Invincible Fight Girl Ep 4 Review
In many of the Shonen series I’ve read over the years, there comes a point where the protagonist faces some pushback from the world around them. Someone or something out there often considers their goals to be foolish and something they should give up. On the surface, this is done so that they prove their detractors wrong when they eventually win. However, there’s another reason why this is a recurring plot point. As a demographic, Shonen is aimed at young boys and teens who are starting to learn more about the world around them. More often than not, they’ll learn how unfair the world can be and that people will want to see them fail. Invincible Fight Girl has already shown this, but the fourth episode has Andy fight her most brutal battle against this unfairness yet. Not just for her, but for the sake of her new friend, Mikey.
The result? An absolute feast for the eyes that would make Dragon Ball proud.
Shonen Formulas in Action
After seeing how her new friend, Mikey, was miserable under his overbearing dad, Andy challenged his family to a wrestling match. Her goal is two-fold: prove the other Beefpunchas wrong about her being a wrestler and show Mikey he can follow his dream of being a wrestling journalist. However, her opponent is Papa Beefpuncha’s oldest and strongest son, MBrandon.
Whoever came up with that name, you get a pat on the back for how funny that is.
As expected, Andy finds herself fighting an uphill battle right from the start. Her opening move sees her trying to use the same technique she used to win against Immaculate, which doesn’t work. From there, the fight turns into a David vs. Goliath scenario, with Andy serving as David to MBrandon’s Goliath. Though unlike many cases of this scenario, the fight doesn’t turn out how you’d expect. More on that in a minute.
Continuing to show off it’s love of Shonen anime with pride, the fight between Andy and MBrandon is animated much like one would be in a Shonen Series. The two trade blows at high-speeds like they’re in Dragon Ball. There are a ton of exaggerated facial expressions. We even get to hear Andy and MBrandon’s inner monologues as they think about what’s happening in the fight. And despite being kept on the defensive for most of the fight, Andy demonstrates her smarts and determination. First, she uses her size and speed to gain an advantage at several points in the fight. Second, she proves she can take a punch by letting MBrandon hit her several times so she can get a feeling for his fighting style. More importantly, though, her willingness to stand her ground manages to get through to Mikey.
Mikey Steps Up!
Papa Beefpuncha is a horrible dad for his constant belittlement of his youngest son. Despite being talented enough to become a wrestling journalist, his Dad belittles him to the point where he has low self-esteem, and it shows. However, not everyone in his family is like that, as a flashback about his (likely) deceased mother shows. Seeing Andy stand up for him manages to convince Mikey to openly support Andy against his family. And with his knowledge of wrestling, the two come close to winning the fight!
This, though, is when Fight Girl subverts the expectations of David vs. Goliath by having Goliath win.
Yes, despite coming close to losing, once MBrandon starts taking Andy seriously, he ultimately wins the fight. The look on Mikey’s face as Andy lies defeated is heartbreaking. He actually started to believe what she told him, only for his father to cruelly state that that’s the way of the world. Without strength, you can’t amount to anything in life, according to Papa Beefpuncha.
This Show Gets the Shonen Formula so Well
Ironically, this is another instance of the Shonen formula coming into play. Sometimes, the protagonist is met with defeat despite how hard they try, and that leaves them with a choice. They can either give up, or they use that loss to fuel them to do better. Having the resolve to keep going is an important trait to have in life, and Shonen series can be a good way of teaching kids this lesson. In Andy’s case, not only does she refuse to let the loss get to her, but she gets through to Andy…and Craig. The former says his Dad let him go with Andy to follow his dream, but it’s implied he just ran away. The latter also offers to get his aunt to train Andy in exchange for being her manager.
It may seem premature of me, but as it stands, I think Invincible Fight Girl is a love letter to the Shonen genre. The protagonist with the lofty dream with the world trying to drag her down. The exciting animation and exaggerated fights. Not to mention the themes present found in Shonen series. If they keep this up, I’m going to be recommending this series to many people I know who like anime!