https://blacknerdproblems.com/invincible-fight-girl-episode-4-review/

“Another day, gotta give’em hell. It’s burning straight through the dark
This rebel heart. This rebel heart“-CFO$

When watching a new show, especially an anime, the rule of thumb is you’ll know if it’s a banger by episode four. The fourth episode will let you know if this is a show you want to continue with. You can tell the team behind Invincible Fight Girl knew this and decided to go crazy. Their fourth episode ‘The Way of the World.’ feels like a masterclass on how to draw an audience into a fight. Which is easier said then done. In pro wrestling, when you got a character you wanna build up , you wanna book matches for them that will elevate them and get the crowd behind them. The hope is that the audience will get behind the hero (babyface) and villain (heel) telling the story.

Getting an audience to care is one thing but to do it organically? That’s much harder. (There’s no formula for it but if there was, it’d probably be like… 10% luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will. 5% pleasure, 50% pain, and 100% reason to remember— to stand with animation because the creatives teams be doing this for the love of the game.) Now, when all those factors do work come together? You get an episode that makes you invest with the show, the characters, and the story. Seeing Invincible fight Girl protagonist, Andy, step to Mbrandon Beefpuncha in order to fight for Mbrandon’s younger brother’s dream, culminated in all that and more.

*Spoilers ahead*

Invincible Fight Girl 3:16 Says…

The appeal of the show for me is their focus on fighting. I love that shit. I love hand to hand combat because I wanna see how the hero or villain pulls out a win with no tricks. No giant fireball, no summoning, no magic, just straight hands. How will their style of fighting save them or will they have to adapt. Hence, why I’m such a big wrestling fan. Adversity introduces a person to themself, tests how they’ll persevere when the pressure is on. Fighting in a show isn’t just about the climax or seeing cool moves. It’s about telling a story. The same thing goes for pro wrestling. There’s a ring psychology that takes place with opponents in the ring.

When you see a wrestler continuously working a body part like a leg throughout the match, and their opponent is then showing how hurt their leg is (which is called selling). Then it makes sense to see that injured wrestler tap out once their opponent has their leg in a submission. That was a story told physically in the ring. Invincible Fight Girl tells the similar story as Andy faces off against Mbrandon. Mbrandon uses his Beef Punch attack against Andy. A punching technique that utilizes the entirety of his body. Andy takes a few of them shots and gets rocked. I’m talking up at night studying for a mid term exam in petrology (the study of rocks).

They Stomping Mud Holes Outchea

As Andy gets use to the attack she realizes Mbrandon is underestimating her. He’s only using that one attack because he thinks that’s all he needs. Andy uses this to her advantage by luring Mbrandon into a false sense of security. She’s able to do this through out the match at different points to gains more of an advantage. However, Mbrandon’s experience saves him until Mikey Beefpuncha (the brother whose dream Andy is fighting for) stands up for himself and joins Andy’s side. What I love about this fight is there’s no pulled punches. This fight is more brutal for Andy than her first one. At first, Andy is taking a lot of damage then does so on purpose, in order to set up for a move down the line. Keep in mind, it isn’t often we see girls getting it out the mud like this on a show rated TV-Y7 (ages 7 and up).

So often we see make protagonist taking a beating and looking cool as they persevere. Invincible Fight girl gives Andy the same respect in putting her through the real rap raw of the squared circle. Again, I gotta give it up to the creative team for giving Andy the goal of becoming the best wrestler alive. Not the best female wrestler, but best wrestler. Period. Seeing her fighting boys on equal footing and getting in the thick of it makes, you want to root for the character. Not only that, it makes her fight and journey that much more believable. Most importantly, in a fight you see who someone, protagonist, antagonist, whoever, truly is. Mbrandon is only Andy’s second fight but she’s an entirely different person than in her first fight.

