ASHITA NO JOE

DESCRIPTION

CAST

ANIME ActionAshita no Joe 2
MANGA DramaAshita no Joe
MOVIE ActionAshita no Joe (Movie)
SPECIAL ActionAshita no Joe Pilots
ANIME ActionNOMAD: Megalo Box 2
ANIME ActionMegalo Box
OVA SportsJoe vs. Joe

REVIEWS

• 

  DrowZgam3r

  85/100
  Ashita no Joe is a true classic

  As time goes by and animation techniques improve most anime start to be forgotten in favor of newer titles. But despite the constant uphill battle of time, some anime manage to survive where others are forgotten and earn the title of "classics". Ashita no Joe is one of the best examples of a anime that has and will continue to survive the passage of time and retain its title of a classic.

  Story:(10/10)
  The story begins with Joe drifting into a slums where he quickly gets into a fight with a local gang. Despite being outnumbered, Joe easily dispatches the entire crew. Watching from the sidelines is a drunken old bum who used to be a boxing coach named Tange Danpei. Seeing Joe's vast untamed potential for boxing he tries to convince Joe to let him train him. Joe is initially uninterested, but after the trainer saves his life Joe reluctantly agrees to learn the sport of boxing.

  Where Ashita no Joe differs from other sports anime is in its drama. It would be more appropriate to label Ashita no Joe as a drama that uses sports to tell its story than a sports story that uses drama to enhance its story. The characters have real problems and the stakes can be incredibly high.

  Characters:(10/10)

  One of Ashita no Joe's strongest points lies within its characters. Each character is incredibly unique with interesting connections to the other characters.

  The most interesting character of all is none other than the main character Joe Yabuki. Put simply, Joe is an asshole. He is arrogant, rude, crude, and otherwise indifferent. But despite his rough nature I couldn't help but rooting for him. Yeah, sometimes Joe's character makes you wish some guy would come by and lay him flat, but you can't help but rooting for this guy who came from nothing who is trying to find his place in the world.

  Visual:(6/10)

  The art and animation for the time period is fantastic but unfortunately it doesn't stand up to modern counterparts. After getting used to the outdated style and animation I was able to appreciate the gritty feel the art gave the anime. But for a newer viewer the art poses one of the biggest obstacles to getting into this anime.

  Audio:(6/10)

  Similarly to the art, the audio quality doesn't stand up to modern comparisons. The voice acting itself is great but the quality of the sound is what suffers. In the later episodes the quality of the sound increased, however it does take a bit of getting used to in the beginning.

  Enjoyment:(10/10)

  despite the low quality sound and animation, the story of Ashita no Joe blew me away. At first I was sceptical about whether or not a 50 year old anime would be able to compare to modern anime, but there is a reason that even after 50 years this anime still gets talked about. A true classic and well worth the watch.

