slugfest | Anime Review Senpai

If you’re a cheapskate, you bet on dogs. But if you’ve got a bit of cash to spare…..you bet on people.

If you love underdogs achieving major recognition and eternal glory, you’ve come to the right place. Megalo Box will fuel your fighting spirit and make you walk out the door to call out Connor McGregor to a fist fight. Well, maybe not that that extreme but you get what I mean. This slugfest of an anime will deliver as promised some brutal beatings that will leave you speechless with possibly a dislocated jaw, nosebleed and a black eye afterwards.

Underground fights are the easiest way to make money when times are tough. Our main protagonist goes by the name of Junk Dog who fights not because he wants to, but because he has to. It was either this or prostitution so I think he chose the right option to bring food to the table. But damn, he really was floating like a butterfly and stinging like a ~~bitch~~ bee.

One day our boy wanted to go see the city lights so he took his motorcycle and went broom-broom into the city. However, he was riding into some restricted areas and nearly rode into our supper hottie CEO Yukiko Shirato and screws up his bike for the 50th time. I feel sorry for the uncle who has to fix it all the time. At this stage, I feel like Joe was looking for a way to escape his shitty life but suicide was not an option he was willing to take.

A mad staredown occurs between our boy and his rival Yuri big boy number 1 Megalo boxer. Joe throws major shade at both of them and long story short they got butthurt. And that my friends, was the start of a beautiful rivalry between an underdog and the pinnacle of the sporting society. With a sudden 180 degrees turn of interest, Junk Dog creates a fake I.D calling himself Joe and decides to enter the Megalo box championship to take down Yuri.

What do you have to do before any big fight? You have to train of course. Coach Nanbu to the rescue. This dodgy one eye mofo is the most trustworthy and loyal coach anyone can ask for. Although due to losing 1 eye and being a bit crippled in his leg, he’s not the most popular coach around the young boxers. Nonetheless, this guy would sacrifice his other eye for Joe in a heartbeat. BIG SPOILER.

The exoskeletal gears that boxers wear help to improve their power, durability and stamina. One punch from those things can render anyone useless in a matter of seconds. Imagine getting hit by a truck in the face. Some have Artificial Intelligence embedded into them to help predict the opponents’ next move which is pretty much cheating in a way. Nonetheless, they look cool as hell giving the anime a sense of freshness that has never been seen before.

Started from the bottom and now we’re here. Joe starts out at spot 257 to be exact. The thing that really makes this anime stand out from the rest is that Joe was fighting his opponents without any gear. Why? Because he broke them and couldn’t afford a new one lol. This gives the viewers a thrill of excitement everytime Joe enters the ring. Will he win, or will he lose against all odds are the two inevitable questions that pop into the viewers’ minds making it truly addicting.

Gearless Joe is now born. With the peculiar name and offensive fighting style, he attracts major attention from the media. Coach Nanbu aims to take Joe to the top within only 5 fights which sounds pretty nuts. However, Joe is a total beast in the ring whipping out wins out of nowhere. Joe is super humble about his skills. He trains harder than any of the boxers in the series and it’s super inspiring to see. This anime gives a subliminal message to the viewers that they should put in hard work consistently and over time life will award you.

Inspired by Joe’s amazing determination to win, Yuri decides to remove his integrated gear so that they could have a fair fight. Uppercuts, haymakers, jabs you name it, they did it all. Down to round 13 and they decided to finish the match on a single blow. ONE PUNCH SQUARE TO THE FACE AND BOOOOOM. Everything turned white. You guys can find out for yourself what happened by watching the anime 😉

Megalo Box has an indie feel to it. If you enjoy animes such as Cowboy Bebop, Afro Samurai and Akira then you’ll definitely love this anime. The striking visuals, upbeat music and epic plot are inspiring making it a legendary anime that will forever remain in the hearts of many otakus. If I had to chose then Megalo Box takes the top anime of 2018!