Invincible is a really fantastic animated television series. While it is technically not anime, as it is not produced in Japan, it has a similar artstyle and feel. So I decided to watch the Amazon Prime TV series, and I enjoyed the hell out of it.
The story follows Mark, the son of the strongest superhero in the world (Omni-man), as he gains superpowers and learns to be a superhero himself. However, (spoiler) in the very first episode Omni-man basically murders the Justice League. It leaves us, the audience, asking many questions and waiting in quiet anticipation for the answers. This is the undercurrent for the rest of the show and it results in a really entertaining series with an amazing climax.
But Invincible has strong writing all around and fantastic execution. The characters all have depth and multiple layers while also feeling real and relatable. The subplots within are, for the most part, entertaining. And the quality of animation is really what brought the whole thing together.
The cinematography and character designs are some of the best in television, while the action scenes might just be the best. The fights are choreographed well and the animation is crisp throughout. Where most anime have long, stretched out fight scenes where it pauses for conversations or flashbacks, Invincible’s fight scenes are straight out of a hollywood movie. The action is jam-packed and suspenseful, with real movements and consequences. Oh, and it’s really gory too. Yeah, not sure how I’m only mentioning it now, but there’s a lot of blood and it really adds to the overall immersion and impact.
I know I just kind of spit out a bunch of praise, but the show does fall short in one regard: the main character. Mark Grayson is basically just an average high-schooler. So he’s really immature. And that would be fine normally, but his immaturity is really highlighted with how many people he accidentally kills or doesn’t save. Since the show feels so real, his mistakes are really glaring. A character like him would be fine in a typical anime superhero show where no one dies, but in this one he’s just too annoying. When he fought the cyborg at the university, he didn’t even consider where the cyborg came from, or how it was made, or who made it. If he had tried to answer those questions he could’ve prevented a lot of suffering.
Nevertheless, it’s a really good show. Plus Mark really isn’t that annoying, and I have faith he will grow as a character. I’d give the show a 9/10. Although it’s really more of an 8/10, I’m giving it a nine because I have so much confidence that the show is going to get even better in the next season.
And just for fun I made a power rankings tier list:
reidbrotmann.com 