- Genre : Cyberpunk, Sports!, action, cool
- Studio: TMS Entertainment
The last few episodes of Megalobox really renewed my interest in the series. I was truly looking forward to this week and the resolution of that cliffhanger ending with the mob guy that looks like he could be a decent boxer too. I wasn’t too sure what shady deal Nambu had made but I was really hoping he put up the kid as collateral.
He hadn’t 😒
I appreciate a character that can stay true to themselves. Character growth is great and all but you don’t want to trade someone’s unique personality just to end up with a homogeneous sea of morally irreproachable good guys with occasional sarcastic one liners. Nambu is a small time crook who decided a long time ago that the most practical use of his undeniable coaching skills was to arrange fixed fights for a guaranteed quick buck.
There’s an entire personality and mindset that goes into a decision like that. After all, it’s the boxers’ careers he’s leveraging for this meager measure of comfort. This is not a man with a deep love for the sport or a paternal relationship to his trainees. And this is exactly the type of guy that would have come up with a last ditch all or nothing gamble such as throwing Megalonia. (Everything points to a really obvious redemption arc for Nambu in the remaining episodes but at least for a while, he was consistent with his faults).
Joe reacted like a cool guy Sports anime protagonist but in showing a drop of emotion for the first time, his voice actually cracked a little. I’m not sure if this was on purpose, to emphasize how even keeled and impassive he usually is but it was the most genuine characterization we’ve seen out of this guy so far. Since the voice actor has been superhero, I’m going to assume it was deliberate.
My biggest note for the episode was “that kid sure has an important role this week”. Look, I understand that Sachio was meant as a cute and energetic foil to grumpy Nanbu and stoic Joe, to lighten up the mood and create contrast, but I also think he is completely unnecessary. Megalo box is already fast paced and fairly lighthearted enough. Clearly, he’s now being used to further humanize Yukiko by giving her a pseudo motherly whitewash and again, I think it’s completely useless and the production would have been better served by concentrating their resources elsewhere. You know, even I thin I take this kid thing way too seriously.
The first round in Megalonia was Yuri against the spider. Another nice match if a bit short for my tastes. I really enjoyed seeing the different dignitaries being hosted by the Shirato corporation. I’m thinking that general who decided to go watch a boxing match in full dress uniform was there to emphasis that gear technology does indeed have paramilitary applications (as I suggested weeks ago not that I’m a visionary or anything…).
Did you guys notice that Yuri got in “the zone”. I’m not sure how much overlap there is between Megalo Box viewers and Kuroko no Basuke fans, but I found the use of the exact same effect a nice little throwback. It made me happy!
I have strayed considerably from my initial attempts at forcing a *ship* in this series. Maybe there just isn’t enough material to base myself on or maybe I’m a horrible shipper to begin with (most likely both). However, you really can’t deny that Joe and Yuri have crazy chemistry. As soon as you put these two in a scene together, you can practically hear the smooth saxophone music in the background. Even Yuri’s dog loves Joe. This was meant to be people. At this point it’s canon!
The story of the scorpion and the frog was repeated throughout the episode. The very heavy handed moral here being that we cannot escape our nature. Nanbu will always be a scoundrel, Joe will always be a nobody, Yuri will always be the king of kings and that kid will always be a brat. Of course, ultimately, the series is making the exact opposite point. It’s all fine but it’s also very standard. There really was no need to spell it out in such detail, we’ve all seen this story a million times before.
All in all, I did enjoy this episode. We are left in limbo, not quite knowing how Joe will react to everything that’s happened (he’ll go fight in earnest – we do all know). Although I found that it didn’t really bring that much to the overall narrative, it’s a decent set up and I am still very much looking forward to next week.
Side note, “Moon Shine” is a little lazy as far as booze names go.
I haven’t insisted on it enough but Joe really is quite handsome. I’m not sure why his attractiveness hasn’t quite hit me. Maybe it’s due to his lack of personality?
