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Megalobox
Episode 1-3

by James Beckett,

How would you rate episode 1 of
Megalobox ?
Community score: 4.6

How would you rate episode 2 of
Megalobox ?
Community score: 4.7

How would you rate episode 3 of
Megalobox ?
Community score: 4.6

Megalobox came roaring out of the gate with a true scorcher of a premiere. From its opening frames, it was clear that this dingy yet futuristic reinvention of the classic Ashita no Joe franchise is supremely confident in its vision. The intentionally low-res retro aesthetic of the show, combined with the thumping, hypnotic buzz of manbua's soundtrack, gives off the impression of watching the coolest sports anime of the early 2000s that had somehow never been released until now; even in just that first episode, there were shots and beats of such electrifying power that they already felt iconic.

The second episode provides the same levels of rough-n'-tumble oil-slick thrills, pitting our scrappy Junk Dog against the infinitely more composed Yuri, a Megaloboxer whose nervous-system-integrated Gear stands in stark contrast to Junk Dog's scrappy exoskeleton. It isn't any surprise that Junk Dog loses here, as Megalobox adheres closely to the tropes of an underdog fighter story, where early defeat only spurs our hero on to greater victories down the line. The show's safe approach to its narrative is more forgivable in my estimation simply by virtue of retelling a classic sports manga with a different coat of paint. The devil is in the details, and Megalobox takes its familiar plot points and executes them with such supremely cool confidence that it sucks viewers right into the show's grim, dystopic vision of a future where the downtrodden are denied even basic citizenship, and our Junk Dog would rather risk his life for an opportunity to show up the elites of Megaloboxing than spend another day throwing fights for dirty gangsters, who would just as soon steal your organs and boil you into soup than lend you a helping hand. Junk Dog's trainer Nanbu isn't so thrilled with his fighter's reignited lust for glory, however, since he's the one whose organs are on the line when the crime bosses come calling, but Junk Dog's cocksure attitude is also what helps secure them a spot on the path to Megalonia.

For Nanbu this means a shot at survival, but all Junk Dog wants is another shot at taking down Yuri, the sport's reining champion. This also gives Junk Dog the chance to choose a legitimate name in probably my favorite scene across these three episodes. Not only is his choice of the name “Joe” an obvious callback to the original manga, it also stands as an explicit declaration of our hero's fight against the social forces that exiled him to the wasteland of the slums. Earlier, he spied a billboard advertising the paradise of a metropolis that lay just out of his reach, declaring that it was not a place for “average Joes”. Well, Joe's come knocking on the city's doors all the same, and he's bound to shatter peoples' notions of what a true fighter can do when given the chance to unleash his full potential. The third episode, “Gear is Dead”, is a step down from the killer combo of the first two episodes, but it manages to balance out its faults by continuing to wring some truly effective storytelling out of well-worn tropes.

The main issue with this third episode is that the aesthetic quality of the episode takes a noticeable dip. Given how director Yō Moriyama has intentionally down-scaled and then re-upscaled Megalobox's resolution to give it that slightly blurred SD quality of the digipaint era, the downgrade in actual animation quality doesn't hurt the show as much as expected. Rather, I was disappointed to see the direction suffer in comparison to prior episodes; camera angles are less dynamic, and the more limited character animation has fewer of the charismatic flourishes that made such an impression just a couple weeks ago. There's still an overabundance of style to be found in this third episode compared to most shows, but when you start off with such a fantastic premiere, any step down is bound to stand out more.

The episode scrapes by mostly unscathed, because it's a world and character building exercise that doesn't necessarily need to look the absolute best. “Gear is Dead” is partially concerned with doing the table-setting needed to get Nanbu and Joe on the right track for Megalonia, but the more interesting parts of the episode concern a gang of street urchins, especially their leader Sachio. The episode does a good job of establishing their technological prowess in the grungy world of scrap hunting around them, but more importantly, I was shocked to see how far Megalobox was willing to go in depicting these kids' destitution. Not only are they barely surviving by stealing high-risk expensive equipment, but the kids also seem to be hooked on a drug called Red Candy, and the junk dealers that sell it to them are not above beating these children to protect their investments.

The way that Sachio and the other kids get involved with Joe's rise to glory serves two equally effective purposes. It further establishes the class divide that will certainly come to define Joe in relation to his opponents, and it helps round out Joe's characterization as a protagonist. The first two episodes established his cocky attitude toward fighting, but his role as protector and inspiration to the young and downtrodden evens out his rougher edges and gives even more weight to the significance of his journey ahead. Yes, Joe's pride and Nanbu's life remain the chief stakes on the line here, but now he carries the burden of Sachio's hopes as well. While I know very little about the original Ashita no Joe, I've been told that the inclusion of these kids is in keeping with the original series' ethos, which only further cements Megalobox as both a stunning standalone story and a worthy successor to a classic manga's legacy.

In short, Megalobox is absurdly good so far, and it shows little sign of slowing down. Even with the third episode's slight dip in quality, the show is so cool and confident that it ought to be criminal. This is the kind of anime you show to convert your friends and family who feel like they don't “get” anime, the kind of immediately gratifying entertainment that relies on a good story being well told, that happens to be damn gorgeous to boot. I can only hope that Megalobox maintains this level of must-watch quality for the rest of the season.

Rating: A-

Megalobox is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

James is an English teacher who has loved anime his entire life, and he spends way too much time on Twitter and his blog.


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