Invincible Fight Girl
GenreAction comedy[1]
CreatorJuston Gordon-Montgomery
Voices
NarratorKeith David
ComposerMike Reagan
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Num seasons1
Num episodes10
Executive producer
Producer
  • Sophia Monico
  • Rochelle Perry
EditorPaul Douglas
Runtime22 minutes
CompanyCartoon Network Studios
NetworkAdult Swim
First airedNovember 3, 2024
Last airedDecember 22, 2024

Invincible Fight Girl is an American animated action comedy television series created by Juston Gordon-Montgomery for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim.[2] The series premiered on November 3, 2024, in the United States on the Toonami programming block and on the streaming service HBO Max shortly after its initial broadcast.[1]

Premise

A young girl named Andy, living in Wrestling World, endeavors to become the best pro-wrestler ever.[2][3][4]

Characters

Main characters

  • Andronicus Dependent "Andy" Smith (voiced by Sydney Mikayla)[5] – A young girl dedicated to becoming the best pro-wrestler in the world, even though her parents want her to be an accountant instead
  • Aunt P / Quesa Poblana (voiced by Rolonda Watts)[5] – A retired and cynical wrestling champion
  • Craig (voiced by Paul Castro Jr.)[6] – Aunt P's nephew, who tries to profit off wrestling, and who Andy meets when she first arrives in Rustburn
  • Mikey Beefpuncha (voiced by TK Weaver) – An innocent, yet intelligent and muscular 8-year-old analyst of wrestling, who dreams of becoming a sports journalist

Recurring characters

  • Immaculate / Julius (voiced by Tony Baker) – A pro-wrestler and the leader of the Perm Gang
  • Delectable / Sone (voiced by Kaitlyn Robrock) – A pro-wrestler and member of the Perm Gang
  • Sumptuous / Kate (voiced by Andia Winslow) – A pro-wrestler and member of the Perm Gang
  • Smoove / Jeff (voiced by Ben Giroux) – A pro-wrestler and member of the Perm Gang
  • Narrator / Scouter – (voiced by Keith David) – A scouter for the Global Wrestling Commission, who narrates the series
  • Goldy (voiced by Carla Renata) – The owner of a saloon in Rustburn called Busters, where failed pro-wrestlers hang out
  • Pampa (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) – A patron at Busters
  • Coca (voiced by Lauren Lapkus) – A patron at Busters
  • Beefpuncha (voiced by Luis Bermudez) – Mikey's older brother

Guest characters

  • Trish (voiced by Angel Laketa Moore) – Andy's mother
  • Herb (voiced by Calvin Winbush) – Andy's father
  • Academy Supervisor (voiced by Cynthia Kaye McWilliams) – Andy's supervisor while at the Junior Accountant Academy
  • Dave (voiced by Raphael Alejandro) – A junior accountant, and one of Andy's classmates
  • Mega Beefpuncha (voiced by Clancy Brown) – Mikey and Mbrandon's father
  • Ruff (voiced by Dana Snyder) – A former wrestler, Tumble's ex-husband, Bertie's father, and leader of the Finger Clan.
  • Tumble (voiced by Jodi Carlisle) – A former wrestler, Ruff's ex-wife, Bertie's mother, and leader of the Toe Clan.
  • Bertie (voiced by Anjali Kunapaneni) – Ruff and Tumble's daughter.

Production

In May 2022, the series was originally announced to be a new original animated series for HBO Max (later Max)[2] and Cartoon Network.[3][7][8] It was later stated that Cartoon Network Studios was producing the series, and asserted again in 2024.[9][10][11]

In June 2023, an animatic for the series premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.[12] At San Diego Comic Con TVfest on February 7, 2024, the first episode of the series premiered.[2] At the AfroAnimation Summit, held from April 10 to 12, 2024 in Burbank, California, Gordon-Montgomery had a panel entitled "How I Got My Show Made: The Underdog Story of Invincible Fight Girl".[13]

