"To be quiet and do as you're told, that's the cowardly choice." These are the words of Junk Dog, an underground fighter of Megalo Box, an evolution of boxing that utilizes mechanical limbs known as Gear to enhance the speed and power of its users. Despite the young man's brimming potential as a boxer, the illegal nature of his participation forces him to make a living off of throwing matches as dictated by his boss Gansaku Nanbu. However, this all changes when the Megalo Box champion Yuuri enters his shabby ring under the guise of just another challenger. Taken out in a single round, Junk Dog is left with a challenge: "If you're serious about fighting me again, then fight your way up to me and my ring."
Filled with overwhelming excitement and backed by the criminal syndicate responsible for his thrown matches, Junk Dog enters Megalonia: a world-spanning tournament that will decide the strongest Megalo Boxer of them all. Having no name of his own, he takes on the moniker of "Joe" as he begins his climb from the very bottom of the ranked list of fighters. With only three months left to qualify, Joe must face off against opponents the likes of which he has never fought in order to meet the challenge of his rival.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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DarthInvader
*Minimum Spoiler Hidden Gem Review* TL;DR: If a young Hajime no Ippo made an illegitimate baby with the sexy cougar, Cowboy Bebop, in an 80's themed love hotel with Samurai Champloo music blasting in the background, then Megalo Box would be the gorgeous mixed bastard child that will emerge from the Redline ambulance nine months later. Such a hidden gem but packs so much hype. "JOEEEEE!" [Story: 6/10 , Characters: 7/10, Art: 9/10, Sound: 9/10, Enjoyment: 8/10] "They don't make tombstones for stray dogs" - JD Yes Yes Yes. This is that shounen sports anime this season badly needed to remind what real anime is all about. You don'tneed bad CG. You don't need blended CG. You don't need Ufotable level CG. What you need is a good mindblasting underdog story, eyegasmic hand-drawn visuals and eargasmic catchy rap music to ignite that flame that you put out long time ago to suffer through random sports anime thrown at you. Boxing anime can always be hyped. There is just something about two people beating the crap out of each other that brings out our animalistic nature to get that testosterone cascading within us and our blood viciously pumping through our veins. Megalo Box just takes it one step further. If you didn't watch it yet, then damn you are one lucky twat, because you get to binge this greatness and I'll tell you why.
"I don't mind dying as long as I know that the faith I had in myself was real" - Joe
This is an underdog story paying an homage to the 50 years of greatness to the boxing anime, Ashita no Joe, brought in the Japanese Anime Industry. It's a similar story however with one twist, mechanical box or gear attached to every boxer that enhances the speed and power of the user. Boxing is already bloody as it is, now imagine boxing with robotic limbs.
It's a crazy concept but luckily this is not the focal point of the story and we don't focus on the gear too much but rather the boxer themselves. This anime follows the archetypal hero's journey but since they execute it well, it becomes a great strength rather than an overused flaw. The whole idea is that there is a Megalo Box World Tourney and our hero must fight from the slums where he threw boxing matches to earn money to face the number one boxer, Yuuri, in the new Megalo Box Arena. Will he be able to do it? Find out on the next episode of DBZ. Jokes aside, from training montages to flashbacks of boxers' background to understanding their purpose in life, you really get drawn to this linear rollercoaster plot that's constantly giving you knee-jerks to throw you off of it. However, if you hang on tight, albeit a few slip-ups here and there, you get to taste the rewarding experience.
"Why don't you tell me your name?" - Yuuri
The best part about Megalo Box are the characters. There aren't many but the few characters that are shown are really well fleshed out. They don't have as much complexity as other boxing anime have but given the limited number of episodes they have to work with, we get to understand their emotional baggage they carry with them. We have "Joe," a junkyard dog coming from the slums that are cast aside in the society, Nanbu, his shady coach, Sacchio, a tech-genius kid seeking revenge against the rich and lastly Yuuri, a Russian husky of a boxer, champion of the Megalo Box arena, itching to find the greatest opponent in his life to give a good beatdown. All of these masochistic characters have so much charisma that they easily outshine the lackluster one-dimensional side characters thrown in this anime. Moreover, with a great deep-voiced seiyuu cast, this show feels so gritty and lifelike. Every time, Joe or Yuuri, speaks, they just steal the scene. Kudos to the seiyuus for not holding this anime back.
"If his punches were sharp, they wouldn't sound like a cow cutting through cheese" - Coach Nanbu
Aside from the linear rollercoaster story and the gritty characters, the highlight of this anime are the animation and music. Seriously from episode one, the hand drawn animation puts so much life into this anime. Each panel feels picturesque. Each panel feels like it can be a wallpaper. The characters are so well drawn while maintaing the respect for Ashita no Joe and the use of lines & variation of pen-strokes just makes this anime stand out from other boxing anime that came out before them. It really goes to show how maintaining a good homogenous colour palette throughout the animation really pays off. The fight sequences are well drawn and choregraphed as well. Aside from the breathtaking visuals, the music is really freaking good. The OP song provides the hype and the ED song mellows us out but the background score and sound bits in the transitions are just addictive to listen to. This anime will have one of the best standalone OST to listen to. Couple that with gritty rap music thrown in at appropriate times in the anime, it catapults the plot and hype even further. If you don't get to watch the anime, atleast listen to the OST.
"Everyone's only looking out for number one,
so why stop now? You're still not done.
No metal on your back so they call you gearless,
right now the way you act sure ain't fearless" - Sacchio
Overall, Megalo Box is a great sports shounen anime to watch if you are into boxing. Their purpose was to celebrate the 50 years of Ashita no Joe and they went ahead did just that and more. They brought back boxing anime to its roots and they showed us hand-drawn animation will never be beaten by commercialized CG animation industry. If you put forth passion and work hard to achieve a goal, then it will all be worthwhile in the end. This anime isn't perfect and everyone always enjoys sports anime of the sport they are into, but even if you aren't into boxing, it's enjoyable to watch as they don't delve that much in detail about how to box. So if you can get past the crazy plot of boxers using mechanical gears & one dimensional side characters, give this show a watch. After all, this anime isn't about the destination, it's about the journey and being the spectators we are in that megalo box arena, let's just sit back and enjoy. Anyways, check it out & let me know later how you like it as well as share with me your favourite quote from the anime! Ciao.
P.S. Thank you for reading. I hope you found this short and supaishi review helpful!
Krunchyman
Art, in its purest form, is a catharsis of imperceptible cognitive entities onto a “canvas” for the purposes of provoking reactions from others. Sometimes that reaction involves laughter, other times it is sorrow, and on rare occasions, profound enlightenment, in either case, it is the responsibility of the artist(s) to determine the desired reaction, and how best to achieve it through their intended medium. As one would expect, it permits a copious amount of creativity to take place, yielding unexpected outcomes that one would rarely see in the real world. Antithetical to this branch of human intrigue, is the world of binaryresults and conventional outcomes, otherwise known as: sports. That is not to say that all sporting events are replicas of past events, but in the grand scheme, one team will lose, and one team will win — end of story. As is the case with a boxing match, one boxer will lose, and the other, by default, will win (I understand there can be split decisions, but for the sake of argument, bare with me). In case I am mistaken, one cannot win at art, as it has no predetermined result.
Ergo, making the mixture of the two (art and sport) quite the peculiar one.
One demands openness and originality, while the other requires an outcome. Not to say that it cannot be done, as the predecessor of this series, “Ashita no Joe” proved otherwise. Yet, fans of the original series will be quick to point out, that while it was a “boxing anime,” it was so much more. In a numerous amount of ways, the original “Joe” is akin to Ping Pong The Animation — a character driven narrative — as opposed to your typical sports anime. Breaking free from the restrictions of defined outcomes and crafting something truly imaginative.
That all being said, how does this new iteration of “Joe" stack up on the hierarchy of sports anime?
Story: 4/10
I’m going to discuss the story first, mainly because I feel there is one glaring detail that demands acknowledgement before pressing forward. I am referring to the “Gear” (i.e. mechanical limbs) the boxers use to inflict blood-stained carnage on their respective opponents. The concept, in theory, sounds interesting, but when one considers the ramifications, especially with the proliferation of CTE in athletes, it’s a horrifying notion. Imagine if “Iron” Mike Tyson were equipped with this "Gear" in his prime, he would straight up murder people with one punch (cue the One Punch Man theme music). In all seriousness, weaponizing the instrument of pain with highly sophisticated machinery, without providing protective barriers for the combatants is just ludicrous and a colossal oversight on the writer’s part. I understand the rationale behind the decision, as it pertains to my original statement regarding originality, or lack thereof, in sports. But, this innovative nuance is just a cosmetic flourish that adds little to nothing towards the overall plot.
Which is a shame.
Because there are numerous routes the anime staff could have taken this idea, that would have elevated this anime into something worth remembering. Perhaps, for example, they could have used the technology to profit from unnecessary conflicts and war, propagating political tensions and the fears of an overreaching quasi-government (this was sort of hinted at, but never really explored with any specific detail). Boxing would have still been the main focus, but underneath, you would have an interesting perspective about the dangers of proliferating technology. Instead, what we are left with, is a brother and sister competing for control over their father’s legacy. Then, much to the chagrin of the viewer, Yuuri decides to expel his integrated “gear” for the final match, making the entire concept an irrelevant element in a story that — desperately — needed vitality to successfully engage the viewer. As the saying goes: haste makes waste. The “gear” was the waste; therefore, invariably, the production must have been made in haste.
The remainder of the story is your ordinary sports anime framework, by which I mean: a tournament. Somewhat unavoidable, given the format of the show, but do we really need to see Joe get knocked down for a ten count, only to rise to his feet at the count of nine, in every single fight? Watch boxing clips on YouTube and you will see for yourself that this sort of thing rarely happens.
Characters: 5/10
Joe, as they refer to him in the series, is reminiscent of a stray dog: he’s tough, gritty, aggressive, and has nothing to lose. Another characteristic of stray dogs is fear, an emotion that is briefly touched upon in Joe’s first fight (his first fight in the tournament, that is), but is never revisited later in the series. I would have liked to see this affliction be a recurring issue for Joe, a malignant hindrance that would have required significant mental effort to overcome his anxieties, potentially derailing his short-term goal of reaching Megalonia. Unfortunately, the series allows Joe to conquer this obstacle relatively early, diminishing much of the intrigue in his plight towards the top. In this sense, the story quickly dissolves from being an in depth character drama, and into a simple revenge story. The reflection of emulating the original “Joe” proved too arduous for “Megalo-Joe” to achieve, disappointing fans of the original series who were looking for a show that retained its predecessor’s desirable traits.
