Ashita no Joe

[Spark Of Spirit]

So would you say this is your new favorite series? 

[LumRanmaYasha]

 Check his updated Favorite Manga and Anime lists. 


It'd be my #1 favorite myself if the manga was only completely translated. The recent progress shows promise that the translators'll be done soon, though.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, pretty much 5 untranslated volumes are all that stand in my way of calling this my favorite manga. I already know from the anime that the rest of the story is great, and there's really nothing else like this series. It's on a level of quality that is comparable to any of Tezuka's finest work.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, have you had a chance to catch up to the manga yet, CX, or are you still waiting until Spring Break?

[LumRanmaYasha]

I'm going to try and read the new scans tonight, if I can fit it in after doing homework/packing/finishing library books I have to return. Otherwise I'll just read them tomorrow since I'll have the night free after my flight.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

And....volume 16 is out. Thank you so much fan-translators for the sped-up releases. I don't know what I'd do without you.

It does make me kind of regret finishing the series via the anime and not just waiting for the rest of the manga to come out, but how was I supposed to know that just shortly after I caught up to it that we'd suddenly be getting full volume releases in rapid succession? Of course, the anime was terrific, so watching it certainly wasn't a bad thing, and despite knowing what happens, this series proves how amazing and classic it is in that it's every bit as exciting going through the same events in the manga that I already watched in the anime.

At this point I might as well just declare this my favorite manga ever, since it's obvious that it's not possible for it to disappoint me  at any point in the story, but just for the sake of completion I'll still hold off until I've read all of it.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I just finished volume 16, and wow am I impressed at just how good this manga still is. There were only a few notable differences in the anime version, but I really appreciate the detail put into different places in both versions. In particular I like how certain events take place earlier in the manga than the anime, such as Joe and Danpei moving into their new gym (though I love that one filler scene from the anime where they both go back to stay in the old gym for one final night), as well as how Danpei tests Joe for being Punch Drunk before the Hawaii trip rather than before the World Title match, which to me felt a bit late to catch onto Joe's problem by that point in time. On the other hand, I do enjoy how the anime really helps to expand Yoko's already prominent role in the story, and we get to see what she's actually up to in many scenes that just happened off-panel in the manga. Both versions have their strengths, though overall I still prefer the manga for its consistency.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I've caught up on the scans. Volume #16 was probably the least changed when the material was adapted in the anime so far, especially concerning the Dragon Kim fight. Still, I liked those extra scenes with Yoko and the investigator (I forget his name atm), and seeing her interact with Mendoza's family and befriend them in order to get the exclusive rights to Mendoza's fights in Japan. Those were great scenes and I enjoyed how the anime showed how active she was in helping Joe's career after the Carlos Rivera arc while here in the manga it's happening off-screen. Also, I really like the investigator guy that helps provide information to Yoko and Joe in the anime, so I'm surprised he isn't in the manga at all.

One thing that I really think the anime does better than the manga, though, is Nishii. Nishii just suddenly disappears in the manga half-way into the Carlos Rivera arc, and while we see some brief closure for him and Noriko in this volume,  for a character that played a significant role for most of the manga and is Joe's best friend, it just feels off that he's written out like this. I preferred how in the anime, he gets a whole episode of closure on his boxing career to himself, and continues to stick around and second during Joe's matches.

Still, the manga is as solid as ever, and the final 4 volumes should be just as great. With the volumes coming out so quickly now, it should only be a matter of time before it's all completely translated. I wonder whether I should just wait for that, even though I only have 16 episodes left of the anime. I probably won't since I'm enjoying Joe 2 a lot and do want to finish it, even though now that I'm super busy with class work it'll take me until a good while yet to do so.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

While the last few releases were a pleasant surprise, we may have just gotten lucky, and there's no telling how long it will be until the next release.

The addition of the reporter, while not necessary to the plot, did a good job of dealing with a lot of the exposition in the series without actually making it feel like exposition. Furthermore it gives Yoko someone besides Joe to interact with.

The anime does sacrifice the more fluid pacing of the manga by adding these scenes in, of course, but most of the additions themselves are good, so it's a fair trade-off.

