If there’s one word I’d associate with this finale, it’s “courage”.

Sometimes with blogging, especially final episodes, it’s difficult not to start at the end.  The elephant in the room is so massive that it really doesn’t leave oxygen for anything else.  And I think that’s pretty much the situation with Megalo Box, because despite this being a cracking episode, the ending is surely what most viewers are going to be talking about.  There’s nothing wrong with that – it’s as natural as can be.  But it makes it rather pointless to lead with anything else.

Megalo Box was in kind of a funny situation, because while it’s an original series and the ending was thus a mystery, it carries a very distinct legacy on its shoulders.  And it could hardly be said that it did anything to downplay that link – from the episode titles on down, it’s been strongly suggested that a very specific sort of ending was coming.  It seemed so inevitable, in fact, that I started to have a niggling doubt on the grounds that nothing that seems that inevitable could be taken at face value.  Even so, though, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little surprised.

For the record, though, it’s a pleasant surprise – and not just because I like a happy ending as much as the next guy (as long as the next guy isn’t Urobuchi Gen).  I’ll be blunt – I think it was a lot ballsier not to kill off either Joe or Yuri here.  Giving us the “Ashita no Joe ending” would have ruffled few feathers, and it would have been consistent with the sort of story Megalo Box is.  So I think the creative staff showed a lot of courage by going in another direction, simply for that reason – but also because in doing so they made a strong statement.

That’s another way courage is exemplified here, I think.  For either Joe or Yuri, the easiest thing to do would have been to take the heroes’ death – to, as Yuri says, go with no regrets because they went out the way they’d want to.  Honestly I think that’s mostly dramatic bullshit, because it takes a lot more courage – and shows a lot more respect for those around you – to keep on living ever after your moment of truth has passed.  To see that acknowledged in, of all things, a sequel to Ashita no Joe is truly a revelation – and a testament, as I said, to the courage of the staff.

And, of course, there was a ton of courage on display in the episode itself – in the ring.  The metaphor of boxing as a kind of dance has been around since… well, since boxing.  But I think there’s something to it, and it was a strong theme throughout the episode.  Joe’s courage has obviously never been in doubt, and Yuri could hardly have been more GAR than by removing his gear at great risk to his own future (and indeed, he paid a price).  I have no doubt that Yuri would have won the bout had he not removed the gear – but I also think that would have proved nothing.  And I think the real question is, who would have won the fight if Yuri had removed his gear a year earlier, and had time to fully recover?

We’ll never know, of course – but in the end, I suppose it doesn’t matter.  The fight we got was brutal, but as honest and straightforward a bout as you’ll see.  As in any sport, finding your fated rival makes the experience that much more rewarding.  I don’t think Joe or Yuri would ever have fought again after this bout, even if they could (and it looks like Yuri never had the choice to make), because for them, this fight is the apotheosis of their boxing lives.  The commentators missed the boat on it, but the fact that Yuri was standing in his corner was the clue that his clock was always ticking.  As with Aragaki, and even (I would argue) Burroughs, Joe’s staying power is his greatest weapon.  As anyone who’s watched a decent amount of boxing will tell you, when a boxer won’t sit down in his corner that doesn’t mean he feels good – that means he knows he might not be able to stand up again if he does.

I was rooting for Joe, of course, but it was hard to feel any vitriol towards Yuri – he’s a helluva fighter and a standup guy.  I really felt for him being up there all alone, even the Shirato name ripped off his robe – that’s why the scene where Sachio brought him a water bottle between rounds was so powerful.  This was pride on display in the good sense, from both of them – not stubbornness or obstinance, but a determination to do things in a certain way because that’s how one is able to live with themselves.  Maybe having Joe win was the non-traditional route too (Rocky lost to Creed in their only fight that mattered), and so was having the knockout happen off-screen.  But that’s fine – it only makes sense that if Joe could stay on his feet long enough, Yuri would tire and give him the opening he’d been waiting for.

As happy an ending as it was for Joe, Yuri and Yukiko took it on the chin pretty hard.  I’m thinking Yuri’s condition is the result of the surgery more than the fight (or perhaps the fight so soon after the surgery), but while he lost both the title and the woman who loves him, at least he’s not alone.  Yukiko has cut a deal with the military, seemingly, and she seems to truly be alone.  But Yuri has Team (now Gym) Nowhere, and they certainly have each other – Joe seems to have settled into a quiet life with Nanbu and Sachio, having vacated the title after knocking Yuri out in the 13th round.  Because really, what would have been the point of going on after that bout?

As I said, I expect the ending to be pretty controversial, though it was a home run for me.  The series on the whole should be less so – it’s certainly one of the best anime of 2018, and managed to be a loving homage to Ashita no Joe without being a slave to it (which may be the show’s greatest accomplishment).  Megalo Box is remarkably cinematic in somewhat the same way 91 Days was, but more than that series this one was also very much cut in the mold of classic anime – equal parts vintage Madhouse and Gainax, with echoes of Watanabe Shinichirou and even Outlaw Star.  It’s shows like this one that make original anime such a tantalizing prospect – they thrive on the freedom that gives them, and seem effortless in a way adaptations almost never can.  Maybe this series didn’t turn out to be a tragedy in the end after all, but it certainly turned out to be a classic.

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