Author: Lenlo

Hello everyone and welcome to Megalo Box, now with added 100% more feels. This week we have a story of disabled boxers, war and mutual mistakes, and I loved every second of it. Lets jump in!

So lets get this out of the way right now, I was not expecting anything that happened this episode. I was prepared for some backstory on Aragaki and some sort of grudge with Nanbu. What I was not prepared for was a more effective story of war and lost limbs than anything I got from Violet Evergarden. That might seem an exaggeration but over the next few paragraphs I will explain. Specifics of the war story aside, I am glad Megalo Box is taking the time to build up its boxers. We need more than the end boss Yuri to carry this story, so compelling or interesting opponents are a must. Not only do they let Megalo Box tell interesting stories, but we get to explore Nanbu and Joe through their opponents as well. It gives Megalo Box real breathing room for its character moments.

Continue reading “Megalo Box – 5 [The Man From Death]” →

Welcome one and all, to the real start of Joe’s boxing journey. This week Megalo Box’s starts to show its first cracks and gives us more fights than we can shake a stick at. Lets jump in!

Overall, this was a good episode in every respect but one. The music, story and pacing all do wonders. The one sticking point for me this week though was the main fight and its animation. For the most part it works, having Joe struggle with fear as his main opponent was brilliant. With both Joe and Nanbu caught up in it, Sachio had to be the one to save the day. The kid needed to be more than the plucky sidekick. However the fight animation itself worried me. It feels slow, delayed in places. Not smooth and snappy, nor working with the music like previous fights. In addition, ending the whole thing with one punch after all that buildup felt like an anti-climax. It wasn’t a bad fight by any means, let me make that clear, but I was hoping for more in our first big match.

Continue reading “Megalo Box – 4 [Let’s Dance With Death]” →

Another week, another good episode of Megalo Box. Its like dose of old school action. This week we get a subversion of the “upgrade” and some evidence of how bad life in the slums really is. Lets jump in!

So my first thought after finishing this episode was, wow there are some awesome camera shots in here. Cutting from a cross hanging in a car to Yuri resting on the ropes? Joe examining his cut in the rearview mirror? And how about Joe standing, with no gear, before Potemkin? Each of them convey so much beyond the basic information they needed to get across. They sell Yuri’s already massive power or the David vs Goliath feeling against Potemkin. The shot with the rearview mirror puts us in Joe’s shoes as we see him how he sees himself, not to mention it’s just interesting to look at. Its angles and direction like this that can make even the stillest or low-res anime interesting to watch. For more proof of that just go watch Monster. Another example of the effect of great direction. That’s not all Megalo Box gets right though.

Continue reading “Megalo Box – 3 [Gear Is Dead]” →

Welcome to the Spring 2018 anime season! I am proud to present to you the Ashita no Joe 50th Anniversary project, Megalo Box. Easily the most stylish anime of the season. Lets jump in!

With just 2 episodes, Megalo Box has become my favorite for the season. Everything about it feels like it comes from a different age of anime, the time of Hajime no Ippo’s first series, Cowboy Bebop or Trigun. Even the story, so far, is Ashita no Joe with robot arms, with certain shots coming straight out of original 1970’s anime. In today’s anime landscape, Megalo Box is a breath of fresh air. Its thick, rough line work contrasting the all to clean and thin art we normally see. The vibrant color pallet that gives us bright greens, blues and oranges instead of muted browns and greys of regular highschool life. The only negative I can think of with Megalo Box is that, at least the Crunchyroll version, seems to have some resolution issues. Like it was upscaled to 1080p. Luckily with its style, Megalo Box doesn’t suffer for it much.

Continue reading “Megalo Box – 2 [The Man Only Dies Once]” →