The Darwin Incident

The Darwin Incident (Japanese: ダーウィン事変, Hepburn: Dāuin Jihen) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Shun Umezawa (ja). It has been serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon since June 2020. An anime television series adaptation produced by Bellnox Films (ja) is set to premiere in January 2026.

The Darwin Incident
First tankōbon volume cover
ダーウィン事変 (Dāuin Jihen)
Genre	Science fiction[1] Social thriller[2]
Manga
Written by	Shun Umezawa (ja)
Published by	Kodansha
English publisher	NA: Kodansha USA
Imprint	Afternoon KC
Magazine	Monthly Afternoon
Original run	June 25, 2020 – present
Volumes	9
Anime television series
Directed by	Naokatsu Tsuda Katsuichi Nakayama
Written by	Shinichi Inotsume
Music by	Alisa Okehazama (ja) Mariko Horikawa
Studio	Bellnox Films (ja)
Licensed by	Amazon Prime Video
Original network	TXN (TV Tokyo)
Original run	January 7, 2026 – scheduled

By May 2024, the manga had over 1.6 million copies in circulation. In 2022, The Darwin Incident won the 15th Manga Taishō, as well as the Excellence Award at the 25th Japan Media Arts Festival.

Plot

During a commando operation carried out by an animal rights organization in a biological research institute, a pregnant chimpanzee is discovered, which will give birth to a "humanzee", a half-human, half-chimpanzee being. Named Charlie, he is raised by human parents for fifteen years. Neither human nor animal, his behavior and his sensitivity will create sparks within the community. But Charlie is unaware that elsewhere, a group of vegan activists seek to make of him their emblem.

When Charlie entered high school, he met Lucy, a girl who was ridiculed as a "nerd" but was a bright girl, and developed friendship with him. However, the ALA (Animal Liberation Alliance), which "repeatedly engages in terrorist activities in search of animal liberation", adds Charlie to its comrades and "plans to lure him into terrorism", taking extreme measures. It causes the townspeople to change their attitude towards Charlie and his family.

Characters

Charlie (チャーリー, Chārī)

Voiced by: Atsumi Tanezaki^[3]

Lucy Eldred (ルーシー・エルドレッド, Rūshī Erudoreddo)

Voiced by: Mitsuho Kambe (ja)^[3]

Rivera Feyerabend (リヴェラ・ファイヤアーベント, Rivera Faiyaābento)

Voiced by: Akio Otsuka^[3]

Gilbert Stein (ギルバート・スタイン, Girubāto Sutain)

Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa^[4]

Hannah Stein (ハンナ・スタイン, Hanna Sutain)

Voiced by: Rina Satō^[4]

Philip Graham (フィリップ・グラハム, Firippu Gurahamu)

Voiced by: Yōji Ueda^[4]

Gale (ゲイル, Geiru)

Voiced by: Kaito Ishikawa^[4]

Lesley K. Lippman (レスリー・K・リップマン, Resurī Kei Rippuman)

Voiced by: Hiroya Egashira (ja)^[4]

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Shun Umezawa (ja), The Darwin Incident started in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon on June 25, 2020.^[5] Kodansha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on November 20, 2020.^[6] As of May 22, 2025, nine volumes have been released.^[7]

During their panel at Anime NYC 2022, Kodansha USA announced that they licensed the manga,^[8][9] with the first volume released on September 5, 2023.^[10]