Gansaku Nanbu, Joe’s manager, is your prototypical boxing coach: tough exterior, but has a sense of honor and virtue. His actions are fairly predictable, and while they attempt to portray him as an indifferent character, we all know he will stand in Joe’s corner, no matter the circumstances; thus, nullifying the astonishment of his evident, false heel turn(s).
Nanbu’s previous protege, Tatsumi Aragaki, is the “genuine article” of the entire series. A man who was robbed of his legs and half of his face during a war, Aragaki struggles to find a reason to press forward in his “meaningless” existence. Much like the duality of his disfigured face, Aragaki leads a conflicted life, wanting to exact revenge on his coach through Joe, but also desiring a peaceful resolution that will alleviate some of his psychological woes. The depiction of this character was spot on, creating a connection with the viewer in a palpable way. The emotions that flew from Aragaki highlighted the fragile nature of all humans, reminding the viewer that one’s own mind, can be the greatest opponent of all.
I won’t engage in talking about the other character’s of the show, as the vast majority were dearth of any real personality; however, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge Glen Burroughs coming out in a monster truck. I mean, what was that? We already know he’s a boisterous American, but they really tried to hammer that point home. Perhaps they watched some old clips of Stone Cold Steve Austin driving on his ATV to the ring, but just missed the point that the WWE was a contrived entertainment event, and not a real sporting competition.
Enjoyment: 4/10
The boxing matches were, for the most part, uninspiring, and as the tournament progressed to its later stages, it became onerous for the viewer to tune in to the next episode. Real life boxing is tedious enough (just look at the declining viewership numbers), but watching it in an anime format is all the more dreary when you consider the absurdity of the “gear” itself. There were a few plot twists thrown in here and there, but nothing that made the viewer second-guess the outcome of the series as a whole. Perhaps watching Ping Pong the Animation and Ashita no Joe has spoiled my standards for what to expect from future sports anime, yet, in the end, being judged by your peers is the only unbiased way of determining your place on the hierarchy of the sports anime genre. And while this may seem blasphemous to some of you, I believe the first two seasons of Haikyuu!! capture character emotions with more veracity than Megalo Box. One of the few times a Shounen anime did something better than a Seinen anime. Not the legacy Megalo Box was attempting to solidify with its sights set on attaining the previous glory of its predecessor.
Overall: 4.67/10
Stark700
There’s an infamous quote in the wrestling community that was said by the legendary Ric Flair. “To be the man, you gotta beat the man!” While Megalo Box is not wrestling, there’s definitely an iconic meaning that can be applied here. As I was watching Megalo Box, it reminded me the excitement of fighting. A few years ago when Hajime no Ippo returned on television, it became a glorious showstopper that lived up to all expectations. For Megalo Box, this was like a feeling of deja vu. The premise of the series involves Junk Dog, an underground Megalo Boxer. He participates in a popular sport intheir world known as Megalo Boxing. What is Megalo Boxing? It’s basically a sport that involves boxers fighting with metal gears. Think of it as boxing but with more lethal and brutal consequences. Junk Dog takes on the moniker name “Joe” so he can participate in the Megalonia tournament. Throughout the series, we see his life journey as both a Megalo Boxer and person.
On my first viewing, Megalo Box made an intimidating and fascinating impression on me. I haven’t seen the original Ashita no Joe series before so coming into this anime fresh felt intimidating at first. On the other hand, I’m also fascinated by the larger than life ideas of the show. The first two episodes immediately had me glued to my seat as we witness Junk Dog showing his fighting skills as a Megalo Boxer. It didn’t take long to realize that the show portrays him as an underdog. The experience that Joe gains is invaluable and also allows him to realize his potential. I’m also a sucker for the “David vs Goliath” trope as the idea can be applied in any sport. For Megalo Box, the stakes are raised higher because of how dangerous it is. Every fight feels as if Joe is putting his life on the life against opponents. And believe me, the characters he comes across with are no pushovers. Take Yuuri as an example. He is a Megalo Boxing champion and is considered one of the top fighters in the world. In a classic ‘David vs Goalith’ style fight, he humiliates Junk Dog in his match. The fight inspires Junk Joe to climb up the ranks and make a name for himself. It planted the seeds for Junk Dog to not only improve but also show why he deserves to be a Megalo Boxer. Junk Dog later takes on the ring name “Gearless Joe” because of his own choice to fight without gears in the ring.
Now I have to be honest here and wonder what makes a good boxing story. Is it about the development of character in and out of the ring? Does it also involve a fighter going beyond than just a fictional character? Or maybe it’s a story that always keeps up coming back for more. Perhaps it’s how much the story draws lines between fiction and reality. Personally, I think Megalo Box has a bit of every one of those aspects. Junk Dog goes against his manager Nanbu to throw a fight and takes control of his own destiny. This is a contrast to Yuuri who often follows the command of Yukiko, the head of the Shirato Group who oversees the Megalonia tournament. There’s a good contrasting comparison between these two characters as it feels like they are living in two different worlds. It also impressed me on how much Junk Dog is willing to go to prove himself. This is shown later in the series when he fights Aragaki, with both physical and emotional stakes. It escalated to the point where both fighters eventually took on an all-brawl approach to see who the last man standing. In perhaps one of the most important fights of Junk Joe’s life, he proves himself as a warrior.
For a sports show, there’s no doubt psychology is also involved in the ring. The gimmicks, trash talk, and press conferences hypes up match-ups between opponents. A big selling factor also involves the emotional quality of the show. I can’t help but root for Junk Dog early on in the series. He’s the underdog and for him to beat certain opponents is relatable. It sends across the message that anyone can do anything they set their mind into. While this seems like a cheesy gimmick for the show, it’s very real and the buildup for some of Joe’s matches is executed flawlessly. On the other hand, Megalo Box does suffer a bit on the drama side if we look beyond the ring. Some of the subplot involving Yukiko clashing with the board of directors makes a less memorable impact to connect the series together. The family feud between Yukiko and Mikio also feels like it doesn’t belong in a show like this. Don’t get me wrong. I like a good drama from time to time but the way their plot is carried out just doesn't sell well. On the other hand, the rivalries between the fighters is what got me really invested into the story. Junk Dog/Yuuri, Junk Dog/Mikio, and Mikio/Yuuri are all rivalries that stays committed to selling this show. What I’m also more invested in is how far Joe goes out to prove himself. He is very committed to his goal even if it means putting his own life on the line and taking jaw dropping risks. The guy knows what he wants to accomplish in life and to me, that’s an attitude you need to succeed.
Produced by TMS Entertainment, it’s may take a while for viewers to get used to the animation style. The characters looks like they are hand drawn and creates a sensation of the 1990s. The characters are rough looking especially for our main protagonist, Junk Dog. There’s no doubt the anime was aiming make the characters look as badass as possible. The addition of the gears these fighters wear adds more aesthetics to raise the stakes. However, the biggest selling point of the anime’s technical quality is the actual fighting. It really isn’t hard to spot how intense the action is once the fight gets into a momentum. Every punch feels impactful and camera angles captures the realism of the pain. It’s never camera shy to show blood on screen and how fighters react to their win or losses. Every fight can get viewers’ heart throbbing. The emotional impact can also be felt with the protrayal of human expressions. In terms of boxing, it also delivers its quality action such as uppercuts, corkscrew punches, jabbing, overhands, etc. Additionally, it’s worth noting how well the show’s dystopia setting is portrayed without overemphasizing element of science fiction. Sure, the series place in a futuristic environment but also shows the reality of cruelness such as poverty. If the creators were aiming for making this anime feel real, they sure got their job done.
I’m not too familiar with Katsuhiko Manabe but the music talent he brings into this anime is undeniably stylish. The fighting music amplifies the hip-pop style of the OST to bring in a lot of attitude into the series. The soundtrack is mesmerizing that always keeps its momentum from the minute the first beat hits. In the meantime, I’m also impressed by the voices of the character cast especially our protagonist Junk Dog. His personality matches with his voice that almost sounds like a fierce dog when fighting in the ring. The masculinity of all the fighters is believable because of the talented voice cast. Both the OP and ED theme songs also reflects a bit of the 1990s mood that may feel nostalgic.
Megalo Box definitely turned out to be a dark horse that I’m glad I gave a chance this year. What started out as a fight turned into an emotional story that follows the heart of an underdog. I’m in awe of how much I became invested into Joe’s character before even realizing his potential. While this anime may not be suitable for everyone, it’s still an anime that can keep just about anyone at their seat. Here is a series that made a name for itself in just 13 phenomenal episodes.
TakaCode
If there was one anime that I would love to get a remake it would be Ashita no Joe. I really series especially the manga for its great boxing matches, amazing rivalry, and wonderful and realistic character development. The series also had great darker portrayal of boxing as sport where not all matches will not end pretty as boxers can potentially get injured to a point where they get they lives destroyed. Thanks to these elements that the show offers as well being a great realistic coming of age + underdog story Ashita no Joe is currently my favourite sports anime/manga series period evenbeating the likes of Haikyuu and Chihayafuru even thought I adored them but personally they don’t compete the absolute greatness that is Ashita no Joe in my opinion. So when I heard the Ashita no Joe 50th project I was beyond hype because I thought my wish had came true where anime fans from this generation can finally experience the dark beauty that is Ashita no Joe in a modernize fashion. However instead of getting a Ashita no Joe remake we got Megalo Box a anime that was mean to celebrate Ashita no Joe 50th anniversary.
As a fan of Ashita no Joe franchise I was really excited for it as it thought it will be great tribute to Ashita no Joe as well being its own thing and I first I liked it a lot. However as a I watch more episodes the show slowly started to fall apart to a point where all of my excitement of the show was replaced by boredom and disappointment.
So what the hell went wrong with this show?
You’re going to find out now. Hello everyone this is Shawn aka KurataLordStage and welcome to my review of Megalo Box and with that further ado let’s started.
Story.
The story follows Junk Dog who is great at boxing who fights in underground illegal rings in fights that have a fixed result where his coach Gansaku Nanbu directs him on when to lose a fight. One evening he almost crashes his motorcycle into Yukiko Shirato, who is the head of the wealthy Shirato Group which oversees the Megalonia tournament; Junk Dog picks a fight with her bodyguard Yūri who is also the top ranked Megalo Boxer. Yukiko stops the fight but Yūri seeks out Junk Dog and meets him in the underground ring where he easily beats the less-experienced fighter and tells him to fight him again in Megalonia, which Junk Dog would need a place at the top of the official Megalo Box rankings to qualify for, as well as a proper citizenship ID to enter the rankings in the first place. After Nanbu persuades the mob boss Fujimaki to forge Junk Dog an ID under the name Joe, the two are given 3 months to achieve their goal of working their way to the top of the Megalonia tournament rankings in order for Joe to have his re-match against Yuri.
