#megalo box meta

[solcomfortssouls]

Megalo Box 2 Nomad episode 7

Aka the Liu vs Joe sparring fight

This was the most hopeful episode so far

Joe building the trust and home back by building the gym back is beautiful way how to show such abstract values through external symbolic goal/mission. It’s the external action that moves and gets complicated, while heavy with the internal meaning. Just brilliant. 

I was very impressed with Liu. He has understandable reasons for being obsessed with legends like Yuri and Joe and wanting to overcome them. The kid just wants to give his all against an opponent who does the same, dreaming of the beautiful final between Yuri and Joe. 

Joe’s prime might be over, overshadowed with grim realities, tragedies and breakdowns, but his story inspires and fires up people still. So lovely to see that

Santa is really growing on me. He is the most open and nice of the kids, and while he can play it off needing to initiate good stories to write about them, he is majorly helping Joe here, tipping him off to Liu, watching the fight, obviously being interested how this goes. 

Santa and Bonjiri are the first half of the kids to be forgiving Joe, little by little. I loved seeing them together in the seats, watching the fight. It’s as heartwarming as it’s sad to miss the other half of the gang 

Joe’s eyes lighting up, when fighting Liu was amazing. The music, the moves, the way they got excited about each other - this is the state Liu was hoping for and deserved in his match against Joe 

Joe is still a fighter, no one can take that from him

Liu being such a cheerful, mature and passionate kid was a joy, he totally got to me. 

[emoimo]

What Joe says here in Japanese is 「何があってもここにとどまるべきだったんだ。」 //  “Nani ga attemo koko ni todomarubeki dattanda.” Specifically, he uses the word “todomaru” meaning “to stay” echoing his opening monologue from Season 1 Episode 1: “Koko ni todomaruka, koko kara aragauka?” // “Do I stay here? Or do I fight my way out?”, a quote which was also heavily featured in Japanese promotional material for Season 1. It’s not exactly an uncommon word, but I do think the parallel is noteworthy in regard to the themes of each season.

In Season 1, the obvious choice was to fight, to stand up against the forces that keep you down. Season 2 says, “Well, there’s a bit more nuance to that question, actually.” Season 2 challenges the simplicity of Season 1’s morals (which are perfectly good in the right context) by placing them in a different story. Nomad says that sometimes, there are good reasons to do a fixed match. It says that sometimes, fighting is the wrong choice; there are different ways to be brave and staying down can be scarier and more difficult than fighting back. Five years ago in this story, Joe should have stayed with his family, not fought with Liu, and not run away. Back then he didn’t know any other way to live. This time he knows what to do. I have a full post about Nomad Episode 10 here.

[kanamesengoku]

Did lots of freaking out on Discord yesterday about this, but I’m putting it here too because I’m still just as surprised Pikachu about it and I just want to shove mabanua’s genius in everybody’s faces- basically, listening to Nomad’s soundtrack and thinking “wow this is really familiar, I wonder if-” and then doing some (very quick and sloppy, ignore that it’s messy please) audio mashing, I present the following:

00:00-01:40 left ear: MEGALOBOX (S1) right ear: Theme of Sachio 2 (S2)

In S1, the theme of Megalobox is the closest thing we have to Joe’s theme, and considering the plot point in Nomad about how Sachio is trying his hardest to be a Joe replacement, it fits perfectly that his S2 theme wouldn’t be a variation on his S1 theme (which was pretty substantially different except that his S2 theme’s arpeggiation is the reverse of his S1 theme’s), but rather a variation on Joe’s theme (even changing the key from Am in S1 to Dm in S2- coincidentally, the same key as the theme of Megalobox)... but it’s not a variation on Joe’s theme only, which leads to-

01:45-03:15 left ear: MEGALOBOX (Emotional) (S1) right ear: Theme of Gansaku Nanbu (Sorrow) (S1)

Yes, I’m only discovering 3 years afterward that Nanbu and Joe’s themes were tied together, with notable points where they go very dissonant- paralleling Nanbu and Joe’s character arcs in S1. I especially like how they occasionally echo/answer each other, as if they’re on the same path but juuuust slightly off. (And of course, they resolve at the end...)

