This was so unbelievably interesting to me. There's so many places this story could go and I'm so excited to continue and see where it goes. There's definitely potential for this to be 5 stars in future books for me, Reminds me of Planet of the apes, the first one at least, that's the only one i've seen. So good. So interesting. Really makes you think and contemplate real world things. Highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

This is an excellent series and by far the best manga/graphic novel that I have read all year. Charlie is a humanzee. He is the result of an experiment. His father was a scientist who took it upon himself to experiment and impregnate a chimpanzee.

Now 15 years later Charlie the world's first humanzee is starting high school and trying to live a normal human life although the world just won't let him. He exists in the divide between what is human and what is animal and as such he has no legal rights. He is a 'thing', a possession, and a possession that belongs to his adoptive parents. Thank fully his parents have decided to fight for Charlie's right to exist and have human rights but this won't be easy because there are others who want Charlie.

An animal liberation group have decided that Charlie is the perfect face of their own campaign for animal liberation and they will force him to support him using violence if they have to.

As for Charlie he exists in the world and tries to make sense of it in his own way, often getting caught in the crossfire and the schemes and machinations of others, but Charlie is more than just a humanzee. He is also Charlie and he negotiates the world and the wiles of others with grace and simplicity that confounds.

This is an excellent series with great graphics. I find that most manga artists do an excellent job with their artwork but the actual content of the story, like any book, might be great or not great (depending on the taste of the reader). This is a great one.

I enjoyed this so much I read the second volume immediately after finishing this, and I am going to read the entire series. This is a great mix of sci-fi, intrigue and adventure. I have just learnt that an anime has also been produced and I am not surprised.

An excellent start to what is going to be a gripping manga and anime series.

Many thanks to the publishers who provided me with this copy via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Charlie just wants to attend a normal high school and get a normal education, but Charlie's main problem is - he's not normal! Charlie is the world's first ever Humanzee! Born in a California lab 15 years ago then freed by the ALA -- The Animal Liberation A​llliance -- Charlie has been trying to live a quiet life with his mom and dad in a small town in the Midwest, but all that changes when the ALA sets its sights on Charlie once again. When the ALA begins executing violent attacks in cities across the nation, folks start to wonder if it's safe for Charlie -- and for their own children -- for him to try to be a normal teenager.
This title packs a serious punch in examining the rights of humans and doesn't shy away from some heavy political topics. The story tackles "us vs them" and NIMBY (not in my backyard) attitudes that have been prevalent in recent years in US politics and also includes some comments on violent police and a "shoot-first, ask later" proclivity. Through all of this, Charlie is an innocent who has an interesting way of seeing the world. The way he questions the world's inequities will encourage readers to have some critical reflection as well. This is a manga that will get under readers skin while also satisfying the need for action and interesting characters.

Because of the violence, the age of the characters, and the more mature concepts, this title would be better suited for high school audiences.

Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

The Darwin Incident follows Darwin, a hybrid ape. His life becomes dangerous as he goes out in public more. I life the sci-fi element of this, as it feels like a small scale Planet of the Apes. The art is enjoyable, the story is easy to understand, and it all has a great flow.

This was a good first volume. The main character was interesting in his (partial?) humanness, his friends and family were well created, the art was dynamic, and the villain (while a bit too fanatically over the top) was sufficiently creepy to make the plot propulsive. Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

Thank you to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this manga
This was a story that I was unsure how I was going to “enjoy”. It’s a profound story. However, I think it’s one that I may check out from the library if I want to continue on. There is a lot of political discussion, verbal abuse, and bullying. Its also a very dense story. Because of these points, I have to give this a 4 out of 5 stars.

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for allowing me to read this manga for free.

I gotta say, it seems to be a pretty decent manga about a humanzee (chimpanzee and human hybrid) named Charlie who just wants to fit in the human race just as much as everyone else but has human villians wanting to badly kill him after a sudden terrorist attack that blames the monkey race for the cause. I also thought his sidekick human friend Lucy was pretty cool and a likeable character.

Definitely check this manga out if you want some monkey business 🐒🦍🦧

This was a very strong 1st volume to kick things off. I like Charlie as a main character and the unique situation he is in. Seeing how he processes and talks about certain subjects is interesting. It did lead me to buying volume 2.

Honestly, out of the recent manga series I’ve read, I just picked this one up out of the blue. It’s an interesting series that takes its premise and goes from 0 to 60 quickly. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s a solid debut.

The Darwin Incident stars Charlie the humanzee – a hybrid of a human and chimpanzee. While he lives a sheltered life in Missouri, his parents want to help him live a normal life. However, the Animal Liberation Alliance (eco-terrorists hellbent on freeing animals) want him to join their ranks. After befriending Lucy, a girl from school, Charlie does his best to protect the ones he loves. However, what can one humanzee do when society wants to use or abuse him?

The premise is serious, with some great philosophical questions brought up by Charlie. Moral quandaries regarding human and animal life are brought up frequently, and I was surprised to see them referenced here. That said, a lot of the conversations themselves have a strangely goofy context, not helped by Charlie’s deadpan delivery. Since he lacks social cues or graces, the conversations feel stilted and stiff, with the humans pondering on their condition. Oddly enough, it works well. However, sometimes it just feels like these conversations come in at random times, and too many of these talks end up randomly falling flat.

