[Megalobox] - 4
While I'm basically enjoying this series, there are a number of issues that are holding it back from being 'great':
- I didn't care for the music used during the right. A boxing match is an action sequence and action sequences need music to do lots of heavy lifting in terms of creating excitement. This is especially true in TV, where you're unlikely to see the kind of detailed, fluid animation required to convey the act of boxing. Music sets the mood, it establishes the rhythm, it creates crescendos, it communicates information about characters and so forth. The music in this fight was background noise, I would have preferred it to set the pace of the fight.
- I still don't understand why the kid is involved in this story. I don't understand his motivation for getting involved. I know that we're obviously going to get it later, but it wont retroactively make the earlier episodes better. That's not to say I have an issue with this character, quite the opposite. He played a crucial role in this episode and he plays off Joe and Coach quite nicely.
- Speaking of character motivations, I feel like this is a broader problem across the board. I understand that right now, Joe and Coach are motivated to get into Megalonia to stay alive, but I don't know why Joe actually cares about it. Why does Joe even care about boxing in the first place? Why was he riding his motorbike over cliffs earlier? Why was he so offended by Yuri's boxing? I don't really 'get' any of it.
- Joe only being able to participate by taking literally no hits stretches credulity. He must be some kind of superhuman dodging machine. To add insult to injury, the show doesn't even bother to show us those fights, it just assumes we can accept this premise without issue.