FIF#139-Megalobox

In the future, the rich thrive in a sprawling city while the poor eek out a living on the edge of nowhere.  The world has become enamoured with a new generation of boxing where two fighters clash with mechanized support systems: known as Megalo Boxing.  JD is a fighter with potential trying to survive in the wasteland by being forced to throw fight after fight.  However, a chance encounter with world renowned Megalo Box fighter Yuri changes JD’s world forever.  Now he’s dead set on getting out of the slums and battling his way to Megolonia: a tournament that will pit him against the greatest Megalo Fighters in the world…including Yuri.  It’s a dangerous gamble but JD might have the guts and brawn to pull off the biggest victory of all time.

 
Everyone loves the story of the underdog: the hero who starts with so little but overcomes the odds to make it and/or break it.  When it comes to Sports, stories like Rocky are legendary.  Whether Megalobox is gonna end up rising to similar ranks remains to be seen.  But a fun mix of future tech and old school knock em, sock em action could make this one of the more memorable Anime from the last decade.
 
The style and tone of Megalobox remind me of a strange fusion of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo.  The character design of lead character JD definitely screams Spike Spiegel or Mugen, as does his devil may care attitude.  JD is the underdog, the fighter with a ton of potential who’s being forced to throw fights just to make ends meat.  I could understand his wanting more and his disdain for the way life his.  Heck I’m surprised he didn’t punch his “Partner” Nanbu more often since it’s his idea to throw JD into these situations in the first place.  While we don’t get to see JD’s true potential in the first episode, we know that, like Rocky Balboa, he can take one helluva beating…at least until it’s time for him to throw the bout.  The desolate world of wherever this show takes place as well as the majestic utopia lording over it screams Mars too, just like Bebop, and it’s a good setup for where things could start and end up.  Where the Champloo part of the mix comes in is the music.  There’s a very techno/hip hop beat to the tracks, making you reflect and understand just how JD views his existence and the world of Megalo Boxing around him.  I’d say the OST has potential to be as great as Bebops or Champloo but it’s still too early to tell.  And what about the actual boxing?  It’s definitely a strong draw for a series this unique.  I can only imagine the different kinds of boxing rigs we could see on various fighters throughout the series.  The ones we do see: JD’s looking like he’s sporting the rig Matt Damon wore in Elysium; and Yuri’s silver skinned arms of death, are good models to kick things off.
 
Megalobox might be one to watch.  It’s a shorter 13 episode series and it is a Sports Anime, albeit in the future, and I seem to have a secret soft spot for those kinds of titles (Haikyuu, Free).  The actual Megalo Boxing could provide some of the hardest hitting action in Anime in years and I wonder when JD’s actual march to Rocky Balboa style glory will kick in.  If it puts him back in the ring with his Apollo Creed, aka Yuri, I think we’ll see JD hitting the true fighters in the march to Megalonia very soon.