Creed III – A Love Letter to Anime

Are you a sports fan? Or perhaps a Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors enthusiast? Well, consider yourself lucky, because the highly-anticipated Creed III movie has just hit theaters, also marking Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut!

Picking up a few years after the events of Creed II, the movie follows Adonis as he enjoys success both in his career and family life. But things take a dramatic turn when Damian, a former boxing prodigy and Adonis’ childhood friend, reappears after serving time in prison, eager to prove his worth in the ring.

As the two former friends face off, their battle becomes more than just a fight. Adonis must risk everything to settle the score with Damian, a fighter who has nothing to lose. Don’t miss the adrenaline-pumping action and intense drama of Creed III!

For the Love of Anime

It is a well known fact that Michael B Jordan is a HUGE anime fanboy. During a recent BBC Interview he mentioned some of his favorites are Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, Hunter x Hunter, Bleach; just to name a few. He even went as far as to infuse some of his favorite qualities and tropes from anime into the film – quoted as saying

“Usually in anime, during a physical battle between the protagonist and the antagonist where they aim to take each other’s heads off, the emotional connection is made in a quiet moment of conversation. While fighting is the only way they can communicate physically, talking remains the only way to express their feelings towards each other.”

 

Saturday AM Goes to the Movies

Joshua from our graphic design team had the pleasure of checking out the film. He had this to say about his first impressions of the Movie.

“Personally, what really stood out to me about Creed III’s use of anime themes and concepts was how innovative some of the scenes felt. From the jump you could feel the inspirations in every shot, chances were taken that you normally wouldn’t see in a traditional sports/boxing film.

I think an excellent example of this was the usage of slow motion captures and speed dodges in the first fight. Even the overarching rivalry between Adonis and Damian felt so anime inspired that it was hard not to take notice of the influence the genre had on their development. Most people will look to the last fight as the pivotal moment where the anime influence became clear, but if you pay attention to how the movie tells it’s story it’s really easy to notice the influence that anime had on the directorial decisions.

The last thing I’ll say is that taking a sports film like Creed III and allowing it to tap into the vast realm of anime served to create something uniquely refreshing. It’s one of those things that when you’re done watching makes you go “Why wasn’t it always done like this?”

 

This movie looks spectacular and it’s obvious how much time and effort went into crafting it into something memorable that both boxing and anime fans alike.  Michael B. Jordan has definitely left his mark as a director with this one!

Psss hey, if you’re looking for some more intense drag out knock down fights you should check our series UNDERGROUND by JR De Bard. The story follows Karim Yun, a skilled Taekwondo fighter, who competes in New York City’s underground MMA scene. He seeks to challenge his older brother, Elijah Yun, who is the head instructor at their father’s dojang and a Taekwondo master. Despite Karim’s experience as an underground fighter, he wonders if he can defeat his brother’s natural talent as a martial artist.

 

Pre Order Underground Vol. 1 HERE

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