An early series preview was released on July 25, 2024.[14][15] The event, hosted at Savannah College of Art and Design, also included a talk with Juston Gordon-Montgomery, the show's art director (David Depasquale),[16] and supervising producer (Bryan Newton).[17][18] Later, Sam Register was described as an executive producer of the series.[9][10]

Prior to the series release, Juston Gordon-Montgomery told The Verge that he wanted his love for pro-wrestling's Attitude Era to show in Andy's character and the series overall, noting the influence of wrestling on his life, inspiration of Pokémon, Naruto, and Hajime no Ippo and added that there are many things that haven't been done in animation in the U.S., like in Japan, and saying they could do the same if they "get the shot" to do so.[19] In another interview with Cartoon Brew, he noted the show's anime influences, the show's development process, challenges caused by bigger changes in the studio, and limitations of a 10-episode season.[20]

The series had half-hour animated episodes which premiered on Adult Swim beginning on November 3, 2024, and then released on Max shortly thereafter.[2][1][21]

In an interview with Variety in July 2025, Gordon-Montgomery said he wanted to, with the series, tell a story of a character who had a "lightbulb moment" of chasing their dream, adding he hadn't "really seen that in Western animation" before. He also describe the series about excitement, fear of chasing something, and capturing the "exhilaration...you feel... making progress."[22]

Reception

The series was positively received by critics. Rendy Jones of Den of Geek said that the series is a cross-between My Hero Academia and WWE, saying that the narrative keeps the story grounded, with strong world-building, and has characters which resemble "familiar faces and figures from wrestling culture". Jones, who reviewed the show's first four episodes, said it follows a similar plot to many action-adventure anime, noted that for a Black female protagonist such as Andy to have the "same skeleton" as anime characters like Monkey D. Luffy and Ash Ketchum, said that Andy's character is a great addition to powerful Black female animated characters along with Lunella Lafayette in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, described Craig's character as "exhausting to watch", but said this is balanced out by other characters, while praising the series depiction of wrestling fights, animation style, and storyline.[6] Charles Pulliam-Moore of The Verge said the series echoes shōnen series like Dragon Ball Z and One Piece, and argued that the series blend of different influences comes "together as soon as its characters step into the ring".[19]

In a review for CBR, Daniel Kurland wrote that the series will lead to a "wide range of sports-based cartoons" among Western animation, comparing it to the wide range of sports anime, praising the protagonist as empathetic, relatable, and with an "endearing found family", lauded the animation for being "sumptuous" and "meticulous" and argued that the series remains aspirational while subverting class and gender norms, while sharing a "powerful message of independence, acceptance, and strength". Kurland also pointed to the anime influences like Kinnikuman, Tiger Mask, Megalobox, YuYu Hakusho, and Dragon Ball, and compared the series with Adult Swim's own Ballmastrz: 9009.[23]

Accolades

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s)Result
Annie AwardsFebruary 8, 2025Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television / Broadcast ProductionGladyfaith Abcede, Miki Brewster, Kaela Lash and Sheldon Vella (for "The Way of the World")[24]