Am just going to say right now the story is only good if you never seen a underdog story in your life because this is by far the most typical underdog character driven story I have ever seen.
The first big mistake that this show it’s that is one of those climbing to the top to fight against the person who kicked your ass type of plot where the only reason why set character is even fighting is just to have re-match against the person who beat.
This wouldn’t have been so much of a problem if Joe actually grow as a character but doesn’t because by episode 11 he’s still that same bland fighter from episode 11. Yes I will admit he does change slightly in the final two episodes but it was far too late because he’s character change just felt like a afterthought thanks to the show wasting it’s time on dragged out subplots which while they were interesting it overstayed it’s welcome.
Another issue that I have with Megalo Box were the subplots. Don’t me wrong they were pretty good but the problem is almost every single subplot in the show seem to overshadow Joe’s progression meaning that side characters in this show were more fleshed out than Joe himself where he barely gets a spotlight outside of fighting.
This doesn’t induce the other things such as pacing, and writing which were lacklustre at best
It also doesn’t help that the show is predictable as hell where every single fight minus the plot convenience ones like the first Yuri fight start and end in the same way.
This is how a typical Megalo Box fight is structure.
1. Joe set up for fight
2. Joe practices
3. Joe goes to fight
4. Joe gets his ass handed to him for 99% of the fight
5. Joe wins with 1 punch.
See the problem here. I usually don’t mind shows that have a predictable nature but I feel like Megalo Box took it a next level where once you see the first two boxing matches not counting the Yuri fight you can very easily notice a nasty pattern for each fight and because of that the fights sadly have become boring and tedious to watch. I know this is a character driven show where the sport itself is not main focus but could you make the fight more tension? By the end of the third fight I got sick and tired of watching Joe’s matches because he will only win by asspulling with that lucky punch of he’s
The biggest issue with this show is that it feels like a soul less cash grab to a beloved series. What I mean by this is that it has all the elements of Ashita no Joe but it’s too afraid to become its own thing.
Yes the setting is different and some of the plot elements but other than that you only just tone down version to arguably the best sports manga/anime ever made.
Overall the story is pretty bad and uninspiring.
3/10
Characters.
When it comes to the characters in Megalo Box I thought they were all underwhelming at best with two expectations.
Gearless Joe is such a terrible protagonist. We the audience barely know anything about Joe from his past to how he became the person that he is in Episode 1. His motivation is paper fin as he only wants to the enter the Megalo Box tournament for a rematch against Yuri again in a boxing match. Not for pride or carrier reasons mind you just for a silly re-match a guy who beat you in the ring. The worst thing about him is he’s bland personality and lack of actual character development because as from episode 11 he is still the bland boring character that we seen from episode 1 where he still only wants’ to have a rematch against Yuri. Maybe I was spoiled because I seen Ashita no Joe and Hajime no Ippo first but in all seriousness Joe is a terrible protagonist who barely has any depth at all.
On the other hand Nanbu is a pretty good character in his own right. Compare to the blandless Joe Nanbu is actually a charming and relatable character that is a great voice of reason for Joe. Also he has a well told back-story that actually explains in detail why he became the person that he is from episode 1 as a grumpy person. Easily the best character in the show in terms of character development
Sachio is by far my favourite character because not only he is a another great voice of reason for Joe he’s a very fun and likable character who get’s well developed as the series goes on. Not to mention he’s more interesting subplot then Joe’s paper fin rise to the top to beat set guy
The rest of the characters inducing the shitty rival Rishiki clone Yuri are all one note and forgetful.
Overall apart from Sachio and Nanbu the characters in Megalo Box were very disappointing at best.
4/10
Visuals.
Visually Megalo Box is good and has that gritty feel that I liked.
The art style reminds me off Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop with its more westernise and gritty look from the background scenery, some of the characters to even the use of gritty colour pallets.
As for the animation itself this is where the show falls apart again.
Am not talking the animation where they not fighting in ring because that’s pretty good overall. Am talking about the boxing matches themselves which were all subpar and boring. It was already bad enough that Joe easily wins his fights thanks to his asspulling lucky punch but almost every single fight in the show is lifeless and lacks any real tension. Am not asking that Megalo Box show relay on style over substance but if the show can’t story and character elements right you just end up being one hell of a boring and lifeless show.
6/10
Sound.
Thankfully the soundtrack is easily the best part about the series.
The soundtrack is great and well directed. It’s really fits with the gritty of the series and it really makes the show’s atmosphere more appealing to the eyes.
The opening theme is decent itself but it’s not that memorable.
The ending theme on the other hand is amazing that has a great 80s vibe to it
The Seiyuus did a pretty good job with the roles that they were given in this anime
Overall the soundtrack is great and memorable but honestly having a great soundtrack along will not suddenly make an anime good because saying Megalo Box is great because of the soundtrack a is like saying that Gundam Seed + Destiny is great because of the soundtrack. While the soundtrack for those shows are great it doesn’t have enough substance to back up its soundtrack
8/10
Final Thoughts.
Disappointment is honestly the best way to describe Megalo Box as a whole. It was a anime that I wanted to love but constantly keep on disappointing me the more I watch it with its subpar plot, lacklustre fight choreography thanks to asspulls and mediocre overall characters. The only good things about this show are the music and the art-style.
At best this show is below average and at worse it’s a train-wreck that I dislike a lot.
Unless you’re very new to sports anime I recommend you to avoid this show and checking out Hajime no Ippo or better Ashita no Joe instead of this disappointing mess of a show.
The show may be just a celebration of Joe legacy but it doesn’t excuse the subpar quality of this series.
Final Score 4/10
84DaysWithout
Megalo Box has very little to do with the art of fighting itself. There is no emphasis on technique. There is no weight training. There is no satisfying payout following the arduous process of a fighter desperately trying (and often, failing) to improve their skill. There is the bizzare inclusion of gear technology that grants fighters additional strength at cost of speed - a useless consequence with speed being paramount in combat. So how can an anime that revolves around fighting, but offers none of the impertinent detail of fighting, and is decidedly worse than its predecessors Hajime no Ippo and Ashita no Joe intheir depictions of fighting, be celebrated as one of the best releases of the year?
Megalo Box succeeds in three areas that usually manage to garner an overwhelmingly favorable response from the audience regardless of the surrounding flaws -
1) Appealing visual aesthetic. This is an attractive looking anime with well defined, distinct looking character designs and a realistic impoverished setting juxtaposed against the futuristic wealth of Megalonia
2) Epic soundtrack. A contender for best of the year, striking an impressive balance of relaxing and blood throttling beats
3) No nonsense lead character who has to fight his way to the top, seemingly against all the odds
A combination of the first two makes the anime feel atmospheric, immersing the viewer into the setting and creating a base level of entertainment from visuals and music alone. The impressive presentation makes it all the more disappointing that the fight animation is rigid and monotonous, more so resembling a match of rock em' sock em' robots than an actual high octane competition. This may even be an insult to rock em' sock em' where at the very least arms move rapidly. Slow motion is overused during fights as opposed to displaying the rapid fire jab strings and punch combinations that makes boxing so exhilarating to watch. The aforementioned lack of technique means scarce evasion tactics are used, eliminating arguably the most exciting aspect of fighting where an ill-timed whiff is met with a devastating punish. The fights in Megalo Box are rather forgettable, and at times even a chore to watch. You’d think this would be a death knell for an anime that is centered around hand to hand combat, but this is apparently less important than a pretty aesthetic, a downloadable soundtrack and a lead character that doesn't have bitchmade tendencies.
Despite the selling point of an underdog fighting his way the top against the odds, in truth Joe is not disadvantaged as a "gearless" fighter when gears are generally proven to be useless anyway. If anything, he's being given a significant advantage in speed, an apparently natural proficiency in boxing, and somehow being able to match the power of geared opponents despite not having a gear himself and not being particularly muscular. This Joe is a far cry from the other, infinitely more engaging Yabuki Joe who had to overcome a gauntlet of mental and physical maladies to reach the height of the boxing world, and had a famously well orchestrated character arc where we observed an aimless troubled boy develop into an honest, goal-driven man with a burning passion for professional boxing. Even if Makunouchi Ippo is even to this day a pansy (at least outside of the ring), he leads an inspirational story of a bullied nerd who through sheer dedication and perseverance works his way to the top of Japan’s boxing ladder. Both of these characters received at least one hundred episodes of development, whereas Joe receives only thirteen. We don’t learn anything about his past. We don’t learn makes him tick as a person. We don’t learn his greatest fears. His character is as deep as a puddle in the Sahara desert, and it is especially in comparison to his predecessors that he pales in comparison.
But I’m not even sure how many viewers are aware of Yabuki Joe's story. I’d wager less than 20% of the (Western) audience for Megalo Box have seen Ashita no Joe, let alone have finished it, which would explain all of the acclaim this anime is receiving even despite it's glaring flaws and stale as cardboard lead character who could only dream of being a successor to Yabuki Joe. I find it hard to imagine a viewer of Ashita no Joe watching this and walking away impressed, but there is at least one niche interest available to such fans in the many cross references and homages. From Sachio wearing Yabuki Joe's signature flat cap, to familiar character designs and reimagined scenes being taken directly from the original series, where Megalo Box fails to be a tribute in terms of writing and dramatic tension, it at least succeeds in paying open respect to the original series.
None of the above criticisms are meant to suggest that a viewer is wrong for liking Megalo Box when it does have an abundance of surface level appeal. Maybe you value tone more so than writing in media, in which case no one should be able to convince you to think otherwise. However, exceeding in one area doesn't excuse utter failure in others that are critical to the very essence of a story itself. Megalo Box is a DIRECT tribute to what I would consider to be the greatest hand to hand combat narrative in anime history. For it to have subpar fight animation and forgettable characters is a major disappointment no matter how you slice it. The only way it tries to distinguish itself from the original series is by introducing a plot device that proves itself to be totally useless, because power doesn't mean jack shit unless you can hit a moving target. Megalo Box is a decent anime for what it is - a nostalgic, short celebration of Ashita no Joe's 50th anniversary, and is not a worthy successor to the combat sport anime that came before it as is being hailed by critics universally.
RebelPanda
Despite all the hype that Megalo Box created from its first few episodes, it became one of the biggest disappoints of the season. At first, it presents a familiar inspirational sports story with a vague setting to get you interested in the well-directed boxing matches. But by the end, the writing is still incredibly shallow. Megalo Box is just a carbon copy of the generic underdog boxing story but slightly worse than the classics it desperately tries to imitate. Aside from the addition of Gear (exoskeletons to enhance the boxers fighting), Megalo Box tells the familiar tale of a misfortunate boxer, Junk Dog. He had longsince given up his dream to become the champion of the boxing world Megalonia because he lacked the documentation to enter the tournament. This theme accurately reflects inequality due to the current US immigration crisis. Junk Dog wastes his talent away, throwing matches for cash, a diamond in the rough who thinks he has no chance at making it big because of discrimination. When he crosses paths with Yuri, the current Megalo Box champion, they enter a heated rivalry that makes him feel enough passion for boxing. Of course, in their first fight, he's crushed. But now, he must climb to the top of Megalonia and prove himself worthy of a rematch. Throughout his journey through the ranks, he faces many foes and learns to trust in himself and others… you can guess how the rest goes even if you haven't seen it.
