| Gearless Joe | |
|---|---|
| Megalobox character | |
 Gearless Joe | |
| First appearance | Megalobox episode 1: "Don't Let the Simmering Fire Die. It'll Light the Way in the Dark" (2018) |
| Created by | Yo Moriyama |
| Voiced by | Yoshimasa Hosoya (Japanese) Kaiji Tang (English) |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Junk Dog, Nomad |
Gearless Joe (Japanese: ギアレスジョー, Hepburn: Giaresu Jō), also called Junk Dog is a fictional character from the 2018 boxing anime Megalobox produced by TMS Entertainment. Junk Dog is a Megalo Boxer who fights in an illegal underground ring in fixed matches under the guidance of Gansaku Nanbu, and he longs to have a real fight. One day, he encounters Megalo Boxing champion Yuri and decides to defeat him in the competition. Joe enters the ring for his first professional match, but shocks the whole arena by not wearing any gear for the fight, being dubbed "Gearless" Joe, this is all part of Nanbu's plan to have him attract attention. He reappears in the 2021 sequel Megalobox 2: Nomad as a depressed man escaping from his past while meeting immigrants who he befriends while also coming to terms with the sin he committed.
As Megalobox is a tribute to the manga Ashita no Joe, Joe was loosely based on the lead Jo Yabuki. The character was created by director Yo Moriyama who used real life boxers as his inspirations for the fighting style. Similar to Jo, Joe's narrative was made as an homage to his rivalry he has with Yuri's original concept, Rikishi. Joe's more depressed personality was something the staff heavily discussed in the making of the sequel as they aimed to give him a notable character arc. He is voiced by Yoshimasa Hosoya in Japanese and Kaiji Tang in English.
Critical response to Joe's character has been positive with multiple writers seeing him as a likable lead with entertaining fight scenes. He was also found enjoyable to root for and appropriately written in comparison to Jo Yabuki. His characterization in the second season was also the subject of praise based on how he interacts with the new cast and gradually confronts his sins.