Invincible Fight Girl Episodes 1-4 Review

Join Swimpedia as we review screeners of the first four episodes of Invincible Fight Girl with minimal spoilers, and learn more about their charming, yet thrilling, world of wrestling.

[MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD]

If there’s one thing that modern cartoons love, it’s parodying and paying homage to anime. Adult Swim is no stranger to this game, with several of their own anime parodies including Perfect Hair Forever, Ballmastrz: 9009, and Gemusetto. The network’s newest original show, Invincible Fight Girl, brings standard anime tropes and jokes, and combines it with an adorable, unique art style and punchy action, resulting in a very fun show that makes a great addition to Toonami’s action oriented block.

Invincible Fight Girl, created by Juston Gordon-Montgomery of DC Super Hero Girls fame, focuses on a young girl named Andy from a long line of accountants, who seeks to become the best wrestler in the world. Along the way she makes some new friends, meets a legend-turned-reluctant mentor, and explores the wrestling city of Rustburn. The first four episodes available to critics follows Andy slowly building her team, consisting of a trainer, coach, and manager, all of whom come into the story organically, each with their own backstory and baggage. While some might miss the effectiveness of pilots like Futurama, which assembles the whole crew in the first episode, this show takes its time reveling in the intricate lore found behind every corner of Rustburn City. You can tell that Gordon-Montgomery thought a lot about the intricacies of this world, and it shows through every minute of these first four episodes.

The first episode focuses on Andy’s unfulfilling life as an accountant and her first step into the ring. Episodes two and three focus on her traveling to Rustburn and meeting a whole cast of new friends and enemies, and finally, the fourth episode focuses on her second real fight. Those expecting nonstop action might be slightly disappointed with the character-based world building that episodes 2 and 3 do, but it’s all brought around as episode 4 focuses on one huge, brutal fight as Andy stands up for what she believes in. This second fight definitely manages to top the first, while also showing how much Andy is already developing as both a wrestler and character. These first four episodes cement Andy as a scrappy, likable protagonist and we can already tell it’ll be a good time to see her make her way up the ranks.

Invincible Fight Girl joins Unicorn: Warriors Eternal and My Adventures with Superman in a line of shows originally created for Cartoon Network that were eventually transferred over to Adult Swim, and just like with those shows, you can see why almost immediately. Invincible Fight Girl is entirely serialized, with each episode ending on a cliffhanger, much like the shonen it has such reverence for. The show, while still light, fun, and easily accessible for kids, focuses on some pretty deep issues like the sense of ownership that parents can often feel over their children, and the burden of living up to those expectations. This stuff might’ve flown over the head of a 7-year-old watching on CN, but it’s sure to hit home for the anxiety-riddled teenagers and twenty somethings that make up Adult Swim’s main audience.

Invincible Fight Girl is shaping up to be a highlight for Toonami, and if it keeps up the momentum of these first four episodes, we’ll end the year on a high note. For Toonami fans, there’s plenty of action and world building to keep them entertained. For cartoon fans more broadly, there’s such a charm to the series that is likely to make the show a hit online in the vein of more recent family-oriented serialized American animation. For wrestling fans, it’s clear that the people working on the series have such a love for the pageantry and dedication that goes into wrestling entertainment. The show is sure to find its audience, but either way, we’re definitely looking forward to more!

The first two episodes of Invincible Fight Girl premiere this Saturday night at midnight on Toonami, and next day on Max!