3:30-4:55 left ear: MEGALOBOX (Emotional) (S1) right ear: Theme of NOMAD (S2)

Finally, (even though this mixing is more of a mess than the other two and I apologize skjkjdhkj) the theme of Nomad (or what we could call Joe’s S2 theme) which I’m not sure to describe as a western, key-changed descant, supplement to, or evolution of the og Megalobox theme (maybe a mix of all three), illustrating that yes, Joe has grown older, but he’s still himself despite everything. Also worth noting that he’s moved away from Dm (the “saddest” key) to Em7, a spectacular parallel to the theme of hope that ran throughout all of S2.

tldr; Team Bangaichi are a family, they are intertwined even musically, and even through distance and loss they always will be, mabanua is living in 4040 and I have a lot of feelings!

* ETA: the audio player sometimes decides not to play in dash view, so if there doesn’t seem to be audio, please click through HERE and it should hopefully work!

[bangaichii]

episode 5

Joe being in denial about Nanbu dying to the point that he is running towards this idealized vision where he wins against impossible odds to cure Nanbu because he’s done it before in the past, that’s why he’s gotta keep trying he thinks. But also deep in the back of his mind, he’s avoiding visiting Nanbu because he knows and he is terrified. Terrified of losing someone who showed him Megalo Box, who chose his first ring name for him when Joe at first didn’t want a name because it was a collar. Terrified of losing someone who told him to stand up and fight and finally truly believed in him when that’s all Joe wanted as he tried to pursue his dream and get out from the underground ring.

Sachio isn’t wrong with his view that Joe should visit Ossan because with the circumstances, there’s no telling what would happen when and it was most important for Nanbu to spend time with those he loved and also for Sachio and Joe and the kids to lean on each other for emotional support during the time. But Joe telling Sachio to not think about death. Joe throwing himself into training without visiting because he was so scared of losing Nanbu and wanted to believe he could once again grant all the kids (and himself) hope by winning, that this would save Nanbu. He can’t face his fear of losing Nanbu so he is chasing something as a means to keep himself situated, a hopeful state like the one they had while journeying through Megalonia.

Sachio and Joe are at odds because Sachio understands to a degree that Joe is scared but says he shouldn’t think about being able to beat the odds once again since this is life and death, since spending time with Nanbu is more important than training for a match and money that won’t do anything. But Joe is desperate to keep the dream and hope going, so he’s putting his mind onto this vision again of beating the odds through Megalo Box to save Ossan because he won’t know if he doesn’t try since that’s what he always did. He stood up and fought for his dream. But now. Deep down, he knows. And he doesn’t want to visit because he doesn’t want to be faced with the harsh reality that no. Nanbu really is dying. And there’s nothing he can do about it.

Now he is facing his fears, facing Ossan, facing Sachio. I can’t even articulate my feelings lmao :(

[newsintheshell]

Dynit, gli appuntamenti del Comicon di quest’anno

Venerdì l’anteprima del secondo film di Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel!

Dynit partecipa al COMICON di quest’anno con un calendario ricco di appuntamenti; vediamo in dettaglio le varie attività in programma per il Festival partenopeo.

Si comincia giovedì 25 aprile alle ore 16:15 con “The Art of Pugni”, una speciale proiezione, presentata da Dario Moccia, incentrata su due anime che hanno celebrato l’iconografia e la potenza narrativa del pugno: in programma il primo, mitico episodio di “One Punch Man”, adattamento del popolarissimo manga di ONE e Yusuke Murata (edito in Italia da Planet Manga), e subito dopo il leggendario finale di “Megalo Box”, serie ispirata da “Rocky Joe” e realizzata per il 50° anniversario dell’opera, nata da un concept originale proprio degli autori Ikki Kajiwara e Tetsuya Chiba.

Venerdì 26 aprile alle ore 11:00, nell’Auditorium del Teatro Mediterraneo, ci sarà l’anteprima italiana di “Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel II. Lost Butterfly”, attesissimo secondo capitolo della trilogia animata diretta da Tomonori Sudou (Kara no Kyoukai) e prodotta dallo studio ufotable (Demon Slayer, Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works), che andrà a raccontare le vicende della route omonima (incentrata sul personaggio di Sakura), narrata nell’originale visual novel concepita da Kinoko Nasu e sviluppata da Type-Moon.

