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EP. REVIEW: Megalobox

If at least Aragaki was reported to be MIA - then I'd perhaps buy the show's claim that Nanbu gave up on him instead of looking for him. But he was a soldier who was reported to have died in battle, what reason would Nanbu have to doubt this information?
...
As it is, I don't think the show offered a good, believable reason as to why Aragaki was justified in blaming Nanbu.

...the show still goes with the idea that this conflict is justified for some reason.

(didn't he almost kill every other opponent who faced him? What happened to that built up rage against Joe? Now he suddently isnt the bad guy and we got fooled thinking he was out for blood? Ok then.).

Even a couple of wonky cuts can't dispel the gravity that lands with every single blow the fighters share.

Again, how exactly does the series express the belief that Aragaki is justified in his blaming Nanbu? Nanbu has certainly bought into that idea (see above), but that doesn't mean the writers have.

I think James explained that pretty well: "Aragaki felt that he was beyond saving, and it took him until this fight with Joe to realize that merciless victory was not his path to redemption." It was built up rage against everyone, and Joe was just a symbol of his particular rage against Nanbu. Joe made him realize that beating his opponents to a bloody pulp for no reason was pointless, as was blaming others for his situation, instead of just fighting the opponent in front of him for his own victory rather than out of impotent rage at someone else.

meiam wrote:

So, let's just assume that you buy into Aragaki side of the story (as the reviewer clearly does), how was Joe equally worthy of sympathy??? Aragaki: Former soldier who lost his legs and along it his carer as a boxer, almost causing him to commit suicide. Is now fighting to prove he can still do it in his conditions and prove to his former trainer that he shouldn't have been abandoned (again, assuming you buy this part of the story 100%). Boxing literally saved his life. Joe: Is really bored and really want to fight the champion... yep that's it, that's all of Joe backstory and personality right there. You telling me these two person equally deserves sympathy? You have a low bar and low ceiling for sympathy.

Its incredible how much Joe hasn't earned his place in the tournament (from a story and character perspective).

Its clear from the start that Joe is an orphan who has nothing, not even a name. He is stuck doing dive fights as the only way to make ends meet & is clearly dissatisfied by his lot in life. Its here that he seeks to prove himself, that he's not some worthless nobody, but a real person who can go the distance. Its the classic underdog story ala Rocky. Its then where meeting Yuri reignited the spark of passion within himself as he almost lost himself to despair & that's where he decided once & for all that he's not gonna be wasting his life doing dive fights anymore. The fact the world champ himself acknowledged his strength is the first start to his journey. Its there Nanbu out of a combination of desperation & inspiration decides to help Joe go the distance & prove he is a somebody.

Okay seriously, its this that makes me doubt you are actually watching the show.

Its clear from the start that Joe is an orphan who has nothing, not even a name. He is stuck doing dive fights as the only way to make ends meet & is clearly dissatisfied by his lot in life. Its here that he seeks to prove himself, that he's not some worthless nobody, but a real person who can go the distance. Its the classic underdog story ala Rocky. Its then where meeting Yuri reignited the spark of passion within himself as he almost lost himself to despair & that's where he decided once & for all that he's not gonna be wasting his life doing dive fights anymore. The fact the world champ himself acknowledged his strength is the first start to his journey. Its there Nanbu out of a combination of desperation & inspiration decides to help Joe go the distance & prove he is a somebody.

I'm not saying Joe is some amazing ultra-written-ed character but seriously you are now deliberately misrepresenting facts just to make him look worse than he actually is.

Scion Drake wrote:

Okay seriously, its this that makes me doubt you are actually watching the show. Its clear from the start that Joe is an orphan who has nothing, not even a name. He is stuck doing dive fights as the only way to make ends meet & is clearly dissatisfied by his lot in life. Its here that he seeks to prove himself, that he's not some worthless nobody, but a real person who can go the distance. Its the classic underdog story ala Rocky. Its then where meeting Yuri reignited the spark of passion within himself as he almost lost himself to despair & that's where he decided once & for all that he's not gonna be wasting his life doing dive fights anymore. The fact the world champ himself acknowledged his strength is the first start to his journey. Its there Nanbu out of a combination of desperation & inspiration decides to help Joe go the distance & prove he is a somebody. I'm not saying Joe is some amazing ultra-written-ed character but seriously you are now deliberately misrepresenting facts just to make him look worse than he actually is.

