New anime is basically Planet of the Apes, and it’s raising one absurd question

Planet of the Apes isn’t an anime (yet), but The Darwin Incident is pretty close. The popular manga was recently announced for an adaptation, and some fans have a particular curiosity.

In The Darwin Incident, a part-human, part-chimpanzee hybrid named Charlie (see what they did there?) is raised by humans for 15 years. With human-like intelligence, he goes to high school, and eventually gets drafted by animal rights activists — an echo of his origin, when his actual mother was discovered pregnant in a lab.

Sounds pretty close to the intelligent ape premise of 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, right? The ongoing manga by Shun Umezawa is being turned into an anime show, and among the excitement, some have something else on their minds.

“Who f**ked the monkey???” a fan asks on Reddit. “Was this a playing god moment, or did someone get funky with a monkey?” another states.

It’s a fair question, although it sounds puerile. Charlie’s origin hasn’t been explicitly explored in the story yet, as the scientist behind his existence disappeared when his secret base was raided.

There really are only two options: artificial insemination (likely), or that professor did unspeakable things to his chimpanzee subject.

More than just pondering logistics, The Darwin Incident has leapt up the list of anticipated anime for some because it’s a deeper story than you might think.

“This is a serious story set in alternative USA, including PETA terrorists, animal rights, scientists playing god, and a chimpboy’s place in Homosapien society,” describes another fan on Reddit.

So far, The Darwin Incident series doesn’t have a release window. In the meantime, have a look through our guides on Tower of God Season 2 and the Haikyuu!! movie release date for more of the best anime arriving this year. You can check out our Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes review for more on what’s going on in that franchise.