Animation in Japanese anime has become stagnant in recent years, as prominent studios turn to cheap 3D animation to cut production costs and save any amount of money they can from paying traditional 2D animators. Out of seemingly nowhere, an outlier in animation has just released called Megalo Box. It's art style is reminiscent of the peak of 1990's Japanese anime animation and the first episode has set a high bar for my expectations with the show.
Set in the desert outskirts of a semi-futuristic metropolis, Megalo Box's protagonist known simply by his boxing name "Junk Dog" participates in rigged boxing matches using a futuristic mechanical contraption that boosts strength and prowess. Junk Dog's gear is worn down and barely counts as functional, but if he wasn't being forced to lose in these boxing matches, he'd have the ability to win every fight in the first round.
The main focus of the series is Megalonia; a giant boxing tournament held in the city that's unrestricted in terms of who can enter. That means anyone, regardless of age, nationality or qualifications can enter the tournament as long as they're a citizen. The issue here is that Junk Dog has no citizenship, but I doubt it'll be a problem for long since the main focus seems to be the tournament.
Megalo Box has me more excited than any anime has in the last five years. The quality of the animation style and the almost Akira-like aesthetic is refreshing to see in 2018 and not something I was expecting to find outside of a high budget animated film. As long as the story and action maintains the quality of the first episode, this is my most anticipated series of the year. I plan on reviewing every episode and writing a wrap-up once the series is finished.
