Ashita no Joe/Megalobox

[LumRanmaYasha]

I'll put up my ratings for the story arcs in the manga thread, since I've experienced more of the story through the manga than the anime.

As for my favorite moments...

Spoiler

The first that comes to mind is the Dragon Kim fight. I liked how initially Joe didn't feel he had it in him beat someone who had struggled through a life of hell, but he came to realize Kim was just making excuses for himself; he had a tragic childhood, yes, but that has nothing to do with how strong he is as a boxer or Joe's ability to beat him. Moreover, Joe realized he already has faced someone who went through hell; Rikishi. No, Rikishi didn't suffer from the trauma of killing his own father or anything, but he starved himself to his breaking point, willingly, purposefully, in order to fight Joe. While Kim had no choice as a kid to starve and live through a hell, Rikishi chose to endure that kind of pain, he sacrificed his own health and the pleasures of eating good food for the sake of fulfilling a promise, and he didn't back down. And it is the fact that Rikishi chose to experience the pain of starvation while Kim was forced that leads Joe to realize Kim isn't as indomitable as he seems, nor does he have the willpower of Rikishi to endure hardships willingly. And while Joe, like Rikishi, worked exhaustingly to reduce his weight to meet the lint, and is willing to get up again and again after taking beatings, Kim, who doesn't have much affinity for boxing and just sees it as a game, lacks that kind of resolve. He may be physically strong, but he lacks the passion for boxing and the ability to endure pain for it's sake like Joe or Rikishi, and inspired by the memory of what Rikishi did for their fight, Joe ultimately is able to overcome Kim. I just really love the idea behind that fight, how it tied in with Joe's weight struggle, messed with his confidence, and how it connected the arc back to Rikishi's struggle with weight loss and his fight with Joe, and that's why it seems to really stick in my mind.

There are other moments I love, obviously. I just don't have it in me to write about them all right now. I will say that Mendoza saying "See you again" to Joe at the end of the Hawaii arc and Joe's happy reaction to finally be acknowledged by him was a memorable scene to me, and was Mendoza's and Joe's first encounter.

To be honest, I actually expected Joe was going to die at the end because of all the build up, because as I was watching the series past the Harimao fight I kept thinking that was really the only natural destination for the series and Joe's character arc. Joe's sole, final goal was fighting his best fight he could with Mendoza, and his weathered body lasted him until he did that, and afterwards, he had nothing left he needed to accomplish, so satisfied with his life's journey, he peacefully, and happily, expired. Basically, I agree with all your points on the ending, and in fact I said the same kind of things earlier in that post where I talked about what I though about the Joe vs. Jose fight and the ending and stuff. I like that it's ambiguous as to how the other characters will move on, but I'd also like to think Danpei continues to train aspiring boxers and Yoko finds happiness and love again, somehow.

I'd say my favorite segment of the series have got to be the events from Joe and Rikishi's official fight (including the build up to it) all the way through the final fight with Carlos. Joe having to deal with his psychological scars and not only just find the resolve to fight again, but be able to overcome the trauma that unconsciously affects his boxing, and just how low his life was at this point as he struggled to return to form, definitely was the most striking part of the series to me as well, but I also loved the satisfaction of seeing him overcome  it, and fight a glorious fight with Carlos, a man who was incredibly similar to him and had his same wild spirit and passion for the sport, that both of them could be proud of, really felt like a victory and was an uplifting moment. So, I think I like those parts best because it's a rollercoaster of the highs and lows in Joe's life, with the low being his absolute low and the high being his absolute high (until his fight with Mendoza), and I think it's the part that best encapsulates the greatest strengths of the series and it's characters as well.

Sometime later I think I might make a top ten favorite moments in the series list in the manga thread (say, there's an idea I can do for a few shows/manga...), and then I'll elaborate more on some of the other parts of the series that really made an impression on me.

[close]

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I've been watching through the first anime for AnJ. Honestly it's a lot better paced than I gave it credit for. As of episode 29, Joe is already taking his licensure exam. The anime does have a lot of animation mistakes (such as incorrect coloring or outfits or backgrounds in certain scenes), but that's pretty much a staple of animation from that time period, and not only does it not hurt the experience, but it even sort of adds to its charm in a crude but amusing sort of way.

Also, as far as favorite moments go, the way that Joe actually attains the right to get his gym and himself licensed is easily on of my favorite parts (and the anime handles it so well). In one regard it shows how clever Joe can be, in how he both uses the business politics of boxing AND the media to his advantage, essentially baiting and manipulating reporters into a story that makes him look good and the higher-ups who denied his gym an official license to be old, corrupt, senile douche-bags (which to be fair they pretty much are) while he comes off as a total bad-ass (which is because he is a total bad-ass). In general, the scene is as bad-ass as it is clever, and is easily among the story's best "fun" moments.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

 Watched the live-action movie. Here's the thing....AnJ just doesn't translate well into live-action, as it is a manga that relies heavily on its cartoony art-style to make for convincing physics-defying actions and such. Trying to do that in live-action and playing it straight is just silly. Furthermore, trying to condense about 8 or 9 volumes of manga material into a 2 hour film yields exactly the sloppy results you would expect. We get all of the iconic parts of the story and characters without any of the charm or wit that made them so engaging in the first place. Additionally, the movie does an unforgivable thing and screws up Yoko's character, who as you know is one of my favorites. They make her needlessly unlikable for a pretty stupid reason that I won't say because it's still technically a spoiler for the movie (but trust me, it's stupid). I definitely would NOT recommend this movie as a gateway into the series.

