Megalo Box

There's only so much you can accomplish when talking a story of a boxer rising to stardom, so when one comes along that impresses most of its viewers, that's nothing to take very lightly. Megalo Box is one of 2018's latest anime to reach completion and it's nothing short of terrific from start to finish. Going into this show, I was worried that it would rip-off classic boxing stories and give them a new spin, and while this show definitely does versions of that, it truly is its own thing and there are quite a few surprises along the way to keep you hooked. Megalo Box is a series that never wastes a moment throughout its 13 episodes and here's why (if you can get into anime in the least) I think it's absolutely worthy of your time.

In a world where underground boxing has boxers wearing gear to enhance their fighting skills, Megalo Box follows a young man with no name but "Junk Dog," as he is used as a tool to throw matches for money. Determined that he has what it takes to take down the champion at this year's "Megalonia," he throws his past in the dust and decides fight fearlessly to the top of the rankings. Along with some surprisingly emotional episodes involving characters from the past, this show takes your heartstrings and tugs on them pretty hard on multiple occasions. While the overall series is slightly predictable in terms of where the story progresses, the point is that it keeps you emotionally invested.

Throughout each episode, whether it's simply a character reflecting on the past or literally fighting in the ring, everyone gets their shot at development here. As I mentioned, there isn't a single wasted moment or filler episode, because at a mere 13 episodes, there are a lot of stories to get through. It's almost as if the core story of fighting to the top takes a backseat and places itself on autopilot, as the writers take you on separate journeys into the past or future. Just when you know you have everything figured out, Megalo Box either gives you a gut-punch of a fight or has you begging for certain character's fates. I was on the edge of my seat through each consecutive episode, with a true standout storyline involving a character who goes by the name Aragaki. To myself, at least, this was a standout moment from the series.

In terms of being satisfying and delivering a final episode that will please all viewers, I believe this show ends on a very, very solid note and leaves you feeling complete, while also possibly wishing for it to continue. When a series can do both of those things at once, then it has done its job perfectly. I do think there are a few episodes that could've devoted themselves to exploring the villain side a little more, but other than that, everything about this show felt earned and worthwhile by the time the credits began to roll on the 13th episode.

In the end, Megalo Box is a generic story of a boxer rising to stardom, but it spins that classic tale on its head by throwing in characters that may have you in tears, boxing matches that could take your breath away, and twists that had my jaw on the floor on one occasion in particular. I don't believe this is a premise that can win any awards, but for being so similar to other things, I truly believe this show deserves all the credit in the world for feeling completely fresh. I loved watching this series and I have no regrets in recommending this one to anime lovers and even casual viewers alike. Megalo Box is fantastic.

Megalobox official review

Megalobox was a great show about Gearless Joe, a boxer in a tournament against power-suited opponents.

It did a great job of hitting the right gritty tone and I loved the old school look.

Worth a watch, and im hoping for a second season.

8/10

I went through a good period where I was pretty into anime, but eventually, I just got bored with the medium. Check out what's airing the same season as Megalo Box: a handful of continuing shows, a bunch of sequel series, and all of it is very "anime" - I'm talking art style, writing, most slot very nicely in with their contemporaries. Don't get me wrong, anime is not inherently bad, there's just a ton of it, and the shows start to blend together. In this horde of anime, Megalo Box stands out as a unique, raw, and awesome sports anime.

The show is propped up considerably by its distinctive art style. Beautiful backgrounds and unique character designs are the hallmark of this show. It doesn't look like its peers. If it looks like anything, it's 90s anime like Cowboy Bebop or Trigun. And I say the show looks better for it. Honestly, the art direction on the show is stunning, and is probably the top draw for the show.

As for plot, it's a pretty standard underdog story framed in a tournament arc. This approach is simple, yet effective. The show does a great job in characterizing its characters, specifically Joe, Nanbu, and Sachio, in a myriad of little ways. The characters are brought to life by excellent voice acting. The drama of the show comes from the high stakes of each match and our desire to see (the average) Joe overcome. The show has a great sense of narrative stakes and ramps up the tension in each episode, even when there's no boxing in the episode.

Beyond narrative stakes, tension and other emotions are promulgated by the intensely vivacious and superb soundtrack. The music in this show is so excellent, and well-integrated in the story.

If I had to offer some complaints, tons of anime offer these cheap shortcuts of not showing speaker's faces so they don't have to animate the lips or jaws. Many frames have little-to-no movement in them. This is distracting to me because I look out for stuff like this, it's probably not something that too many people actually care about. Besides that, the actual boxing matches could do with some better boxing choreography. Odd angles and strange pacing in the fights hampers the show. Hajime no Ippo and Rocky Balboa are both better examples of how to frame and direct the sport of boxing.

These complaints are relatively minor, and the show itself is fantastic. Honestly, it just feels refreshing to have an anime that a (mostly) original property that tells an inspired story in an inspired way with an inspired art style. The show smacks of passion, originality, and creativity, all things that I value in art. This is one of the best shows I've seen in recent memory, and I think this one is going to have a long shelf life.

I have heard of this anime being mentioned by Joey (The Anime Man) many times saying how great this anime is and 110% agree with him on his opinon. The fighting scenes were just beyond incredible. The characters just make the whole viewing experience of the 13 episodes much easier to follow, especially Joe with his laid back but pumped up attitude when it comes to every opponent he fought in the ring.

It's been a very long while since I last heard an English dub and I can honestly tell you, Kaiji Tang among the other English dub actors were pretty soothing to hear haha. It's good seeing and of course knowing, that the voice actors were matched well with their characters. I can definitely say this also for the Japanese voice actors in the sub version of the anime series.

What was a downer though that it did lose a score is that the music was a hit/miss. I personally didn't think that the op and ending songs weren't that pumped up enough for this particular series. Hopefully whenever season 2 comes out this year (or next year if covid did affect its airing), the soundtrack side will be better. Don't get me wrong, the songs were good in a way but just not to my tastebuds.

Literally can't wait for season 2 and what'll bring in Joes boxing journey ^^

This anime is just straight up amazing and I highly regret delaying watching it. Everything from the animation to the story to the characters to the voice acting is absolutely spectacular. A longer review would end up being redundant praise. The music is great, the fight choreography is perfect, its really hard for me to find any flaws in the story or the show itself. I would highly recommend watching.