Don’t Sing it, Bring it

It’s here that we witness Andy come alive. Her confidence becomes a the difference maker for her second match. Your girl is striking, shooting leg sweeps to keep Mbrandon off balance. when she finds herself on her back she instinctually hits b-girl windmills to not only trip Mbrandon but reposition herself. This is what “catch-as-catch-can” wrestling looks like. There’s something about watching a fighter step into their element. Andy isn’t seasoned but what we’re catching is a glimpse into the wrestler that she could be. When Mbrandon thinks he has Andy lined up for another punch and she uses her head to block it? Then looks at him and smiles? In this moment, Andy just became a monster.

The move feels instinctual, yet reckless but that smile let’s us know just how locked in Andy is. We’ve seen on wrestlers like Brian Danielson and Shinsuke Nakamura smile in moments like this during their matches. This is the shit that turns you into the “Best Bout Machine”. That makes you the “Best in the World”. Seeing Andy go crazy. This simple move that Andy does, let’s us now that she has the heart to become the best wrestler in the world. This moment sold me on it, but when Mbrandon charged at Andy, then we saw her take exhaustedly take a deep breath then head back into the fray?! That’s when I knew, the girl had the it factor. She’s got it and in the words of Dusty Rhodes, she couldn’t get rid of “it” if she tried.

Puroresu: Here Comes The Pain

The Japanese term for pro wrestling is Puroresu. Puroresu is centers around fighting spirit and perseverance. A Japanese wrestler will chop your collar bone clean off, then wait for you to do the same to them. They’ll take the hit to show that they can. They’ll continue to do this until one person is left standing. In this episode, Andy embodies Puroresu throughout the entirey of the match. So much so that when she gets locked in, your girl ain’t even feeling the punches anymore, and if she is, she ain’t letting Mbrandon know that. Remember what I said earlier about ring psychology and a wrestler showing when they’re hurt? How that’s called selling. The opposite of that is when you eat a hit like its nothing. That’s no selling.

Andy is so locked in on MBrandon that your girl starts walking that man down. He’s throwing haymakers but Andy is acclimated to them. She’s blocking the strikes. The match has turned into a brawl and Andy’s ready to brawl for all. She’s embodying the heart of Japanese pro wrestling. She’s showing fighting spirit, perseverance, and most importantly, Strong Style. Andy out here shooting the fair one with strong as strikes. This moment of the episode feels like love letter to Japanese pro wrestling / Puroresu. Invincible Fight Girl got Andy paying homage to All Japan Pro Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling, Shimmer, and Dragongate. Seeing Andy walk through Mbrandon’s punches, then throw her arms down to take the hits and no sell, like they ain’t nothing? That’s the shit you wanna see to make you invest in a fight.

Invincible Fight Girl: She Ain’t No Diva

This episode let me know that not only is the creative team fans of pro wrestling, they understand ring psychology as well. Pro Wrestling is such a great choice for this show to revolve around. It’s fun to watch, it gets people hype, and just there’s so much space to play around with for story telling and fight sequences. you know a show is good when the action scenes have you on the edge of your seat. I also realized that Invincible Fight Girl gives me the same feeling I had watching Craig of The Creek. Sometimes you find shows that feel like predecessors and successors. In Craig of the Creek, the kids were all broken up based upon their likes and hobbies. The Ten Speeds like bikes and the Horse Girls pretend to be horses. In the creek, the kids dream and play as the things they’re interested in. Invincible Fight Girl, though a vastly different show, is where we see a teen working make her childhood dream reality

For a moment, Andy gave us a glimpse of the Best Bout Machine that she has the capacity to become in the squared circle. Seeing her scrap to achieve that is what makes the show worth the watch. I don’t want a protagonist that wins all the time and is already talented. No, gimme the girl that’s gotta be up training for this shit. We saw Andy catching wreck, taking haymakers, and throwing hands. The aftermath left her with bruises, a torn fit, and a shiner on her eye. Yet, it’s fight like that that makes you a fan favorite. Andy got a taste of the hard times Dusty Rhodes and wiped her plate clean.

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