It's an underdog story of the most generic mold, and it plays out exactly as you expect. Never was I surprised by any development, whether a twist in character or an outcome of the many boxing matches. Any nuanced themes the show has are only superficial and do nothing to elevate the conventional plot structure. Unfortunately, the social commentary is surface-level and window dressing for a bland plot. It seems like including the exoskeletons all the boxers wear and other sci-fi elements were not to strengthen the story. It's more just for the sake of making things look cool. The only nuance the Gear adds is that it represents a system the protagonist defies by removing. Sure this makes him seem like a badass for fighting against mechanically powered fighters and challenging the world's standards for the sport, but we already knew what the outcome of his fights would be anyways. Not to mention the Gear doesn't make much sense. It's sci-fi without the science.
There's an argument that predictability is not inherently wrong and is sometimes beneficial in a story that sets out to emulate the classics. Being a reboot of the classic Ashita no Joe (which I haven't seen), it is expected to share some similarities to the older boxing stories. However, Megalo Box does not add to the formula previously established. It simply uses it to present a series with good production values but writing that does nothing to surprise. It takes more than just imitating the best to become great. But it could help to be at least on the same level of quality as what you're trying to emulate. That's what Megalo Box is, desperate to be seen as one of the classics that it forgets to create an experience that can stand on its own merits.
If it was the writers' intention to make the show look like a classic anime similar to Cowboy Bebop, they failed. Deliberately downgrading the resolution only made the show seem fuzzier and less refined. A muddy, washed-out color palette covers the whole series, suited to the dystopian setting. A grimy, washed-out color palette covers the whole series, with a low resolution making lines fuzzier. There's no respite; even the supposedly advanced sci-fi city is unremarkable. Megalo Box doesn't get violent until later in its run, but it lacks the bite a gritty boxing series should have. The lines should be sharper and eye-catching, but the art is soft and gray; its tiresome style would fit a show with less tension like a slice of life.
I spent more time trying to engage with Megalo Box than being engaged because the action it so heavily emphasized is nothing special. Even the fighting typically only consists of the basic punches and blocks despite the sci-fi-tacked-on elements. The animation isn't fluid enough for them to have the impact of the real thing, and they're not exaggerated enough to stand up against the current shounen. For many fights, Joe is typically beaten up and on the brink of defeat, struggling through most of the fight, only to turn it around at the last second with a single punch. This formula for the fights is repeated until they lose any spark of excitement seen in the first episodes. Megalo Box quickly becomes predictable and, frankly, boring, which is a death sentence for a show literally about sci-fi exoskeleton boxing.
I get that many of the stakes in boxing stories come from what's happening with the characters involved. But the people Joe fights are typically one-dimensional ciphers that are seen once and rarely again. Even the main character, Junk Dog (eventually Joe), has very little to him. He's your typical underdog who's lost confidence in himself because the world denied it to him but gradually gains it back in combat. Whenever he's out of a fight, it's typically apparent what's going on in his head because the situation he's in is already one you can recognize. At many points, the series clarifies how he's reacting to the fights with close-ups and the exhilarating music.
I wish the side characters could have made up for what Joe lacked, but they're equally shallow with predictable arcs. Joe's manager Nanbu frustratingly jumps back and forth in progression, which to the show's credit, is suited to his emotionally damaged character. He's molded by the fixed boxing system to divide himself from the fighters he trains, struggling to put faith in Joe's journey to Megalonia because he has seen how much power those in control have. Then there's Sachio, the token little kid with big dreams who follows Joe around ever since he saved him and his group of friends from the slums. His friends can be combined into one character because they offer an equal amount of development: none. Simply being there to cheer Joe on during matches is the extent of their impact on the show. They're not terrible as characters, they fit in the setting and have motivations and arcs, but they're so archetypal I couldn't muster up a reason to care for either of them. Except for Yuri, the main rival who gets no motivation to fight other than 'he likes to fight.' Watching him fight didn't excite me because I never knew anything about him. Even his manager Yukiko had nothing to her other than inserting evilness into the plot; she's selling Gear to the military? There was so much potential for commentary, but the show drops her side plot entirely by the second half; much like the rest of its compelling themes, Megalo Box simply uses them as window dressing to appear intelligent without bothering to develop them.
Aside from the arena boxing, the rest of the time is spent in the wasteland setting. There isn't much else occurring in Megalo Box's world other than boxing, which is why everyone gets so excited over Joe entering Megalonia despite being from the slums. Frankly, the amount of people who love the sport feels a little hamfisted. The setting is never explained enough for it to be believable. There's no MadMax-style apocalypse that has left everyone bloodthirsty scavengers; it's all for the aesthetic. It's just the sandy slums and the big city which controls the sport. I wish the series had at least explored more of the implications about Joe not being a citizen and therefore not being allowed to join the tournament; it's an interesting theme, considering the current state of immigration in Japan is not good. Sadly, expecting Megalo Box to add modern nuance was too much, and that theme is resolved entirely by him simply receiving citizenship after fighting a few times. There's a bit of fanfare on the plot development, but like most conflicts in the show, it is easily resolved and predictable.
Attempting to watch Megalo Box the way it wants you to, as a classic, is such a struggle. You can't love it without constantly making concessions. The visuals are deliberate of mediocre quality, the story is deliberately very cliched, and the characters are deliberately barebones. Even if it just wanted to be an enjoyable homage to the classics, drawing such close inspiration from them was a mistake. This led to me unconsciously comparing it and inevitably disappointed because this anime simply doesn't do enough to rise above its inspiration.
EXStephen
...I gave it a few days to think about. I cannot give Megalo Box any score higher than a 4. I really wanted to enjoy Megalo Box. While I initially did, the excitement I had for the series steadily died out with each passing week. The characters got less interesting, the fights got less intense, and it just became so predictable and lackluster. Let’s start with the characters. We have Joe, the main character and focus. For some reason, he’s basically made of adamantium so he can take hundreds of blows, get his ass knocked to the ground, but will always magically get rightback up as if it never happened. Meanwhile, his opponents almost always get one hit by Joe’s well placed punch to go down instantly. Joe wants nothing but to fight and win. Every fight, he’s essentially just a punching bag until he gets that one good punch. Joe makes all of these fights so damn predictable and boring to see. It was like watching these boxers punch a brick wall until they got too tired. They weren’t intense. They weren’t interesting. Joe wasn’t interesting.
Nanbu was the typical boxing coach. Harsh on the outside, cares a little on the inside, used to be a really good coach but is now washed up. He was probably the only thing worth remembering from the anime. He had some great development as the anime progressed.
Sachio brought nothing to the anime. His role was to scream Joe’s name constantly whenever Joe got knocked down. That’s basically all. There was a subplot with him and his parents at one point, but it really served no purpose whatsoever in terms of story or character development.
All the other boxers were kind of interesting to see. The ones from different countries actually spoke their original language which was really cool. However, none of them really differed in the ring. I know boxing can be very straightforward, but the anime really should’ve taken the liberty to focus on all the types of fighting styles of each boxer. That would’ve made them stand out more and perhaps even remember their damn names outside the central “antagonist” Yuri.
The story offered nothing of interest to me. The premise was promising at first, a normal boxer taking on these boxers with mechanical “gears” to deliver powerful blows, but as I talked about earlier, the fights all followed a similar pattern. Joe get demolished during the fight, gets knocked down, Sachio screams, Joe gets back up, hits the opponent in the face to win. Rinse and repeat. There was one fight earlier in the anime that went against this formula and I truly wish the anime made the other fights stand out more like that one. There were a few plot twists outside the boxing ring, but nothing major enough to last more than an episode before moving on to the next fight.
By now, everyone knows about the art style of Megalo Box. It’s a nice callback. At times however, you really wish it weren’t. The video quality really suffered at times in order to capture that feel of a 90’s anime. This will be the one thing people will recall about the anime a year down the line. It’ll be the thing people praise it for. It’s simply just a nice touch in my mind.
The soundtrack was the best thing about the anime. That alone was better than anything in the anime and deserves its own score. Sadly, the soundtrack alone can’t make the fights exciting or make the characters shine.
Overall, Megalo Box was disappointing. To me, it felt like wasted potential the farther I got into the series. Even the final battle in Episode 13 was disappointing. Megalo Box is an anime about dropping the ball. It sets up for some amazing fights and potential greatness just to drop the ball. And it does so over and over. It’ll pick up the ball, make the viewers excited about what it could possibly do with said ball, just to drop it onto the floor as it always has. After awhile, you just expect Megalo Box to drop the ball each time and it just becomes dull and forgettable.
But at least there was good music playing.
Woggo
Warning this review contain spoilers for Megalo Box Tribute is a way to celebrate old works, by taking ideas of the thing is was inspire by, try to modernize its theme, and setting. That what Megalo Box is it’s a tribute to manga that was made in 1968 known as Ashita no Joe. For those who have never heard of it, Ashita no Joe was a shounen sports manga that ran in Shounen Magazine Weekly. It spanned for 20 volumes and had 171 chapters, it got an anime adaption in 1970 that ran for 79 episodes, it later got a second season during 1980 and itran for 47 episodes. For the time Ashita no Joe came it out nothing was like it, it was a heave drama show that covers all themes boxing had. It did a lot of things that establish what anime and manga known for, without a lot of your favorites wouldn’t be the same. With that established, going back to the word tribute, Now if a tribute only copies things from it was inspire by does that mean new viewers who never watch Ashita no Joe won’t enjoy this, no it’s possible to enjoy Megalo box with seeing Joe, true you won’t get the references, but you still able to get some level of enjoyment out of it. However, hear the thing about a tribute should do, a tribute needs to separate it self from the thing it’s reference, sure it okay to reference things you are inspire from, but you need to separate yourself from it the inspiration. That what you are looking into with this review and determine if Megalo Box did enough to consider separate series or is still in Ashita no Joe shell?
