Beware - abundance of "Megalobox 2: Nomad", "Tomorrow's Joe" and "Million Dollar Baby" spoilers.

Second Megalobox season - is something that I finally can call a worthy continuation of the “Tomorrow’s Joe”, unlike the first season. I even can say, that you can skip the first season and be perfectly fine. Second season is a complete anime on its own.

I
I will start from the downsides.
Firstly - is that approximately first half of the story heavily relies on flashbacks, that are often more confusing and clunky than intriguing.
Secondly, - main character’s motivation and actions are explained by his past, which is revealed only by aforementioned flashbacks. For this reason at least first four episodes look like main character’s conflict is not substantiated.

II
Now we will continue with pros.
We will start from the basis - general message and meaning of the story. It’s finally quite complex and deep. And authors don’t build these positive characteristics from copying or relying on “Tomorrow’s Joe”, confining themselves in being copying simulacrum. Oh, no, they fully express their independency and self-sufficiency and they are trying to stand as equals with “Tomorrow’s Joe”.

They decide to show that it doesn’t matter, how precious the boxing is for you. It doesn’t matter, how much fire is burns within you. The most important thing is your close ones. So, to stop in time, to relinquish this non-trivial and honorable addiction - it is the greater good, than to die for it.

It’s not just an ode to the family, to the close ones, to the peaceful life.
I was comparing first season with a Rocky exactly because of the simplicity of such story. We can see in such stories, how you can box as much as you wish and then continue living in the happy end style-of-life. It is... quite primitive type of stories, as I think.
Next level - is the deconstruction of such narratives, such as “Million Dollar Baby” or “Tomorrow’s Joe”. Where we can see the ruthless reality of how being the part of lower class, having the hopelessness and fervor, and how they all mix into one captivating, viciously-honorable cocktail of self-destructive addiction to the boxing. And it doesn’t work other way. And stories of these characters become an ode to people, that can be compared with berserks of the past.

And then we can see even further level of rethinking, that I, in my memory, haven’t seen that much in its pure form (in the works about boxing at least). But I have seen it in the second season of “Megalobox” - “Nomad”. Here we can see new level of what we can consider as heroism. What can be worth of our trembling.
Of course, in the first place it’s expressed through the Chief’s image. It’s the character that perfectly outlines main philosophical and moral line of the story. These four episodes could be made into its own separate season, they are so filled with the plot and meaning in themselves.
The question arises - how the story about sacrificing for his home and family man can be anything new and revolutionizing? Well, if we will look through the context of the works about boxing, then we usually see focus on the main character itself, and the main character also focuses only on himself and his wishes. Even in story about Rocky we can see, how he continues boxing even when he is already set for life with his family and already has a brain damage. But he still can’t quit boxing and that becomes the focus of the story.

III
In case of the Chief, everything is turned upside down. He makes a family, and then loses it. Then he finds a new home for yourself. Yes, his social group is in the society’s bottom. But still, Chief himself dully integrated and exist as a complete member. He doesn’t have anything he need to prove or achieve. And he starts boxing again only when necessity to defend his home appears.
When Chief starts boxing again, he doesn’t act in accordance with “boxer’s honor” and he doesn’t try to be a “real boxer”. He just tries to maximize the profit. And by boxing this way he certainly doesn’t get any pleasure from this.

This character - is a full turnaround of main characters in “Tomorrow’s Joe” and “Megalobox”. And through him authors show to the Joe the path that he should choose if he wants to take most benevolent route of the possible ones. But it’s at the same time the hardest one. Yes, to become champion and to beat the crap out of equally mighty opponents isn’t easy at all. But it becomes the comfort zone and a source of enjoyment for such people as Joe. Especially when they know, that they can compete at such levels.

To leave your comfort zone and to throw away ambitions is much harder for such people as Joe. It is by living through ambitions that they were able to have the most successful and meaningful part of their life, simultaneously earning for yourself and your close ones. So having ambitions becomes the most benevolent character trait for them. By earning everything you have through it, it becomes really hard to be able to restrict or even fully abandon it.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that (Tomorrow’s) Joe is being criticized or something and he should’ve stopped. His whole life and character were leading him to this moment and that’s fine. He even died while smiling! Such a lyrical story... But that story also tells us the bad ending for everyone around Joe. Because of his selfishness. So, if Joe would be able to continue living humble life of, for example, a trainer, then this could be a better outcome from the long-term view, although not from the “lyrical story” view.

So, if (Megalobox’s) Joe wants for his close ones want to be happy, if he doesn’t want to be a second Nanbu (grandpa that died) for them, then he has to master such qualities as humility and tranquility.
Yes, Joe found, sheltered and gave them new family thanks to exactly his selfishness, ambitions and drive. And this is commendable. But! He also lost them because of these exact qualities. And all of this commendableness will worth something only if he will be able to care for them. But for this he has to learn humility and tranquility. Yes, he would have to sacrifice his ambitions, potential glory, and the taste of the real boxing. But isn’t family worth it? Otherwise isn’t this would be a story about an infantile boy who still hasn’t grown up? Who still weren’t able to take accountability for his deeds and achievements?

So we have two paths. And “Nomad” votes for the Chief’s path.
“Nomad” shows us that yes, you need individualism and selfishness to achieve your goals, so you would be able to defend yourself and things that you cherish. So that you would be able to employ methods of individualism and selfishness in the bigger framework, by making them to serve the methods of collectivism, your motherland and family. This way achieving ability to, although often restraining, but nonetheless expressing your selfish desires while also having robust and healthy position in your social group.

