Megalobox - Season 1

"Rocky from the Slums - the animation" is actually an appealing anime series. Granted, it is a classic rags to riches story that sports anime never seems to tire of, and even some of the storylines are pretty predictable. However, there are a few of these kinds of shows around, and they can still be pretty enjoyable. I find this style of animation is really engaging, it is slightly old-school and everything looks so good and is so very well drawn and detailed. In addition to that, the boxing matches are just great. Action-wise I enjoyed Megalobox probably as much as anything else in anime season Spring 2018. There are some interesting characters and the show is reigniting my faith in the magical power of the afro, which I think was first sparked by Luffy in One Piece. They even produced some pretty decent hip-hop, at least I think it was hip-hop, I never really understood music like techno and rap, as they mostly passed me by, but damn this music really suits the show! I was also pleased with the ending itself, whith a rather good use of the old Russian animal fable, which I had heard a few times before, The Scorpion and the Frog. I also appreciated Yuri's decision to have a fair fight or the fact that they did not needlessly drag out the actual denouement of the final fight...in other words, there were no over-emotional Rocky-style moments. I was very satisfied, so, 7/10. (04.04.2021)