The plot of the show revolves Junk Dog wanted to see how strong he truly he is, he never been sure, due to the fact he been fighting fix boxing matches, in order to get money, as they are involved with this mafia boss they own a lot of money too. It isn’t until he meets Yuri and Yuri gets curious how strong is Junk Dog, they fight, and Yuri is impressed that he was able to make him use both his hands against him. After Junk Dog lost the match again Yuri, he vows to challenge Yuri once again and show him how strong he can become. He changes his name to Joe to as a reference to Joe Yabuki the main character of Ashita no Joe. With this you think that their a rivalry going between Joe and Yuri, but that were you wrong, as you loo into the content of their characters, Junk Dog the only one who cares about facing Yuri. Yuri during majority of the shows doesn’t care if he never faces him again, true the strong Joe become the more interest Yuri is, but it isn’t until the days before they have their final match Yuri is interested in facing him. With that we have to give Joe opponents for him to face to reach the right to face Yuri again. With that this show mainly becomes boxing matches of the week, as we keep moving on to the next guy, which hurt the show as this show doesn’t have proper build up to it matches and does spend enough time developing its characters. If was 26 instead of 13 we could have more time between matches, more growth for Joe and Yuri, and the matches could be more intense. That the problem her with it’s matches, sure they are great to look it, but you release majority of the fights fell dull, because they have to hurry up and finish the fight, that way we have time to do JD vs Yuri. Even when we get to the match, the fight is lackluster, majority of it is finally fight it just Joe taking hits and trying to survive, it isn’t until the last round, he start to fight back and beat Yuri with a Cross Counter, which that a giving as in Ashita no Joe, Joe signature move is the cross counter, so that was bound to be use in Megalo Box somepoint in the series. However even it cool too see as I do love that move, it’s comes off a lame, as if the fight had more episodes to it, the impact of cross counter, cloud have been epic, it could have been awesome, but its’ not. What we are left it an empty final fight, which a shame I wanted the fight to be epic, as Joe Vs Rikishi was, but we didn’t get that. Instead we got a lame fight. Now if you are think even if the fights were rushed and they were at least well animated, and you right they are. The show has a never nice looking retro style that different then what we are used to coming out. We get shows that look not much different from each other, so for a show like Megalo Box to come out in the time it did, felt refreshing, and that what made the popular when it was out.
Now beside the story and animation, what I want to look into before discussion my thoughts on the ending are its characters, and its character with the expect of Nanbo are one note. They stick to what they are establish of begin. Joe is stereotypical badass main character, who try to challenge the use of gears, by going in matches without one, giving him the nick name gearless Joe. Which is a cool name, I got to admit, but I wish he would grow more beside how far he gets rankings. Their nothing much to his character, he doesn’t develop enough, if the show 26 we could have done more to develop him. But with it being 13 episodes we get not much time to develop, as we got to make sure Joe can face Yuri by episode 13. Speaking of Yuri like Joe his character stays the same, he the top guy that no can defeat, he has to the best gear, he has the best promotion, he powerful, he got it all. It isn’t until episode 12 we see something about that change, he decides to let go all things he been giving to him, his gear, his team, he going to face Joe as a one-man team, to show a form of respect to him. I like this, but I wish we got something more. The other characters such as Yukiko, Sachio, Fujimaki and the guys Joe fact, are one note as well, they don’t have anything special to them. Now you nothing I exclude Nanbu right, well the thing about Nanbu he actually gets development. He starts own as your typical teacher, but we get more to his character, we see a guy to go far for to make sure Joe is successful and try to settle the score he has with Fujimaki. Which I like this, and to see how it all end him with losing an eye, was a nice brutal scene, that I was surprise to see get pull of so well. Not jut that, but when Joe was facing his former student, we get a side of Nanbu we didn’t see before. We get a man with a lot of regrets, and he wish the man he trains end better than what he ended up as. I like this it gives him something more than the character he was based off being Danpei. Nanbu is able to separate from the character he was inspired by.
The ending of the shows was a disappointment, true it was nice to see Joe win, but I would like Joe and Yuri died in the end. It would have offer a nice tragic conclusion to see these two men fight to the death. But in the end what we got with Joe retiring and Yuri being crippled, which that is rough that man career is over. But it would have been epic to see both of them die with that cross counter, and end of being a draw. With that said there isn’t too much to left say about Megalo Box, it’s a show that stick to the thing that was inspire about by. Which is not good, as a person who know on here as the biggest Ashita no Joe on here, I wanted Megalo Box to separate itself, and I could judge as its own thing, and look back on and say that was the best tribute every made. But we didn’t get that we got a series that stick what it started as and remind the same. Which is a shame, it could have been more, but because of the it being 13 episodes, what we got was anime that always be in Ashita no shell. With that being said I give Megalo Box a 6.5 out of 10.
WalleyeSauger
Spike Spiegel retires from bounty hunting and decides to become an underground boxer! Reel Steel meets Hajime No Ippo! Megalo isn't mega-awesome in any facet of the game, but it does provide enough entertainment for me to consider it a good show. Our protagonist is similar to any deadbeat, wannabe protagonist in the history of anime except for the fact that he has cool scars and rides a motorcycle to get his mind off of spicy tentacle porn. "Joe" is tired of being a boxer who has real potential, yet continues to throw it all away by partaking in fixed fights within the undergroundboxing circuit. But hey, it's the only thing he can do for actual money, right?
Wrong! Megalonia comes along and that changes everything. It's a special tournament for ultra rich boxers who have access to enhanced gear, which technically would help a boxer kill a person instantaneously upon impact, but not Joe! He's immune to punches, injuries and surgeries. And thus our story begins, Joe goes on a journey with: a shady boxing manager, an orphan kid who has sickle cell anemia, and a champion who is into beastiality with huskies (two truths and one lie).
The anime starts off fresh and intriguing but quickly loses steam and turns into your predictable, everyday fighting anime. By the end of it all, I'm asking myself why the hell did Megalonia sanction a quadriplegic war vet with massive PTSD to fight in a boxing ring where men beat each other with gigantic robot arms?
All in all, it's good but it's definitely not great. The moral of the story is... don't trust scorpions! FUCK FROGS!!
Astraea_
Now that Megalo Box's English dub recently finished on Toonami I am finally able to watch the series. For those who don't know, Megalo Box is a homage to the classic manga and anime Ashita no Joe which just turned 50 last year. As a fan of Joe, I was of course excited to see what Box was and what it had to offer. Before starting, I would like to clarify that I'm not a super anime elitist that loves classics like Ashita no Joe to death, and believe that its the best thing to come from anime. Yes, I love Joe but it definitivelyhas flaws, and season 2 isn't even in my top 20 anime. I will be comparing Box to Joe when I need to, but I would like to try and judge Box as its own thing.
SPOILERS FOR: Megalo Box & Ashita no Joe
Story: 5
Megalo Box sets place in a current day where a new type of boxing is invented titled Megalo Boxing, where boxers fight each other with a special gear attached to their bodies. It's an interesting concept but the series rarely does anything with it. Most of the gears aren't that special or unique and don't seem to affect the story in anything significant way. The only interesting gear that stands out above the rest would be Mikio Shirato's. Halfway through, Mikio challenges Joe to a match, but forces him to quit out of blackmail. Later it is revealed that Mikio was just scared of Joe since his gear would be less effective against him. Mikio's gear has the ability to sense and predict what someone else's gear will do which is cool and all, but doesn't really effect the match with Joe. This leads into another one of Box's flaws: The fights. I don't think I can remember any fight where I felt scared, relieved, or even excited. The fights are just really weak in general, they aren't BAD per say, they're just there. Joe's first fight in Megalonia was interesting since it showed him getting use to other boxers outside of the underground dog fights that he was used to. However, nearly every other fight is pretty bland and forgettable. Yeah, they have their moments and got me enjoying them since it's boxing and I'm a sucker for two guys beating the shit out of each other, but overall they feel weak. Ashita no Joe's fights were the main staple of the series, but even so it had plenty of enjoyable fights that made me question whether or not Joe would survive or not. The overall plot of Box is just Joe making his way through Megalonia and becoming the champion which isn't anything new, and similarly with the fights, it's pretty bland. Box's main flaw would most likely be its episode count since 13 episodes is just way too short for a series like this. I could imagine this being at least 26 episodes and imagine it being significantly better since they would be able to fix some of its big flaws. Box needed more time to help convey some of its ideas. We could have seen more and longer fights that were just told better, and could potentially see more of the effects of the gears used. Box's story is it's weakest aspect, but thankfully it will only get better from here.
Art: 8
Megalo Box looks really good and has a unique art style that I love. It feels dirty, muddy, and unclean. It gives the series a sort of rough feeling, it's just really cool and feels completely different from every other anime made today. It's character designs are good, and I love seeing how the team was inspired from Joe's characters. In terms of animation, Box is fairly good. The animation during fights isn't anything great but its fine, nothing to complain about. I don't want to start complaining about how every other boxing anime looks worse than Ippo since Madhouse is just insane.
Sound: 7
The OST is good, and both the OP and ED are solid as well. Viz's English dub is enjoyable, not great, but like most dubs, I overall enjoyed it. My only gripe would be when Sachio started rapping which made my jaw dropped out of how bad and stupid it sounded. But besides that, Box has a solid soundtrack with good voice actors.
Characters: 6
As for the characters, they were all mostly fine. Joe is a good protagonist and was enjoyable throughout its run. Nanbu was enjoyable as well, but besides him and Joe, no one else stood out that much. None of the characters were bad, they were all just effected by the series having 13 episodes. Joe's rival, Yuuri, feels pretty bland and we almost get no screen time of him until the last couple episodes. He gets some good moments here and there, but again, we don't have enough time to enjoy him and get to know what he's really like. Most of the boxers that Joe fights aren't that great either besides maybe Aragaki who even then is just fine. I stated this earlier and I really don't like to do this, but I think Box is in a scenario where it is okay to compare it to another series that does an aspect leagues better than it does. Of course I'm talking about Ashita no Joe, which is what Box is paying a homage to. Ashita no Joe's strongest aspect was its characters. Joe was a great and deep character that struggled throughout his boxing career. We even saw him go through depression for a good while of the series and felt relieved once he got out of it. His rival, Rikiishi was another great and memorable character who struggled and risked his life in order to fight Joe in the ring. We see both Joe and Rikiishi going through incredibly brutal and hard times, meanwhile things like this are almost never seen in Megalo Box. There are literally entire episodes spent where Rikiishi and Joe are starving themselves in order to fight inside the ring. Those episodes felt painful to watch at moments and felt unreal. Characters in Box don't have any of these moments and it's really concerning considering moments like those were what so many people loved about the original Joe.
Enjoyment: 6
A good amount of enjoyment I got out of Box was seeing the references and differences that were made from Ashita no Joe. I loved seeing how much Nanbu looked like Danpei, how drastic this Joe looked but managed to keep some similarities in there, and even noticing how similar Yuuri looked like Rikiishi. Besides that, Box is entertaining overall but it doesn't have any amazing moments that will make you scream. I was able to complete Box with no problem and don't have much to complain or praise about that I haven't already.
