From a production standpoint, Ashita no Joe has actually held up exceptionally well compared to many other 70s anime. While it does have animation errors all over the place, the rough, sketchy way in which it is drawn makes it look highly stylized for its time, and due to the rough nature of its art style, the animation errors are far less glaring than they would have been in something cleaner-looking. This style also translates to some very well-animated fight scenes, with surprisingly minimal use of stock animation. My only complaint regarding the production is some of the voice acting, which often sounds monotonous and amateurish. There are a few standouts, though, such as Shuusei Nakamura's take on Rikiishi Tooru, as well as Robert and Carlos being a rare examples of foreign characters in an anime having an audible accent (although why Venezuelans are speaking Engrish is never explained).
The dialogue has aged much more badly, though, as around 90% of sentences spoken in this anime contain the word "Joe", most likely uttered thousands of times over the course of the series, which gets about as grating as you'd expect.
This is a symptom of one of AnJ's most obvious flaws - everybody is obsessed with Joe to an unrealistic extent. This would be understandable if he were particularly charismatic or likeable, but Joe is an antisocial drifter whose earliest actions in the series mostly consist of theft and beating people up. As part of his character arc, Joe starts off as much of an anti-hero as possible, so the fact that he's regarded as though he were some kind of messiah by most people who know him makes very little sense.
My single biggest complaint with the series is Joe's loyal followers, a band of delinquent children who clamour over Joe for reasons that are never adequately explained. They provide most of the show's comic relief, which is never actually funny. They serve no purpose in the plot other than to distract us from it. Their parents also seem to be disturbingly okay with their (sometimes near-suicidal) devotion to a homeless, dangerous, ex-con drifter who has involved them in criminal activity.
This show's biggest strength, on the other hand, lies with the rest of its characters. More than boxing, this show is about becoming a better person. Many characters development revolves around this - Joe starts off as a juvenile delinquent, and progresses to someone trying to make a name for himself. Nishi also begins as a juvenile delinquent, but moves towards becoming a well-adjusted member of society. Danpei quits drinking and dedicates himself to restoring his career as a boxing coach.
The highlights of the cast are Joe's two main rivals - Rikiishi Tooru, and Carlos Rivera. Anime has a strong history of great rivalries, and Rikiishi is perhaps the first great rival in the whole medium. He represents the opposite of Joe - where Joe is rash, easily-angered, and impulsive, Rikiishi is suave, calm, and collected. The direction he takes when he finally finds a boxer worthy of his rivalry in Joe makes for the most compelling arc in the show. Carlos, on the other hand, is supposed to be a clear parallel to Joe, coming from a similar background and rising from his upbringing in the slums.
For all its ups and downs, Joe's story is an engrossing one, and the great characterisation makes it easy to become invested in Joe's developing career. The beginning is quite poor, but once the prison arc starts and Joe begins taking boxing seriously, it's easy to get hooked. The Rikiishi arc in particular is a masterpiece in its own right, and is unfortunately impossible to discuss in detail without tremendous spoilers. Joe is worth watching even just on the merits of that arc.
Final Words: It takes a bit of patience to get into, but overall, I would recommend Joe as one of the better series I've seen from the 1970s.
Story/Plot: 8/10
Characters: 7/10
Animation/Art: 6/10
Music: 7/10
Acting: 2/10
Overall: 6/10
For Fans Of: Slam Dunk, Rainbow
