#annojoe

Can i also add that i really like the worldbuilding here? The yokai boxing ring looks like a temple, the towels hanging over the side look like magic scrolls, the round indicator is an olden style lamp, when its on round 1 it looks like eyes, and the bell is actually a yokai! I wonder if this lil dude will ever become playable in the games?

So anyway Rocky is fighting LITERALLY A PIECE OF TOAST. As you do! And both of them have powers that make them super unlucky so its a hilarious war of them slinging punches that entirely fail and you just wondering who'll kick their own ass first XD

Also Whisper explaining boxing moves literally with just traced panels of Ashita No Joe with his face stuck on. (Thats the classic underdog this yokai was based on in japanese, rather than Rocky. Surprised how well that change worked in the dub!)

In the end Rocky just narrowly wins cos when they both collapsed he happened to land on toastman's foot and technically fell last.

Also can i just add that I'm sad that Directator never returned and they even had multiple 'heres the characters acting out different movies/fairytales/whatever very innacurately' type episodes WITHOUT HIM even though that was his whole gimmick! BUT i also feel proud of his assistants for somehow managing to last longer in this series than he did. This was an unexpected cameo! Itd be sad to imagine that this means directator went bankrupt and they all had to get new jobs and thats why we never see him again. So im instead just gonna go witj the headcanon that this is a species of yokai with the powers of being excellent bit parts for every form of employment forever. I hope more of them continue to appear in different jobs in the future! Also i hope that original trio and directator are still off having fun adventures even if we never see them again.

Anyway as is predictable for literallly every episode of this show that has any form of sympathetic character, his small victory is immediately undone and the episode just ends with him even more depressed than before

i worded the original post wrong and ill correct myself now by saying this (and stating my opinion by doing so) but

the military is a stressful place and if youre struggling with your identity (and other mental things) you probably shouldnt be there - especially given that the military can ban you or not let you in for just about anything. you need to focus on yourself before anything else, and thats how i feel about it. the mass majority of people who are complaining about it arent going to join the military, or flat out hate it, and it feels pointless to cry about something you dont want to concern yourself with

trans people were only very recently unbanned from the military (correct me if this is the wrong source or if theyve been unbanned longer), but that was never talked about as any kind of milestone. now them being “banned” again by someone who doesnt have any military authority is on peoples radars. yes, the statement and implications is transphobic, but when did trump or congress actually care about transgender people? again, its not in order yet, and for all we know (especially given the negative backlash) it could be completely shut down

* Rocky used to be a human boxer who not only lost the most important match of his career but also died in a tragic accident. So its understandable why he's so pessimistic now :(

* his lil floaty soul orb coach Patch is just a yokai that was always a yokai. However he used to be a big buff yokai and got sealed away into this weak form due to a similar disaster in his past. He used to be a corrupt coach who gave in to his temptation and forces his young protege to take a dive so he could win some money. This moment ruined the kid's career and the guilt over it crushed Patch's heart so much he de-evolved into this useless lil blob form. Like his concience was saying "you think youre so much better than everyone? See what its like to feel small!" In his process of atoning he met this underdog human ghost, and normally he wouldnt hire someone who didnt look like the could immediately make him money, but he saw the error of his ways and also saw the spark of greatness in this kid!

* Tho also Patch is more of Rocky's tutor in being a yokai rather than boxing itself. Rocky is hard on himself but he was already very experienced at his job before he died and there's not much else Patch needs to teach him. Its more like a circular argument of Patch pointing out that Rocky only lost that fight because he literally died halfway throuh, and Rocky being like NOOOO ITS BECAUSE I'M SO UNTALENTED! And then all the times he messes up due to not knowing how to control his new powers, he blames it again on an innate lack of talent instead of getting back up and continuing to practise. Really his biggest enemy is his own lack of confidence!

* I like the headcanon that Rocky is an oni type yokai cos he has a lot of their design traits. Maybe a human becoming an oni is just a very rare thing thats still actually possible? I think Patch would have probably given him a pep talk along those lines. Like Rocky is feeling like his death is proof that he was useless and never shoukd have tried, and Patch is like "kid you got the one in a million chance and became literally the most battliest type of yokai, do you expect me to think you dont have any potential?!" Like eye of the tiger but its eye of the oni, lol. He might have been scrawny in life but he always had a powerful soul, and now theres no limitations stopping him from living up to it. Only the limitation that his strong soul has been chained up by all these fears and regrets...

* Possibly has a super mode whenever he rarely gets a burst of confidence? Horns get bigger and his shorts become oni patterned even though that doesnt make any sense, lol. And maybe instead of his powers causing your anxieties to come true, he temporarily becomes able to accomplish things his anxiety told him were impossible! Just once, Rocky Badboya actually wins...!! But afterwards he's totally exhausted and gets hit with loads of minor bad luck for the next few days. (Tho just like ripping his pants or dropping money down the drain, not as bad as dying twice)

* also Patch Is His Dad. Not his bio dad obviously, but i feel like his mentorly relationship is very dadly. Since after all even if he doesnt want to accept it, Rocky IS a very talented young man who would have been on his way to greatness if not for his accident. Patch came in expecting to coach him on actual punching but its become more like helping this kid get therapy, take care of himself, and know he has value. And since he just died he didnt really have anywhere to stay, and since Patch just lost The Ability To Have Arms And Thumbs it was helpful having this kid around doing chores and stuff. And then WHOOPS oh no i am caring deeply about his wellbeing and feeling the pride as if he were my own son!! And whoops i am learning to use a pen with my teeth so i can sign these adoption papers!! Whoops, totally accidental!! I bet he was mega tsundere about the whole thing and took forever to actually ask Rocky if he saw him as a father figure and then the kid was hugging him before he could even finish his sentence. And for maximum feelgood boxing movie cheesiness, maybe this is what broke Patch's curse and let him turn back to normal? LET ME HUG YOU WITH MY ONCE AGAIN EXISTING ARMS, SON

* also possibly Rocky's pessimism/anxiety/self hate was already something he struggled with as a human, and having his fears validated by losing that one fight just made it even worse. Perhaps having overly judgmental parental figures could have been a root of this problem, to make him getting adopted by this sweet grumpy old man even more heartwarming! HE FINALLY FOUND BOTH HIS REAL FAMILY AND HIS CONFIDENCE IN HIMSELF...

Compilation of Rocky Badboya being cute~!

His episode starts with Nate suddenly being very pessimistic and also unlucky, always doing a super dramatic boxing pose after things go wrong

He uses the watch to find Rocky inspiriting him, and Whisper is like "hey this is the yokai of having no confidence in yourself, his power is to make all your worries come true so you hate yourself even more. Maybe we can fix this by helping him finally win a match so he feels better about himself?"

Also this.

So we have the cute training montage i showed earlier, full of his powers malfunctioning on himself to make everything go wrong. But luckily he has his super supportive coach/parental figure Patch who's always cheering him on! I was surprised that they actually gave patch a super squeaky jibanyan esque voice ans Rocky got the deep voice i expected for patch! Ehh I feel like a tiny cute thing that sounds like a grumpy old man is funnier than a tiny cute thing thats just a tiny cute thing.

So its time for the grand title match!! Yaaaa!

WHY IS HE FIGHTING