Overall: 6
Megalo Box is overall a good short series that is just good on its own. As a homage however, I would say its meh since it is inspired by Ashita no Joe. Box doesn't really get what made the original Joe so good and its sad that those ideas weren't implemented into Box. In the end, I would still recommend Megalo Box, but I wouldn't say that you need to watch it as soon as you can. I still can't tell if you should watch this first, get enjoyment out of it, and then see Ashita no Joe and get a lot more enjoyment from it. Anyway, Box is good, but not great, it could have been better if it had more episodes.
Isvi_Berserk
-Note: English is not my native language, I apologize for possible mistakes. (Review in English and Spanish) Megalobox is the sports anime of 2018 surely, this presents us with a world located a couple of decades in the future, in which boxing probably suffers even more support than it receives in our world. In this reality boxing has been transformed into something called Megalo Box, thanks to the technology that Shirato has created, the box has evolved due to the incorporation of a kind of exoskeleton known as "Gear" which provides its user with greater resistance , strength and performance. Of course, this technology was notonly created for the sport, but it seeks to use this as a kind of springboard to reach the governments and the military.
The first episode shows our protagonist that in principle he received the pseudonym of "Junk Dog" as a kind of boxer from the underworld and the bets of illegal fights, along with his coach Nanbu who was in charge of getting and fixing the fights. All this changes when Junk Dog, who later received the name of Joe (Obvious homage to Joe Yabuki of Ashita no Joe) meets Yuuri our rival of the series.
Later and after Joe decided to leave that betting life behind, he and Nambu (especially Nambu) are forced to enter the official Megalo Box, before of course they would have to receive their credentials as legal citizens, forget to mention that the series It also shows us a very large type of dystopia among the poor and rich, being that our protagonist and his coach were not even considered citizens.
The art or animation of the series personally captivated me from the first minutes of the first episode, it gives you an feeling of a 90's, with the combination of a current one at opportune moments, perhaps the worst slump is felt in chapter 3, since that the first two chapters were very well elaborated in their style, but it felt that low for its third episode, but personally I really enjoy this style of animation, although I must admit that it also had certain flaws in some moments of the fights. I lack more intensity in the blows or movements? although good, in general I enjoy it very much.
His OST is not perfect, but it's good, I'm not a person who likes the rap genre honestly, but the music in this series is too catchy and movidita, it's really an enjoy watching box scenes with this OST, maybe I should give it an opportunity to rap ...
As for his OP and ED, I have to say that it cost me the first 4 episodes to take full pleasure in its opening, I feel that it adapts very well to the series, and the representation of Joe as a stray dog that finally meets with a white dog, clear representation of Yuuri is very good ..... and his Ending that more to say, it is super catchy, I think that each chapter I repeated it 3 times.
One of the things that the series needed to personal taste, were more chapters, this shows a bit in the development of certain characters, but more than anything in the development of the plot, at times it was felt that Joe "was advancing very fast" or was "invincible" except for the first encounter with Yuuri, you can notice how in a chapter it goes from being an unknown and in the next turning into a kind of idol, especially for the poorest. Do not misunderstand me the way was well considering that there were only 13 chapters, but with a little more episodes and would have been better and I think the series deserved it.
Also criticized a little the use of the "Gears" the series sold us at the beginning that the Gears empowered their users in many ways and this in boxing was clearly lethal, but then show us how Joe is able to deal with almost all the fights without using a Gear, while their opponents do And what about the supposed superiority or improvement when having a Gear? I can understand it against normal opponents, but with professional fighters that took away a bit of the anime's spectacularity, it seemed like Joe was on another level even without a Gear, I sincerely hoped that at the moment of entering Megalodonia we would see the Joe of the cover of the anime with his Gear ... I understand that that is not original in the quadrilletero, the same Joe mentions something like that, but in the end it's like they sold fight products a bit overrated and not to mention that with these exoskeletons that power in the blows should feel a little more.
The two paragraphs above are the only thing that I end up missing in the series, but even so I do not end up ruining the show.
As for his characters, I loved Nanbu at the end, a character that showed us a hard facet and a carefree exterior, a little deceitful and that at first did not give you security, but deep down he was perhaps the person who most I was worried about Joe, charismatic, with a great friendship and in the end he made the biggest sacrifice of all, in which I consider him the best chapter of the series far.
Sachio does a great job as the piece that ends up joining the team "No Place" the most emotional piece in the group and the glue (with a remarkable rap in the last chapters by the way)
Yuuri a good opponent, with an unexpected turn or decision at the end, his appearance in the first chapter gave me epicity accompanied by his great theme, Fujimaki is the character that actually has the role of antagonist of the series, putting the protagonists in much risk of life even, a mafioso that fulfills very well as a character, although him lacked that him received his deserved, but neither does it happen in the real world
Yukiko a woman who that hides in a cold appearance and greatness, but as we were shown in several chapters that is far from true and finally Joe is the best protagonist of his season to personal taste, his personality can not be called more how cool, his perseverance and his ability not to give up, I emphasize his voice actor, it fits like a glove ... this character together with Yuuri invite you to climb into a ring and fight like men.
In conclusion Megalo Box is undoubtedly one of the best sports animes of recent years even with its failures and one of the best animes of this year without a doubt, it turned out to be a worthy tribute to the mythical series Ashita no Joe, a fan of the boxing or the sport can not be missed this anime, is it necessary perhaps more animes like that? would give the existence of two other series that I followed at the same time, so that this would have had 25 chapters, that's for sure.
Overall/Rating: 8/10
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Megalobox es el anime de deporte del año 2018 seguramente, este nos presenta un mundo ubicado un par de décadas en el futuro, en el cual el boxeo probablemente sufre aun de mas apoyo del que recibe en nuestro mundo. En esta realidad el boxeo se ha transformado en algo llamado Megalo Box, gracias a la tecnología que ha creado Shirato el box se ha evolucionado debido a la incorporación de una especie de exoesqueleto conocido como "Gear" el cual provee a su usuario de mayor resistencia, fuerza y rendimiento. Por supuesto, esta tecnología no solo fue creada para el deporte, si no que busca usar esto como una especie de trampolín para llegar hasta los gobiernos y lo militar.
El primer episodio nos muestra a nuestro protagonista que en principio recibía el seudónimo de "Junk Dog" como una especie de boxeador de los bajos mundos y de las apuestas de peleas ilegales, junto a su entrenador Nanbu el cual era el encargado de conseguir y arreglar las peleas. Todo esto cambia cuando Junk Dog, que posteriormente recibiría el nombre de Joe (Obvio homenaje a Joe Yabuki de Ashita no Joe) se encuentra con Yuuri nuestro rival de la serie.
Posteriormente y luego de que Joe decidiera dejar esa vida de apuestas atrás, el y Nambu (por sobre todo Nambu) se ven obligados a entrar al Megalo Box oficial, antes por supuesto tendrían que recibir sus credenciales de ciudadanos legales, olvide mencionar que la serie también nos muestra un tipo de distopia muy grande entre los pobres y ricos, siendo que nuestro protagonista y su entrenador, no eran ni considerados ciudadanos.
El arte o animación de la serie personalmente me encanto desde los primeros minutos del primer episodio, te da una sensación de anime un poco noventero, con la combinación de uno actual en momentos oportunos, quizás el peor bajón se siente en el capitulo 3, ya que los dos primeros capítulos fueron muy bien elaborados en su estilo, pero se sintió ese bajón para su tercer episodio, pero personalmente disfruto mucho de este estilo de animación, aunque he de admitir que también tuvo ciertas fallas en algunos momentos de las peleas ¿Quizás le falto mas intensidad en los golpes o movimientos? aunque bueno, en general lo disfrute mucho.
Su OST no es perfecta, pero es buena, no soy una persona que le guste el genero del rap sinceramente, pero la música de esta serie es demasiado pegadiza y movidita, realmente es un disfrute ver escenas de box con esta OST, quizás debería darle una oportunidad al rap....
En cuanto a su OP y ED, he de decir que me costo los primeros 4 caps tomarle el gusto completo a su opening, siento que se adapta muy bien a la serie, y la representación de Joe como un perro callejero que al final se topa con un perro blanco, clara representación de Yuuri es muy buena.....y su Ending que mas que decir, es super pegadizo, creo que cada capitulo lo repetia 3 veces.
Una de las cosas que le hicieron falta a la serie a gusto personal, fueron mas capitulos, esto se nota un poco en el desarrollo de ciertos personajes, pero mas que todo en el desarrollo de la trama, por momentos se sintio que Joe "avanzaba muy rapido" o que era "invencible" excepto por el primer encuentro con Yuuri, se puede notar como en un capitulo pasa de ser un desconocido y en el siguiente volverse en una especie de idolo, sobre todo para los mas pobres. No me malentiendan la manera estubo bien teniendo en cuenta que solo eran 13 capitulos, pero con un poco mas de episodios y hubiera quedado mejor y creo que la serie lo merecia.
Tambien critico un poco el uso de los "Gears" la serie nos vendio al principio que los Gears potenciaban de muchas maneras a sus usuarios y esto en el boxeo claramente era letal, pero luego nos muestran como Joe es capaz de enfrentarse en casi toda la serie sin usar un Gear, mientras que sus oponentes si ¿Y la supuesta superioridad o mejora al tener un Gear? puedo entenderlo contra adversarios normales, pero con boxeadores profesionales eso me quito un poco de la espectacularidad del anime, parecia como que Joe se encontraba en otro nivel incluso sin un Gear, sinceramente esperaba que en el momento de entrar en Megalodonia vieramos al Joe de la portada del anime con su Gear...entiendo que eso no es ser original en el cuadriletero, el mismo Joe menciona algo asi, pero al final es como que vendieron productos de pelea un poco sobrevalorados y ni hablar que con estos exoesqueletos esa potencia en los golpes deberia sentirse un poco mas.
Lo dos parrafos de arriba son lo unico que me termino faltando en la serie, pero aun asi no me termino arruinando el espectaculo.
En cuanto a sus personajes me encanto por sobre todos Nanbu al final, un personaje que nos mostraba una faceta dura y un exterior despreocupado, un poco embustero y que al principio no te daba seguridad, pero en el fondo era quizás la persona que mas se preocupaba por Joe, carismático, con una gran amistad y al final hizo el mayor sacrificio de todos, en el que lo considero el mejor capitulo de la serie lejos.
