Ashita no Joe (Movie)

Ashita no Joe has it's reputation as being the grandfather of sports anime as well as being one of the all time classics to the medium. It lives up to it's prestige, being a sobering account of Joe's rise to prominence in the boxing scene - for all the victories and consequences which it entails. For such a story, it's appropriately gritty and tragic.

The art is noticeably rough. It is hard for this anime to hide it's age, but for those of taste - this will not be an issue, as it's visuals elevate the brutality that is fighting and very much emulates the style ... of the classic manga. The punches and impacts would not feel so 'weighty' had it been animated in a more clean and contemporary way. It genuinely feels like each frame was pulled fresh off the storyboard in the studio, but has a clear passion behind it. Though each line is rough, they flow smoothly and dance when the story ramps up to it's climax, keeping you engaged fully.

The sound is slow and melancholic. The kind that still lingers with you long after you have stopped watching. It captures not just the mood, but the soul of Joe's character when the music drops to it's more somber moments.

Joe as a character is a bastard. You aren't supposed to like him. Not in the beginning, nor even through much of the middle. He has defined flaws and in contrast to his rival Rikiishi, makes you wonder at times why the story is about Joe and not him instead. In a more conventional story, Joe would be the antagonist. What keeps you from turning off the anime due to his behavior is the brief moments where he does do the right thing and can let himself be open with other people. Until this happens more, and more. Joe isn't the bad guy, he is just a person with flaws like everyone else, and he does eventually grow from his mistakes. It is not a change that happens instantly, though, and that is what I appreciate about how this story handled Joe as a character.

Ashita no Joe resonates with me in a way that most other anime cannot perform the same. It has less in common with other anime than it does with classic film as a whole. I am drawn to Joe and his tale in the same way that I am with Rocky and his movie. When I sit down to watch an anime, there is often concessions I will have to make in order to enjoy it: "This anime has great writing, but the anime leaves on a cliff hanger that I'll have to read the manga for" "this one has amazing art, but the fanservice is distracting and unnecessary" etc. I do not have to go through this process, because Ashita no Joe stands perfectly on it's own as an art piece deserving respect and isn't held to the excuses that a lot of anime fans put fourth to justify why their show is good.

Whether it is the show or the movie, do take the pilgrimage of classic anime and enjoy some of what Ashita no Joe has to offer you. It will be an enriching experience, one way or another.

Ashita no Joe is considered a classic, and it's pretty clear why even from this abridged movie. Its arc has a very iconic feel, reminiscent of other underdog sports shows as it follows an unrepentant asshole on his path to redemption through hitting other guys in the face.

The visuals are limited through most of the run, but there are parts, specifically the more intense fights, that get really intense, emphasizing how the fighters are pressing themselves to their limits. When people aren't fighting, it's slow, but I feel like that's just a consequence of having to cut down a 70 episode series into 2.5 hours ... and retaining a lot of critical exposition.

That said, there's not really much to learn from the movie. It rewards Joe for being petulant to a funny, but unhealthy degree, and the moral of the final arc about success not being worth compromising your entire life is more than a little obvious even if it is shown in a really powerful way.

Regularly scheduled disclaimer: I don't believe in the MAL rating system, so ignore everything but the overall score if you actually want to know my opinion for some reason.

Ashita no Joe is a film that's very hard to evaluate or discuss outside of the context it emerged from. It's hard to call it a *good* film, exactly: it suffers from the kind of severe pacing issues you'd expect to emerge adapting a nearly 80 episode story into a single film, and at it's lowest points even the excellent designs can't really save the scenes that are simply underanimated and lacking in life. But viewing the ... film as someone intimately aware of the legacy of Ashita no Joe, it's hard not to instinctively look past the problems and appreciate the movie's best moments and core appeal. For every scene that drags on there's another that moves exactly the way you want it to and shows off the best of Dezaki Osamu's directing, and for all the barebones, underanimated moments within the film there are excellent bits of character animation and engaging fights that put the rough linework and overall aesthetic to great use.

Ultimately I think it is the protagonists and main characters in the film that keep it engaging even when it fails on a moment to moment level. Joe is likable and funny and kind of a jerk, and watching him grow bit by bit and find something meaningful to channel his anger and malaise into is satisfying. He has this roguish charm to him that's just flat out fun even when you're kind of bored and the movie is starting to drag, and despite his cruelty the tiny details in the animation when present make him feel like more than just an asshole and show you a level of interiority and complexity that keeps you rooting for him. The other characters are really solid, too, but the rapid arc of the show leaves moments that should be more dramatic (particularly regarding Tange) out of place and rushed. Still Rikiishi is compelling too, so you're genuinely invested in both sides of the final fight, which make the events of the ending (which I won't spoil if you happen to not know) feel impactful and satisfying.

That's again not to say the movie manages to overcome the structural and pacing problems inherent to it: it tries to adapt a very long story into a movie: a very long movie, but still just a movie. In some ways the length only makes it harder: it manages to slow down enough to be comprehensible, but I think if the fat was trimmed and the story was adjusted a bit those 2 and a half hours or so could be slimmed into a probably better film.

Still, Ashita no Joe is I think worth watching: for historical reasons, yes, but also because there's real value in the animation and characters on display here, and because the story has things to say and stories to tell that have impact and meaning today.