History Anime / MegaloBox

* SpiritualAntithesis: Overall, the series highlights one of ''Tomorrow's Joe's'' biggest tragedies--the dilemma of the boxers having anything to live for outside the ring. [[spoiler:Many characters in ''Joe'', inlcuding the titular character, end up feeling like boxing is all they have in life, and end up physically and mentally worse for seeking only glory and fulfillment without considering the people around them. However, in ''Megalobox'', a major theme of the second season is ''this'' Joe and others developing bonds with others and deciding to live for their sakes. Even the final battle of the show has Sachio throwing the towel just to spare both Joe and Mac an in-ring death, and Mac is blatantly powered by the care he has for his family. Both men are well aware that ending their title match like this would be unglamorous and lame, but they've already put out a decent showing and they
definitely don't mind if they get to come back to their loved ones.]]
* TakeThat: In ''Nomad'' we meet Sakuma, a charismatic, eccentric tech bro ManChild who at first seems benevolent (if suspicious) in his proposal for brain chips before we eventually learn [[spoiler: he's morally bankrupt and is deliberately hiding the catastrophic dangers of his brain chip technology for the sake of his own ego and profit]]. This is a fairly obvious jab at Elon Musk and his similar "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuralink brain chip]]" [[https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/02/us-regulators-rejected-elon-musks-bid-to-test-brain-chips-in-humans-citing-safety-risks.html affaris]].

* RaceLift: Quite a bizarre example; the manga ''Megalo Box - Shukumei no Sōken'' is a closer adaptation to the source manga, while adapting it to this more Cyberpunk setting... right to having Joe looking like an updated Joe Yabuki. Instead of having the AfroAsskicker, he has his more famous [[PeekABangs emo hairdo.]] Quite a bizarre choice of design.

* SpiritualAntithesis: Overall, the series highlights one of ''Tomorrow's Joe's'' biggest tragedies--the dilemma of the boxers having anything to live for outside the ring. [[spoiler:Many characters in ''Joe'', inlcuding the titular character, end up feeling like boxing is all they have in life, and end up physically and mentally worse for seeking only glory and fulfillment without considering the people around them. However, in ''Megalobox'', a major theme of the second season is ''this'' Joe and others developing bonds with others and deciding to live for their sakes. Even the final battle of the show has Sachio throwing the towel just to spare both Joe and Mac an in-ring death, and Mac is blatantly powered by the care he has for his family. Both men are well aware that ending their title match like this would be unglamorous and lame, but they've already put out a decent showing and they definitely don't mind if they get to come back to their loved ones.]]

* ShoutOut: There are some references here and there to real life boxing. The recurring term of "The Real Deal" to mean a true fighter is likely a reference to Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield, who got that nickname exactly due that kind of comment. Yuri, being a Eastern European TheStoic heavyweight legend with a very orthodox style, owes more thana little to Wladimir "Doctor Steelhammer" Klitschko (even bearing a remarkable physical resemblance). Pepe "Spider" Iglesias also shares his nickname and DanceBattler style with MMA legend Anderson "Spider" Silva.

->''"Not dead yet."''

** Sachio, Sachi's analog from ''Champion Joe'', wears Joe Yabuki's Iconic NiceHat.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Junk Dog is just JD's artistic name, with his real name being unknown, and since he doesn't even have an ID, it's possible he doesn't even have a name. He later choose the name of Joe, based on a "not your average Joe" billboard he saw once.

* SpiritualAntithesis: Overall, the series highlights one of ''Tomorrow's Joe's'' biggest tragedies--the dilemma of the boxers having anything to live for outside the ring. [[spoiler:Many characters in ''Joe'', inlcuding the titular character, end up feeling like boxing is all they have in life, and end up physically and mentally worse for seeking only glory and fulfillment without considering the people around them. However, in ''Megalobox'', a major theme of the second season is ''this'' Joe and others developing bonds with others and deciding to live for their sakes. Even the final battle of the show has (...) throwing the towel just to spare both Joe and Mac an in-ring death, and Mac is blatantly powered by the care he has for his family.]]

