Last Updated on by
Announced in 2022 alongside projects like the now-cancelled Driftwood, Invincible Fight Girl, the latest addition to the Toonami lineup, took a while to come out. Whether that was because of the Warner Brothers merger with Discovery, the subsequent writing off and canceling of projects from the old regime when they took over, or the weird decision to move it and a number of other shows originally announced for Cartoon Network and Max (formerly HBO Max) shows from the planned release as apart of ACME Nights on CN to Adult Swim, we’ll probably never know. Some of the other shows that saw this same move should be familiar to Toonami viewers, with titles like Genndy Tartakovsky’s Unicorn Warriors Eternal and DC’s, My Adventures with Superman. The decision to move them over to Adult Swim was a weird choice and in hindsight these shows, save for Batman: Caped Crusader (which moved from CN to Amazon Prime), all could have appealed to the teen/young adult audience on CN, but it seems network executives believed differently. On one hand, it is incredibly sad to see Cartoon Network no longer being the network of unique and creative experiences that appeal to all audiences that you can only get through them, but on the other hand, I am glad that these shows are at least getting out there one way or the other. If Adult Swim, and by extension Toonami, have to be the place where these shows can live and foster a community, then so be it.
The story of Invincible Fight Girl follows Andy, a young girl who as a little kid went to a wrestling match and became inspired to be a wrestler herself. The one problem: she’s from a family of accountants on Accountant Isle and only has baseline knowledge of wrestling. After the events of episode one, she is on her way to train and become the best wrestler of all time.
The show was created by Juston Gordon-Montgomery, whose previous work was as a writer and director for the Lauren Faust-ran (and sadly, now written off) DC show, DC Super Hero Girls. Not a large resume from what I could find, but he apparently was good enough that Cartoon Network gave him the greenlight to make this show about a girl who’s into wrestling. The influence of Invincible Fight Girl is obvious, with clear inspiration from the manga and anime of Shonen Jump. The wrestling angle could be a direct influence from the anime Ultimate Muscle (aka Kinnikuman II Sei), obvious references like power levels or ki being shown acting as a direct reference to Dragon Ball Z, and episode endings have a “To be continued” card that is clearly inspired by One Piece. The team’s love of anime is very open throughout the episodes received for review, and the staging and action scenes are all good. If I were to nitpick anything, I do think the animation isn’t as tight as the shonen it’s inspired by. The fights, and punches especially, tend to look floaty and the animation lacks that impact or the weight of those over-the-top shonen action series that inspired this show.
Despite those minor issues, Invincible Fight Girl is a good time and will probably be a great way to cap off the year for the block. I understand that there are people who believe the show is aimed at a younger audience and that it will feel out of place on Adult Swim. However, to be honest, it feels right at home on Toonami. A show about believing in yourself and following your dreams makes perfect sense on the action cartoon block and it’ll be a fun time for viewers of all ages regardless of who tunes in.
Final Verdict
7.5/10
