Nostalgic Anime Retrospective No. 37] The coats and suits that wrap the boxers' bodies ...... and the various "cloths" bring the human relationships in "Ashita no Joe" into relief!

The live-action film "Fullmetal Alchemist" directed by Fumihiko Sori is now in theaters. Many of director Sori's films are based on manga, including "Ping Pong" (2002), "APPLESEED" (2004), and "TO" (2009). Director Sori's live-action film "Ashita no Joe" was released in 2011, but its first film adaptation was in 1970. The first film version was a 79-episode animated television series directed by Tadashi Izaki, which was re-edited and released as an animated feature film in 1980.
In this issue, we will focus on the 153-minute film version of "Ashita no Joe.

What are the two pieces of "white cloth" that separate Joe and Rikiishi?

Ashita no Joe" tells the story of a boy named Joe (Takeshi Yabuki), who was a windbag and was coached by a former boxer, Danpei Tange, because of his boxing talent, until he meets his rival, Toru Rikiishi, in a juvenile reformatory and decides to fight him in the ring. Rikiishi dies immediately after the match, and the film ends with Joe's shock, which is a difference from the TV version.

Let us first look at the scene in which Joe learns of Rikiishi's death. The match, in which both fighters gave their all, ended in Rikiishi's victory, and Joe, the loser, asks for a handshake, saying, "That's Rikiishi. Rikiishi smiles and offers his hand, but then collapses into the ring.
While Joe is resting in the waiting room, newspaper reporters come to inform him of Rikiishi's death. Joe goes to Rikiishi's waiting room in disbelief. As he walks in, he sees a white cloth in the foreground. Joe's hand lifts the white cloth. In the next shot, we see Rikiishi's peaceful death face. The white cloth is the Uchikawari that was placed over Rikiishi's face - the cloth that hid his face. The camera pans down from Joe, who is holding the white cloth, to capture Rikishi's dead face again. The film ends with a close-up of Joe screaming.
Boxing is a sport in which boxers fight each other naked, wearing nothing but trunks, shoes, and gloves. The only cloths they wear are towels or gowns. When boxers wear cloths that have nothing to do with the fight, they may be clad in cloths with special meanings.

This is actually the second time Joe and Rikiishi have parted ways.
The first time was when Rikiishi was released from the juvenile reformatory and Joe was left behind. Rikiishi is dressed formally in a white suit and says goodbye in front of his fellow inmates at the juvenile reformatory. However, when the in-hospital match with Rikiishi is canceled, Joe takes off his jacket to win the match on the spot. Joe punches Rikiishi in the face, leaving his upper body naked. Rikiishi avoids all of Joe's punches, slaps Joe's naked back with an "abayo," and leaves the reformatory.
Joe is full of fight, exposing his upper body like a boxer, even though he is still an amateur, and Rikiishi is dressed in a fine suit. His white suit is a uniform that connects him to society, so to speak, and he rejects Joe, who remains in the reformatory. Here, too, Joe and Rikiishi experience separation through "cloth.

The overcoat over Joe's body, the coat that slips off.

For a boxer who is "on" when he is naked, wearing a cloth means "off. However, in the first half of "Ashita no Joe" the movie, cloth seems to have a more diverse meaning.

At the beginning of the film, former boxer Danpei Tange is treated roughly by Joe, but he leads him down the path of boxing. That night, Joe, a windbag, is camping out on the outskirts of the red-light district when he wakes up to find that Danpei's overcoat is draped over his body. Danpei, on the other hand, has lent his overcoat to Joe and is cold by the fire. For a boxer, your body is your main asset," Joe said. If anything should happen in this cold weather, ......," Danpei muttered to himself. He is taking care of Joe's body because he expects him to become a great boxer.
Joe appears before Danpei to return the over. However, Joe gets into a brawl with some yakuza who show up on the spot and gets locked up at the police station. After beating up the policemen further, Joe is shut up in an abandoned building. Joe's adoring children are with him.

Danpei rides into the ruins to deliver the untouchable Joe to the police. Knowing Danpei's strength, Joe takes off his coat, which he always wears, and stands ready. At this point, let us remember the play in which a girl named Sachi, who was saved by Joe at the beginning of the film, receives Joe's coat.
Joe is thoroughly taken aback by the seriousness of the situation with Danpei. Danpei emerges from the ruins with a battered Joe under both arms. Outside, snow is flying. Sachi gently puts her coat on Joe, who is being held by Danpei, and says, "Old man. Prison must be ...... cold," he says sadly.
Joe is carried to the ambulance by Danpei, but Sachi's coat slips off Joe's body and falls on the snow. The ambulance drives down the snowy road, leaving the coat at Danpei's feet.

The overcoat that Danpei puts on Joe as he sleeps, inviting him to see him and Joe again. The coat that Sachi receives from Joe and returns to him is a sign of her trust in him. The coat left on the snow seems to express Danpei's regret that he had no choice but to beat Joe, whom he had gone to the trouble of admiring, into silence.
In a way, it could be said that the "hanging cloth" and "cloth falling off" in the first half of the film are used to emphasize the emotional connection between Joe and the people around him. However, the suit that Rikiishi wears, and the striking coverings over his face, callously sever the connection between Joe and the rest of the film. The "cloths he wears" and the "cloths he receives" speak surprisingly eloquently of the cruel difference between Joe and Rikiishi's circumstances.


(Text by Keisuke Hirota)