Sachio hace un gran trabajo como la pieza que termina de unir al equipo "Ningún Lugar" la pieza mas emocional y el pegamento (con un rap destacable en los últimos capítulos por cierto)
Yuuri un buen rival, con un giro o decision inesperada al final, su aparición en el primer capitulo me dio epicidad acompañado con su gran tema, Fujimaki es el personaje que en realidad tiene el papel de antagonista de la serie, poniendo a los protagonistas en mucho riesgo de vida incluso, un mafioso que cumple muy bien como personaje, aunque me falto que recibiera su merecido, pero así no es el mundo real tampoco.
Yukiko una mujer que se esconde en un cascaron frio y de grandeza, pero como se nos mostro en varios capítulos eso esta lejos de ser verdad y por ultimo Joe es el mejor protagonista de su temporada a gusto personal, su personalidad que no puede llamarse mas que cool, su perseverancia y su capacidad por no rendirse, destaco a su actor de voz, le queda como anillo al dedo...este personaje junto con Yuuri te invitan a subir a un cuadrilátero y pelear como hombres.
En conclusion Megalo Box es sin duda uno de los mejores animes de deporte de los últimos años aun con sus fallas y uno de los mejores animes de este presente año sin duda, resulto ser un digno homenaje a la mítica serie Ashita no Joe, un fan del box o el deporte no puede perdérselo, ¿hacen falta quizás mas animes así? daría la existencia de otras dos series que seguí junta a esta, para que tuviera 25 capítulos eso seguro.
Calificacion: 8/10
supersmashness
Megalo Box started off as a really cool anime. The most noticeable thing to anyone at first glance is the art, which if I remember correctly was just the art being down-scaled and then up-scaled to give it the aesthetic it has. Don't quote me on that. Either way, the artstyle was interesting and the idea of a 50th anniversary project for Ashita no Joe sounded interesting. So why did it end up like it did? There'll be spoilers, btw. The first few episodes were great, personally. The soundtrack alongside the art made the first few episodes seem badass and hype, and I was really rootingfor Joe to win his goal of...not losing matches I guess? I mean, the main "story" doesn't start until a few episodes in, but even by then you're already given several good setups at least.
-The protagonist, Joe, who is an underdog type character without too much unique to his personality. He's cool and all at least, enough to get you rooting for him if nothing else. Plus he rides a motorcycle 3 or 4 times.
- An antagonist, Yuri, who doesn't actually seem like a generic douchebag but an actual person who respects the sport and the fighters, and is rather likable as far as antagonists go, even by the end.
-An idea of what exactly Megalo-boxing is and on what scale of appeal the sport is.
It's enough of a setup within the first few episodes to give a sports anime a nice start, a promising start. I sure thought so, at least.
The show was pretty good up until the main story started, whatever episode that was. I don't think I'm in the minority opinion for that statement seeing as how the MAL score around that time started slowly going down from a mid-8.4 to what it is now. The problem that starts around this time is the problem that the show inevitably ends with: predictability.
Being a sports anime, you're kind of expected from the get-go to assume the protagonist will win a lot of the time and be all badass and stuff. But Megalo Box doesn't even try to be subtle about it. Every match is the same thing over and over again. You're given an "antagonist" for that match who gets some semi-interesting backstory and maybe some relevancy to other characters, and then they get in the ring with Joe and they both have at each other. Joe gets the absolute crap beat out of him for several minutes, while Sachiko (an annoying and 100% useless kid who does a really cringey rap in one of the last few episodes) and Nanbu (a generic coach) yell at him to do this and that and not give up. Then, through the power of absolutely nothing, Joe is able to K.O. the opponent in one hit, ending the match with a win for him. I never mentioned this, but Joe is "gearless" during all of these fights meaning that basically he doesn't have these boxing-aid-machines on his arms. Logically, he should lose all his battles against his opponents who DO all have gear, since they literally have machines on their arms whereas Joe has his arms bare, however, he never loses. This means that Joe is literally the most overpowered character in this show, because not once does he get KO'd even though by all means he should, especially when you see how badly his ass gets beat in the ring. Each match starts and ends the same way, with a lot of flashbacks and other things going on being thrown into the fray WHILE the matches are going on, which often times messes with the momentum of the fights. Most of that stuff could've been mentioned before the fights at least, then I'd at least go into each fight with a good understanding of the opponent, regardless of how generic their backstory is.
That doesn't happen, of course. The fights are pretty cool though, and well choreographed imo.
Asides from the matches being done in such a bad way (asides from the actual fighting, for the most part), the main story is also really lame. A woman, who also could be considered an antagonist of sorts, is basically the founder of megalo-boxing as we see it and hosts the competition for which everything takes place. I think what her goal was was to show-off how interesting megalo-boxing was and how viable it is as a military weapon. At least, that's what I could remember from the ending. Frankly, whenever the fights weren't happening I found myself bored a lot of the time, which is another point to bring up. Sure the music's good and the art is unique, but the characters either have no depth or are straight-up bad. Why should I care about the story anyways? I already know Joe is going to win all the matches just because he can, why not just skip to the fights? I mean, they show the meat of who the opponents Joe face are mid-fighting, so it's not like I have to spend the other 15 minutes getting to know who they are and whatever the hell else is going on. The only character I can say was genuinely interesting was Yuri, although he reminds me too much of the one character from Ping Pong to say he's original. On the other hand, there's some story going on with Nanbu and some loanshark type guy who's just an asshole but is also kind of cool. Nanbu has to have Joe win the Megalo Box tournament at first so that the mean man can make money, then he has to lose it so the mean man can make money. It's probably the most interesting thing going on story-wise but that isn't saying a whole lot.
So all-in-all, you've got a run-of-the-mill nothing story, several obnoxious/shallow/boring characters, and fights that are as predictable as they come. Frankly, I can't say there's much reason to watch this show asides from the artstyle and soundtrack. If you strip those two things away this show has nothing else going for it really. That's not to say you SHOULDN'T watch it, that's your choice obviously and there's some pretty cool stuff that happens in the show every so often, but there's nothing to gain from watching it. No messages besides generic underdog stuff and blah blah blah watch Rocky instead if you want something more interesting that's also boxing related (can't comment on Ippo or Ashita no Joe, so). Frankly this show is just disappointing and has nothing worthwhile in any of the major departments. Can't really recommend it for anyone who wants a sports anime with substance as I can with, say, Ping Pong. Give that a watch instead, there's a good chance it'll be more of an experience than this show would be.
Knightttt
This anime really hits home for me. It's an emotional rollercoaster that takes you on a journey through the highs and lows of the human experience. At its core, it's a story about the human spirit, about never giving up, and about fighting for what you believe in, no matter the odds. The characters are so well-written and relatable that you can't help but get invested in their struggles and root for their success. The themes of identity, ambition, and self-discovery are explored in such a poignant way, that you can't help but reflect on your own life and experiences. Watching MC go through hisjourney is nothing short of inspiring. His determination, grit, and resilience through the toughest of times, makes you feel like you can conquer anything. What a hidden gem.
Wotakunai
Why you should watch Megalo Box? The story is Great (9). Unlike today, anime before the age of digital advances put a lot of time into developing a single episode of 20-24 minute show for the audiences and this, in turn, makes all the people behind the anime work hard to provide at least the best story that they could ever provide to justify the amount of time and money that is invested in a project. That is why if you are looking for wonderful anime in terms of story and content I would suggest you go back to watching the classics like cowboy bebop, samuraix, detective Conan to mention a few.
Now how does this relate to Megalo Box? A lot! To begin with, this is a love letter to one of the most popular stories ever made: Ashita no Joe (Tomorrow's Joe) for its 50th Anniversary. It's a story of a true rise of an underdog from the slums to the peak of the highest pedestal. It does not keep you waiting and throws you to the depths of its semi-dystopian world of underground megalo boxing. It is boxing with the addition of supporting boxing mechanical gears that enhances the boxer's skill, strengths, and abilities.
Upon knowing this, you would be immediately pulled by the idea of it and the possibilities that it would bring. But I bet you would not be able to guess the direction that the story would pull you through once you start watching it.
The story kept me guessing on what would happen next or would they be some high-end upgrades that the protagonist would be going through. Yes, there were tons of upgrades but not in the part that you may interpret.
This is one of the stories that I can say I was totally satisfied from how it piqued my interest, how it sustained my interest and how it satisfied me with its conclusion.
Art is Outstanding (10). Megalo Box's biggest advantage is its art style or to be more precise, how it imitated an art style. remember how I mentioned Cowboy Bepop? It was because If you have at least watched one of its episodes or seen its art, you can directly see where it adapts the art style.
There are no, flawless lines here or vibrant colors. It stayed away from the flawlessness of anime of today and went to the classic 90's anime look with how it handled color and texture. Even on 1080p, you can see the intentional grainy or imperfect lines that create those character models and I love it!
Sound is Very Good (8). The sound is also very good. I would like to commend the ambient music and mood-setting chimes and tunes it plays along with the story. It is a major factor in sustaining the moment when I watch Megalo Box.
"Bite" by LEO Imai the opening theme of the story is a great tool to set up the hype of the battle that the anime shows all throughout the story and it greatly shows the personality of this anime: ruthless. Even if I am not a fan of the type of rock they play in this opening theme, I can truly appreciate it.
"Kakatte Koi yo (かかってこいよ)" by NakamuraEmi its ending theme is just fun for me. It brings me to a bar setting vibe not only with the music but also with the accompanying animation using neon lights. a perfect way to wrap up an episode.
Characters are Outstanding (10). This is where Megalo Box shines as the story is heavily reliant on the characters. All of the characters know their roles in the story and they are not pretentious or confused about it.
From the underdog protagonist of the story Junkyard Dog to his partner in crime Nanbu up to the end boss of the story Yuri and his manager Yukiko, all of their characters critically weaves the story altogether.
Supporting characters are there not only to move the plot forward but to make the main of the story bloom and shine more as the story progresses into its final act.
Overall, I would greatly recommend Megalo Box to people who are sick of the mainstream approach to anime and wants to go its roots, or for people who just love brilliant storytelling. It does not matter if you like boxing or the sports genre in general, this anime is definitely for you. So watch it! Better yet... Binge-watch its 13 episodes
With that said, I would give Megalo Box 9 gear pieces out of 10.
CaptainSalty
From its subtle metaphors and punky soundtrack to its wonderful cast of deeply imperfect qualities, Megalobox proved to me that Sports anime can be something amazing. Using the sport as a medium purely for the purpose of telling your story about proving yourself, identity, family, obedience, the indominable human spirit, and so much more in a very organic and interesting way. Megalobox is jam packed with unexpected bumps in the road with a narrative that has an easy enough goal in mind but twists and turns so many times throughout each episode that it keeps you on your toes, not knowing really what comes next.The boxing matches themselves being the most adrenaline pumping parts of the series, but far from some of the best moments this series has to offer. It's character interactions and personal advances towards each and every one of their goals is where this series soars. Every character feels so real in the fact that where a series would usually make a character change for the better due to something small doesn't apply here. Everyone uses one another as a tool to get what they want, every action they take is reasonable, realistic, and most importantly builds the character or furthers the plot. Seeing the ugly side of any character is shown on full display, selfishness, suicide, lying, betrayal, and so on is shown with no hesitation to really make the characters feel alive. The series is incredible in its pacing of neither too fast nor too slow, every episode feels jam packed with progression enough to leave you satisfied after just one episode. An amazing demonstration of using your sport or main activity as a perfect medium, can't recommend enough.
