To celebrate Date Eiji's birthday i made this thread in which i'll talk about all the things i like about him and showcase some fan art and fan projects.

Click on this and scroll down

Let's start with his design. The most notable things about it are his beard and scar. His beard gives him an aura of experience and maturity that no other person in Ippo's life (besides the coach and Ricardo) has, giving Date a unique feel to him that other characters don't have.

Secondly the scar, the scar is the mark left to him by Ricardo and it tingles whenever it's cold or whenever he's before a match, however after getting back to who he once was it stopped tingling, it ties into his story and i love it.

Speaking of his story...

I love it so much, the way his past at the desk job influences his refined attitude is amazing, the death of his child is the single most tragic backstory of any Ippo character, only rivaled by the death of Ippo's dad and Volg's mom.

Everything from how he walks and talks is a result of that backstory, and shows the level of detail Morikawa put into this character.

A lot of stories talk about letting go of the past and moving on, however Date's story is about him recapturing the past, his confidence, his hunger, his real self, it's extremely unique and is executed so well.

Next is his fighting style.
Date isn't a hard puncher like Ippo or Sendo, not a talented Out-Boxer like Miyata or Itagaki and he can't take hits very well, not only that but with his age problems on top of that he is a ture underdog, however he was still the japan champion and

The number 1 ranked boxer in the world twice, why is that? Well, he style is based on him using lot's of defensive techniques (Neck Spin) to deal with stronger opponents . And his sunday punch, the Heart Break Shot, a punch that would work on any opponent when executed correctly