Ashita no Joe/Megalobox

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'm just a bit ticked that they couldn't (or wouldn't?) get the rights to air the first anime. I love AnJ2, but it's just simply not going to be nearly as effective without coming into it knowing all of the character history from Part I. It's the equivalent of watching FMP: TSR without having seen the first season or Fumoffu, or seeing Serenity without having seen Firefly (which incidentally is something that I did before going back to watch the series), or The Avengers without having seen the films leading up to it.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Well, the first anime and second anime were produced by different studios, and aired on different networks, so they'd have to deal with a whole other contract in order to get the rights to the first series. Aside from that, they probably felt that the first series showed it's age more than the second one, not to mention they aren't really related to each other since the first anime covers up to the end of the Carlos Rivera arc and has quite a few differences. I can see why they'd go for Joe 2, which is newer, shorter, and features the most acclaimed parts of the series, than the first one, and I can understand their reluctance and difficulties to get both right off the bat. Hopefully, Joe 2 does well enough for them that they pick up the first series as well. As it is, while Joe 2 won't be as effective for people than people who have experienced the story that comes before it, it'll still be accessible enough for people to enjoy it, and I'm hopeful that'll raise it's popularity and recognizability in the western anime fandom.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I doubt it would be very expensive for them to acquire the first anime, though, and saying they aren't related is kind of stretching it, yes, the studios and staff that made them are different, but both share many of the same Seiyuu, and although their is overlap with the Carlos Rivera arc, the 2nd series still references all of the major events from the first series. Also, in Japan, the Part I is just as iconic as Part II, and putting dated animation aside (which you could argue about AnJ2 as well), the first series has aged really well for the most part. It does have some pacing issues, but compared to stuff like DBZ, Bleach, or Naruto, which apparently most people can tolerate just fine, the pacing issues are almost non-existent since at least shit keeps happening in each episode, and you don't spend multiple episodes on what is essentially one really drawn out scene.

Personally, I don't buy it that the first season would be that difficult to acquire, or that there is a good reason to have passed it up and go straight for the second season.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I suppose they just didn't see a need to get the first series, since the second does stand on it's own well-enough. They also don't know whether the series will pull it's weight in streaming hits, since despite it's critical acclaim it's also obscure here, so they probably felt it would be too much of an investment to get both when the series is untested in the west.  So, just choosing one, I can see why they went for Joe 2, which is shorter, relatively newer, can be watched without seeing the first series, and has a conclusive ending, than the first series. It may not have been difficult to acquire to first series, but I can think I understand their rationale in getting the second one first on a "business" perspective.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Perhaps, but I just hope that somehow Joe 2 catches on just enough to warrant people looking into the entire series.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, in a few days, Abarenbou Kishi!! Matsutarou will begin airing for the Spring anime season. What does this have to do with Ashita no Joe? Well, it's based on a very popular shounen manga by Tetsuya Chiba, the very same "artist" of Ashita no Joe, as you can tell by their very similar art-styles (and don't listen to the sources that incorrectly call him the author of AnJ, although he did have some input on the story and characters, from what I understand).

Now, Asaou Takamori had no involvement with this series, so I'm not exactly expecting AnJ levels of quality from it, but in being heavily involved in the making of such a critically-acclaimed classic, I want to give Chiba the benefit of the doubt and check out this adaptation of his series. The only caveat....is that it's being done by Toei animation, the most shameless "corner-cutting" animation company in the business since Hanna-Barbera. That said, since there are no other English translations of this series available, it's all that I have to go on. I'll check it out this weekend and possibly do a brief entry on it for the seasonal clusterfuck if it's at all worth talking about. Here's a promo:

http://youtu.be/lktW3OzxbV4

[LumRanmaYasha]

Yeah, I've known about this show since it was first announced, and have been wary about how this series will turn out ever since I heard Toei's name was attached to it. I'm still going to check out the first episode/s. The preview didn't do much to inspire me with hope for good animation, but the drawings are expressive enough to make it still look interesting. Maybe Toei will treat a classic manga series with more respect and effort than their modern, ongoing stuff. Here's hoping...

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

The thing that stuck out to me about the trailer is how lively and exuberant Chiba's art-style is, even with the limited animation provided by Toei. It's really a testament to his talent that it can look good even with Toei's cheap-ass animators.

