The Greatest Anime Episode Ever Tournament

[LumRanmaYasha]

Round 1: Match 17


Legend of the Galactic Heroes #108: "Brunhild Wants Blood"

VS.


My Hero Academia #2: "What it Takes to Be A Hero"

VS.


Ashita no Joe 2 #47: "His Youth...Now Turned to Ash"

VS.


Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu #7: "The Warcry of Excessiveness"

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I really want to vote on this match, but I also don't want to watch that LOTGH episode because I do genuinely want to get back to the series sometime in the near future and don't want to spoil anything for myself. I'll have to think about what to do in this scenario.

[gunswordfist]

Will vote later. Hopefully later today.

[Avaitor]

Everything here will need a fresh viewing for me.

And I think that I'll watch the first MHA episode before this one. It only makes sense, y'no?

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, you might as well. The first two episodes adapt the first chapter of the manga, so they're essentially a two-parter, anyways.

[gunswordfist]

Don't wait on me if you want to wrap this round up before tomorrow afternoon. Rewatching the first two My Hero Academia episodes was incredible but I almost died 5 seconds into listening to Fumoufu's dub and I would have to watch the other 2 shows on my Vita.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I'm not gonna have time to watch them, so I'll have to skip.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Don't wait on me if you want to wrap this round up before tomorrow afternoon. Rewatching the first two My Hero Academia episodes was incredible but I almost died 5 seconds into listening to Fumoufu's dub and I would have to watch the other 2 shows on my Vita.

Per usual, the match will be up until Sunday unless everyone who normally participates in this competition or has expressed interest in voting has done so. You have time. 

[gunswordfist]

Oh...lol. Ok, I will vote tonight.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Just for the record, that is the final episode of Ashita no Joe right there, so you'll be having one of the most iconic endings in anime and manga history spoiled for you.

As for me, I enjoy both the FMP dub and the sub (I'm kind of surprised to hear GSF call his "boy" Greed from FMA intolerable), but for this particular episode the dub shines through in really selling one particular joke, which is hilarious if you've actually seen Full Metal Jacket, which is my personal favorite Kubrick film and quite obviously referenced heavily in this episode.

Anyways, I have made the controversial decision to vote without watching the LOTGH episode, because I don't want to spoil it for myself, and even if I were to watch it I would be viewing it out of context, which would force me to rank it last, anyways. I don't actually want to rank it last, but when AnJ is involved I can't just sit idly by, either.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

"His Youth...Now Turned To Ash" -

Spoiler

This is an excellent conclusion to the highly climactic fight with José Mendoza. I really love the aspect of Joe's body and health rapidly declining as the match continues. There's a gritiness to his condition that makes so many other shonen feel tame in comparison, in the sense that unlike a typical protagonist, you know that Joe will never recover from this damage. However, it all culminates in Joe finally fulfilling his desire of going all out in the ring, and you can see that on his face as he slips out of consciousness and the credits start rolling. It's left ambiguous whether he truly died from his injuries or not, but that feeling of being content is really the last image that we're left with, and after all of his struggles to get to that point, we're right there with Joe.

[close]

"What it Takes to Be a Hero" - The first half of this episode does a really good job of establishing All Might's character, and how despite his outward appearance for the public, his body is degrading as time goes on. He reveals his true nature to Midoriya, which is certainly not insincere, but certainly a tad more critical on the life of being a professional hero than what Midoriya expected to hear from his biggest role-model. However, the second half flips this pessimistic notion instilled by All Might on Midoriya as our protagonist ironically inspires his personal hero by reminding him just what it is that makes someone a hero. Here is Midoriya, a powerless person in a scenario full of super-powered individuals, yet in saving Bakugo he is ironically the most heroic person in the scene. All Might realizes that his own declining health is not something that should allow him to hold himself back, and thus the student/mentor relationship between the two of them is born, and it really goes both ways. Great stuff, overall.

"The Warcry of Excessiveness"- I already talked about this episode in my previous post. Simply put, it's pretty damn funny seeing Sousuke go all-out on training a rugby team by acting like he's training recruits in a military bootcamp, and this all leads to a predictable but still incredibly hilarious punchline. It's definitely my favorite episode of Fumoffu.

"Brunhild Wants Blood"- As I already explained, I'm too far off from this episode. It's most likely the best one here, so I feel bad ranking it last, but I'm sure that I'll feel like an idiot once I finally get back to watching this series and reach this far.

[VLordGTZ]

Same as Dr. E-k

[LumRanmaYasha]

"Brunhild Wants Blood" -

Spoiler

A brilliant finish to the war between the Empire and the Alliance and the ideological conflict between Reinhard and Yang that's been present since the very beginning of the series. Reinhard reflects that all who have lost their lives up until this point had an "appropriate death for each of us." That's true of much of this episode, as it takes much sacrifice on the part of the rebels for Julian to meet with Reinhard. And that makes it all the more satisfying when they are able to meet, and Julian stands and tells Reinhard he has a solution to foster peace in the galaxy, and Reinhard out of respect for him coming so far calls a truce for peace. It's a very satisfying conclusion to the series-long conflict and feels so very earned after everything both sides have been through these past few years.

[close]

"His Youth...Now Turned to Ash" -

Spoiler

One of the all-time iconic endings in an anime/manga series. Yoko brings herself to support Joe's dream in a critical moment, giving him the willpower to persevere through. Joe is a mess throughout the episode, barely able to think, just focused solely on lasting the fight and moving on pure instinct and willpower. The sheer intensity of his determination spooks the shit out of Mendoza, who uncharacteristically loses his wits and composure. Though Jose wins by points, it's clear by his decrepit state at the end of the episode who really won that battle of wills. As for Joe, he leaves the fight satisfied he could give his all right up until the very end. It's a moral victory for the punk from the slums who no one expected anything out of, now having stood in the same ring as the worldwide boxing champ and given him his toughest, and probably final, fight of his life. The ending is bittersweet, whether Joe has died or not, but it's so very emotionally satisfying to see him have pulled through and accomplished everything he wanted out of his life. I'd be putting this first if the LOGH episode didn't need all the support it can get.

[close]

"What it Takes to Be a Hero" -

Spoiler

A compelling moment where Midoriya demonstrates true heroism in unhesitantly rushing to Bakugo's aid when he sees him in trouble, his example reminding a world-weary and jaded All Might what being a hero is all about - selflessly giving your all to help people in need, no matter the risk or cost to yourself. That respect of each other's heroism forms the basis of All Might and Midoriya's master-student relationship that forms the emotional backbone of the series, and the episode demonstrates the sense of optimistic heroism and belief in doing the right thing no matter what the danger that persists as a thematic undercurrent throughout the series.

[close]

"The War Cry of Excessiveness" -

Spoiler

Amusing homage to Full Metal Jacket as well as a general satire of sports movie archetypes.

[close]

[gunswordfist]

Is Greed the big guy at the start of the episode because if not, then that's not who I was talking about 
I might pass since it looks like MHA's lone nomination was advance and I hate spoilers.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

He's the military guy with the handgun; basically one of the two main characters of the show. The big guys in that episode are just one-off characters.