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• 

  Woggo

  95/100
  A review of Joe that I made years ago

  Warning! This review contains spoilers, so I recommend that you finish the first season before reading this review.
  Plot 9.3/10
  Ashita no Joe or known as in other parts of the world as Rocky Joe, Tomorrow Joe, Joe’s Tomorrow, Champion Joe, and Joe is about an orphan who ran away from the orphanage at a very young age who goes by the name Joe Yabuki. After a couple of years when Yabuki Joe is a teenager he meets an old man named Tange Danpei, who used to be a boxer and gets into a fight with Joe and loses. After that at some members of the yakuza show up to fight Joe, but in the end Joe wins. Danpei sees this and asks him if he would like to become a boxer and Joe’s responsese to this is “no “. Danpei still keeps trying until Joe finally accepts the offer, but the only reason why is because of the money. Then a rich woman shows up named Yoko Shiraki and Joe - with the help of the kids they scam her. She finds out about this and Joe gets sent to jail for one year and six months. During his jail time he meets Nishi who becomes a good friend later on and a man that gets into fight with Joe, who defeats Joe. This person is known as Toru Rikishi. After this a rivalry starts between the two of them which causes Joe to become a boxer in order to settle the score with Rikishi.
  Review of the plot: Even though the plot is nothing really special, but the way they handle it makes it one of the best stories I have ever heard/seen. The main theme of this season is pretty much rivalry and the struggles of boxing. In the first season the relationship of Joe and Rikishi evolves to not just being rivals, but becoming closest friends. The struggle this season deals with is losing weight, getting ready to fight Rikishi in the ring, Joe learning boxing techniques, and the pain of killing someone in the ring. The way the handles it is something that left me in tears in how sad this series was becoming and sometimes hard to watch.
  Characters 10/10
  Joe Yabuki: The main character of the series is an asshole and acts like a wild animal. Due to his past he doesn’t know when his birthday is and who his parents are. Really the only thing he knew form his past is his name. Throughout the series Joe ends up loving boxing, ends up becoming a decent person and respects his rivals. Overall I would say at first Joe is a person that becomes hard to like, but later on he becomes so that you end up loving him to the end of it. It is because of his character development he become my favorite anime main character of all time.
  Toru Rikishi: He is Joe’s main rival of the series, a boxing genius, a person with a lot of determination, and also like Joe he is a delinquent. He got sent to jail for nearly killing someone who badmouthed him during one of his matches. Overall Rikishi is a total badass being able to beat up freaking bulls easily. He also is one of the coolest characters of the show. He’s also the person who left the biggest impact in the series and in anime in general. Rikishi is known to be the first character to have ever died in anime. This ended up being very risky for the two creators of Ashita no Joe because killing off a character was never heard of and the fact of killing a popular character could mean the end of the series. In unexpecting terms the fans of Rikishi end up hosting a funeral for him. It is also because of his death the series starts to take a darker tone as you seen with the last 21 episodes of the show and in season 2 of it. In the end Rikishi goes down as one of the greatest rivals ever made and becomes Joe closet friend.
  Tange Danpei: Joe’s boxing coach who used to be a boxer, but retired due the fact he can no longer see with his right eye. After he retires he becomes an alcoholic, but when he meets Joe his life starts to change. When Joe got sent to jail he started to write postcard that had boxing lessons such as the jab and uppercut. After that he decide to go over there to further teach more lesson to Joe such Cross Counter, Block, and Footwork. He known to very manipulate by confusing Joe by not train him, but instead training Aoyama instead him in order for Joe to learn how to block and footwork in order to beat Aoyama. His dream is to make Joe a champion since he was unable to do it himself. The best way I can describe Danpei is that he’s a person who’s obsessed with Joe and determinated to make Joe a champion.
  Kanichi “Mammoth” Nishi: Is one of Joe’s closest friends and a person who gets scared easily in the beginning of the series until he decides to become a boxer to overcome his fears. The best way I can describe him is that he is a nice person who has a weight problem, but overcomes this thanks to Joe.
  Yoko Shiraki: Toru Rikishi’s manager and her relationship to Joe is the closest we will ever get of a love interest for Joe. In the beginning of the series she is seen as the person who doesn’t care about Joe but later on starts developing feelings for him and cares about him. This is shown when Joe needed a new rival in order to overcome Rikishi’s death. She also serves a counterpart to Joe to the point it’s hard to doubt if she’s even a villain for the first half of the series. The best way I can describe her is that she’s a very calm person.
  Carlos Rivera: Joe’s second rival and the person Joe needed in order to overcome Rikishi’s death. He has a similar backstory to Joe that they were both orphans and both lived in the slums. Carlos is also a playboy who can’t stop hitting on women, a laid back and friendly person. Like Rikishi he also serves the foe Joe has to overcome and becomes really good friends with Joe. He’s also one of Joe most important opponents of Joe’s career since he is ranked 6 in the world.
  Wolf: Not much to say except he is the first major opponent of Joe’s boxing career. It is because of the fight they had in the locker why Joe was able to get his boxing license. It is because of this Wolf starts to hate Joe and do anything it takes in order to defeat him.
  Overall the characters are the strong point of the series because of how developed they are and how they are handled. I could talk about more characters such as the kids who follow Joe and Noriko, but I couldn’t since they haven’t received enough development and they haven’t really changed that much.
  Animation 8.8/10
  Due to the fact the show was made in 1970 the animation ends up begin very rough and coming out in a time where anime company was still not used to use colored animation yet. However, there are still moments where the animation does look good and times were it looks bad. It is because of this that it doesn’t really hold up well compared to anime from nowadays.
  Music/Voice acting 10/10
  The soundtrack is absolutely amazing and fits the series. The main genres they ended up using are jazz and rock. Tracks such as Joe’s whistle, Rikishi’s theme, the opening theme, the instrumental version of the ending. The music really handles up very well and there are some of the best soundtracks I have ever heard in anime. The voice acting, I gotta say was very well handled and each one fits their respective character. I can’t say anything about the Spanish dub, Italy dub, and English dub of it since I can only find a few clips of it and the English dub of it only covers the first eight episodes of it and the first movie. In the Italy dub and Spanish does change the title to Rocky Joe when they aired it.
  Adaption 9.4/10
  The first season over from the beginning all the way until the end of Joe vs Carlos Rivera, but it does have filler scenes in the series such as the doctor who treated Joe’s wounds and during the time Joe goes on his journey after Rikishi’s death. Even though the series has filler that doesn’t make the quality of it go down. The filler contributes to the story by adding more matches of Joe that the manga did end up skipping. It’s because of these fillers that makes it help making Joe’s boxing career seem more realistic. The filler moments also contribute to the development of Joe for example episode 69. However, the first series skips some scenes such as the moment Carlos kissed Yoko and the exhibition Joe had with Carlos. In my opinion comparing the first anime series to the manga I would have to say the manga is a bit better, but the first season does an amazing job adapting the manga. It also manages to handle things better than the manga such as Rikishi losing weight and Joe’s Journey.
  Enjoyment 10/10
  Out of all the series I havee seen they have never given me the same amount of enjoyment I had when I was watching Ashita no Joe. The reason why is because how immersed I was into the story, the characters, the fights, and everything that happened in the series. The fights are the most intense fights I have ever seen. A good example of this is when Joe was fighting Rikishi and you see the moment when both of them start using the “no-guard “position. I was amazed how quickly I started enjoying the series. Within the first 10 minutes of the first episode I was already hooked and I knew this would be a series I could never forget. This also was the first time I have experienced any form of entertainment that left me with a huge impact. This series made me feel like I was being part of the world they live in as an observer and I quickly became attached to the characters to the point I would break into tears the moment anything bad happen to them.
  Final Thoughts
  Overall this series probably will always stay as my favorite anime of all time because of how amazing it is and the impact it had on me to the point after I had finished the series I ended up going through a void that took me a year to get out of. Overall I give the first season a 9.5/10.