Yeah boxing is a job to Joe and he's getting bored of it... how's that anywhere near "saved his life" level of important? Yeah it's a classic underdog story, so...? How does that make Joe equally sympathetic to "guy who lost his legs in war and almost committed suicide if it wasn't for boxing"? Cause that guy is also an underdog (the whole lost his leg thing) except he has all this extra stuff. Joe is just... yep bored. You can spice it up with passion and "lost himself" all you want, but that's just using more word to say "bored".

I mean the whole underdog thing... literally everyone who's not Yuri is also the underdog if Joe is one. There all not the champion, making them the underdog. The shark guy was also an underdog (no one expected him to get into megalomania), so by the "underdog deserve sympathy" logic, previous fight also had an opponent who was equally sympathetic to Joe.

Joe is stuck at a deadbeat job working for the mob & if he screws up, it could mean serious repercussions. That's more than just bored.

An underdog is the highest person expected to lose. Joe is the underdog because he's fighting with nothing, no sponsor, no equipment compared to everyone else who has the stuff but the grit to back it up. Also that shark guy plays dirty, he's regarded as low-rank cause of that.

Again, how is any of that anywhere near "lost his legs in war and almost killed himself"?

Oh c'mon, he could've given the equivalent of the "I am human" speech, and you still wouldn't have bought it.

I thought it was fine. But I've understood his character all along, so I didn't need him to go into an uncharacteristically bombastic declaration of his worth to convince me that she would be convinced. Nanba (and Yuri) had already planted the seeds and it's not like she needed a lot of arm-twisting to do what she already wanted to do but hadn't convinced herself she had a good enough reason.

Gina Szanboti wrote:

I thought it was fine. But I've understood his character all along, so I didn't need him to go into an uncharacteristically bombastic declaration of his worth to convince me that she would be convinced. Nanba (and Yuri) had already planted the seeds and it's not like she needed a lot of arm-twisting to do what she already wanted to do but hadn't convinced herself she had a good enough reason.

See, this is why I cant make it more clear as to why it doesnt work for me.
Yes, Nanba and Yuri had already planted the seeds, but it was up to Joe to make those seeds finally grow.
There is a reason as to why the show makes us think Nanba has persuaded her and then with a bait n' switch makes him fail. You have this great scene of Joe taking matters into his own hands finally and not letting Nanbu fix everything for him. He grabs his bike like he has always done in his life to get away from the world and he goes towards it for the first time. Thats [expletive] drama. Thats character development.
Thats the show saying to us "Its up to Joe now to change her mind". Finally we have a moment of real tension where all the characters have everything to lose if they dont change her mind, and its up to Joe to get there as fast as he can and somehow prove he deserves a rematch.
And then all he has to say is "he's a faker!", and thats what breaks the camel's back. Talk about a boner killer.
This is what makes good drama. It doesnt matter if i already know "what Joe's character is all about" beforehand. The illusion is the point of good storytelling, otherwise why bother?
Most shockingly, is that i know you know this and understand what im saying, but at this point you arent willing to move an inch regarding my opinion. The argument is always the same, you already know who and what the character is, so the show doesnt have to go the extra mile to gives more of that character.
Pardon my bluntness, but thats a shallow excuse and in no way invalidates my criticism.
"and it's not like she needed a lot of arm-twisting to do what she already wanted to do but hadn't convinced herself she had a good enough reason". What you are implying here is that Joe saying "he's he your idea of the real deal?" was what convinced she had good enough reason. Which was something Nanbu had already told her. So Joe is just parroting Nanbu. How is Joe repeating the same argument as Nanbu enough to convince her AND the viewers? Also, how is Joe repeating the same argument as Nanbu making him standout as a character and developing our interest in him?

Your just a constant source of rants aren't you? Its the same shit with you every time. Can't you at the very least summarize?