beating the likes of Haikyuu and Chihayafuru even thought I adored them but personally they don’t compete the absolute greatness that is Ashita no Joe in my opinion. So when I heard the Ashita no Joe 50th project I was beyond hype because I thought my wish had came true where anime fans from this generation can finally experience the dark beauty that is Ashita no Joe in a modernize fashion. However instead of getting a Ashita no Joe remake we got Megalo Box a anime that was mean to celebrate Ashita no Joe 50th anniversary.As a fan of Ashita no Joe franchise I was really excited for it as it thought it will be great tribute to Ashita no Joe as well being its own thing and I first I liked it a lot. However as a I watch more episodes the show slowly started to fall apart to a point where all of my excitement of the show was replaced by boredom and disappointment.So what the hell went wrong with this show?You’re going to find out now. Hello everyone this is Shawn aka KurataLordStage and welcome to my review of Megalo Box and with that further ado let’s started.Story.The story follows Junk Dog who is great at boxing who fights in underground illegal rings in fights that have a fixed result where his coach Gansaku Nanbu directs him on when to lose a fight. One evening he almost crashes his motorcycle into Yukiko Shirato, who is the head of the wealthy Shirato Group which oversees the Megalonia tournament; Junk Dog picks a fight with her bodyguard Yūri who is also the top ranked Megalo Boxer. Yukiko stops the fight but Yūri seeks out Junk Dog and meets him in the underground ring where he easily beats the less-experienced fighter and tells him to fight him again in Megalonia, which Junk Dog would need a place at the top of the official Megalo Box rankings to qualify for, as well as a proper citizenship ID to enter the rankings in the first place. After Nanbu persuades the mob boss Fujimaki to forge Junk Dog an ID under the name Joe, the two are given 3 months to achieve their goal of working their way to the top of the Megalonia tournament rankings in order for Joe to have his re-match against Yuri.Am just going to say right now the story is only good if you never seen a underdog story in your life because this is by far the most typical underdog character driven story I have ever seen.The first big mistake that this show it’s that is one of those climbing to the top to fight against the person who kicked your ass type of plot where the only reason why set character is even fighting is just to have re-match against the person who beat.This wouldn’t have been so much of a problem if Joe actually grow as a character but doesn’t because by episode 11 he’s still that same bland fighter from episode 11. Yes I will admit he does change slightly in the final two episodes but it was far too late because he’s character change just felt like a afterthought thanks to the show wasting it’s time on dragged out subplots which while they were interesting it overstayed it’s welcome.Another issue that I have with Megalo Box were the subplots. Don’t me wrong they were pretty good but the problem is almost every single subplot in the show seem to overshadow Joe’s progression meaning that side characters in this show were more fleshed out than Joe himself where he barely gets a spotlight outside of fighting.This doesn’t induce the other things such as pacing, and writing which were lacklustre at bestIt also doesn’t help that the show is predictable as hell where every single fight minus the plot convenience ones like the first Yuri fight start and end in the same way.This is how a typical Megalo Box fight is structure.1. Joe set up for fight2. Joe practices3. Joe goes to fight4. Joe gets his ass handed to him for 99% of the fight5. Joe wins with 1 punch.See the problem here. I usually don’t mind shows that have a predictable nature but I feel like Megalo Box took it a next level where once you see the first two boxing matches not counting the Yuri fight you can very easily notice a nasty pattern for each fight and because of that the fights sadly have become boring and tedious to watch. I know this is a character driven show where the sport itself is not main focus but could you make the fight more tension? By the end of the third fight I got sick and tired of watching Joe’s matches because he will only win by asspulling with that lucky punch of he’sThe biggest issue with this show is that it feels like a soul less cash grab to a beloved series. What I mean by this is that it has all the elements of Ashita no Joe but it’s too afraid to become its own thing.Yes the setting is different and some of the plot elements but other than that you only just tone down version to arguably the best sports manga/anime ever made.Overall the story is pretty bad and uninspiring.3/10Characters.When it comes to the characters in Megalo Box I thought they were all underwhelming at best with two expectations.Gearless Joe is such a terrible protagonist. We the audience barely know anything about Joe from his past to how he became the person that he is in Episode 1. His motivation is paper fin as he only wants to the enter the Megalo Box tournament for a rematch against Yuri again in a boxing match. Not for pride or carrier reasons mind you just for a silly re-match a guy who beat you in the ring. The worst thing about him is he’s bland personality and lack of actual character development because as from episode 11 he is still the bland boring character that we seen from episode 1 where he still only wants’ to have a rematch against Yuri. Maybe I was spoiled because I seen Ashita no Joe and Hajime no Ippo first but in all seriousness Joe is a terrible protagonist who barely has any depth at all.On the other hand Nanbu is a pretty good character in his own right. Compare to the blandless Joe Nanbu is actually a charming and relatable character that is a great voice of reason for Joe. Also he has a well told back-story that actually explains in detail why he became the person that he is from episode 1 as a grumpy person. Easily the best character in the show in terms of character developmentSachio is by far my favourite character because not only he is a another great voice of reason for Joe he’s a very fun and likable character who get’s well developed as the series goes on. Not to mention he’s more interesting subplot then Joe’s paper fin rise to the top to beat set guyThe rest of the characters inducing the shitty rival Rishiki clone Yuri are all one note and forgetful.Overall apart from Sachio and Nanbu the characters in Megalo Box were very disappointing at best.4/10Visuals.Visually Megalo Box is good and has that gritty feel that I liked.The art style reminds me off Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop with its more westernise and gritty look from the background scenery, some of the characters to even the use of gritty colour pallets.As for the animation itself this is where the show falls apart again.Am not talking the animation where they not fighting in ring because that’s pretty good overall. Am talking about the boxing matches themselves which were all subpar and boring. It was already bad enough that Joe easily wins his fights thanks to his asspulling lucky punch but almost every single fight in the show is lifeless and lacks any real tension. Am not asking that Megalo Box show relay on style over substance but if the show can’t story and character elements right you just end up being one hell of a boring and lifeless show.6/10Sound.Thankfully the soundtrack is easily the best part about the series.The soundtrack is great and well directed. It’s really fits with the gritty of the series and it really makes the show’s atmosphere more appealing to the eyes.The opening theme is decent itself but it’s not that memorable.The ending theme on the other hand is amazing that has a great 80s vibe to itThe Seiyuus did a pretty good job with the roles that they were given in this animeOverall the soundtrack is great and memorable but honestly having a great soundtrack along will not suddenly make an anime good because saying Megalo Box is great because of the soundtrack a is like saying that Gundam Seed + Destiny is great because of the soundtrack. While the soundtrack for those shows are great it doesn’t have enough substance to back up its soundtrack8/10Final Thoughts.Disappointment is honestly the best way to describe Megalo Box as a whole. It was a anime that I wanted to love but constantly keep on disappointing me the more I watch it with its subpar plot, lacklustre fight choreography thanks to asspulls and mediocre overall characters. The only good things about this show are the music and the art-style.At best this show is below average and at worse it’s a train-wreck that I dislike a lot.Unless you’re very new to sports anime I recommend you to avoid this show and checking out Hajime no Ippo or better Ashita no Joe instead of this disappointing mess of a show.The show may be just a celebration of Joe legacy but it doesn’t excuse the subpar quality of this series.Final Score 4/10