Megalobox 2: Nomad

Title:Megalobox 2: Nomad
NOMAD メガロボクス2
Overall:Buy
Keywords: , , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - Tokyo Movie Shinsha
HOSOYA Yoshimasa
In the end, “Gearless” Joe was the one that reigned as the champion of Megalonia, a first ever Megalobox tournament. Fans everywhere were mesmerized by the meteoric rise of Joe who sprung out from the deepest underground ring to the top in mere three months and without the use of gear. Seven years later, “Gearless” Joe was once again fighting in underground matches. Adorned with scars and once again donning his gear, but now known only as Nomad…
(Summary Courtesy of Anime News Network)


13-episode sequel to Megalobox that premiered on April 4, 2021.
Animated by TMS Entertainment.
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Buy 9 9 8 8 9 9 Ggultra2764 [series:4283#1552]
This second season of Megalobox explores the series years later with Joe down on his luck and a redemption story in place for him to regain the trust and confidence of his former friends and comrades within the world of Megalo Boxing. The series has enough time in its 13-episode run to explore the events that led to Joe's downfall and the gradual steps he goes through to attempt redeeming himself to his loved ones. The series also introduces a new Megaloboxer in the form of Rosario Mac whose experiences within the Megaloboxing world mirror both Yuri's time and Joe's current issues. I'll admit I had my initial concerns over Megalobox getting a sequel since the first series had a rather solid resolution to Joe's story. But this season does great at continuing to explore Joe in a new direction that keeps the storytelling within the series fresh and I'd definitely recommend fans of the prior series check it out.

Last updated Sunday, June 27 2021. Created Sunday, June 27 2021.
Rent Stretch [series:4283#628]
(All episodes watched):

This show had a definite grim and depressing tone to it, as we see how far Joe has fallen in the space of five years or so after losing an exhibition fight with Yuri's student Liu. He's now a drinker and hooked on pain pills, and notorious for 'beating opponents to a bloody pulp' in minor matches. It took a while for me to recognize the bearded Nomad and Joe as the same person. The word is that he's a has-been who wouldn't stand a chance in the ring against the new stars of Megalo Boxing. I had just watched the first episode of a new anime in which seeing people slaughtered wholesale barely phased the characters; this show, in contrast, has a strong psychological dimension. Maybe too strong; I was not sure I wanted to watch a show as realistic as this. In the end I downloaded and saved the episodes but did not watch them until the end of the year.

Judging from the Spanish dialogue and cactus, you would think this story is taking place in the southwest US or Mexico. The plight of immigrants who are discriminated against plays a major part. But the prejudice seems overdone a little; even in the US it seldom gets to the point of arson or people being openly accused of taking jobs from natives. A group is treated very badly, but a virtual miracle saves them--that's not really the way things tend to happen. And what happened to 'Chief'? The plot seems to me to have less finesse than the original Megalobox. That show surprised me by being more clever and engaging than I had expected, but this sequel does not seem to match it.

After this first arc Joe returns to the town he fled from after being humiliated in a exhibition fight. Things have largely gone to hell there, in part due to a 'typhoon'. Presumably he'll come out of his early retirement and return to high level Megaloboxing, but I don't see what that would accomplish. Maybe restore the respect of his former friends? But should that be based on whether or not he can win fights? At least they are no longer drawn in the annoying superdeformed mode they had in season one. Afterwards things make more sense as Joe is drawn into the upcoming Megalobox prize fight between Liu and his challenger Mac in an understandable and plausible manner. We get to know both contenders fairly well, including the miraculous recovery Mack has made from a paralyzing injury--not your usual bad guy opponent. Neither Liu nor Mac seem like generic evil people, just like Yuri in season one. How did Yuri wind up in a wheelchair? It made me wonder if there was a movie or special episode between seasons one and two, but I don't see any record of such a thing.

There's something funny going on with the high tech system, BES, that rehabilitated Mac after his spinal injury. While it seems outwardly miraculous it also seems to have strange and disturbing side effects. This intrigued me; previously it had been hard to see where the story was going, but now there seems to be a definite plot underway, though I still have little idea what role Joe will play in it. Things fall into place as the winner of the fight between Mac and Liu challenges Joe, while the leaders of the two corporations argue over the safety and morality of the BES system. I thought it was kind of generic and eye-rolling tiresome to have one of the corporate leaders be proposing that BES be sold to the military--we all know that is a form of original sin, don't we? Still, like all characters in this show, this guy has more than two dimensions and I'm still reluctant to categorize him as a villain. For all the problems it has, I get the feel that this show (unlike most) has a well thought-out purpose and is moving steadily towards it.

The final episode left me kind of confused. Why had Mac and Joe wanted to fight each other so much? It wasn't for a title or prize money; something about Mac feeling that all of his previous fights had lacked something, and Joe wanting to re-legitimize the Team Nowhere name (I think). It wasn't all that clear. I also didn't get why Sachio threw in the towel even though Joe wasn't on the ropes or anything like that. Was that supposed to make sense in some way that I missed? I also wasn't all that thrilled with the outcome of the BES scandal. It didn't seem to me like nearly as big a deal as it apparently did to the writers. Maybe the real crime was daring to sell something with great potential to the military, not the corner cutting on safety. Anyway, in the end my feelings were that Nomad was OK, but not as good as season one of Megalobox.

Last updated Monday, January 10 2022. Created Thursday, April 08 2021.

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