Also I just have to say, as someone who just tends to think a lot of Japanese voice-acting sounds similar and can't really distinguish too many voices, I LOVE Joe's voice. Granted that, he clearly sounds way older than he is, but his voice is just the right brand of effectively dramatic, humorous, and bad-ass. And you just have to see how amazing the seiyuu's performance in the final episode is. That guy hits emotional notes in a way that I never thought was possible for Joe's character to go to based on his voice. Seriously, this guy deserves a medal, and as far as I know, Joe is the only VA credit to his name. He's never voice acted as any other character in his entire career, so then I can only conclude that he was just born to play Joe.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Well, according to IMDb he voice acted a character named Dr. Flitz in an anime movie called "Kaz wo Mita Shonen" and also has done several live-action roles, but I agree he perfectly captured Joe's character and is definitely one of the more memorable voices I've heard in anime, right up there with Fumi Hirano's Lum for me (which is high praise since that's by far my favorite non-dubbed VA performance in anime).

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Volume 17 is up, now. Man, we really are getting close to the end of the manga. It's very likely that it'll be finished in another few months if we keep getting big releases at this rate. And really, it has nearly cemented its spot as my favorite manga of all time, and my favorite shounen series, period.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Interesting. In the anime, Joe wasn't able to keep his 2-round KO promise in his fight against Pinang, whereas in the manga, he does follow through with it (although just barely).

One thing that I like better in the manga is that they start hinting about Joe's health problems WAY earlier on than in the anime, and if you're paying attention, you can clearly see then progress over time. In the anime it almost feels like a last-minute thing since they don't really get into it until after the Hawaii arc.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Alright, so I want to give my impressions of each arc in this series after my first run through it, and it'll be interesting to compare it to how I feel about it a few months later when I re-read/watch it again (and yes, I would gladly go through it again that soon, or possibly even sooner). Just keep in mind a few things. First of all, every ranking I give for each arc is relative to the series itself and not other series. If it were, then I'd end up giving almost EVERY single arc in the series a 10/10 because it's just that damn good to me. So if you see a 7/10 or 8/10, just know that it's only by this series' standards, and that compared to most other manga and anime, it would rank so much higher. Speaking of arcs, since this is a relatively obscure manga, there aren't any commonly agreed upon names for the story arcs by fans that I know of, so I can take the liberty of making them up for myself and drawing the boundaries where I see fit (since they can be kind of unclear at times). Finally, all rankings for stuff that comes past where the current translations of the manga are up to are going by the anime rather than the manga, so just keep that in mind.

With that said, here are my ratings:

Part I:

Doya Town Slums (8/10): This is an excellent way to start the series. It'd probably be too slow for most readers who don't have a good appreciation for setting up a story nicely, and it's not as though it has the strongest writing that this series has to offer, but what can you expect? It's just the best possible way to set up the characters, establish Joe Yabuki as the jerk-ass that he is, and it also establishes Danpei Tange as the man destined to train him. The kids are all likable companions who enlist in Joe's shenanigans, and Nishi is a great initial rival for Joe, who eventually becomes his best friend. For me, this arc covers up through to Joe's trial before he's sentenced to over a year in juvenile prison (so it includes the Tokyo Correctional House portion of the story).

Juvenile Prison (10/10)- This is where the story truly starts. I love the portrayal of the prison in this manga. The other kids really try to rough-house Joe and Nishi, and it quickly establishes itself as a facility where inmates have to look out for themselves and only the truly tough can gain enough respect from the other inmates to be left alone. Luckily Joe uses his strength to quickly dominate just about anyone who tries to oppose him....until he meets Rikiishi, who knocks him out in one punch during a failed escape attempt. This sets up one of the most memorable rivalries in the entire shounen genre, and in this arc we get a lot more exposure to characters like Danpei as he trains Joe. Nishi really proves himself to be a worthy friend to Joe, here, and the boxing matches that occur in prison are appropriately rough and gritty, but also very intense and entertaining. Yoko also becomes a more prominent character in this arc.