Having said that, as a fan, I do have to appreciate the effort. Despite its faults,you can really tell that the people making this film had a lot of respect for the source-material and did the best that they could. It doesn't necessarily redeem the movie in any way, but it does make it an amusing curiosity for hardcore fans. Also, the movie's re-rendition of the original theme song from the first anime is spectacular. I wish I could find a recording of it on YouTube.

[Souther]

I picked up the compilation movie of the first series a few months ago for some random reason.

It's interesting as a historical piece of animation, but don't see myself watching the whole thing. Joe's the sort of classic shounen character that is simultaneously charming yet annoying in his narrow-mided nature.

I did laugh at the possibly unintended homoeroticism vibes, even if I did feel a bit sad about it later on.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Eh, a compilation movie really isn't a good way to judge the series, it shows you tons of scenes out of proper context, and there is a lot more to Joe's character than just being a typical narrow-minded shounen protagonist. On the contrary he's quite clever in many situations, and while his personality isn't the most likable, it makes a lot more sense why he acts like he does when viewing the series as a whole. Watching a compilation movie (which is a form that this series was never intended to be viewed in) just does it no justice. Either way, though, the manga is the best version to go with, IMO. It's my favorite manga for a reason.

[Souther]

Eh, a compilation movie really isn't a good way to judge the series, it shows you tons of scenes out of proper context, and there is a lot more to Joe's character than just being a typical narrow-minded shounen protagonist. On the contrary he's quite clever in many situations, and while his personality isn't the most likable, it makes a lot more sense why he acts like he does when viewing the series as a whole. Watching a compilation movie (which is a form that this series was never intended to be viewed in) just does it no justice. Either way, though, the manga is the best version to go with, IMO. It's my favorite manga for a reason.

Fair enough. It's not a great idea to completely judge the entire series based on a simple compilation, but it's still a taste of what the story is all about. I've only mentioned it as a point of reference. Admittedly, it's quite possible that a few things might come across differently with a lot more context. Mind you, I did notice that there is a translation project for the TV series. Is there one for the manga as well?

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Unoficially, the manga has been completely translated, though the translations for the first few volumes are a bit shaky. For now, that's pretty much the only way to read the series in English, as the prospect of an official release is highly unlikely for any old manga that was not written by Tezuka.

As for the anime, the entire second series is streaming for free on Crunchy Roll. The first anime has been fan-subbed up to episode 71 (which is pretty close to the end of its run), but the pacing of that series may be a bit too slow for most people, hence why I recommend the manga.

It's up to you though, if you ever feel like giving the full series a shot. I can't promise that you'll like it as much as I do, but I can promise that it'll come off more coherently and better written than a very condensed movie version.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'll just use this old thread to update my thoughts on Magalobox because why the fuck not?

Anyways, it's two for two so far and Junk Dog picking the ring name Joe sent a chill down my spine. I'm really saddened by the fact that not that many people are watching this show. It's easily an anime of the year contender for me and at that would probably make my top 10 list if I still actually did those.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Alright, this week's episode has me convinced that this is in fact set in the same Universe as Ashita no Joe with all of the subtle little hints that go beyond just mere reference. At any rate I'm really loving the animation style and music of this series. I also love how they are handling the kids here as an integral part of the story.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Finally saw the first three episodes of Megalobox. Engaging action and characters, excellent direction and animation, and some catchy and atmospheric music. This is incredible so far. If it keeps this up this is easily going to be one of the year's best. Every piece of this hits the mark.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I especially love how they de-ressed the animation quality and then upscaled it back to HD quality from there to make it feel like authentic 80's style animation. It's a really cool effect.

The music in this show is also superb. I'd seriously consider buying the soundtrack for it if that ever gets released over here.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I'm quite impressed at how well directed and animated this show is. The fight in this episode was intense and paced tightly with just enough hints at where the story is (probably) going to end. The contrast between "Gearless" Joe (also a reference to "Shoeless" Joe) and Yuri's reliance on the highest end tech is a nice touch. I'm definitely also interested in knowing who this new opponent is.

Not dead yet.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

There was a character in the manga who briefly appeared in a flashback: a guy formerly trained by Danpei who got kicked out since he had no passion for the sport. This new character seems like he has some past relation to JD's coach in this series, so he could be a combination of that concept while taking characteristics from one of Joe's rivals in the original manga such as Wolf Kanagushi. We'll just have to wait and see.

[Avaitor]

So I downloaded VRV and started watching the show during my break at work, an episode a day. Holy shit, you guys aren't kidding, it's really good!

I'd say that it works without the nods to AnJ, but let's be real, that's the bulk of the show. I think it's still quite good even if you're unfamiliar, however.

[gunswordfist]

I'm very unfamiliar. The last two episodes really got my in my feels.