The manga was first adapted into a live-action film by Toei as Karate Baka Ichidai, which was released on 14 May 1977 (the English release title was Karate for Life). It was directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi and starred Shin'ichi ("Sonny") Chiba. The two-part film, Shin Karate Baka Ichidai: Kakutōsha, which was directed by Takeshi Miyasaka and released in 2003 and 2004 to commemorate the seventeenth anniversary of Kajiwara's death, is often treated as an adaptation of the manga, but its direct source is a book by Hisao Maki, Kajiwara's younger brother.