* ItWasHisSled: PlayedWith. As an adaptation of ''Manga/TomorrowsJoe'', which is mostly known for its ending where [[spoiler: the titular character dies in the ring]], the series kept foreshadowing the same fate near constantly, [[spoiler: with every episode being plays on words relating to dying, and the bumper "NOT DEAD YET" after every episode]]. It was so on-the-nose that it kept people guessing whether or not the series would go through with a similar ending to its predecessor, [[spoiler: when it ended up going the complete opposite route]].

* NotHisSled: [[spoiler:It's a futuristic remake of ''Manga/TomorrowsJoe'', the main character is pulling a John Henry, fighting immense odds, last episode actually ends on a cliffhanger, there's a whole lot of foreshadowing that he's going to die spread throughout the series... but nope, ''this'' Joe survives the whole series.]]
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Junk Dog is just JD's artistic name, with his real name being unknown, and since he doesn't even have an ID, it's possible he doesn't even have a name. He later choose the name of Joe, based on a billboard he saw once, "not your average Joe".

* RaceLift: Quite a bizarre example, the manga "Megalo Box - Shukumei no Sōken", is a closer adaptation to the source manga, while adapting it to this more Cyberpunk setting... Right to having Joe looking like an updated Joe, instead of having the AfroAsskicker, he has his more famous [[PeekABangs emo hairdo.]] Quite a bizarre choice of design.

A second season of the show called ''Nomad'' begun airing in April 2021. It is set following a seven-year TimeSkip, during which things have changed drastically from where we left off in the first season. Creator/Funimation licensed Nomad, and the dub is available on Funimation's streaming service, FunimationNow.

A second season of the show called ''Nomad'' begun airing in April 2021. It is set following a seven-year TimeSkip, during which things have changed drastically from where we left off in the first season. Creator/funimation licensed Nomad, and the dub is available on Funimation's streaming service, FunimationNow.

A second season of the show called ''Nomad'' begun airing in April 2021. It is set following a seven-year TimeSkip, during which things have changed drastically from where we left off in the first season. Creator/Funimation licensed Nomad, and the dub is available on Funimation's streaming service, FunimationNow.

A second season of the show called ''Nomad'' begun airing in April 2021. It is set following a seven-year TimeSkip, during which things have changed drastically from where we left off in the first season.

* {{Expy}}: The cast is inspired by the ''Tomorrow's Joe'' characters, with some differences here and there.
** Junk Dog is Joe Yabuki, as a rude BloodKnight delinquent, with more of a biker archetype. He chooses the name of "Joe" as his fake name, based on a significant billboard saying "Not your average Joe". He appears to lack Joe's sexism, though.
** Yuri is Toru Rikishii. He shares the same character-acting as his inspiration, and both protagonists call them dogs chained to the Shirato lady. He, however, appears to be a foreigner, unlike Rikishii. His white hair is also akin to Jose Mendoza, who lost the color in his hair during his monumental fight with Joe.
** Yukiko Shirato is inspired by Youko Shiraki, and shares the same appearance and personality.
** Nanbu is one to Danpei, sharing a similar appearance. The main difference between the both of them is that Nanbu decides to enter into the Megalonia tournament because of pressure from the mafia instead of his own volition.
** The Slumdog kids receive an analog of 4 kids instead of 5, with the most relevant of them, Sachi, getting GenderFlipped into Sachio. The character is significantly more developed than the original one, as he has his own reasons of wanting to go to the Magalonia event due to something involving his parents, and is treated as the third member of the main cast.
** Aragaki, a boxer who is a veteran of war who survived an explosion, is inspired by Kim Yong-bi. However, he appears to be a CompositeCharacter as well, combined with Danpei's unnamed former student who abandoned him in ''Tomorrow's Joe''.

* TheLastDance: Nonfatal variant. [[spoiler:Aragaki can't keep boxing because it puts too much stress on his prosthetics: Win or lose, his match against Joe will be his final one.]]

* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: The episode titles feature "death", "dead", or "die".