That said, the art for everything else is a bit lacking. I loved the designs for Charlie and Max (the main antagonist fronting the ALA). Max’s conniving yet cool demeanor creates a disconcerting aura and drew me in. The volume ends on a cliffhanger that will invite more moral questions for future chapters. If The Darwin Incident can cut its disjointed ethical dilemma discussions, it can be a tight narrative for the next volumes.

This manga isn't monkeying around! Well, only half of them are at least. A manga like this will have readers rethinking how humans have evolved, and what makes a human human, A wonderful start to a series that I will be highly anticipating the next installment.

Fun and enjoyable science fiction read. Charlie the humanzee is an interesting concept and I really enjoyed the focus on how he fits in to regular high school. I didn't enjoy as much the ALA needing to catch him storyline.

That was very good! I think it played very well with the usual concept to these kinds of stories when animals and humanity converge. I liked the character. The MC is indeed fascinating. We have a strong narrative that tells us the story is going to develop a lot. I feel like this has a lot of potential and I will gladly continue the series !

The Darwin Incident is very interesting! There's something profoundly philosophical and psychological in it. Charlie is a humanzee, an offspring of a man and a chimpanzee. He was found in a lab thanks to The Animal Liberation Alliance, an eco-terrorist organization. Well, he was still in his mother's belly, but managed to survive and lives his years with new adoptive human parents and now he's fifteen. He attends school, but the organization needs him for their terrorist aims. This is how the story begins. The best part of it is surely the interesting and somehow distant conversations about life, animals and people as well as the society. Charlie is well written, even somewhat scary all the whole looking cute in a way. This contradiction is interesting and makes everything hollow.

The art looks very Western and realistic, which suits fine, since this is set in the US. The characters actually look their parts and have lots of facial expressions. I love it how Charlie's parents have their own voices and how the characters are full and change over time. This is such a great series even though it's difficult too, in more way than one.

I'm not really sure what to make of this one.

On one hand the idea of this Charlie character being half human half chimp is awesome. There's some hilarious moments of him trying to blend into life and school. Of course assholes not being nice to him but that's for any kid different really. I liked all the stuff with Charlie and the fish out of water situations. I wasn't a major fan of the overall terriost plot and didn't really feel that intriguing for me. It's kind of between a 3 and 4 but I'll bump it to a 4 because I enjoyed Charlie and the art a lot.

Ayant fait pas mal de bruit lors de sa sortie, et de part sa thématique, j’étais très intriguée par ce titre. Donc lorsque j’ai eu l’occasion de lire ce premier tome, je n’ai pas hésité. Et je n’ai pas étais déçue.
On découvre Charlie, un jeune humanzee de 15 ans, mélange entre un humain et un chimpanzé, qui intègre un lycée. L’arrivé de Charlie dans cette communauté humaine ne va pas passer inaperçu et pas mal de débat et accidents vont arriver autour de lui.
J’ai trouvé le concept orignal, très intéressant et bien mené dans ce premier tome. C’est un titre qui fait réfléchir sur la place des animaux et des humains sur notre planète terre et surtout, sur leur cohabitation de nos jours. J’ai beaucoup aimé le personnage de Charlie, je l’ai trouvé attachant et sa manière de penser est assez profonde. Il s’intéresse à ce qui se passe autour de lui et essaie de comprendre, lui qui aborde les choses plus radicalement, la façon de penser et de se comporter des humains. J’ai aussi bien aimé le personnage de Lucy et j’ai hâte de voir quel rôle elle va jouer dans les prochains volumes.
J’ai hâte de voir ce que va donner la suite et de voir jusqu’où est poussé la réflexion.
Je recommande à ceux qui souhaitent lire un titre original et faisant réfléchir.

This manga was a good read. I can see it appealing to manga lovers. It will be a nice addition to a manga collection at a library.

This is a pretty good story. I think this really sets up the characters and future conflict. I like how it delved into so many topics of ethics, the human condition, and whatnot. I am looking forward to seeing the upcoming additions to the series. I'm looking forward to learning more about who Charlie is.

This is a cool lil manga about a human chimpanzee hybrid “humanzee” named Charlie. We get to see his first days of high school, and as anyone could guess it doesn’t go well. An activist group which Charlie has a history with has committed a terrorist attack and everyone is looking at Charlie.

I’m excited to see where things go in the next volume!

Thank you to NetGalley for the free review. The Darwin Incident is a fascinating start to this series. The concept and introspective nature of the story is what drew me in. The art, especially with Charlie, is nice as well. It manages to make Charlie a kind looking character with occasional eerie vibes as to his nature. I think the story can be a bit heavy handed with its discussions. There is a bully character that resorts to the stereotypical "You think you're better than me" talk. Overall, I'm excited to see where the series will go from here and how it will dive into the message of its story.

This was such a good manga! We follow Charlie who is half human, half chimpanzee as he starts going to school for the first time. His adoptive parents are worried about him being out and about with regular humans since he's only been with them for most of his life. During Charlie's first day of school there is a terrorists attack by the group ALA - The Animal Liberation Alliance - who are animal rights extremists. These are the same people that broke Charlie out of the lab where his mom was being held captive while she was pregnant with him. Now The ALA want Charlie to come back with them and become a part of their organization. Will Charlie join them?