La quinta Guerra del Santo Graal, che ha avuto inizio nella città di Fuyuki a distanza di soli 10 anni dalla precedente, si è rivelata distorta e perversa anche a causa della partecipazione di Zouken Matou, l’attuale capofamiglia di una delle tre grandi casate di maghi che diedero inizio a questo rituale. Zouken evoca il vero Assassin come suo Servant mentre nel frattempo un’ombra oscura e misteriosa appare in città, facendo cadere, uno dopo l’altro, Master e Servant. Shirou, coinvolto anche lui nello scontro, decide di dedicare tutto se stesso a proteggere Sakura e, avendo perso Saber, ora corrotta dall’ombra, cerca di instaurare alleanze con Rin e Illya, in modo da sopravvivere alla Guerra. Quando però si farà innegabile la natura corrotta di Sakura, Shirou si troverà a dover scegliere tra l’amore per lei e il suo desiderio di diventare un paladino della giustizia, una scelta che metterà in gioco quella che è stata la sua identità fino a quel momento.

Il film sbarcherà ufficialmente nelle nostre sale, sempre grazie a Nexo Digital, il 18 e il 19 giugno.

Domenica 28 aprile alle ore 11:00 in Sala Italia all’interno del Teatro Mediterraneo avrà luogo l’incontro Il doppiaggio degli Anime in Italia.

Carlo Cavazzoni, direttore esecutivo presso Dynit e Fabrizio Mazzotta, storica voce dell’animazione italiana, discuteranno con Alessandro Falciatore di Animeclick del doppiaggio dalla scelta delle voci, ai metodi di lavorazione e l’approccio alla localizzazione italiana (adattamento e peculiarità) nel rapporto tra distributore e studio di doppiaggio, conducendo il pubblico nel dietro le quinte di questa delicata fase di lavorazione che rende accessibile gli anime ai tutti i fan italiani.

Come vi avevamo già anticipato, sempre il 28 aprile, verrà proiettato in anteprima anche il film “Made in Abyss: Tabitachi no Yoake” (in lingua originale, con sottotitoli in italiano), primo dei due lungometraggi che vanno a riepilogare gli avvenimenti visti nei 13 episodi della serie animata.

L’evento, organizzato in collaborazione con VVVVID e J-POP,  si terrà dalle ore 12:00 in Sala Italia; per l’occasione presenzierà anche Akihito Tsukushi, l’autore del manga edito nel nostro paese proprio da J-POP, pronto a rispondere alle domande dei fan.

Riko è una ragazzina di dodici anni che vive a Orth, una città affacciata su un’immensa voragine nel terreno, l’Abisso. Unica zona inesplorata della Terra, è meta di viaggio per molti esploratori, ma pochissimi di loro sono tornati in superficie dagli strati più bassi. Insieme a Reg, uno strano bambino robotico, Riko partirà per le profondità dell’Abisso alla ricerca della madre…

La prima stagione televisiva diretta da Masayuki Kojima (Abenobashi, Piano no Mori) presso lo studio Kinema Citrus (Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight, Scorching Ping Pong Girls) è andata in onda nell’estate 2017 e ha coperto quattro volumi dei sette attualmente pubblicati in Giappone. Licenziata in Itala da Dynit, è possibile vederla in streaming, sottotitolata, su VVVVID. Per gennaio 2020, è previsto in Giappone il debutto del film sequel “Gekijouban Made in Abyss: Fukaki Tamashii no Reimei” (Made in Abyss the Movie: Dawn of the Deep Soul).

SilenziO)))

[FONTE]

[zyptoskid]

Watch List Updates:

It’s been a while since I watched this much anime. If only I wasn’t prosecuted by assignments and midterms.. Anyways! Here’s a list of ideas and first impressions on my favourite watches today.

