'Megalo Box' Latest News: Promotional Video Features Yoshimasa Hosoya Voicing Junk Dog
A promotional video has been released for the upcoming Japanese sports anime series, "Megalo Box." The series is inspired by the popular 1968 manga series "Ashita no Joe (Tomorrow's Joe)," written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Tetsuya Chiba, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
The 15-second video features the main protagonist named Junk Dog, who will be voiced by Yoshimasa Hosoya. The character is described as a man who doesn't bear a name other than the one he uses when he fights on the ring. He is a regular boxer caught in an illegal underground boxing ring where he just can't seem to win.
However, when he encounters a certain man on a fateful day, his life as both a man and a boxer will change forever.
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The source manga has since inspired multiple television anime series and films, as well as a 2011 live-action film that starred Tomohisa Yamashita as the titular character Joe Yabuki. A stage play adaptation was also shown in Tokyo in 2015.
When asked about his impressions on "Ashita no Joe," Hosoya said that this was "what cool looks like" and has since been interested in playing a similar kind of character. He also said that he would be working hard to provide the voice of Junk Dog and make the viewers yearn for more of the clumsy new character in the "Ashita no Joe" world.
You Moriyama will be directing, and he will also be handling the conceptual design for the series. He has previously worked as an animation director for "Master Keaton" and "Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine," and as a concept designer for "Attack on Titan" and "Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress."
Other staff members include Katsuhiko Manabe and Kensaku Kojima, who will both be in charge of writing the scripts, and musical artist mabanua, who will be handling the music composition.
Moreover, a manga adaptation titled "Megalo Box ~Shukumei no Souken~ (Megalo Box ~The Twin Fists of Fate~)" by Chikara Sakuma will also be launched in the March issue of Kodansha's manga magazine, "Shounen Magazine Edge," which is due out on Feb. 17.
"Megalo Box" premieres sometime in April 2018 on TBS and BS-TBS. Information on the official broadcast schedules and online resources will be available on the series' official site at a later date.
