Well, this is weird.
I’m in kind of an unusual place with Nomad at the moment, but then I think that’s only because it’s taken a trip there itself. Basically, we’re on our third series in eight episodes. The first four episodes were a prologue, with Chief basically the protagonist. After that I thought we were getting a full on Joe redemption story, but that only lasted two weeks. Now we’re onto something that looks eerily like the first season. It’s all great, but deeply weird on so many levels.
In the first place, I can’t remember two eps as good as these last two leaving me as ill at ease about a series. This whole Mac and Liu story is quite compelling, but I didn’t necessarily want Megalo Box 2 to become- well, Megalo Box 2. I liked Nomad better than Megalo Box 2, if that makes any sense. We may still get back to that but it feels very unfinished for now, and we’re treading over the same thematic ground as the first season – with the same characters. And this kind of major tonal shift is a bit jarring. Going from Chief’s story to Joe’s return was a seamless transition – this is not. It seems kind of awkward if I’m honest.
I think I’m in the same boat with Nomad that I am with Fumetsu no Anata e – the less conventional the show is, the better I like it. The writing here has been so good for six weeks (and let’s not forget S1 was my top series of 2018) that I think I just have to have patience, and faith that there’s an endgame here that will tie all this together. Frankly I don’t want that endgame to be Joe getting back into the ring for one final match – be that against Liu or Mac – because the lesson of Joe’s fall from grace was pretty much that he threw away a chance at happiness because he overstayed his time in the ring.
For all that, though, this was some serious good stuff. Boxing is a brutal sport by any measure, and Megalo Box has never pulled any punches (no pun intended) in depicting that. I’ve really come to like Liu as a character, and his elegance and speed in the ring is a joy to behold. But Mac winning this bout was pretty much a telegraphed punch, as was the reason behind it. It comes after three harrowing rounds though, with blood and mouthpieces flying and heads slamming into the mat. “Mac Time” always has a sense of wrongness about it, but never more so than here.
Yes, we’re back in a situation where Shirato is cashing in on biologically-integrated equipment they know is faulty. This time around it took ROSCO and Sakuya to help, but if one looks at BES as basically a piece of gear, this is pretty much a repeat. Mikio is against in from the beginning this time of course, and he plans to public with his concerns about the BES chip. To wit, it’s messing with Mac’s brain, and Mac Time is a manifestation of this. He’s going beyond normal human limits because of that chip, and in addition to the fact that it’s a sort of doping it can’t possibly be good for you.
Sakaya is shady as fuck – he’s definitely aware of all this and probably more. As for Mac himself, when the bloodlust comes over him he becomes truly evil – as witness his punching Liu (into the ICU) after Yuuri had thrown in the towel (yes non-boxing fans, that’s where that expression comes from) and the look he gives Joe as Liu is being wheeled out of the ring. Later we see him flip out on his son when his wife makes a ring bell noise, and she informs Sakuya that this has been happening more and more. This plays out like a sort of PTSD, though it’s very clear BES is at fault. I feel as if this darkness in Mac goes above and beyond the chip – I think his hero act is mostly a facade. But we’ll see.
Again – great material that leaves me deeply uneasy. Where is all this going? Is this BES story the rest of the series, and is it going to end with Joe fighting Mac? What we saw in the first six episodes was so fragile and beautiful and painful, and the feeling at the moment is as if it’s been abandoned to an extent. I don’t care about the boxing and the evil corporations as much as care about Joe’s personal journey, and how he tries to make amends for his mistakes and heal his relationship with Sacchio and the orphans. That’s not being ignored – the typhoon angle will obviously play into it – but my sincere hope is that it’s the unchallenged focus of Nomad’s final arc.
raikou
May 25, 2021 at 11:31 amYeah, after the first 6 episode, the story is going into the usual sequel plot.
I’m surprised, yet at the same time, not really because after the sixth episode I’m at lost where the story’s going.
Not that the Liu/Mac subplot is bad, but I was expecting more.
4 episode left, hoping the writers could still surprise me.
