Megalo Box
Best Anime From the First Half of 2018
Made as part of a 50th-anniversary celebration project for the legendary anime Ashita no Joe, Megalo Box takes the framework of a typical sports anime and drops it into a cyberpunk, ’90s anime setting. The series follows Joe, a no-name underground fighter as he tries to claw his way to the top of the world’s premiere combat sport: Megalo Boxing, a twist on the classic competition where competitors augment their bodies (and their punches) with steam and electric-powered equipment known as gear. There’s one catch though; Joe doesn’t use any gear at all, taking on opponents with only his bare hands and willpower.
Heartfelt and wearing its influences on its sleeve, Megalo Box is as compact and honed a way as any to see what makes the Shonen sports genre as popular as it is across the world. Plus, as the directorial debut of Yō Moriyama, it’s a precursor of what could be some great works to come.