Kodansha USA Announces License for 'Trapped on Tape!', 'Hajime no Ippo' Returns to Print
According to Anime News Network, Kodansha USA announced on August 21, 2026 that it has licensed the new manga series Trapped on Tape! and will release an English print edition of the legendary boxing manga Hajime no Ippo: Fighting Spirit!. In the same announcement, it was stated that two series, How to Grill Our Love and Abe-kun's Got Me Now, will also receive physical print editions under the Kodansha Print Club label.
Hajime no Ippo is one of the longest-running sports manga titles created by George Morikawa and published in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine since 1989. The series tells the story of Makunouchi Ippo, who is bullied at school and sets out on the path to becoming a professional boxer. With more than 140 volumes released in Japan, the manga has gained a wide fan base through its first anime adaptation from 2000 to 2002 and the subsequent New Challenger and Rising seasons. Previously published briefly in North America by Tokyopop under the name Fighting Spirit!, the series has long been unavailable in an English print edition.
This new licensing agreement is an important opportunity both for readers who have long wanted to complete their collections of the series and for those who will be discovering Hajime no Ippo for the first time. Kodansha USA's announcement stands out as part of publishers' efforts to make cult-status series accessible again by bringing their digital catalogs to physical shelves. Kodansha Print Club, as one of the best-known examples of this strategy, is also bringing titles previously available only digitally to readers in quality volumes.
Details about Trapped on Tape!, such as its premise, author, and release date, are still limited; however, it has been stated that the series will begin publishing on digital platforms. The Print Club editions of How to Grill Our Love and Abe-kun's Got Me Now will also hit bookstores in the coming months. Fans can follow the volume schedule and pricing information for the English edition of Hajime no Ippo in particular through Kodansha USA's official channels.