Megalo Box - EP1: This one is every underground fight club movie formula ever, but in anime format. Admittedly, I’m a fan of the crude diverse art style. It definitely looks like it drew references from the general art style AND tone of prod. names like Akira, Hatchin, Champloo, and Afro. I’m not expecting much from the story but I’m definitely down for the visuals.

Darling in the Franxx - EP13: No opening song, special ending sequence with a fairy tale, if I know a thing or two about “THE style” of anime storytelling, this is the episode that will mark a strong shift in the story. It didn’t advance the current story much - it was basically a flashback episode. And the flashbacks could’ve fit easily into a less-than-ten-minutes no-dialogue montage. But I don’t see a problem in having a breather episode as long as it doesn’t take away from the rest of the story.

I wasn’t sure at first if I’d recommend this anime, but honestly, it’s pretty damn interesting. It hits all the right spots even though I still can’t find a spot it excels on. The main character is also impressively active as a character, not a passive generic blank slate. Definitely check it out - it gets more serious the more you watch.

Pop Team Epic - EP3: Finally got to start watching this and holy shit of course I loved it. So meta. So entertaining. And a troll’s masterpiece. Truly I am blessed. Greatest anime of all time.

My Hero Academia S3 - EP1: Yeah I’m putting this one on hold. I’m a hardcore fan of subbed anime and I only watch a dubbed anime if I don’t wish to miss on its exceptionally high quality animation or interesting visual storytelling, but this anime has dub voice acting that I genuinely think captures the spirit of the show better than the og voice acting.

[originaldetectivesheep]

Spring = Pull The Other One, But Still New Anime

I still keep smashing my car into icebanks getting out of the parking lot in the morning, but most of what I was watching this winter is either done or finishing this week (Sangatsu no Lion, though, who can tell) and according to the calendar it's nearly April and the spring shows will be starting soon, so here's what I'm going to be at least trying out in Q2.  Writeups on this season will go out once everything actually finishes.

Gegege no Kitarou Nil Admirari no Tenbin Uma Musume: Pretty Derby Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These - Kaikou Tokyo Ghoul:re Tachibana-kan to Lie Angle 3D Kanojo: Real Girl Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai Megalo Box Hinamatsuri Gurazeni Amanchu! Advance Piano no Mori Shokugeki no Souma: San no Sara - Toutsuki Ressha-hen Golden Kamuy Souten no Ken: Regenesis Fumikiri Jikan Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii

After too much time trying to be different, I don't have a lot unique to comment on the new, relevant titles this season.  Like everyone else, I am amped about Golden Kamuy and Gurazeni getting adapted, moderately skeptical about the two nerds-in-love shows getting anywhere close to Netjuu from last year, and approaching UmaMusu behind a hazmat shield hoping for at least an interesting explosion when it loses contain.  What does stick out is how many friggin shows for olds there are in this slate: my coffin-bait contemporaries and I remain chained to this hobby with new Kitarou, a full-season Piano no Mori, yet another Fist of the North Star rework and, somehow, a revival of GODDAMN LoGH on ACTUAL TELEVISION.  What is wrong with people, honestly.

To substantiate, I was one of about fifteen North American nerds to actually sign a pledge to pay $1200 for a full-run subtitled DVD release of the original Legend of Galactic Heroes, in the days before Kickstarter forced people in those straits to put their money where their mouth was.  Predictably, it never happened and I was never billed.  I would still pony up that dough.  I was and am utterly unsurprised that practically no one else did.  LoGH is a cultural institution and a gigantic inflection point in Japanese military sci-fi, but it is also a barely-animated sequence of over 100 OVA episodes of space Prussians and the Space UN blowing each other up that doesn't actually start to have anything happen for the first, literally, like twenty episodes.  The series has been a significant influence on my own approach to military SF, and rewards the investment if you're willing to put up with the glacial pace, bad German, and reinforced-brigade-scale cast, but this was funded piecemeal by fans to start with, and it's hard to think of what advertisers could find in it worth paying for -- or what the story is even going to get to in only twelve episodes.  One way or another, we'll find out.

