Nomad: Megalo Box 2

Tale of the Nomad

Nomad: Megalo Box 2 (NOMAD メガロボクス2) is the sequel to 2018’s Megalo Box anime. I liked the original season, but I think Megalo Box 2 is actually better. And I’m not the only one who thinks that — this season has a higher average rating on MyAnimeList than the first.

Something you should know about Megalo Box 2 is that it’s very different from the original season. The story it tells is different, as is the structure of the season as a whole. But, that’s actually what made me like it more.

Megalo Box 2 takes place multiple years after the end of the first season. We also get to see how Joe and Yuuri’s final match ended. You may recall it was left kind of ambiguous at the end of the previous season.

I believe it was implied that Joe won, but we never actually saw it happen. This time around, we see that he did win. Yuuri then went on to become a trainer for a new up-and-coming Megalo Boxer named Liu, who eventually fought against and defeated Joe.

As for Team Nowhere, Nanbu (Pops) died and Joe left to travel on his own after basically being kicked out by Sachio who felt Joe wasn’t there for Nanbu in his final moments. That’s a whole thing I won’t get into here.

But, what this season is really about is how Joe comes back from the lowest point in his life. He learns about the importance of family, how your home is wherever your family is, and that megalo boxing isn’t all there is to life.

If you want to see Joe really develop as a character, Nomad: Megalo Box 2 is definitely worth a watch.

Life After Team Nowhere

After leaving Team Nowhere, Joe wanders around on his motorcycle and enters low-level megalo boxing matches under the name Nomad. However, he doesn’t do this because he wants to keep boxing. Rather, it’s all he knows how to do and he needs money.

What does Joe need money for? Well, aside from gas for his motorcycle (probably), the main thing he spends his money on is painkillers. Joe’s become dependent on painkillers, as do many megalo boxers, apparently.

However, when he meets another megalo boxer who goes by the name Chief, Joe’s life begins to turn around. Chief teaches Joe the importance of his own life by telling him the story of the Nomad and the Hummingbird.

The gist of the story is that there’s a nomad on a journey to end his life, and he keeps getting bothered by a hummingbird. The nomad tells the hummingbird that he has nothing, to which the hummingbird responds that he has eyes to see, ears to hear, legs to carry him, etc.

Then the hummingbird dies and the nomad realizes how special the fact that he’s still alive really is. After burying the hummingbird, the nomad then travels back home.

Throughout the season, we’re told the story of the nomad and the hummingbird multiple times. In fact, I’d say we’re told it almost too many times. But, this story is important because it represents the journey Joe is currently on.

Joe, who goes by the name Nomad in the ring, has effectively been on a journey to either die in the ring or from a drug overdose because he feels his life is worthless. But Chief, who has a hummingbird on his gear, teaches Joe how important life is.

The dynamic between Joe and Chief in this season is pretty refreshing after the first season.

Return of Gearless Joe

There have been some spoilers in this review so far, but now is when I’m going to get to some of the more major spoilers. Specifically, this section of the review is going to be looking at the end of Joe’s journey and what led him there.

So, as you may have guessed, Chief dies just like the hummingbird in the story. The gear Chief used in the ring was built by both him and his dead son, and he leaves the gear to Joe upon his passing.

Moving away from Joe for a moment, remember how I mentioned that Yuuri has a student, Liu, who previously defeated Joe? Well, he was defeated and hospitalized by another boxer named Mac who has a chip implanted in his brain that increases his capabilities.

While this chip has given Mac his life back, previously having been paralyzed, it also causes issues with his brain and makes him go on rampages. Because of this, he was in danger of losing his family, and his character arc runs parallel with Joe’s.

Now, at the end of the season, Joe gets in the ring with Mac. And this is where Chief’s gear becomes relevant again. Joe is no longer “gearless” Joe. He fights using Chief’s gear in honor of Chief and his son and everything Chief taught Joe.

Before the fight, Joe also makes up with Sachio, who only agrees to let Joe enter the ring if he can throw in the towel whenever it looks like the fight isn’t going to go Joe’s way. Sachio doesn’t want to lose Joe again.

In the end, after a few rounds of fighting, Sachio throws in the towel. Even though Joe doesn’t win the fight, I think this was a great ending. Boxing isn’t everything. Joe understands that now.

Conclusion

I give Nomad: Megalo Box 2 a 7/10, which is the same score I gave the first season. But, I do think this season was the better of the two. So you can think of it as a higher 7/10 than the original Megalo Box got. I’m not going into decimals or a 100 point scale, though.

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