Guardian Enzo
May 25, 2021 at 4:46 pmReally? After six eps I thought I knew exactly where the story was going, and I couldn’t have been more eager to go there right along with it.
Derrick
May 25, 2021 at 7:27 pmmaybe we will have Joe’s story when he becomes old, like Hajime no Ippo’s boxing mentor
Penguin
May 27, 2021 at 3:24 pmI thought this episode was really impressive, and while I understand why you’d feel anxious, I felt that this episode did the opposite for me. We knew we’d get to see Mac Time, but the shift in tension when it did was electrifying. Every scene after that point was filled to the brim with symbolism and parallels to reality and very tangible struggles:
The hummingbird that guides the “lost” back “home” appears before Mac; the very real, complex and mortal danger of martial sport that affects its participants AND the people around them, both in and out of the arena; Yuri living vicariously through his protégé Liu, only now beginning to realize that consequences and regrets come equally with the rewards and pride that they share; Joe showing that he still hasn’t overcome his fear of a reality that he has no control over as he attempts to convince Yuri (or rather himself) that Liu will recover; the terrifying potential that science and technology in the coming age holds, and the equally terrifying thought of it being at the disposal of people in power to do as they please; and the strangeness of humanity that allows us to reflect upon ourselves, to realize our wrongs, and to seek redemption after making mistakes – even for those in positions of power.
All that within the span of slightly over half an episode. And now that I’ve had time to write these thoughts out, I’ve come to think that this story was never meant to only be about Joe – this is a story about all those who have lost: Lost their way, lost loved ones, lost the trust of those who were once close, maybe even lost their humanity for the sake of power or progress. This is also a story of those who have found, and who have won: Chief found his strength in the memory of his family, the community finding the resolve to stick through tough times, and eventually winning over the casa, Mio found his way back to where he belonged, and Joe found a friend to put him back on the right track, and found the resolve to return to Gym Nowhere to face his demons. In a series about boxing, it’s poetic that the stories of all the characters involved revolve around winning, losing and finding – and that there is victory to be found even in defeat.
When I watched the first episode of Nomad, I was overwhelmed by how apt the title of “Nomad” was, and the sentiment hasn’t worn off. Joe started off this section of his story as a wanderer, but really, in this story, EVERYONE is a nomad, and I’d like to believe that everyone will find their “casa” by the time “the stadium lights are dimmed”.
Wow, I hope this doesn’t come across as overly dramatic or pretentious writing. I literally finished re-reading Rurouni Kenshin this morning and it coincided with me watching this episode, and the parallels in storytelling were so profoundly poignant that I couldn’t resist letting my thoughts wander (no pun intended). Kenshin’s story of redemption is such an endearing one, and I’m glad that such a story is being told in this day and age in Nomad.
Guardian Enzo
May 27, 2021 at 7:03 pmAlways been my belief that Kenshin has the greatest character arc in shounen, and maybe in manga.
I get where you’re coming from and like I said, in itself these last two eps have been really good. But they still feel somewhat self-derivative to me, in a way the first six don’t.
Panino Manino
May 29, 2021 at 12:16 amThat scene with Yuri remembering Liu training for the match against Joe, he and the other couch taking how he resembled Yuri and Yuri saying that he would go much farther than him, than that transition from Liu’s happy face to the hospital bed… honestly, when Nomad became so good?! щ(゜ロ゜щ)
This episode had so many feelings and deep emotions, hit really hard.
Don’t know what to say so i’ll just say this.
Isn’t this Marc a mix of all the classic Joe’s adversaries? He is a poor latino like Carlos, he resembles early Rikishi physically, he has a family like Jose and the Kim’s trauma.
In a different story would be natural to see Joe fighting him, but why would in this story this Joe fight this character? What will they use as motivation and with what goal? To me makes no sense to make Joe prove his worthy again jumping into the ring (will he die after all?).
JHNSeph
June 4, 2021 at 8:48 pmTalking about Mac looking pretty evil whilst in “Mac Time”.
The phrase “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain” comes to mind.