Megalo Box is easily one of the most hyped and best anime of 2018. The storytelling, fights, the unique art style, the intensity, everything was breathtaking!
Have you watched Ashita no Joe & Ippo and are still craving more boxing anime? Or maybe you’ve never seen them and want a shorter, alternative with the same level of hype and storytelling? If so, i’ll present to you Megalo Box!
Megalo Box is a homage to the great boxing series- Ashita no Joe, set in a futuristic, cyber punk type setting following a boxer called J.D. “Junk Dog”. It’s got a 80s themed, hip hop, gritty, atmosphere to it and gives of Samurai Champloo/Cowboy Bepop feels.
Plot: 7/10
Pretty typical, boxing underdog story. It’s a story about a boy named Junk Dog fighting his way through the Megalo tournament to fight the champion. Sounds pretty simple right? The main difference here is the inclusion of gears that fighters wore, as it enhanced their physiycal capabilities. However not our protagonist. He enters without using gears and dons the name “Gearless Joe”. What I didn’t like was the gangster sub plot (where Joe and Nanbu entered the tournament to pay him back) because it’s too cliche and has been done so many times.
Characters: 6/10
I would say this was the weakest point to me. There’s a diverse cast of characters, however there’s only a few characters with decent characterisation whilst the rest are rather flat. I think the best written characters were Aragaki and Nanbu. I feel we could have explored more on Joe, Yuri, Yukiko and her brother’s past (SPOILERS)
For example, Joe: we don’t know Joe’s childhood, why he became a boxer, whether he has any relatives (was he an orphan in the system?), why he came to the city Nanbu saw him in (or did he grew up there?)
Yuri: All we know is that he had a trainer in his boxing club when he first met Yukiko. Again, we know virtually nothing little about his upbringing/life. Why does Yuri view Yukiko so highly, as to call orders from her and call her his owner? There has to be a deeper meaning than Yuri working for her.
Fights: 8.5/10
There were some decently choreographed fights. You could tell were most of the punches landed and it had some really standout moments. However, for the most part the fights were lacklustre. That’s probably because I’ve seen better fights in Ippo. A lot of Joe’s fights were him getting pounded and then he making a comeback and wining in the end. It became a bit predictable.
The training was rather basic. It didn’t really teach me any boxing moves, compared to other boxing series.
Animation: 9/10
I love the dull (is that the right word? ), low quality animation. It made the world feel more gritty and realistic.
Music: 9/10
I love the hip hip hop soundtracks, it really encompasses the 80s-themed setting they were going for. I loved the OP and ending song. The raps were amazing.
Enjoyment: 10/10
I loved Megalo box. It was my most hyped and anticipated anime this season. I was pumped every week waiting for the next episode to be released.
Megalo Box would have been better if it was 24 episodes as it would have covered some of the flaws I had with it e.g. Joe’s characterisation.
Overall, I’ll give Megalo Box a 8/10