The Rise of Joe Yabuki (10/10)- After Joe gets out of prison, this manga gets even better. First we get to see the politics of the boxing world and how the corrupt businessmen and gym owners running Japan's boxing league all have it out for Danpei who ruined his own reputation in the past by being a drunk who constantly abused his own boxers. While it is a regretful part of his past, it is clear that Danpei has changed since then, and that they are just being corrupt ass-holes using their power to deny him a second chance by refusing to grant him a trainer's license to make his gym official and quality his boxers to take their own license exams. I won't spoil anything for anyone, but the way that Joe goes about "changing their minds" is one o the best moments in the series, and it really shows that unlike characters like Korra or Lion-O, Joe Yabuki is just as clever as he his hot-headed. The rise of Joe and Wolf to rookie stardom is great, and their match is amazingly intense. It's at this point that I knew this series would be a favorite of mine.

Rikiishi Tooru (11/10)- The build-up to this match, the actual match itself, and the aftermath are what encompass this arc, and good good is this some of the most amazing writing I have ever seen in any form of fiction. Everything from Rikiishi's intense weight-loss regimen to how this event affects both his and Joe's lives is truly some of the most captivating story-telling that I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I can't say anymore than that without spoiling it for anyone.


Part II: Square Jungle

The Fall Of Joe Yabuki (11/10)- This arc somehow manages the impossible task of carrying forward the momentum of the previous arc, and it's just as good. It's a bit misleading in the beginning, since Joe is already going through depression as he's wandering around Tokyo. The scene where he runs into his old rival Wolf who's working for the Yakuza now is a great way to start the arc, and the scene where he runs into Yoko at the night club is also memorable. Then Joe decides to try and make his comeback, and at first it seems like Joe is rising to further heights than ever before, but it doesn't take long for his fatal flaw to rear it's ugly head and nearly kill his boxing career. The following chapters where he is reduced to wandering around Japan participating in low-brow, fixed fights for washed-up boxers is really tragic stuff, but it just sets him up for yet another big come-back later on.

Carlos Rivera (10/10)- Carlos and his manager Roy are both hilarious characters, but on the more serious side of things, Rivera is the perfect motivation to kick Joe back into top gear and re-ignite his motivation to become a pro-boxer and aim for the world title. This is truly top-notch stuff.

Dragon Kim (10/10)- Once again, I won't spoil anything for anyone, here, but what Joe goes through here is reminiscent of what another character went through in an earlier arc, and it's very much poetic justice for him in this case. As for Dragon Kim, his back-story is one of the most intense and disturbing that I have ever seen for any anime character, and his fight with Joe does not disappoint in the slightest.

Hawaii (9/10)- I decided to get a little creative with this title. Sure, he goes to Hawaii which technically fits under the jurisdiction of the OPBF (at least according to this anime), but it is officially an American state, so it counts. Really-speaking, nothing very extraordinary happens in terms of plot, and Joe's actual opponent is quite forgettable. The REAL point of this arc is for Joe to finally confront the world champion by meeting him face-to-face for a real conversation, Jose Martinez. It's a lot of early build-up, but you can really tell that it's going to lead to something big.

Harimaou (7/10)- Easily the weakest part of the series, as the match felt unnecessary, but oddly enough....that's kind of the point, so in that regard it really wasn't unnecessary. Once again, it's very hard to talk about just what I mean without completely spoiling the story for you, so you'll just have to watch it for yourself. That said, it's still genuinely good stuff. It's just that it's not quite up to the usual standards of this series, but even on its own, it kills most modern shounen in terms of quality and memorability.

Jose Mendoza (11/10)- The last fight in the series, the ultimate climax, and the definitive ending....simply beautiful. Putting spoilers aside, even if I could explain the fight, no words I could come up with would do it any justice. And of course, just as important as the fight itself is what leads up to the fight, and I can't spoil that either. All I'll say is that last conversation between Yoko and Joe was a really memorable moment, and the way things wrapped up and concluded at the end couldn't have been more perfect for this kind of series, IMO. Truly an amazing ending for an amazing series, though it likely won't be up everyone's alley if you're too spoiled by more typical story-telling conventions.

I fixed my story arc titles to make them seem more official n' stuff.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

And, volume 18 is up. Just 2 more to go! We're almost there, people!

[LumRanmaYasha]

They've been releasing a new volume every two-three weeks since February. I expect, if there are no more delays, the entire manga should be fully translated by June.