Takamori was perhaps the biggest manga author of his day, churning out hit after hit in the 60s and 70s, including ""Ashita no Joe,"" ""Star of the Giants,"" and ""Tiger Mask."" While all are nominally sports manga, Takamori's great skill was in bringing other dimensions to his work. Tetsuya Chiba, known primarily for his sports manga, is one of the most influential manga artists of all time and winner of innumerable awards.
""I have never had a single manga series hyped to me more than Ashita no Joe....I finally got it in my hands and even with all of the hype, volume 1 exceeded expectations for so many reasons. So much so that I’m considering making January the official Joe month here at MangaCraft because I have so much to say about it. Call it January no Joe."" - Josh Sippie, MangaCraft ""I found myself getting pretty invested in Joe's struggles to reach a brighter tomorrow, and despite knowing how that ultimately ends, I'm still eager to see how the story eventually reaches that conclusion."" - Anime News Network