EXCERPT: Why Creed III’s Anime-Inspired Final Fight Doesn’t Work

Michael B Jordan’s anime-inspired sequence exposes the hollowness at the core of his directorial debut

(Scroll to the bottom of this piece if you’d like to see my first attempt at the above image)

Not too long ago, I put out the following tweet:

It’s not the hottest take I’ve ever had, but revisiting this subject made me think of the piece I wrote about Creed III last year. The only issue was that when I went back to read my take on this fight, it was f*ckin buriiiied. That was a very long piece, I had a lot on my mind. But because I think there’s a really interesting discussion to be had about MBJ’s use of anime throwbacks (especially in an era where more studios are hell-bent on forcing anime to live-action), I decided to cut the excerpt of that piece and make its own thing.

Why? I don’t really know. Just think I made some interesting points and would like to expand on them at some point.

So let past Jake get into it…

When Adonis and Dame finally clash in the ring, they exchange blows that have almost no weight behind them because I don’t really know what winning would mean to either of the two characters, the fight exists to stop Dame more than it exists to save him. But… like… stop him from doing what? Keeping the title? If the implication is that Dame’s newfound status is going to his head and leading him into a self-destructive cacoon of his own vices then maybe do a bit more with that?! This was an amazing opportunity to use the classic anime “men connect with their fists” trope and really delve into the relationship, history, and insecurities shared between two Black men.

Compare this with Donnie’s fight with Маленький Drago, where victory for Donnie would mean finally overcoming his father’s legacy, avenging his previous humiliation at the hands of his opponent, and providing some level of closure and catharsis for Rocky, while victory for Маленький Drago will mean finally making his father happy and gaining the approval of the country and mother that abandoned them.

Ivan Drago throwing in the towel to end the fight and protect his son is an emotional climax 30 years in the making and delivers multiple layers of resolution to the arcs of multiple characters.

When Donnie defeats Damien and celebrates his victory, I almost see him as a villain, taking back the title he’d already won and willingly given up, basking in the adulation of fans he already has, and reveling in the victory that none of us doubted he would get because what edge does Dame have over him? Not age. Not money. Not equipment. Not the son of the greatest trainer who ever lived. There’s almost an underlying blindspot to class dynamics as Adonis uses the numerous resources that he gained through both hard work but also nepotism to defeat his former friend whose main flaws seem to deride from his proximity to the “hood” and “thug behaviour”.

Seriously, was the shot of Donnie standing atop the HOLLYWOOD sign and screaming supposed to make me root for him? It looks amazing, but it just serves as a reminder of who the real underdog is here and who has truly suffered from the circumstances they were born into.

They didn’t even go the Rocky III route of having Dame be cartoonishly evil but also setting him up to be a real threat to Donnie by exposing the weaknesses in his mindset, his complacency, and the deficiencies in his boxing ability.

The fight itself completely lacks stakes, and this issue is in no way helped by Michael B Jordan’s anime-inspired direction of the fight.

I think MBJ’s direction in Creed III is great to look at, the cinematography in some sections is electrifying with brilliant set pieces like Felix’s entrance and the fight choreography being incredibly fun for me. This generation of filmmakers and animators have been inspired by the anime that inspired me and we absolutely love to see it.

The anime influences are clear for all to see in Donnie’s fight with Dame, the latter takes a page out of the iconic boxing anime Hajime no Ippo to employ the titular character’s famous Dempsey Roll, and the visuals of the fight heavily mirrors the heart-breakingly brutal Kakashi-Obito fight from Naruto.

The issue is that Jordan tries to utilize anime visuals but misunderstands what makes those visuals so effective within their stories. The Kakashi-Obito fight doesn’t hit hard purely because of the tight choreography and the way in which mangaka Masashi Kishimoto visually isolates the characters while throwing in flashbacks for good measure. Kakashi and Obito’s duel is the masterful culmination of dozens of chapters of characterization, foreshadowing, set-up, and pay-off.

WARNING: The next two paragraphs contain anime analysis.

From Kakashi’s introduction, we know him to be a man who values loyalty to his friends over the success of any mission (he’s a ninja, ninjas do missions, stay with me if you haven’t seen Naruto), this principle is so important he scuppers the dreams of any potential shinobi who fail to understand this in his famous bell test (it’s a whole thing, again, stay with me). We see glimpses of the hole that Obito’s death left in Kakashi’s life through the latter’s constant lateness, always taking the time to visit his “fallen” friend’s grave to vent his feelings; we see Kakashi’s loneliness when he sits Sasuke’s angsty ass down with the revelation that everyone he loves is dead; and after all of this subtle character work, we finally get the full story of Kakashi’s tragic childhood, his friendship with Rin and Obito, and Obito’s ultimate sacrifice which leads to Kakashi receiving his iconic Sharingan and a lifetime full of regret in Kakashi Gaiden, a short story that was specifically chosen to be the prelude to Naruto Shippuden where Obito is revealed to be one of the (numerous) final villains.

In Obito, we have the other side of that coin, a dark reflection of the series protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki. Obito’s optimism and refusal to give up on his friends changes the previously cold and rigid Kakashi, and the former’s desire to prove himself an equal to the latter mirrors the rivalry between Naruto and the love of his life, Sasuke, creating yet another layer in their fight. The fight between Obito and Kakashi is a fight for Obito’s soul, which has become bitter and corrupted after numerous tragedies, and when it ends with Kakashi’s victory, he doesn’t celebrate, he merely laments how far his friend has fallen.

Now, I’m not suggesting that Donnie and Creed’s fight should have the same level of writing and depth as a 700-chapter manga, my point is that by using such over-the-top visual call-backs to evoke the spirit of a much more layered fight, Jordan simply highlights the narrative hollowness in his own, and risks leaving viewers confused and overstimulated. When those prison bars appear in the ring, this is clearly supposed to be a powerful, iconic moment, but… meh. The meaning behind those bars is completely lost because we didn’t see Dame in prison or see what prison did to him, his flaws don’t reflect the effect that prison had on his mental state, they simply come from this gross idea that he was Donnie’s hood friend.

(There’s also the more minor issue of the fight having very little stakes because Donnie’s boxing prowess is kind of vague. We’re often told he’s one of the best ever and has surpassed his father, but we’re not shown it. Rocky’s fights had stakes because we knew his limitations and shortcomings so when the tide of the fight changes, it doesn’t just feel like a standard back-and-forth dictated by the plot. Anime fights like Naruto and Sasuke’s have added stakes because we know what the two characters are capable of and how they counter each other’s abilities… until they become giant technicoloured monsters.)

In short-changing the bond between Donnie and Dame, Creed III ends up feeling like a missed opportunity to showcase two Black men navigating the complications of their relationship. We’re told that the two still love each other, but we’re not shown this nearly enough for the downfall of their relationship to feel like anything more than another protagonist vs antagonist story, and that’s a real shame. It’s ironic that in a film that’s meant to shed the shadow of Rocky, the writers end up leaning on the Rocky formula while completely misunderstanding what made it great.

Shonen anime is full of emotionally bombastic characters who put everything into their dreams, cry for each other, express love for each other through deep internal or external monologues and gestures, and endure unimaginable heartbreak and pain with a fierce sense of optimism, Dame and Donnie don’t really do this for each other enough, but do you know who did? Apollo Creed and Rocky Balboa.

Now that was some real anime shit.