In other news, I've been posting less fiction and less meta-updates because I've been trying to write for publication this year; a pro debut is still a long way off, but in between the sheaves of rejections, I'm getting some more traction and hopefully improving.  Writing thirty things in three months and publishing zero of them, though, is kind of a bummer, so I can officially announce that I'm going to be running another free project here in the summer season: Tales of the Missing.  Inspired rather loosely by interesting missed-connections posts, this mostly-romance series is a chance for me to build some range and do stuff that I'm not doing in the SF/fantasy/horror markets, and the general circumstances of the source material are weird enough that it can hang consistently with the other weird-fiction stuff I've run out here.  Mark that as coming in July; more information as the release gets closer.

[redsnerdden]

Anime NY News Round-Up

Anime NY News Round-Up #AnimeNY #AnimeNewYork #Crunchyroll #SentaiFilmworks #KodanshaComics #Vertical #Anime #Manga #BanGDream #RunWithTheWind #ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime #MegaloBoxSeasonTwo #TMSEntertainment

Following up on our Anime NY Coverage, we have seen news from Yen Press and Crunchyroll, but now we’re moving onto what else was presented at Anime NY.

Megalo Box Season 2 has been announced:

TMS Entertainment recently announced at their Panel, that the Popular Boxing Anime known as MegaloBox will be getting a Second Season. The Company released the Promotional Video on Twitter, it…

[buzzerspace]

10 Anime Like Samurai Champloo

10 Anime Like Samurai Champloo

Hey, guys hope you are having an amazing day. Here are my favorite picks for 10 Similar Anime Like Samurai Champloo. This list is made by my personal opinion and If there’s a particular anime that you feel deserves to be on this list, leave us a comment and we’ll add it to the list. Also, keep in mind the list is in no particular order. Enjoy!

10 Anime Like Samurai Champloo

10. Kurozuka 9. Gangsta.

[vortodox]

MEGALO BOX 004

MEGALO BOX 004

Megalo Box 004 [bg-anime]Naziv: Megalo Box Alternativni naziv: メガロボクス Trailer: https://youtu.be/Trs1rCoLKLc Izvorni materijal: Original Premijera: 06. april Studio: TMS Tip: TV Broj epizoda: nepoznat

Stream: Linkovi:

Epizoda 004 [timed-content-server show=”05/12/2018 08:00 Europe/Belgrade”]Mirror 01[/timed-content-server]

Ostale epizode možete naći ovde.

„Bg-Anime na društvenim mrežama“

[solcomfortssouls]

Megalo Box 2 Nomad episode 6

Aka the “I’m fighting to protect what’s here right now

This is the best episode showing Joe winning the kids back

He stands up for them for real in the time of crisis, where they could really use his help

The rest of the flashbacks are just as heartbreaking. Joe really gets to the end of that senseless fight, reminded what he loved about it that he has lost now. Boxing was that connection to Nanbu to him, but Nanbu is never going to be standing there again.

Seeing Joe cry on screen for real for the first time in the whole two seasons. He has been down and desperate before, but here he is breaking emotionally in a new way

It’s just so helpless to watch Joe here, how he struggles to deal with any of this, how he doesn’t want the hope and light he found in his family to go and wrongly associates it with the ring and winning

Sachio did kinda kill it there, telling Joe he lost exactly what he was the most afraid he would

Sachio is acting like an impulsive teenager with anger issues...ah yeah. That was a needless and dangerous move to break himself over his morals and dragging his friends along it.

Joe doing a fixed match to help the kids, abonding his pride to be there for them and do what’s necessary just like Chief is so touching. All the more because we know what the history and his loathing behind it is...and the kids know it

Oicho said it though, they could forgive him not handling Nanbu’s dying well, him running to the ring and breaking. What they can’t forgive is Joe running away from them and the trust he broke in the process. Relying on him now just feels painful, cause they don’t know how long it will last.

