Ashita no Joe/YMMV
- Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: After he returns from juvenile prison, Joe is met with a welcome back party and a newly built gym just for him and Nishi. He doesn't even know how to react, only staring as everybody laughs and dances in front of him. Later that night, while everyone else is asleep, he's crying quietly under the sheets. "This was the first time in his life he had ever felt loved by other people. That was the reason for his tears".
- Fridge Brilliance: Nishi's abrupt personality change wasn't because of characterization marching on; it was because the juvenile prison scared him straight.
- Moral Event Horizon: After Joe humiliates Wolf in the locker room brawl, Wolf retaliates by beating up the neighbourhood children that Joe hung out with. Yeah, while Joe was a terrible Jerkass to him, it's not like the kids had a lot to do with that.
- Periphery Demographic: Mexicans anime fans are love with this series thanks to Mendoza being presented as an (nearly) unstoppable Badass.
- The Problem with Licensed Games: Legend of Success Joe.
- Tear Jerker: The death of Rikiishi. Joe finding out Carlos has gotten a severe case of brain damage after his fight with Jose. And of course, the entire finale, where Joe dies.
- The first one's specially poignant in the anime, because it also included a BIG Hope Spot. Rikishi won fair and square, Joe aknowledged it and wasn't angry at all about that... and when both loser and winner were about to shake hands... BAM. Rikishi's brain damage kicks in, and he simply drops dead. Cue the Pastel-Chalked Freeze-Frame and the narrator explaining what was going on.
- In the first anime, to add insult to injury, Rikishi falls with his hand still extended.
- And about the third one, well... we all know what happened there. Not helped by how right before dying, Joe gives his bloodstained boxing gloves to Youko and tells her to keep them. Soon afterwards, Joe passes away; when Youko realizes that Joe is dead, she drops them in horror, and everyone starts standing up, and then we have THAT image...
- The first one's specially poignant in the anime, because it also included a BIG Hope Spot. Rikishi won fair and square, Joe aknowledged it and wasn't angry at all about that... and when both loser and winner were about to shake hands... BAM. Rikishi's brain damage kicks in, and he simply drops dead. Cue the Pastel-Chalked Freeze-Frame and the narrator explaining what was going on.
- Weird Al Effect: Very few western Otaku have ever seen the original series. But the show has been parodied for so long, and by so many creators, if you've watched a lot of anime, you've seen Joe.