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ダーウィン事変
13
TV
Finished Airing
Jan 7, 2026 to Apr 1, 2026
The Animal Liberation Alliance, an eco-terrorist organization, rescues a pregnant chimpanzee from an animal testing lab—only for it to give birth to a half-human, half-chimpanzee "humanzee" named Charlie! Fifteen years later, Charlie's human foster parents are finally ready to send him to a normal high school, where he makes his first friend: a human girl named Lucy. In the meantime, however, the ALA's stance has become ever more extreme, and now they're here to drag Charlie into their terrorist plot... (Source: Kodansha USA)
6.5/10
Average Review Score
50%
Recommend It
14
Reviews Worldwide
The Darwin Incident seems like a prototype for a better version of itself. This is an ambitious series built around heavy real-world themes, but it has uneven execution. It won't work for everyone due to having a very different style compared to most anime. It has strong ideas with less focus on presentation, so viewers who prioritize animation quality, voice acting, or atmosphere may find it lacking. There is character development and psychology exploration, along with limited worldbuilding. There are action scenes, though most of the show is tense instead of fast-paced. The plot's purpose is to provide a vehicle for the themes to be conveyed. Onecommon criticism is the portrayal of its themes. While some viewers may find the delivery too emotionally intense or see it as propaganda, it presents multiple perspectives on its social and political ideas. It doesn't take a side, instead showing how going too far in a single ideology direction causes problems in real-world situations. It portrays ideology conflict, discrimination, justice system limitations, animal rights, terrorism, and the consequences of extremism. It covers several themes, though it doesn't go into considerable depth for any of them. Another common criticism is the character design. Some might call the artstyle and character design "ugly", though the non-flashy pseudo-realistic visuals fit the tense themes the show covers. The characters are grounded instead of exaggerated character archetypes. The animation gets stiff and choppy at times, though it remains mostly stable. While the sub is consistent, the dub's voice acting quality varies across scenes and episodes. Personally, I found the show interesting, and it had character interaction moments that were quite funny. It's also set in an unusual location: the United States, which allows it to explore topics that aren't typically covered in anime. I think the execution would have been better if it included philosophical and science exploration instead of sticking to concepts only. However, I definitely had a fun time watching it despite its flaws. The final episode leaves the story open for continuation, though it doesn't fully resolve the existing plot points covered. Viewers looking for a comfort watch, power fantasy, or consistent presentation may not find this as engaging. I recommend The Darwin Incident for viewers looking for an anime covering social, political or ideology themes.
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I wonder if it was wasted potential? Probably. I never considered the possibility that someone would think anime was a good place to address a very complicated issue in real life: veganism. I wonder if the author used his own work to protest against those who consume any kind of food of animal origin... Is he one of them??? And how did the publisher look at this and approve it, thinking it was a brilliant idea??? Did they want to take a risk to see the result??? In short... I was quite disappointed with what was shown in the anime because I expected more. Theprejudice people have against the MC for being a hybrid of two species is somewhat understandable, but the other issue involved is what ruined the story. If it were something like a group or organization wanting to "possess" the MC for in-depth studies for something even greater (for example, he has intelligence far superior to that of a human and certainly to that of a common chimpanzee, great physical strength from the animal side and the gift of speech from the human side), how to extract "something" from him to perhaps make human beings also have the same characteristics as him without being a hybrid and maintaining the "human" form, and because of this, later in the story there would be a kind of disaster with some "modified beings" rebelling against humanity and using their abilities to create a new "order" since they are above normal human capacity, or some other issue that fit well with the presented proposal, but unfortunately this is what was delivered... Lamentable. NOTE: I have nothing against vegans, as long as they don't impose their customs on other people and respect the differences in eating habits that each person has chosen to adopt for themselves. I've never seen a person who is solely carnivorous (difficult but possible) or omnivorous (myself, for example, and I believe a good portion of people) bother a vegan for not eating meat; at most, they might make a joke like, "You don't know what you're missing," but still respecting the other person's choice.
The people who don't recommend it definitely didn't finish it. It has both extremes, but because of the premise, it looks biased. I like Lucy and Charlie's relationship. I love Charlie's parents, especially his mom! I really like how Charlie's feelings worked as a human chimp hybrid. Some aspects were predictable but all and all this is a pretty original anime with a unique concept. Flaws for the characters? no all the characters are pretty good but maybe some background but well prolly get that in season 2. The ending was good, and was not expected! - I like how steryotypical (but true) American thisis sometimes. Can't wait for season 2!
At first glance it may look like a vegan vs non vegan propaganda to you and it's true though. Author deliberately portrayed vegans as a villain with twisted philosophies . He justified non vegans and claimed them as a victim of struggle between vegans and animal rights . Another thing he portrayed about vegan is barbaric nature like they can go to any extend to prove their point even if it means to kill someone. But we have to look other things too besides propaganda darwin incident provides some crime drama stuff between terrorists and government. Terrorists using vegan philosophies as a shield , a mean toresort violence to fulfill hidden motives . Animation is smooth , no cgi , decent bgm ed op etc . Really enjoyed some important moments in story and the ending has a insane plot twist . Definately will look for another season .
So I watched The Darwin Incident, and it's worth watching, though it unfortunately ends in a terrible cliffhanger. Since no second season has been announced, the manga is for the impatient. It touches on the subject of consumerism and whether it's possible to be against it without being labeled a terrorist (it's impossible), but I was intrigued by another aspect. "Darwin" is another series about whether something or someone non-human can be better than it. The creator quickly breaks out of this tired rut. Charlie doesn't want to change, fight, or please people. He doesn't identify with them. He understands he's different and feels goodabout it, but as a character, it makes him quite boring. It's cool that he's cool and "logical"; it works well with him, but everything interesting happens alongside it. And sure, that makes sense too (focusing on the story and the message, in which the characters are carriers of different ideas and attitudes), but I felt the chemistry between the characters was lacking.