Megalo Box is a spin off of the classic anime boxing series, Ashita no Joe, accommodating it’s 50 year anniversary. There has been a number of boxing anime and manga, Hajime no Ippo being the most prominent. Ippo is an manga series created by George Morikawa, it focuses on ” the story of high school student Makunouchi Ippo, as he begins his career in boxing and over time obtains many titles and defeats various opponents. ” Hajime no Ippo to date has sold over 95 million copies and has well over 120 volumes.
Ashita no Joe’s success was more moderate with 20 volumes and 20 million copies, but has developed a cult following. The manga series was created by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated Tetsuya Chiba it was adapted into a movie and an anime series. The series focuses on Joe Yabuki as he goes through the professional boxing ranks, with Joe dying from his injuries sustained in the ring.
Megalo Box is adapted from the manga of the same name, however, it will take place in a more futuristic society and some of the original characters have been recreated. The series will be simulcasted on Crunchyroll and will feature 13 episodes. The first episode, Buy or Die, introduces the underground boxer, Junk Dog (JD). Megalo Box is the “combination of athleticism and Gear technology to create the future of boxing,” the granddaughter of former head of the Shirato group, Yukiko Shirato states. She aims is to create the “ultimate combat sport” in the Megalonia tournament.
The first thing you will notice about Megalo is the classic visual styling. Megalo reminds me of Cowboy Bebop, with it’s color pallet and gritty environments and the animation is superb. JD has the similar “I don’t care” mindset that Spike (Cowboy Bebop) displayed. JD has a chance encounter with Yukiko and her prized fighter Yuri. JD insults Shirato’s Megalonia tournament, Yuri tells him to “take it back” and challenges him to a fight. Shirato interrupts the fight and they leave. JD’s next fight is against none other than Yuri himself. The episode ends before they fight. I usually don’t like boxing anime but Megalo hits all the right buttons for me, I can’t wait to see the rest of the series.
Source: Wikipedia
Is Ashita No Joe based on Rocky? It came out 8 years earlier. After watching episode 1 of Megalo Box, I’m keen to see more!
That’s what I read. LOL. Maybe it’s the other way around.
This looks really cool!!
I loved the first episode so much mostly because of how much an homage it is to classics like Cowboy Bebop and Trigun, as well as Tomorrow’s Joe of course. Cool review. Hope you enjoy the show as the season goes on. So far, it’s my favourite of the season.
I think this series cleverly uses homage to previous anime classics. I’m looking forward to watching the rest of the series as well.