Haunt88
I feel like people are unable to be critical of this show probably bcoz of nostalgia and the lack of boxing anime Coz IMO it's very overrated, like some people already pointed out, those gear would kill people if we talk realistically, like people already dies irl boxing with just gloves, and those are metals like wth As for the story, nobody seems to noticed the rinse and repeat patern of Joe and his coach, coach wouldn't trust Joe for the entire episode, Joe or the kid will convince the coach somehow and the coach will pull a very heartwarming speech that this is it I amdefinitely trusting you Joe we gonna win everything sike, rinse and repeat, this happened like 5 or 6 times in a span of 13 episodes, when drama comes the coach will be back to not trusting Joe lol, it happened when their mafia boss suddenly backout and wants to sell the fight again, then when that war veteran and when Joe was about to get exposed as an underground sellout those are just the few examples of this rinse and repeat pattern with them
Another problem I have is when Joe is so happy to see the champion without his gear like what that contradicts with his whole personality, and obviously the guy lost I mean he almost die just by removing the gear
3/10 this is probably me being lenient just coz there's no hateable character here
LemonadeSamurai
MegaloBox is a thing of beauty. I went into this completely unaware that it's a modern re-telling of Ashita No Joe The show is set in a futuristic almost post apocalyptic Japan where combatants box using cybernetic limbs and our MC is a boxer named Joe who has thrown every fight he's been in trying to survive in the underground fighting circuit. However a man comes along who changes that and brings Joe to the big leagues where everything is different. What makes Megalobox so great? It's the sheer beauty of it. The animation is incredibly fluid and gorgeous. Breathtaking at times. The fight scenesare energetic and tense. You can't look away from just how eye watering and visceral the animation is.
Joe as a character is really interesting, he starts off as a violent bum but ends up becoming a true hero to all by the end. He's a lone wolf and somebody you'll learn to love.
The plot is very serious with little to no moments of respite. Joe is battle worn and he endures a lot though the course of it..This is a very graphic show and contains a lot of blood, including scenes of Joe pissing blood (commonly happens to boxers) and situations that reflect real world problems such as substance abuse.
The other members of the cast are based off their Ashita No Joe counterparts. You have the rag tag group of kids and Nanbu who is based off Danpei.
Nanbu is a great character and you really learn to like him by the end of the show. He is sleazy but he is sleazy for a reason as you'll learn.
Unlike ashita no Joe, you don't watch the kids grow up. The show takes place over several months rather then years.
There's the antagonist Yuri who is the champ whom Joe is trying to climb the ladder to beat.
And several others whom Joe has to fight thoughout.
Joe is not a young kid aspiring to be the best. He is a battle worn man in his prime who just wants to punch Yuri. He overcomes many obstacles that seem impossible during his rise to the top.
This isn't like Ashita No Joe where Joe has a heart of gold and becomes BFFs with Danpei
This version of Joe is cold, tough and distant and he doesn't like Nanbu. He and Nanbu both know they're doing this because their lives depend on it. They don't have a choice.
This isn't a cute heartwarming anime. Megalobox is a serious dark and heavy drama with very serious situations implicating life or death.
If you liked Ashita No Joe, love boxing or just want to see some violence and a really good story.
Please watch Megalobox. You won't regret it
Megalobox is a work of art.
McNosky
When you hear the term ‘boxing anime’ there are two series that come to mind: Hajime no Ippo and Ashita no Joe. Ippo becoming a boxer out of wanting to become stronger and Joe Yabuki becoming a boxer by a chance meeting with a boxing coach that saw potential in him. I haven’t seen any of these series... but, what I have seen is Rocky; a story about Rocky Balboa, debt collector and part-time southpaw boxer, is given a chance to fight the heavyweight champion: Apollo Creed based off of his name alone. A pretty simple premise for a film that is just so effectivewith the charismatic Rocky, the romance with Adrian, the adrenaline pumping training scenes and the drama everywhere else. All culminating into one final fight of emotion and hype! A structure that Megalobox follows while taking in the sights along the way.
One thing you’ll immediately notice is the visual style of the show, which is very much reminiscent of series from the 90s, but just recreated using 2018 technology and nails it.The aesthetic oozes character with its detailed and recognizable character designs and its worn, lived in backgrounds that gives each environment its own sense of place in this world; with direction that shows us what each environment is like and how the characters interact in it. Each fight illustrates each fighter’s unique way of fighting with their gear and well choreographed to make up for any less than stellar animation cuts from the rest of the great ones.
If the aesthetic of show got your attention then the music will get you invested. Each piece of music encapsulates the characters, settings and emotion throughout its entire runtime. Like how the slums area uses more hip hop and rap or how Yukiko’s theme is mostly orchestral instruments given her higher status and how Yuri’s theme uses a lot techno beats with his integrated gear and deadly efficiency in the ring. A great OST on its own merits that is strengthened by the series its attached to. The sounds for each fight sound crisp with the squeaks of the fancy footwork and the satisfying ‘pop’ with each punch with more powerful punches sounding like it could KO you in real life. Sound is even consistent outside of fighting with the training equipment and mechanical movements of the Gear.
Story structure is pretty straightforward to follow. Each arc starts with the introduction of the new fighter, we learn more about the fighter, MC trains for fight, fight happens, repeat a couple more times. There able to repeat this structure because the writers are able to create interesting out of the ring conflicts that eventually build up to the actual fight. Aragaki is a particular highlight for me. Something I felt was a bit of a wasted opportunity was with the Gear. Gear seems to just be used to turn boxing into a bloody extreme sport, but I wanted to see real world applications of people using Gear in everyday life. It does get brought up towards the very end of series but did very little to satisfy this thought.
“Joe.” - Joe 2018
Our main character finally has a name, hooray! Yeah… there… isn’t really to much to the characters. Not to say they were poorly written. When a new character is introduced you definitely get an idea what they are like from the couple lines of dialogue and their design; there isn’t too much more to them outside of that first impression. Of course the main opponents are more fleshed out so we understand their purpose for participating in Megalonia; to the point where they have more going on with them than the main cast. However, what kept the characters interesting for me was how a majority of the cast are characterized as animals. Joe being a stray dog, Nanbu a scorpion, Fujimaki a snake, Yuri as a trained dog and how he refers to Yukiko as ‘owner’. Some fighters who aren’t given enough screen have an animal as part of their ring name which pretty much defines the type of person they are. Kind of ironic how Yukiko doesn’t approve of Joe for being a stray yet all the megalobox fighters are animals themselves.
Megalobox doesn’t try to do anything new or innovative with the story it’s trying to tell, but instead serves as a reminder for why we love these types of stories. An underdog rising through the ranks in order to fight on the ultimate stage to show their worth. With recognizable characters that you get at an instant, detailed, sketchy art to give its rough look and music to get your blood pumping. A tried and true way to create something that is the genuine article.
AnimeBear422
**spoilers** Megalo Box is a somewhat formulaic anime that does a great job of pumping you up at certain points in the 13-episode streak, and had some very intense fight scenes that didn't rely on shiny lights and superpowers. Having said that, I feel that the show peaked halfway through and didn't really "knock me out" with the ending. The final moments of the show felt a bit rushed, as if I were watching some sort of abridged version, and honestly didn't really feel as satisfying as it should have for some reason. There was something about they way they handled Yuri and the final fightthat left a bad taste in my mouth, although I appreciated that they threw a curveball with the "meat versus meat" finale.
Like mentioned earlier, it's a relatively formulaic anime that closely follows the stereotypical boxing movie arc (think "Rocky Balboa"), even complete with an stone-cold Russian guy as the final boss. I'm not necessarily hating on shows that follow a formula, but they have to offer something unique and different to really impress. Megalo Box had some really good moments, but they weren't central to the story and hence never spawned into interesting subplots. The show stuck to the formula pretty closely.
So because of that, I guess I would say that there were very few risks taken with this anime as a whole. The writers do a good job of throwing a lot of "oh crap" moments that threaten Joe's ascent to the championship outside of the ring, but there's always a Deus Ex Machina moment to get the sequence of fights back on track. And when all else fails, the writers can always fall back to Joe's complete inability to get knocked out... like ever.
Speaking of Joe, unless I'm forgetting something we don't ever find out who Joe really is or why he even cares about boxing all that much. He just happens to have an extreme amount of natural talent for it, an extreme desire to become the champion, and the aforementioned invulnerability to knockouts.
It just didn't feel very realistic that this guy can get beaten down by jacked cyborgs every episode and be strong and lucky enough to knock them out with a single counterpunch. And no, a scene of him riding a motorcycle in a desert is not enough to explain the apparent invincibility. There's a difference between having tough characters and lackluster writing. Why can Joe take 20 hits while his extremely tough and well-trained opponents can only take 3 or so? What was the point of even including the mechanical enhancements to the fighters if they seem just as strong without them? Was it just me or did it feel ridiculous that the announcer said that Yuri was "stronger than ever" a week after undergoing a body-mutilating surgery to take off his ultra high-tech, godlike strength enhancing equipment? I don't expect anime to be all that realistic, but the disbelief factor became too extreme to ignore at some points.
I hate to say it, but none of the other characters really stuck out to me. The veteran coach, the hopeful slum kid, the stone-cold russian opponent, the sadistic crime lord, and the corporate lady were all archetypes of characters that have appeared in countless other movies and shows.
The art and sound were gritty, and there seemed to be a little hip hop in there which I had mixed feelings about. I really enjoyed some of the post apocalyptic landscapes, and the animation in the boxing ring, but as a whole the visuals and sound didn't particularly stand out to me. Some people are crazy about the soundtrack, I personally would have preferred if they went a totally different route. To each their own.
I rated enjoyment as the highest category here, because I think the show was quite addicting to me while I binged it. I think we all knew the outcome from the start, but I was really eager to see what the next knockout would look like, and how many times Joe would have to get beaten to the ground to climb up the ranks. There was definitely an addiction pushing me to complete the series once I started, but the actual content of the show just wasn't enough to create a fully satisfying and memorable experience in my books.
6/10 -- Good show that is definitely worth watching if you want to see some fights in the ring. You will root for Joe just like you'd root for your favorite sports team in a high-stakes game, but Megalo Box is not something that I'll think about years down the road.