References

  1. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (October 8, 2024). "Animated Actioner 'Invincible Fight Girl' Is Ready to Rumble on Adult Swim Nov. 2". Animation Magazine. Archived October 14, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  2. ^ Omotade, Lucy (July 26, 2024). "Andy Gets Her Shot in the Ring In New 'Invincible Fight Girl' Teaser". Collider. Archived September 15, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  3. ^ Romanchick, Shane (May 6, 2022). "Half-Hour Action-Comedy 'Invincible Fight Girl' Greenlit at HBO Max and Cartoon Network". Collider. Archived May 21, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  4. ^ "Canada's Corus Entertainment Announces 2024/25 Slate". Animation Magazine. June 5, 2024. Archived September 15, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  5. ^ Pulliam-Moore, Charles (October 8, 2024). "Invincible Fight Girl smashes her way onto Adult Swim this November". The Verge. Archived October 9, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  6. ^ Jones, Randy (November 2, 2024). "Invincible Fight Girl Review: My Hero Academia Meets WWE". Den of Geek. Archived November 3, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  7. ^ Lang, Jamie (May 9, 2022). "HBO Max, Cartoon Network Expand Original Animation Slate With 'Driftwood,' 'Invincible Fight Girl'". Cartoon Brew. Archived February 23, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  8. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (May 6, 2022). "HBO Max & CN Greenlight Original Movie 'Driftwood,' Series 'Invincible Fight Girl'". Animation Magazine. Archived September 15, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  9. ^ Alexa, Laurén (October 9, 2024). "Adult Swim Sets 'Invincible Fight Girl' Premiere Date". Animation World Network. Archived October 14, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  10. ^ Valdez, Nice (October 8, 2024). "Invincible Fight Girl Finally Locks in Adult Swim Release Date". Comicbook.com. Archived October 14, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  11. ^ Kaminska, Karolina (September 5, 2022). "HBO Max, Cartoon Network wrestle with Invincible Fight Girl". C21Media. Archived October 14, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  12. ^ Giraud, Kevin (June 15, 2023). "Annecy: New Animated Offerings from Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network & Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe". Animation Magazine. Archived September 15, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  13. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (January 29, 2024). "AfroAnimation Summit Honors Kemp Powers, Camille Eden, Bruce Smith & Jermaine Turner". Animation Magazine. Archived September 15, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  14. ^ Valdez, Nick (July 26, 2024). "Invincible Fight Girl First Look Released: Watch". ComicBook. Archived July 26, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  15. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (July 9, 2024). "Adult Swim to Host Four-Day "Pirate Parrrty" at Comic-Con". Animation Magazine. Archived September 15, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  16. ^ Fay, Kim (May 9, 2024). "New TAG Executive Board Members". The Animation Guild. Archived October 14, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 13, 2024. I continued this role from 2022-2023 at Cartoon Network, while stepping into a bigger leadership role in my craft as Art Director on Invincible Fight Girl.
  17. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (January 29, 2024). "Event Updates: SCAD TVFest Lineup, Animation First Winners, PaleyFest Celebrates 'Family Guy'". Animation Magazine. Archived September 15, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  18. ^ Sarto, Debbie Diamond (January 31, 2024). "SCAD TVfest Coming to Atlanta". Animation World Network. Archived February 1, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  19. ^ Pulliam-Moore, Charles (November 2, 2024). "Invincible Fight Girl's creator wants to keep the dream of serialized animation alive". The Verge. Archived November 2, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  20. ^ Bennett, Tara (November 1, 2024). "'Invincible Fight Girl' Creator Explains How This Original Series Survived Cartoon Network's Internal Drama". Cartoon Brew. Archived November 2, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  21. ^ "High-Octane Animated Series "Invincible Fight Girl" Enters the Ring November 2 on Adult Swim". Warner Bros. Discovery. October 8, 2024. Archived November 3, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 3, 2024. "Invincible Fight Girl", will premiere Saturday, November 2 at midnight during the network's action/anime block Toonami..."Invincible Fight Girl" will debut on Adult Swim with two back-to-back episodes, followed by one new episode every Saturday. New episodes will also stream Sundays on Max.
  22. ^ Davis, Clayton (July 9, 2025). "Why Adult Swim's 'Invincible Fight Girl' and Creator Juston Gordon-Montgomery Is Making Space for Black Girls in Animation". Variety. Archived July 10, 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  23. ^ Kurland, Daniel (November 3, 2024). "Invincible Fight Girl Season 1 Review: A TKO Triumph That's A Love Letter To Wrestling & Anime". CBR. Archived November 3, 2024 at the Wayback Machine.
  24. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (December 20, 2024). "Annie Awards Nominees: The Wild Robot Leads with 10 Nods". Animation Magazine. Archived December 22, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 6, 2025.