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Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Megalobox 2: Nomad
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LiteMangime
Posts: 350 |
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This hits a bit different if you yourself are an immigrant and or direct descendant from immigrants.
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JoelBurger
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The actual plot has probably been the least interesting thing so far, insofar as it's essentially just Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo or any number of "get money to save [insert thing greedy businessman wants]" kinds of plots. But it seems like the competition might be over by next episode, so I look forward to the (hopefully bolder) directions they might go from here.
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Changeman
Posts: 220 |
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So, who are the producers of this anime? I never thought there would be a sequel and I'm very curious about that.
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DavetheUsher
 Posts: 505 |
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I know what ya mean. It was my understanding the first series was a pretty big bust. |
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meiam
Posts: 3447 |
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I was pretty so so on S1 but I'm finding S2 much better. Joe is far more interesting as wash-up has been than a cocky fighter who win because of plot armor (I like to think the reason he went into depression is cause he lost his plot armor when the show finish and went on to lose every fight he was in). There's less fights, but that's great because fight choreography were excruciatingly boring so the less the better. The grubby business man trope is kinda boring but it doesn't seem like it'll be a big part of the story so w/e. And the audio-visual aspect is still top notch so it's a pleasant viewing.
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Helix91
 SubscriberPosts: 63 |
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I had thought that Season 1 was set in a futuristic version of the California or somewhere in the American west. Wikipedia tells me that the show is set in Japan, which explains a lot of the names, and why the immigrants are talking about coming on boats. On the other hand, the setting just feels very American to me, or at least the desert outside the big city does.
I'm interested whenever anime uses immigration as a major theme like this. Megalobox's portrayal feels like commentary on US immigration for reasons I mentioned above, but then the series officially is set in Japan (and obviously is made in Japan). Are the creators intending to comment on immigrant experiences in Japan, the US, or are they trying to be more universal? |
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Minos_Kurumada
Posts: 1182 |
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I just want to point out that Philippines' immigrants in Japan are not rare.
They are dark skinned, Catholic and speak Spanish. The "Problem" would be El Día de los Muertos which, as far as I know, it's only big in Mexico, but its another dimension or far in the future, and a part of Philippines also have an alike celebration called "Tumba" (tomb) also in the same date though, no idea of how big it is. Thus, yeah, inmigrants can be an alternative version of Philippians in an alternative version of Japan. |
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John Thacker
Posts: 1009 |
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I'm sorry, but is "James Beckett" a pseudonym then? Because that is an amazingly stereotypically Anglo-Saxon name, both first name and surname. There are places where people might consider it "foreign sounding," but not anywhere where English is the primary language. |
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Stelman257
Posts: 311 |
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Yessss I'm absolutely in love with this show. I thought the original was really good too!
But Nomad is on another level. The first episode felt like I was watching a goddamn masterpiece film not an episode of a TV anime. I rewatched scenes from it over and over again. I'm so excited to follow this along and see where it goes. |
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Scion Drake
Posts: 959 |
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Or ya know the slow breakdown of his body through the serious strain of boxing without any enhancements. Something a bit more logical. 
Good to have this show back, glad it did well enough to get a second season. Maybe Joe will finally die just like his namesake all the way back in Ashita no Joe. |
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ANN_Lynzee
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 3028 Location: Email for assistance only |
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Yes. |
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James_Beckett
ANN Reviewer
 Posts: 283 Location: USA |
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Yeah, this is a very good point! I focused more on the specific Central/South American coding of the immigrants' dynamic on account of the music, the geography of the setting, etc., but lots of folks have pointed out how NOMAD can also function as a not-so-subtle allegory for Japan's own issues with xenophobia and anti-immigrant practices, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if that was intentional subtext/text, right there. I've also always been curious as to how we're supposed to read Joe's ethnicity, especially in light of this season's focus on the othering of other cultures and peoples. I didn't really dwell on it last season because I feel like there are plenty of floofy-haired, dark skinned characters in anime that are simply meant to be taken as Japanese, but now that the show is drawing attention to the fact that racism against brown people is very much a thing in the world of Megalobox, I'm wondering if we're supposed to see Joe's outsider status as a result of more than just being from the slums.
Yeah, I maybe should have been more clear on that point - I sometimes forget that not everyone knows I work under a pen name. I actually intentionally chose the whitest sounding name imaginable, since I have to keep my online work pretty separate from my teaching work, and it makes it even harder for my students to look me up online and discover all the words I've written about big titty gore cartoons 
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Agent355
 Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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This may sound harsh, but I absolutely hate boxing. It’s a bloody, violent sport, but worse than that, we now know that participants in it almost always suffer long term neurological damage. Knowing that, and knowing that athletes are often chosen and trained from lower income backgrounds, it feels like a disturbing scenario in which more economically secure people convince poorer people to destroy their body and minds for entertainment and a chance at fame and fortune that society barely gives them any other opportunities to achieve. It’s not that I don’t admire Muhammad Ali; it’s the tragedy of his Parkinson's disease (which many experts think he developed because of his boxing career) that makes me think we should no longer support the sport.
But Megalobox season 2 has been a fantastic showcase of drama, and I love how it sensitively handles addiction, trauma, and withdrawal, as well as discrimination against immigrants and the necessity and dangers of becoming a refugee to begin with (RIP, Chief’s son, Carlos). It truly is beautiful and meaningful. Is it too much to hope that if the inherent risks of boxing can’t be addressed, than at least boxing isn’t as highlighted and celebrated as it is in other boxing stories, including the first season of this series? |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11584 |
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If this is supposed to be set in Japan, or even an alt-Japan, why does it have episode titles and eyecatches in Spanish? Where does Japan have deserts? There's a hella lot of coding for Mexico/Central America in the clothing, music, crafts, fonts and credit designs. While I can certainly see its application as an allegory for issues concerning immigrants in Japan, I don't see a single thing in this other than some character names that would lead me to think it was set in Japan if someone didn't tell me it was. What's the source on that? Besides a wiki.
I think the word you're looking for is "Filipinos." "Philippians" lived in Philippi, in ancient Macedonian Greece. St. Paul wrote them a letter. 
Aw, I liked Joe's beard.  Sad to see it go.
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JoelBurger
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Not gonna lie, was incredibly disappointing to see Joe ride away at the end of the episode today. Was really hoping we'd stick around and see how the community developed after the big tournament, or what new stories there were to tell with them. But instead everything is just neatly wrapped up in a bow (or killed off to prevent any loose ends). Which all makes it feel like these characters just existed to further Joe's story (and can now be safely discarded with their purpose done), rather than an interest in exploring issues of racism and xenophobia.
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