Oicho’s design is so cute here. All the kids grew up real sweet and nice, and they have much more individual personalities, interests and everything. Proper characters

The thing is I'm completely on Joe's side - he was just around 20 years old, when Nanbu was dying and team Nowhere were his first family. They were a total epitome or found family, everyone a little messed up and this is where it gets real - messed up people don't act ideally. They break in crisis situations and that's what happened to both Joe and Sachio. Joe is just a kid too, scared the most, not being able to face the situation, hanging onto false hope, terrified to lose his family, his purpose. And there is a bunch of other, even younger kids around that need him and he can't be there making good decisions for them, when he is breaking down himself. Sachio blames him for not handing it well, he is suffering too and lashing out in his anger and grief - and it's understandable and natural, but oh so harmful for Joe right then.

This show is so comlex, flawed and human, showing how everyone just breaks while breaking others on the way and it's brilliant.

[solcomfortssouls]

Totally agree with this. It wouldn't make sense for the story for Joe to die, after he worked so hard to build his life back up. It's a redemption story of healing after all and I love that the initial conflict was so very human, that it was basically no one's fault, that people were just hurt and lashing out and breaking under the pressure.

I'm a bit worried about the lasting consequences for Joe, he really isn't in the best shape. I'm curious about his reasons for fighting, cause his declaration he always fought for himself didn't seem true, so I hope the final two episodes expand on this more.

It would be awesome to see Marla and Mio, at least visiting Joe for the big match. They played such a crucial role along with Chief to put Joe on a recovery journey, it would feel so wholesome to see them again.

At this point I just long to see the team Nowehere working together and looking out for Joe, cause he has been through the wringer, grew from his mistakes in maturity and steadiness and I would love to see the kids follow this and take care of him in return - they aren't totally children anymore and I enjoyed Sachio realizing Joe wasn't as confident and cool deep down in the flashback, so if this had some kind of play out in the final match, that would be great.

If Joe dies, I am going to have to swim to Japan and throw hands with the creators. Because it would be bad storytelling. 

The hummingbird in Las Alas del Viajero tells the traveller, “You still have eyes to see me and ears to hear my song.” In other words: Joe, not all is lost. There is reason yet for you to live. And we see that it’s true. Joe’s entire journey this season has been to learn that lesson: he can fix his past mistakes, he can rebuild Bangaichi Gym and his relationships, he does still have a home to return to.

If Joe dies, then everything he has worked toward this season, and everything that Chief taught him will have been pointless. Bangaichi Gym, Nanbu’s legacy, will slowly fall into disrepair again. The kids, who have so painfully let Joe back into their lives, will be abandoned once more. What kind of message does that story tell? Your efforts do not matter. You cannot be redeemed. Even if you turn around now, Nomad, you do not have a future. I don’t think that’s the story Nomad is trying to tell. At the beginning of the season, Joe was seeking death. Now that he has finally learned to embrace his life, he should be allowed to live it. Joe’s death would be antithetical to every message the story has told so far. And I think the creators of this show are good enough storytellers to know that.

Full review of Episode 11 here if you’re interested! Swing by and leave a comment. I adore discussing stuff that I like with people who also like that stuff!

[kanamesengoku]

ok but the unspoken implications of joe asking nanbu- the nanbu that lives in his head, the ghost that follows him everywhere- to fight with him once again, when for the past seven years, joe’s been fighting against him and the guilt he couldn’t face, that he didn’t know how to process, and the people he left behind because of it- but when the light shone in and he could finally cry, now he is actually once again going to be fighting alongside nanbu, everything nanbu taught him and everything they went through together, putting it to use and moving forward to help the people who took him in and helped and supported him and i’m okay i just need a minute just don’t look at me for a sec

[bangaichii]

“It’s not over yet.”

The familiar words bit out of his mouth again. The same words he had said when he stood back up and fought in Megalonia and won everything he had ever hoped for. The same words he had said when he stood back up, only at that time too late, and lost everything he had hoped to save.

Yuri stared hard into the floor, the creased lines between his brow and under his eyes growing heavier and more severe as he spoke. “Stop holding onto hope that doesn’t exist. You know more than anyone else what that can lead to.”

Joe grimaced. Indeed, Joe knew it too well. To struggle and fight and try so damn hard to beat the odds and have it amount to nothing in the end. Desperate pleas of denial as he stood from the mat, tears streaming down his face, mixing with his blood, stinging his eyes, a dawning painful realization he had refused to acknowledge managing now, at that moment, to break loose and shoot its way up from the pits of his stomach to pierce his heart. Crushing disappointment as he was forcibly pulled away from the ring, chilled despondency as he looked up at a grey sky, unshielded from the pouring rain, like ice cold needles stabbing through his skin only to numb him down to the bone. Despair as he lost the last of his family.   

