Review of Tomorrow's Joe

Spoiler-less, TL;DR, fast, simple, and easy-to-digest review: Boxing For Tomorrow 10/10 Animation? Good (++) Old, but gold. Both artstyle and animations compliment each other and very advanced at that time. Although outdated in today's standards, there is this charm about the old style that cannot be replaced. There are some repeated and reused drawings from here and there, but it is outweighed by it's own positives. This anime can only be upscaled, not remastered, as it will ruin this anime's magic. Characters? Excellent (+++) Yabuki Joe really stood out among all the MCs that I have seen so far. At first, I hated him for his arrogance, cockiness, violent tendencies,and short tempers. Although his 'wildness' and cockiness are still there, we watch him grow more mature than ever without changing too much of his character. Joe has one of the best character arcs out there. For other characters, most of them really stood out and helped define the MC, especially Rikiishi - best rival of all rival characters I've see so far, and Nishi - one of the best sidekick/wingman.

Story? Good (++)
What turned me off from this anime at first is it's episode count. 79 episodes really took a toll on me and created huge itch on wanting to watch other animes. But I stick around and saw the ups and downs of Joe and it was worth it. Although I couldn't follow up with a sequel since I want to watch the other boxing anime, which is Megalo Box, the last episode of the first part left me satisfied and looking forward for part 2. If you haven't watched this yet, you are in for a long and arduous ride. If you are looking for pure boxing anime though, then this anime is not for you. The story is focused mostly on Joe and his struggles in life and boxing world.

Pacing? Good (++)
It is a slow burn anime with many notable arcs. I won't be spoiling the arcs itself but there will be 2 MAJOR turning points in the entirety of this anime (if using the turning point term in Mushoku) and those are really worth watching and witnessing.

OST? Ok (+)
I'm not a fan of the OP of this anime, but it is unforgettable at best. There are also background tunes, music, and sounds that are really tense, especially in fighting scenes.

Enjoyability? Ok (+)
While this is low in this criteria, I saw this as the hardest journey that I ever watched and I don't regret experiencing it. Seeing Joe struggle within himself, with others, and with his career is not enjoyable but it made me feel something uncomfortable yet rewarding and this anime did a good job on it. This is not highly rewatchable, but I can return to those key moments that defined Joe's life and this anime. I might not enjoy this anime as much as I enjoy SoL and some Isekai trash, but I highly appreciate what this anime is trying to show.

Why 10/10 despite having low scores in other criteria? It is not because I have to score it that way to avoid internet hate. In fact, this is one of animes that I think will be unforgettable for the rest of my life. This 10/10 scoring is reserved for the animes that I think are truly remarkable, even with it's flaws, as even masterpieces are not perfect.