Ashita no Jô

Amazing anime. It's a grown up anime. It's harsh. But it's also touching without being kitsch. This is an anti-kitsch, loving and touching rash story. Beautifully made.

It suffers from lack of technology, of course. Even the plot won't follow modern graphics of tension and release. This is old fashioned. It's like reading a book. One of my favorite shows.

My fellow reviewer is the main reason I'm writing this review. He couldn't understand "the cartoonish design of the seven kids" and why wouldn't they grow, so I want to give him my thoughts on that. Read his review, for a detailed commentary on other aspects of the show - it's a very good review.

Here we go:

Cartoonish kids are supposed to be cute. These are the ugliest kids I've ever seem in animation. It IS unsettling. I think that's part of the plan. They are poor. It's a sick world. They are ugly kids.

And they DO change, as time passes. Specially the kid with the big teeth and the older kid, Taro, they change a lot during the 79 episodes. But they won't grow. They don't have food. Poor kids don't grow properly. They're underdeveloped. They are not normal kids. They are poor kids. I think that's the underlayment to those kids and I think it's heartbreaking.

That's some sophisticated way to deal with children in cartoon. This show is the opposite of kitsch and it's harsh, but it's not pessimistic. That's what's special about it. It's uplifting and full of hope and wisdom and lessons about overcoming problems.

It's a wonderful work of art.

Also, great music.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from Ashita no Joe. I thought it was just one of those old-school anime that purists overhype out of nostalgia. But I was completely blown away. It's so much more than a boxing anime - it's a deeply human story. Joe might be the most authentic character I've ever seen in anime. He's raw, flawed, and painfully real. His growth feels natural, every decision he makes, every reaction, just fits perfectly. You're not just watching him fight in the ring, you're watching him struggle through life, through pain, anger, loneliness.

What really hit me was how the series tackles themes like grief, exclusion, jealousy, and the search for meaning - all with subtlety and honesty. There's this lingering sadness throughout the story, but somehow, there's also warmth and hope in the darkest moments. It never feels forced. It's just real. Ashita no Joe isn't just a cult classic - it's a timeless masterpiece that grabs you by the gut and stays with you.

Really really good anime with good vibe and realistic story.it is one of the best anime that i watched in my life.ths story of a homeless guy that make history.the anime is an idol for so many anime even for dragon ball and its amazing how this anime is good.the drama only is one of the best drama.old but gold.

Ashita no Joe isn't a show about boxing, it's a show about a man who boxes. And yet it's the best sport anime I've ever seen.

But Ashita no Joe is less about boxing as a sport, and more about how it can become the very lifeblood for a man, and how that affects him and those around him.

The story of Ashita no Joe, seen through Joe Yabuki (amazing protagonist) as a character, was very influential to the young crowds at the time. Joe's journey through life, his strive to find meaning in a beforehand meaningless existence, his brash attitude, combined with the state of the Doya slums, created a very relateable figure for the younger crowd back in 1968.

It even went so far that they constructed an (real life) funeral for a deceased, fictional character. The creators themselves had difficulty believing how much of an impact Ashita no Joe had as a story.

While Hajime no Ippo (another boxing anime) had a huge impact in terms of Manga field because of its longevity, characters and other things, Ashita no Joe was a social piece of art which became the symbol of a young population protesting on the streets, it went beyond the borders of its media to become a cultural and social symbol.

Ashita no Joe is one of the few shows I consider peak fiction and Joe was the best main character I've encountered.

I did not watch the first season of Ashita no Jo, as I was not able to find it through my usual means of accessing Anime. After having watched Ashita no Jo 2, I can confidently say that you do not need to watch the first season to enjoy the second. It does reference the first season a number of times, but in such a way that it fills the blanks while doing so.

Ashita no Jo 2 is a special anime. The show does not try to convince you to have a certain perspective about the protaganist and his flaws, it simply takes you on a journey where some of the most powerful and inspiring aspects of human nature can also represent the most heart-breaking and disappointing results.

AJ2 seemed like it was going to be one thing as I ventured into the first half of the show, but it became something that held more depth, pain and within those qualities, beauty - than I imagined it would.

I believe that we as viewers are most drawn to characters in movies/books/tv that convincingly represent human traits and flaws in their more extreme places on the spectrum. Jo Yabuki is the epitome of finding fulfilment in the simplicity of one's passion, at cost to all other things, if necessary. The people around him represent balanced desire, normalcy, without this being portrayed as negative. He is what many wish to be, but fear being. Passion, in it's purest, most undiluted form. How beautiful, how tragic.