[LumRanmaYasha]

So, I haven't been able to watch Matsutaro yet because no site has uploaded it and I'm not wasting a two-week free trial for Crunchyroll premium access just for it, but judging by the comments, reception is very mixed, which makes me a cautious. I do like the opening, though. It's got a classic, nostalgic feel to it, and definitely stands out amongst the mediocre j-pop most anime openings have got these days.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

The problem with mixed reception could either reflect the series possibly being too old-school for some people (and having a slow start), or it could be that Toei just did a shitty job adapting it.  While I'm hoping it's the former reason, I'm really suspecting it's the latter. I know that the manga was very popular and well-liked in Japan, and I done doubt Chiba's talent, so I'm really thinking that this is probably another fuck-up from Toei.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Well, most of the negative comments are about Matsutaro being an unlikeable character, which is why I'm concerned. Hopefully someone uploads the episode soon so I can judge it for myself.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I watched it. It's not necessarily bad, but I can understand the comments about Matsutarou being a dick. He literally goes as far as to steal candy from a baby, and then later almost runs over that same baby. Even Joe, in the beginning of AnJ, would never stoop that low. I'm kind of wondering if he's supposed to start out as a jerk and become more likable over time (like Joe did), but either way, he did go a bit too far in this episode.

Overall the series hasn't impressed me with the first episode, but it's also the first episode, so I can kind of understand that since a lot of anime have pretty unremarkable beginnings. I'm going to at least need to see a few more episodes to see if this series is worth my time. In the meanwhile, I'll give Chiba the benefit of the doubt and just blame Toei for any shortcomings of this series because it's convenient, and because I have no access to the original manga. That said, it's definitely no AnJ, but I wasn't really expecting that, either.

What does work in the show's favor is Chiba's lively art-style. Toei's cheap animation, however, kind of sucks the fun out of that.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I also just watched the episode, and, um, yeah, Matsutaro is a pretty unlikeable character right now. Like, there were no evident redeeming qualities about him in this episode (it's kind of hard not to be pissed off at him for almost running over his own baby sibling), and I generally don't care for these over-the-top women obsessed kind of characters either. I did like how there was not any wrestling whatsoever in this episode, instead establishing Matsutaro's character, like Ashita no Joe....yet unlike Joe, nothing about Matsutaro presented here makes me really that interested in exploring who he is. It's also kind of disconcerting to me that the episode ends with Matsutaro thrown into jail. I hope this doesn't re-tread the Juvenile Prison arc of AnJ. Otherwise, things happened kind of slowly in the first episode and nothing that exciting happened or made me like the characters, so it was a pretty mediocre beginning to the series, in my opinion.

As for the animation/production values, well, the animation is cheap as expected, but I'll say for the most part Toei did a good job directing the episode in a way that doesn't call attention to it. Of course....this is the first episode, which means that the production values will slowly start to decrease from here on out, so it inevitably will look worse down the line. At least Chiba's art gives the show an easily expressive style. Matsutaro had some great expressions here. 

I do want to give this show another episode or two to see if the story picks up and Matsutaro becomes a more likable protagonist, but I can't say I found this episode very good. Of course, the manga couldn't have run for 36 volumes without having merit to it, so it I'd hope it becomes better. I guess we'll have to see.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I think what made Joe less offensive than Matsutaro (aside from not carelessly almost killing a baby, let alone his own sibling, without any regard for their lives whatsoever) is that he was really more of a neutral personality rather than an oppressive one. Matsutaro is outright mean to people for no reason whatsoever. Joe, on the other hand, had more of a "if you don't fuck around with me, I won't fuck you up" kind of attitude about him. He did rough up some kids in the beginning as well, but the difference here is that these kids were old enough to fight, and in fact tried to ambush him and came at him armed with street weapons. Joe has the case of self-defense on his side. On the other hand....Matsutaro almost killed a fucking baby. You can't get anymore innocent than that. There is no comparison. The reaction from his other siblings shouldn't have been a comical one of "you jerk!" It should've been...."WTF? Rot in hell you psychopath!"

In fact, now that I think about it, nothing else in the episode bothered me that much. It wasn't good, but it wasn't necessarily bad either. But this one moment, the more I dwell on it, almost makes Matsutaro irredeemable for me. To be fair, he wasn't the one driving the truck, but he was the one messing around with the driver. Still, it's not so much the fact that the truck almost ran her over, but that Matsutaro didn't even take a moment to acknowledge that which made him come off as so terrible. If it turns out that this is more Toei's doing than Chiba's then it'll only further cement my hate for the company. If it really was Chiba's writing, though, then Takamori must have been shaking his head in disappointment at his former co-worker, at the time.

[Foggle]

Would one of you like to write a piece about Matsutaro for the Clusterfuck?