But Joe also knew what it was like to live without hope entirely, to let it go, to deny it completely and leave it to rot by the wayside. What it felt like to drift endlessly without a sense of place or purpose, to fall into a pit and not even attempt to claw up and out, to step again and again and again into a ring devoid of meaning, a vicious empty cycle, without the reassuring people and belief he used to hold close. And it was so hard yet so easy to remain there, toiling, the way his mind fought against him, reminded him of his guilt, of his demons, of the pain he had caused, and of the pain he had felt.

And in a sudden and ironic twist of fate, Joe had met Chief, the spark he needed to break free from his chains, in an underground ring; just like when he had fought Yuri seven years ago, trying to break free from his life as Junk Dog, a life similar yet so different from the life he lived as Nomad, a wanderer once more.

It began as a gradual and trepidatious turning point, like a threadbare rope being thrown into that deep pit, swinging limply for Joe to grab. Chief had spoken of starting anew, of the harsh reality he and his community faced, of how Gearless Joe had shown him a dream. And Nomad, so tired and so broken, had ducked under Chief’s words, guarded against them like everything else that tried to slip past the ropes in the ring of his mind, to challenge him, to force him to step out from the darkness that had enveloped him. He knew what dreams could cost. And he had lost everything.  

But so had Chief. He too had lost his family. He too had blamed himself. He too had relied on alcohol and painkillers as he stepped into the ring as punishment.

“There’s nothing embarrassing about surviving.”

“Gearless Joe was our star of hope.”

“I still haven’t woken up from this dream that you showed us.”

And yet, despite it all, Chief had faced the pain he had been ignoring. He had overcome that vicious cycle of despair and continued to move forward. To dream a dream he wanted to achieve no matter what, for the sake of his community, for the sake of himself, for the sake of all that he had lost. Inspired by Gearless Joe and his own ambition and his own belief and his own dream.   

And Joe knew what it was like to live with hope all over again, no matter how little, to remember what it was like to break away from dead-end paths, to continue to fight, to have people believing in the belief he held within himself, to stand up and face it all. He grabbed hold of that dangling rope and dug his feet into crumbling rock and began to climb out of that forsaken pit. Reminded of that guiding light. Inspired by Chief who chased a dream inspired by Gearless Joe and his hope.

Joe knew what it was like to live with hope. How much more freeing it was to keep the fire burning, how much of a life better lived than the ones he had known, of when he had lived without it.

He glanced at Yuri. Eyes downcast and forlorn, a white-knuckled grip against his chair, mind a million miles away. Indeed, Joe knew that look too well. A look that showed the beginnings of that same crushing hopelessness, of those same spiraling thoughts bent on dragging him down, down, down into a drowning abyss. That same feeling that had grabbed hold of his own legs and held him down for years, unable to move, chained to doubt and fear and guilt and bitterness and unbearable pain. That same look Joe caught glimpses of in Sachio.

Joe clenched his fist. He had returned home to protect what he held dear here. To fight these remnant shadows, to fight and regain that light he thought had gone out. And while reality could be harsh and unforgiving, as he had learned, it was just as devastating to resign oneself to it. This hope he had been holding onto, that had helped him fight, that didn’t come to fruition five years prior, that he thought he lost. Maybe this time around, once again, it would help Joe and those around him. To push forward despite everything, to retake the cycle. To believe it was not over yet.

[gallium-arsenide]

spring anime tier list

S: Hisone to Maso-tan

A: FMP:iv, Megalo Box, Hinamatsuri

B: Kitarou, Piano no Mori, Tada-kun, Wotakoi, Uma Musume

C: Golden Kamuy, Tiramisu, LoGH

D: 3D Kanojo

F: that one about slaves or whatever

[subject to change: the meta is different every day]

[solcomfortssouls]

Megalo box 2 episode 13

Structurally speaking season 2 mirrors seasons 1. The final of the emotional arc took place in episode 10. In s1 Joe and Nanbu had to face the fixed fight in megalonia and Nanbu's betrayal and Nanbu in the end chose Joe over himself and his safety, believing in him enough so he could believe in himself too. In s2 Joe and Sachio have that first fight in which Joe absolves Sachio of his guilt, forgives him and they accept each other and their responsibility for what went wrong, reconciling.

