English Dub Review: Megalobox 2 – Nomad Episodes 2-3

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Continuing his stumbling through fights, Joe finds himself in a little village made within an abandoned amusement park, with Chief among the residents. He and his people are being driven out by a new landlord, but can hopefully stay if Chief wins the local Megalobox tournament. Joe fights against the disparaging words of Nanbu’s ghost and thinks back to Nanbu’s actual death, which Sachio blamed him for, but gets his act together to coach Chief through the second of three matches. However, local hoodlums accidently start a fire in the village, causing Chief to race into a burning building to save people.

OUR TAKE

First off, an apology, as I did not notice the second episode was released alongside the first in the previous week. It’s hard to tell when Funimation releases more than one episode if they don’t announce it, which they sometimes don’t very clearly. But it actually worked out in a way, as the first episode was such a strong start on its own that it really spoke for itself. Plus, these following episodes work better talked about together than apart, as they better kick off the first proper story arc of the season. The first season didn’t really have much in the way of smaller arcs until about halfway with the Aragaki fight, then the Mikio fight, entering Megalonia, and finally facing Yuri. Since there’s no big tournament to aim for, at least not right now, it seems like things will be lower in scale and stakes for the moment. This arc in particular is more about getting Joe back on track, whatever that may mean right now, by helping someone ELSE win a tournament, someone who it turns out was inspired by him.

We learn a lot about Chief in these two episodes and it’s a bit surprising considering how he was introduced. He first showed up as just another drifting boxer afloat in the gutters of the underground fighting ring who even mirrored Joe as someone who was well trained in playing the system and rigging the fights to make his gain. But now we learn the community he comes from and fights for, as well as how he could be a beacon for Joe’s own mental recovery. He also hit a low after losing his son Carlo, drowning in painkillers and boxing just like Joe, but came to his senses when the gear his son helped him maintain started to break down. Now, with Joe coming to terms with Nanbu’s death (which we’re still only getting hints on but will likely learn more about soon) and having a good clean shave, he can use what he’s learned from Nanbu to help Chief. At least, as long as Chief didn’t just die at the end of the episode. God, I hope not. The show’s heavy enough with drug addiction and child death without killing off the seeming symbol of recovery that the protagonist really needs right now! Though the question now is, once this tournament is done, where does the Nomad travel next?