ahill boy watches AnJ (this time for reals)

[ahill1]

well, Kenshi and Captain Cadaver recommended me this manga so I'm gonna start it anytime soon. I will be posting my notes of it in here. anyone who wants to join feel free.

 

[SSJ2]

This went well.

 

[SSJ2]

 

[ahill1]

finishing AnJ first

 

[SSJ2]

Can't do both at once despite being quarantined?

 

[SSJ2]

 

[ahill1]

watching AnJ at the moment. I've watched almost 10 episodes today. I like that Joe ended up not training on Yoko's gym.

 

[SSJ2]

 

[ahill1]

It's weird that in his writing test Joe wouldn't even consider the answer to the "correct way to defend oneself" besides attacking when that's a lesson he learned while in the prison arc fighting Aoyama.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Kind of weird for you to turn a Devilman thread into an AnJ one without changing the title, but okay.
As for that, it likely has to do with how Joe has shown more of a reliance on one strategy and had his offence over defence approach validated during his fight with Rikiishi.

 

[ahill1]

Changed it now.

I really enjoy the supporting cast and all the incentive Joe is receiving from them. I like that his gym is the most unconventional of them all, placed in the slums and they are about to take the path of pro boxers now. I wish that Danpei's conflict on not being able to take part in issues related to por boxing had a more satisfying resolution, but that's ok. It seems a Joe vs Rikiishi match is bond to happen no matter what. Let's see how it's arranged when they belong to different weight classes.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Danpei's conflict when it comes to what boxing is to him is one that continues to have its place as the Rikiishi Arc goes on, such as how his coaching role is primarily for a selfish desire to live out his former ambitions through Joe that gets explore more later.

Another thing that's done well through the troubles facing the gym is how well the anime/manga captures the struggles of the working class in 60s-70s Japan in a very realistic manner, something accomplished through both Danpei's struggles and little things such as Joe's general attire as well as him spending a lot of spare time spending money on Pachinko in the AnJ2 anime.

 

[ahill1]

@CC

True. from where I'm at Joe began working, him and Nishi and I think all the scenario of where they work seems to represent well what I'd expect of slums back in the 70s of Japan, but yeah, let's see it being more explored.

Joe won his first pro fight using a cross counter. Let's see how his professional path is paved from now

 

[ahill1]

It's nice to see the series' take on talentless and not fit for boxing people. It doesn't insist they can get there if they put all their mind to it, rather that they lack what it takes to get there, with the example being the pressing worker who saved all his reserves to become a boxer.

 

[ahill1]

damn, I feel bad for Niishi. He lost his 3 matches and after the sermon of Danpei he even picked he things to leave.

 

[ahill1]

It was nice to have an episode dedicated to Niishi and it was cool to see how much Joe cared to him with Joe crying at the sight of his loss. However I think it would have been better if he didn't get up, even though I like the character. He getting up and defeating his opponent with one hit right after it made it too conventional and predictable, cliche.

 

[ahill1]

Joe is depending too much on his cross counter. Now that the wolf devised a plan against it, let's see how Joe reacts up to it.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

He getting up and defeating his opponent with one hit right after it made it too conventional and predictable, cliche.

I'd say it's somewhat cheap, even if a bit understandable when adrenaline can be a game changer, though I'd say it's hard to call it a cliche when it was one of the first anime/manga to utilise such.
How Nishi's matches are handled later on are a lot better though, with it taking the more realistic approach of having set limits.

 

[ahill1]

Good catch on this being the first anime to utilize it so from the anime's perspective it might be seen as an innovative aspect, but yeah, if at least the victory didn't come in the way of a punch it'd seem less cheap.

Joe sure is edgy af sometimes. He's pretty harsh on Danpei, sometimes out of the blue.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

You'll see that aspect of Joe for a while, a result of living all his life as a (usually) homeless orphan that isn't good at depending on others. This does lead to great character development and growth for him, particularly around episodes 50-55 of AnJ and the start of AnJ2.