We see even more examples of characters like Joe, that are, because of such character, harm others and inherently themselves.
Sachio, when he tells Joe to leave. Mio, when he resents towards his own people and race because of inherent hate towards himself.
So, the “Nomad” as if tells us that “yes, you need this kind of character to be able to be a boxer and to defend yourself your close ones. You need to burn, to hate, to move forward. But only when there is time and place for this. But you still need to think level-headed and rationally beforehand and afterhand.”

Through Chief and Mac we can see that it is a lot more enjoyable to live the life of giving to your home, family and close ones, than to engross yourself into a rampant addiction of boxing. This is a peak selfishness. To forget about your ambitions and to start thinking about others to get the best outcome for yourself (like just look at other VTuber companies CEOs and at Sakana).

IV
If we will think about it, we can see the difference between “altruistic selfishness” and “egoistic selfishness” even among characters that are furthest from the box - in scientists.
Ryugo wishes to carry out his ambitions no matter what. Yukiko and Yoshimura stand on the other side of the fence. And who gets the better outcome?
Ryugo is the alternative to Joe, if Joe would fully engross into his egoistical ambitions. Although Joe always was on the crossroad. He had enough selfishness to achieve his goals. But at the same time he had enough altruism to attract people and hold them.
Yukiko is the analogue of Chief. While Yoshimura - analogue of Mio.
We can say that the stories of the scientists and the boxers goes in parallel with each other.

V
In this anime a lot of characters that you are just can’t call primitive. Joe, Sachio, Mio - they all are not ideal and can irritate, can be belittled by the story, but then at the same time they are elevated at one point or another.
Chief also at first was showed as a vile man, at least in the main character’s eyes.
Yoshimura becomes a positive character towards the end of the story, but before that she is acts as a devil’s advocate.
Philosophy of Ryugo becomes flat and one-sided only later in the story, but at first he sets a philosophical question - “Does goal justify the means”? But, however, later in the story Ryugo is shown as somebody who only covers his egoism and ambitions with this philosophy. While not actually following this idea. He doesn’t even try to evaluate objectively the cost of the goal and the means. He only manipulates with the perception of this costs.
And even Santa is showed as a scoundrel-reporter, but that still does not belittle him in the story. It’s his way of living, he still can be a good man nonetheless.
So, the characters writing is quite good in this anime.

VI
First four episodes - is a separate story that revolves around Chief and shows Joe, what he need to do next in his life. Next episodes show, how Joe fixes mistakes of his past. Until the last episodes, where the story about how Joe carries the burden of his and Mac’s obligations towards the society - because of their successes and history. But at the same time they have obligations towards their close ones. And towards themselves.
So, all of these three “circles” of obligations conflict with each other. How they can find most optimal middle ground? And all of this while two fractions of scientists clash with each other around a technology that ties them to a megalobox’s world.

VII
Gears’ lore finally properly incorporated into this story. We have the story of Mara and the story of Chief in this regard. These stories finally show extensively how the lower class can build its own gears and how its related to “megalobox culture”.

VIII
Next strong and important part of this anime is the representation of other culture (although probably mostly fictional, but there is some... parallels), of how you should communicate with other culture, and showing a bit of how multiculturalism works.
We are shown one of the most sensual parts of this culture, explaining them and allowing us to feel them. Because of this the spirit of tolerance and internationalism commendably expressed in this anime.

IX
This anime shows a lot of people, grieving because of a loss that they had. And their attempts to deal and accept with this fact. Their attempts to move forward. This theme is conveyed from the start, with the tale of the colibri. And with the story of Chief, of Joe, and even Mac’s story.
In this sense you can even call this anime as a therapeutical one.

X
So, the “Nomad” is a therapeutical work.
But it surely gives different feelings than “Homunculus”, “Ichi the Killer”, or more conventional “Berserk”, all of which also can be describes as therapeutical works. But they are therapeutical in other sense, they are of a different from “Nomad” kind.
When it comes to these works, they are as if needed to a person on the certain stage of his life. When he is trying to separate himself from the world, other people. When he tries to find his place, his differences from other people, and when he needs to prove the viability and importance of these differences. When he tries to oppose himself towards the world, so he would be able to coexist with it.
And thanks to such works, supporting a person on this journey, he becomes able to fathom, who he is and who he isn’t, what he wants. And it helps him to leave or live through some of the traumas, complexes, without having to dissolve his personality in society.
These works help to overcome the stage of opposing the world exactly because they are praise and express this opposition the most.

But what comes after? After that comes the realization of yourself, your ways to express yourself, your differences from the other people. And with that the understanding of the world and other people should come naturally. So, you no longer feel from they the threat they possess to your personality.
Because of that you can no longer fight them, but explore, understand and coexist with they.
“Nomad” is about this part of person’s journey.

XI
The ending of “Nomad” perfectly reflects with its themes and moral.
Champions came out on the ring, they tested each other, showed each other to the world. But they haven’t gave themselves into the possession of boxing, haven’t gave themselves into their egoistically-passionate character. They stopped. And they accepted this stop as something appropriate and honorable. Not like a defeat, a flee, a shame or incompleteness.
No, this was the expression of them growing up. That they now know, what lies behind their backs. Who they still need to defend and spend their time with.
They gave as worthy respect to their passion and profession as they could. But they haven’t decided to make this passion the only thing in their life and their grave. And this is - the real professionalism. And this is - the real growing up.