Megalobox

Episode 9

Of the many things MEGALOBOX gets right every week, I have to commend the show especially for how it manages to make Joe's perpetual David-and-Goliath narrative feel exciting each time, using his fights to develop his opponent's character in surprisingly compelling ways. MEGALOBOX has been ramping up to Joe's bout with Mikio Shirato for weeks now, and in “A Dead Flower Shall Never Bloom”, both fighters get their final chance to prove which one of them is a true enough fighter to make it to Megalonia. Even though it feels like the series' formula could grow stale at this point, this latest showdown doesn't disappoint, delivering as much drama, action, and flair as any episode before it.

This ninth episode is especially fascinating for taking Joe's disadvantaged lack of gear and making it the explicit thematic focus of the story. Mikio's ACE rig has been upgraded so that it can analyze and predict the moves of even an unarmed fighter like Joe, and the drama of their fight comes not just from watching Joe's resilience be battered down by Mikio's high tech punches, but also in watching Team Nowhere try to figure out how to outsmart something that's designed to think and act with inhumanly perfect precision. In this way, Joe's battle becomes exciting not just for its physical qualities, but its emotional and cerebral ones as well. As far as the actual choreography of the bout goes, “A Dead Flower Shall Never Bloom” is mostly an exercise in watching Joe get punched until he resembles a walking lump of hamburger with a cool hairdo – the real thrill of this episode is based more in biding time through the lopsided struggle between the privileged and the castoff before it comes to a rousing climax.

This also means that the audience is forced to consider the logistics of Megaloboxing again, which don't make much sense when you think too hard, though they absolutely serve their purpose from an artistic standpoint. It's never been explained how much or how little the Gear is meant to augment a fighter's physical strength; it can't be too much, since Joe has been able to survive fighting without Gear of his own for this long. So it stands to reason that the Gear is meant more to enhance fighter's natural reflexes and defenses (in addition to looking supremely cool, of course).

This is where Mikio's internal conflict comes into play, because his ACE runs off the most advanced software around; it doesn't enhance his capabilities so much as completely takes them over. In a flashback late in the episode, Mikio recalls squaring off with Yuri; when one of Yuri's punches forces the ACE system to automatically raise Mikio's arms in defense, Yuri questions whether Mikio can even be called a fighter at all if ACE is the one calling the shots. Mikio insists that the distinction is arbitrary – he is ACE, and ACE is him. However, the reality becomes more clear as the fight with Joe goes on. Mikio is exerting physical and mental energy to stay synchronized with ACE, but when punch comes to shove, the computer calls the shots, which forces Mikio to hesitate when he otherwise could have dealt Joe a knockout blow. So in the end, it comes down to machine calculation vs. a fighter's natural instinct, and the winner of that particular matchup is obvious in this particular show.

The story's reliance on some predictable beats is counterbalanced by the pure power of its ferocious heart, not to mention its incredible music and visual presentation. Plus, even when Joe himself stays well within his lane of Stalwart Underdog Hero, the characters around him are all given room to grow and express themselves in unexpected ways. My favorite moment of this episode doesn't come from any of the more thrilling blows in the match itself, but rather from the quiet exchange that Yukiko and Yuri share after Joe outsmarts ACE and knocks out Mikio for the win. Yukiko's instinct is to take his defeat as evidence of her superiority as the head of Shirato Group, but Yuri takes the opportunity to firmly disagree. Mikio may have lost, but he lost with grace, and every step of the way he made choices that he believed in, which is worthy of respect on its own. This isn't earth-shatteringly deep writing or anything, but MEGALOBOX has still managed to do more with the Shirato siblings than some anime manage to develop over dozens of episodes.

Of course, given that we're rushing headlong toward the end of the season, MEGALOBOX owes Team Nowhere at least one more roadblock on the path to Megalonia. While Joe's fans celebrate his victory, The Very Serious Mob Boss (aka Fujimaki) has come to collect his dues from Nanbu. The moon hangs blood red in the sky, and Joe can barely lie down in his bed without cringing from the pain. As the show's end-card always reminds us, Joe and his dream aren't dead yet, but I'm worried about just how much blood and tears Team Nowhere will have to shed before they can claim the victory they've been fighting so hard for.

Rating: A

Megalobox is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

James is an English teacher who has loved anime his entire life, and he spends way too much time on Twitter and his blog.