The emotional final was episode 10. Episode 11 was a prep for the external conclusion, making what happened so far bear fruit and show us how it turned out. It's a great way to conclude the story and make it wholesome.

I loved the parallel between Joe and Mac being knocked down. Both were able to get up again because of their families cheering them on, Mac for his son and Joe for Sachio. It was beautifully poetic, how they made both of these bonds equal and moving.

It was so significant for Joe to get scared and knocked down and for Sachio being able to ground and rise him up again.

I'm not a big fan of Mac, he seemed pretty boring to me, but I liked his final. Fighting on his own terms without Mac Time, keeping himself sane through love of his family and true friends, realizing his true potential as a boxer and being absolutely respectful and happy about the fight with Joe.

It was really just two guys with great respect for each other's skill wanting to fight. There was no hate, no emotional stakes, no need to be angry or risk your health, especially since both were messed up in different ways. Being able to do the sport they love the right way, with no hard feelings, just enjoying it, was great as a final.

Joe staying to hold the homely fort for the kids and live in peace, in light, with his family is a peaceful deserved ending. I love how he reassures them they will always have a place here, beloning but never overbearing, letting them grow while offering them a home.

That photo is so wholesome too! The whole fam together, along with Yuri and Aragaki and the mechanic guy, with the kids and with Joe in the middle with an arm around Sachio.

Sachio leaving at the end to follow his own path, the internship for a job he loves and will be good at is him moving forward, being free of his past and guilt.

Joe giving his beloved motorcycle to Sachio is meaningful in so many ways. It's the vehicle that made him a stray dog and nomad, what allowed him to drive alone, to drive off cliffs, to run away, at the same time true and characteristic of him and his wild untamed spirit and risk loving nature. Now Joe is settling in, not needing a risk and him driving a car, where he can transport more people, where he is responsible and loving to the gang again, makes so much sense and connects him to the future and home he chose.

While Sachio is following his own path, going into the world alone, as a sign of independence and growing up. At the same time it's not lost on us that this is Joe's signature motorcycle that went to the hell and back with him, connecting them the two of them further.

For Joe the motorcycle was him being alone. For Sachio it's his connection to Joe, his older brother, succeeding him, but on his own path.

I think Joe wanted that exhibition match to work with the whole team again. To be supported by them. He explicitly wanted Sachio to help him and is so special for a macho prideful champion and nomad all the way. This is Joe who always fought for himself, who didn't admit needing help like ever. It's nornal to find it difficult to ask for help, but it was even more so with Joe, so I loved he asked for help and Sachio was able to give him exactly what he needed. No one could have been the second Sachio could for him.

I won't lie, I was a bit disappointed Joe lost, cause he could have gone further, he was truly enjoying himself and he is just always the burning winner in my eyes. But Sachio thought more of Joe than of the win, just like Joe was counting him to, and it was so satisfying to see Sachio concerned for Joe, asking him how he is feeling and protecting him with the towel too.

Besides Mac didn't knock out Joe. That would have been the actiony indisputable win Joe had against Yuri. KO in the 13th round. Not a thrown towel.

But that's just my pride speaking. XD It made the perfect narrative ending for Joe's healing journey and family coming together. And Mac got his dreams come true just by being able to fight with my Joe in the same ring so. Joe was definitely satisfied with no regrets.

Megalo Box 2 was about a healing journey home despite obstacles and all characters stayed true to it.

After all the suffering and distress, being saved and encouraged by Chief and Marla, repairing past bridges, he can now just be there for the people he cares about, at peace. It made the last scene of him driving with Nanbu in the back so incredibly tranquil and calm...I felt that peace and balance and it was beautiful. This is what healing looks like and is all about.