Besides colors not being pretty, what else did Ashita no Joe do wrong to not be considered a masterpiece, or at least close enough? The main character's development is among the best, the rest of the cast is great, the story is inspirational, plus everything you mentioned here.
You are viewing a single comment's thread from:
it's 10 times longer than its material required
So not enough complexity/content to justify its duration, there are more complex shows that lasted half AnJ's time and still work nicely. That's fair enough.