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• 

  oswins

  95/100
  A classic in every way that still holds up today.

  To preface this, I should warn you all that is my first review, so apologises if I end up not following proper etiquette for it. But, having just recently finished the first season of Ashita no Joe, I couldn't not talk about it. This review will contain light spoilers for the first 10 episodes.

  Story

  It's the 1960's. Construction in Tokyo is at an all-time high, and Japan is rebuilding itself after a post-Allied Forces occupation. In the slums of Tokyo is where we first meet our protagonist, Yabuki Joe - a drifter. Joe quickly becomes involved in a scuffle and is noticed by the local drunk, Tange Danpei - who just so happens to be an old boxing coach. Upon seeing Joe's fists, Danpei immediately values the potential within them and begs Joe to allow him to train him in the art of boxing. Although Joe rejects many times at first, he eventually caves in, and thus the journey begins. Unlike other sports anime, the focus on the sport takes a backstep to other important things like story and character. If you're expecting a straight-up fighting manga, be prepared for that to take a backseat. Make no mistake, this is a slowburn.

  Characters

  First and foremost, the most important thing about this anime and what the show wants you to focus on are its characters. Each and every main character, from Yabuki Joe to Tange Danpei, is unique and wonderful in their own way. They're all wonderfully flawed, especially the titular Joe. Not only that, but despite being the grandaddy of sports manga/anime, they all feel fresh. And that's the important thing about Joe - everything feels wonderfully crafted, even today.

  The only character I'll be discussing in more detail is Yabuki Joe. Joe is, as I said before, wonderfully flawed and, at first, absolutely unlikeable. He's disrespectful, brash, self-absorbed and a bit of a shit, and that's why he works. He's not at all like a protagonist you would expect from the era of Astro Boy and Cyborg 009. This is not a noble hero, he's a human. And a bit of a jerk, at that. However, his abrasive personality gives his moments of weakness that much more impact. It's when we see that humane side of him that his character really shines through, although those moments are rare at first. It's to no one's surprise that Joe undergoes tremendous character development throughout the show.

  Not to say that the other characters don't have their moments and aren't all wonderful too. Rikiishi Toru, for example, is a wonderful addition to the cast and is exactly the catalyst Joe needs for his development. And you can't help but cheer for Danpei when you see how much he believes in Joe, despite the fact that Joe is... well, Joe.

  Art and Animation

  Now we get to the parts where AnJ stumbles a fair bit. As it was made in the 1970's, and the footage is a bit old, expect a lot of mistakes in production. The animation sometimes suffers, and things change colour for no reason. You can see when the anime cuts corners, just as you can see in modern anime, and sometimes it's a fair bit jarring. That being said, the art style, while shows its age in that classic 1970's style, is absolutely a joy to watch at times. What I found to be quite drawing about it were the rough, almost charcoal-like lineart. It gave the series a real 'working-class' feel to it, if that makes sense. After all, the series did appeal to the working class Japanese people.

  Sound

  Again, AnJ stumbles on this, due to its age. There's a lot of clipping in the sound and, to be honest, I'm not a fan of the little girl's voice. That being said, Joe's VA is an absolute joy to hear, and he nails Joe as a character. The opening track that plays every episode is very telling of the story and the journey Joe faces, and the visuals it gives simply tell the story of Joe in the ring. The OST is another plus - it gives the show a whole 'western' feel about it. One of my favourite tracks is Joe's Whistle, the theme of the entire show and the opening. There's something almost haunting about it.

  Direction

  Now DAMN, this is where Ashita no Joe shines. While the sound and animation may have shown its time, Osamu Dezaki's phenomenal directing stands the test of time. Ashita no Joe is his debut as a series director, and the series has his style all over it. In particular, he makes use of what he calls 'postcard memories', pastel freeze frames which the frame delves into a painted, more detailed style of the original shot. He also has excellent work with frame movement, split-screens, stark lighting, and dutch angle. Dezaki's directing serves to heighten the excellent moments of tension in scenes, and, perhaps most importantly, makes the show interesting to watch.

  Overall

  An amazing series that still holds up to this day. I never expected it to make me cry. Excuse me while I go cry some more over how good it is.

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