Volumes

No.	Original release date	Original ISBN	English release date	English ISBN
1	November 20, 2020[11]	978-4-06-521398-8	September 5, 2023[10]	978-1-64-729316-1
1. "Hybridization" 2. "Observers" (観察者, Kansatsusha) 3. "Kaleidoscope Eyes" (万華鏡の目, Mangekyō no Me) 4. "Heterosis" (ヘテローシス, Heterōshisu) 5. "One of a Kind"[a]
2	May 21, 2021[12]	978-4-06-523314-6	November 7, 2023[13]	978-1-64-729317-8
6. "A Gap in the Law" 7. "The Struggle for Rights" (権利のための闘争？, Kenri no Tame no Tōsō) 8. "Omen" (兆し, Kizashi) 9. "Direct Action" (セイギノミカタ, Sei Ginomikata) 10. "Red Pill" (レッド・ピル, Reddo piru) 11. "Trickster"
3	November 22, 2021[14]	978-4-06-525778-4	January 23, 2024[15]	978-1-64-729318-5
12. "Visitors" (訪問者, Hōmon sha) 13. "Scapegoat" (スケープゴート, Sukeipugōto) 14. "Is-Ought" 15. "Bluebeard's Castle ①" (青髭の城にて①, Aohige no Shiro Nite ①) 16. "Bluebeard's Castle ②" (青髭の城にて②, Aohige no Shiro Nite ②) 17. "Bluebeard's Castle ③" (青髭の城にて③, Aohige no Shiro Nite ③)
4	April 21, 2022[16]	978-4-06-527946-5	March 5, 2024[17]	978-1-64-729337-6
18. "Unowned Property" (無主物, Mushu Butsu) 19. "Transfer of Ownership" (所有権の移転, Shoyū Ken no Iten) 20. "Sexual Dimorphism" (性的二形, Seiteki Futanari) 21. "Little Shop of Horrors" 22. "Will"
5	March 23, 2023[18]	978-4-06-531026-7	May 7, 2024[19]	978-1-64-729343-7
23. "A Family Affair" 24. "Pet Cemetery" 25. "The Price of Logos" (ロゴスの代償, Rogosu no Daishō) 26. "On the Border" 27. "Galton Inc." (ゴルトン社, Goruton Sha)
6	November 22, 2023[20]	978-4-06-533687-8	July 9, 2024[21]	978-1-64-729355-0
28. "Animal Spirits" 29. "Manhunt" 30. "Surrogate" 31. "Summit Meeting" (首脳会談, Shunō Kaidan) 32. "The Darwinian Algorithm" (ダーウィンのアルゴリズム, Dāwin no Arugorizumu)
7	May 22, 2024[22]	978-4-06-535534-3	June 10, 2025[23]	978-1-64-729453-3
8	November 21, 2024[24]	978-4-06-537463-4	September 23, 2025[25]	978-1-64-729492-2
9	May 22, 2025[7]	978-4-06-539468-7	—	—

Anime

In May 2024, it was announced that the manga would receive an anime television series adaptation.^[26] The series will be produced by Bellnox Films (ja) and directed by Naokatsu Tsuda, with Katsuichi Nakayama serving as series director, Shinichi Inotsume overseeing series composition, Shinpei Tomooka designing the characters, and Alisa Okehazama and Mariko Horikawa composing the music.^[27] It is set to premiere on January 7, 2026, on TV Tokyo and its affiliates.^[28][3][4] The opening theme is "Make Me Wonder", performed by Official Hige Dandism.^[29]

The series will be streamed exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.^[30]

Reception

By May 2024, the manga had over 1.6 million copies in circulation.^[31] It ranked 10th on Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2022 list of best manga for male readers.^[32] The series won the 15th Manga Taishō in 2022.^[33][34][35] The series ranked second on the Publisher Comics' Recommended Comics of 2022.^[36] It won an Excellence Award at the 25th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2022.^[37] It was ranked fifth at the 1st Late Night Manga Award hosted by Bungeishunjū's Crea magazine in 2022.^[38] It was nominated for the 47th Kodansha Manga Award in the general category in 2023;^[39] it was also nominated for the 48th edition in the same category in 2024.^[40] The manga was awarded the French 17th ACBD's Prize "Asie de la Critique" in 2023.^[41] It was nominated for the Japan Society and Anime NYC's first American Manga Awards in the Best New Manga category in 2024.^[42]

Notes

1. "One" (rendered in Latin-script) in the Japanese release.