

Seasons

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