I’ve noted it before, but Nomad is really out there where the buses don’t run.  There’s not much that’s overtly “anime” or even Japanese about it, despite being (loosely) part of one of anime and manga’s legendary franchises.  It could be an anime, or a French theatrical film, or an HBO drama.  It’s just a great story with great writing, the sort that makes genre and even medium irrelevant.  Megalo Box would be great wherever and however it was presented – the fact that it’s an anime is just a lucky break for those of us that love the medium.

As to the question I asked last week, we seem to have our answer.  There’s no OP this time, but as the ED remained the same I’d guess that will too.  And while those were obviously tailored to Chief’s story, I don’t think they feel out of place now.  Death is very much on the mind of Megalo Box this season, and the change of venue doesn’t really change the theme.  In fact it’s remarkable how seamless the transition is, yet another indication of how superb the writing is here.

The key to this main story was always going to be Sacchio.  He’s the one Joe left behind, the he – as far as we know – betrayed, even if we don’t know all the details.  Aragaki is back too, and it seems that he stepped into the brink when Joe bailed.  His resentment is real, but it’s not a patch on Sacchio’s.  After a brief stop at the mechanic’s (where Oicho has ended up as an apprentice) Joe winds up at the wind-whipped wreck of Team Nowhere’s gym, aghast at what’s become of it, and unfurls his sleeping bag to restlessly slumber at the center of his existential dismay.  The eternal nomad.  But Sacchio’s arrival is where the episode – and the series – really begin.

Sacchio beating the crap out of Joe is one of the bleakest and most despairing scenes in anime for a long time.  Joe could have fought back, despite his surprise, but I don’t think he ever would.  On some level this was something that had to happen for both of them, messed up as that is.  Sacchio is now a wiry teenager, clearly quite capable of beating up an opponent who doesn’t fight back, but you get the sense that Joe could have ended this in an instant if he’d been so inclined.  And in any event, Sacchio’s words hurt even more than his punches.

What strikes me in watching the flashbacks is how grounded they are.  There’s no forced drama here – this is a brutal scene that’s played out for innumerable families anywhere in the world you could choose.  Sacchio is again reminded that there are opponents he can’t fight back against, like fate.  He rebels, lets his childish emotions carry him – but in the end, it’s he who realizes that Nanbu is right and making the choice he’s making.  Sweet little Sacchio is the adult here, and Joe the child – and it’s Joe’s childish decision that truly starts everyone on the path of despair.

We can say with certainty that Joe’s decision to fight Liu is wrong.  All Satch wants is for Joe to take care of himself and be by his side, and to be by Pops’ side as the end approaches.  But Joe runs away, to the ring – preferring an opponent he can fight with his fists to one he’s powerless against.  Aragaki reluctantly agrees to train him, but he too tells Joe he’s in the wrong.  And the worst thing Joe does here is give the children – apart from Sacchio, Oicho, Santa, and Bonjiri, who know better – false hope.  While it can be argued to be unintentional that doesn’t let Joe off the hook, either.  He’s old enough to know better.

For all that, this is not enough to justify the hatred Sacchio and Aragaki display towards Joe here.  There’s more to this story, though perhaps it’s only that Joe skipped town after Nanbu died, leaving the kids behind when they needed him most.  It was a typhoon that swept away their home, but it probably ceased to be a home for those kids once Joe left.  It’s not going to be easy for him to make amends, that much is clear.  And I don’t think it’s going to be by training Sacchio, because even before Aragaki said so I knew he was never cut out to be a fighter.  Nomad has cut no corners in its storytelling, and I don’t expect it to start now – Joe’s redemption is going to hard-earned every inch of the way, and he’s going to be tested in ways he’s never been tested before.