I’m not asking for another chance, I just wanna know why. (Okay, that’s the same song, but c’mon.)

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Nanbu is overjoyed to see Aragaki, an old friend he used to coach who he thought died in a war. They don’t say which war so I’m just going to assume it was the Canada-Brazil wars because that sounds funnier. He lost his legs (boy do I know that feeling) but he’s really made a name for himself since then, having become the 17th ranked in Megalo Boxing, and he’s going to pay Nanbu back for all the help he gave him…by ruining the kid he’s coaching now.

Nanbu immediately wants to avoid the fight, much to Joe’s outrage, but Nanbu doesn’t want to risk his new pupil’s safety because of one of his old one’s grudges. Nonetheless, Joe is committed to fighting, so he tries going to where Aragaki trains now to try to get him to not bring the anger between them into his fight with Joe. Aragaki’s current coach, Miyagi, tells Nanbu about how, when he came home from the war, he found that Nanbu had given up on him. In his defense, the news said Aragaki was dead, but that doesn’t seem to matter, though Miyagi is aware that Aragaki’s drive is purely because of hatred and jealousy for Nanbu and Joe.

Soon, even Joe tries talking to Aragaki, mostly to tell him that HE’S in this of his own accord, so it’ll he HIM that Aragaki faces in the ring, not Nanbu. Eventually, the day of the match arrives, with Nanbu making one last plea to put his hate on him and not Joe, but it falls on deaf ears. The first round starts in earnest, but just as quickly, Joe takes a massive punch to the face. The ten count starts.

OUR TAKE

While Joe’s been the center focus of the last couple major brawls, it was about time for Nanbu to take the spotlight. And what better way than meeting the Darth Vader to his Obi-Wan, complete with scars and robot limbs and everything! I don’t expect some hokey twist of him being Joe’s dad obviously, but the parallels are there! Although he’s more driven by jealousy and his old coach’s seeming abandoning, so…maybe it’s more of a Batman-Red Hood situation?

Regardless, their relationship is on full display throughout the episode, showing multiple crucial points from Aragaki’s injury on the battlefield, to Nanbu’s reaction to his supposed death, and the spiral both men went down from there. What used to be a stronger than steel friendship is only a source of pain for both of them. Only one of them chose to completely forget it to save themselves from pain, but the other is using that pain to make them suffer more. And this is very strongly impacting both of their respective jobs, as Miyagi knows that Aragaki isn’t in this for the right reasons and Nanbu’s coaching is getting shaky.

Though that doesn’t mean Joe doesn’t have anything to do in this lover’s quarrel. He’s fresh from learning the importance of teamwork in the last important fight, which is also a big part of the conflict here. Being on a team doesn’t mean losing your individual motivations, but it does mean you have to work with other people to achieve a common goal. Joe is fighting for himself, but he knows Nanbu’s teachings come from a place of genuine support and belief, so he believes in Nanbu right back. Aragaki, meanwhile, may have gotten this far by focusing on his pain and loss, but he’s looking through Joe at Nanbu for this match. While Joe has the obvious disadvantage of not having Gear, HE’S still the person Aragaki will have to beat, and that lack of vision may just cost him in the end.

I have to say, when this series was airing in Spring of last year, I slept on it mostly because of time constraints, but remember hearing people singing its praises all the time. Now that I’m actually watching it and thinking out points to make about it, I am most definitely feeling the hype. And we’re not even half way done, so I can only imagine where things will be headed at the end of this fight next week.

Score 9/10