Welcome kiddos to some extremely underrated anime,,, seriously why is no one talking about this?
I just saw Megalo Box when I was scrolling through Netflix options and ya’ll know I love a good underdog story. The show was created in honor of the 50th anniversary of the manga Ashita no Joe. The story is centered around Joe, an underground illegal boxer who does fixed fights to survive. On the other side of the river where the wealthy prosper, the Shirato group is holding a Megalo Boxing tournament called Megalonia. Joe almost crashes into Yukiko Shirato and his encounter with her bodyguard/champion, Yuri, sets Joe on a path to prove himself worthy to fight him.
Before going really in depth, I’d just like to say that this short series is absolutely amazing. There is so much to unpack with Joe’s journey and they really provide insight into each character in only 13 episodes. I really could not bring myself to hate anyone because really, they’re all living and surviving for their own goals. And the animation during the fight scenes and overall soundtrack is unreal. Honestly, I was so anxious for every fight and the animators did an amazing job of making it feel like you’re there with them.
Megalo Box is not dead yet. Season 2 will be back hopefully this year.
Now, real talk under the cut! (SPOILERS)
Right from the beginning I got chills. Joe is unreal and everything I love in a main character. And his main goal? To reach Yuri and fight him in his own ring. His journey to reach the top is not to become famous and steal any titles, instead it’s to be able to fight Yuri, the one person who challenges him more than anyone else. Each opponent he faces beforehand is just another bump to overcome but he continues to learn and improve. What really sealed it for me was him fighting gearless. Megalo Boxing is advanced fights with gear that enhance their performance, so for Joe to beat these pros with nothing is crazy.
Joe, Nanbu, and Sachio really went through it for the entirety of the show. I mean, obviously to do fixed fights, there has to be some sort of conflict and shady business. That’s why I was skeptical of his trainer, Nanbu, in the beginning. And it only got WORSE after he seemingly betrayed Joe and everything they worked for. But alas, they fought their way through it and beat the cringey American (?) fighter dude,,, I can’t remember his name. Oh well, it doesn’t matter much because our real goal is Yuri, the ultimate champion. Yuri wears this ultimate gear that was designed by Yukiko Shirato, or as he calls her, Owner. We find out the Yukiko basically saved Yuri and gave him a reason to live and continue fighting. BUT Yuri finally defies her when he goes to fight Joe in the final episode. He gets his gear removed, which is like removing a piece of himself, in order to meet Joe as equals. I think this part was really important because it was the first time we really see Yuri act for himself. He’s never faced someone who makes him feel the way he felt when fighting Joe. They were absolute ultimate opponents. But basically, Yuri as a character was so amazing and I love him. He respected Joe so much for all the he sacrificed to meet him at the top and so he made sure to never let his opportunity to fight Joe as HIMSELF slip away. It’s important to note that the flashback we see of when Yukiko first met Yuri and saw his fighting, everything slows down and we see almost sparkles radiating off his form. The ONLY other time we see that again is when he removes his gear and is practicing for his fight with Joe. Yukiko also sees it and I think it played a huge role in her allowing the final match to happen and remembering why she chose Yuri in the first place. She might have seemed to be selfish throughout the story but I really believe that she loved Yuri and did want him to be happy. I think she just didn’t understand at first.
Anyway, stan Yuri :)
Also Nanbu? Fucking redeemed himself so much. He really gave up his eye sight in order to help Joe reach his goal. I cried when he was crying during the final fight because he said he can “see” the fight even though he didn’t have his eyes. That moment was so heartwarming and really just brought their entire group together. And Sachio with his rapping and prickly little personality is so cute. I hope he gets trained by Joe and starts boxing.
The ending was so satisfying to see. We don’t find out Joe wins until the very end during the credits, although it seems somewhat obvious. A year after the fight, Yuri is reduced to a wheelchair and we aren’t sure if Joe is still fighting. Team Nowhere FINALLY has a gym and everyone is just there enjoying each others presence. Yuri and Joe as best friends? Ugh absolutely cleared my skin. They both showed each other what it really means to Megalo Box and Joe was definitely the real deal and everything Yuri was looking for. Everything about it was amazing and has brought Megalo Box to No. 2 in my favorites.
