The Downfall of “Gearless” Joe
Megalobox is one of my favorite anime, and I couldn’t be happier that it got a second season in Megalobox: NOMAD. The return of Joe and the high-stakes world of Megaloboxing has come off to a powerful start as we see a new side of Joe, one that has been beaten by the world and adds a delightful new edge to the story.
NOMAD takes place five years after Megalobox saw Joe win the highest title in Meagloboxing despite his lack of the mechanical Gear that makes the sport unique. So it was quite a shock when the very first scene of the new show has Joe boxing with an old set of Gear. He’s assumed the title “Nomad,” a wandering fighter who moves from ring to ring to scrape together a meager living in a harsh world.
The most notable shift in NOMAD is how Joe’s character has changed. In the first season, he was a driven fighter with a clear goal: rise to the top. Joe was tenacious and as scrappy a fighter as they came.
The Joe we meet in NOMAD a drastic change. Joe’s no longer driven by anything but the drugs he’s grown addicted to, small green pills that destroy his ability to stand in the ring. The drugs also give Joe vivid hallucinations of his old partner, who has passed under mysterious circumstances in the time skip.
This isn’t the only change NOMAD makes, however. There’s a very distinct class structure in Megalobox. Joe came from the slums outside a gleaming city, assuming a false identity to get in. Now he’s returned to the dirty world outside, a dry landscape filled with refugees who give Joe a place to stay. This setting is the perfect landscape to showcase who Joe has become. He’s not at the top of anything anymore. Nobody knows that Joe is Joe; he’s just Nomad. Another face in the crowd.
It gives NOMAD a distinct sense of continuity. Megalobox was the story of Joe’s ascension and NOMAD is the story of his fall. The end of episode 2 implies that Joe has begun to turn his life around as he agrees to help Chief box his way to the top of a high-stakes tournament that determines the fate of an entire community. Whether Joe will be able to regain his former glory or not is up for grabs, but it’s certainly a story I want to follow.
