Hit-Monkey (TV Series)
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''Hit-Monkey'' (known officially as ''Marvel's Hit-Monkey'' for the first season), is an American
adult animated An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a "minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of majori ...
television series created by
Will Speck and Josh Gordon Will Speck (born December 31, 1969) and Josh Gordon are an American filmmaker duo who generally work in the comedy genre. They have directed six feature films together. Their accolades include an Academy Award nomination. Speck and Gordon met ...
for the streaming service
Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
, based on the
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
character of the same name. The series is produced by
Marvel Television Marvel Television was an American television production company responsible for live-action and animated (through Marvel Animation) television shows and direct-to-DVD series based on characters from Marvel Comics. The division was based at affil ...
for its first season and
20th Television Animation 20th Television Animation (formerly Fox Television Animation) is an American animation studio that creates, develops and produces adult animated television series and specials. It is a unit of Disney Television Studios, a subsidiary of Walt Disne ...
for its second season, with Gordon and Speck serving as
showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...
s. The series stars
Ally Maki Ally Maki Matsumura (born December 29, 1986), known professionally as Ally Maki, is an American actress and model. She portrayed Jess Kato in the TBS comedy series '' Wrecked'' and the voice of Giggle McDimples in ''Toy Story 4''. Career Maki ...
,
Olivia Munn Lisa Olivia Munn (born July 3, 1980) is an American actress and former television host. After an internship at a news station in Tulsa, she moved to Los Angeles where she began her professional career as a television host for the gaming network ...
,
Fred Tatasciore Fred Tatasciore (; ) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk and Beast (comics), Beast in various Marvel media and Solomon Grundy ( ...
, and
Jason Sudeikis Daniel Jason Sudeikis ( ; born September 18, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. In the 1990s, he began his career in improv comedy and performed with ComedySportz, iO Chicago (Improv Olympic), and The Second City. In 200 ...
, with Nobi Nakanishi and
George Takei George Takei (; ja, ジョージ・タケイ; born Hosato Takei (武井 穂郷), April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS ''Enterprise'' in the televi ...
joining for the first season, and Leslie Jones in the second. ''Hit-Monkey'' was announced and ordered at Hulu in February 2019, as part of a group of series based on Marvel characters that were intended to lead to a crossover special titled ''The Offenders'', with it being produced by Marvel Television. Oversight of the series was moved to
Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...
in December 2019 when Marvel Television was folded into that company. 20th Television Animation produced the second season. ''Hit-Monkey'' was released on
Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
on November 17, 2021. The series was met with generally positive reviews from critics for its animation, voice acting, action scenes, plot, and faithfulness to the source material of the comics. In February 2023, the series was renewed for a second season.


Plot

Hit-Monkey Hit-Monkey is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Created by writer Daniel Way and artist Dalibor Talajić, Hit-Monkey first appeared in ''Hit-Monkey'' #1 (April 2010), a digi ...
is a wronged
Japanese macaque The Japanese macaque (''Macaca fuscata''), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. Colloquially, they are referred to as "snow monkeys" because some live in areas where snow covers the gr ...
who is mentored by the ghost of an American assassin named Bryce Fowler as he damages
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
's crime underworld. Hit-Monkey and Bryce then travel to New York City.


Cast


Main

*
Ally Maki Ally Maki Matsumura (born December 29, 1986), known professionally as Ally Maki, is an American actress and model. She portrayed Jess Kato in the TBS comedy series '' Wrecked'' and the voice of Giggle McDimples in ''Toy Story 4''. Career Maki ...
as Haruka, a good honest cop who wants to fight the injustice in Tokyo. *
Olivia Munn Lisa Olivia Munn (born July 3, 1980) is an American actress and former television host. After an internship at a news station in Tulsa, she moved to Los Angeles where she began her professional career as a television host for the gaming network ...
as Akiko Yokohama, the smart and ambitious niece of Shinji. * Nobi Nakanishi as Ito, Haruka's partner who has problems, but trusts Hit-Monkey. *
Fred Tatasciore Fred Tatasciore (; ) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk and Beast (comics), Beast in various Marvel media and Solomon Grundy ( ...
as
Hit-Monkey Hit-Monkey is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Created by writer Daniel Way and artist Dalibor Talajić, Hit-Monkey first appeared in ''Hit-Monkey'' #1 (April 2010), a digi ...
, a
Japanese macaque The Japanese macaque (''Macaca fuscata''), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. Colloquially, they are referred to as "snow monkeys" because some live in areas where snow covers the gr ...
. *
George Takei George Takei (; ja, ジョージ・タケイ; born Hosato Takei (武井 穂郷), April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS ''Enterprise'' in the televi ...
as Shinji Yokohama, a kind politician with a lot on his shoulders. *
Jason Sudeikis Daniel Jason Sudeikis ( ; born September 18, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. In the 1990s, he began his career in improv comedy and performed with ComedySportz, iO Chicago (Improv Olympic), and The Second City. In 200 ...
as Bryce Fowler (né McHenry), Hit-Monkey's mentor who dies and comes back to aid him as a ghost. * Leslie Jones


Guest

*
Reiko Aylesworth Reiko M. Aylesworth (born December 9, 1972) is an American film, television and stage actress, best known for her role on the television series '' 24'' as Michelle Dessler. Early life, career start Aylesworth was born December 9, 1972, in Evanst ...
as Maki Matsumoto / Lady Bullseye, a terrifying assassin who kills without remorse or hesitation. ** Aylesworth also voices Yuki, a spirit tied to Japan who sees Hit-Monkey as a true warrior. * Noshir Dalal as
Fat Cobra In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers spec ...
, a large sumo assassin who can produce lightning from his feet. ** Dalal also voices
Kenuichio Harada Kenuichio Harada, also known as the original Silver Samurai, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A mutant with the power to charge his own katana, the character first appeared in '' Daredevil'' #11 ...
/
Silver Samurai Silver Samurai is the name of two different supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, both acquaintances of Wolverine. The character has appeared in several X-Men-related animated series and video games before ma ...
, Japan's biggest hero who is also very conceited.


Episodes


Production


Development

In February 2019, it was announced that
Marvel Television Marvel Television was an American television production company responsible for live-action and animated (through Marvel Animation) television shows and direct-to-DVD series based on characters from Marvel Comics. The division was based at affil ...
was developing an adult animated television series based on
Hit-Monkey Hit-Monkey is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Created by writer Daniel Way and artist Dalibor Talajić, Hit-Monkey first appeared in ''Hit-Monkey'' #1 (April 2010), a digi ...
, with a series order at
Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
, along with ''
M.O.D.O.K. MODOK (also written as M.O.D.O.K.; an acronym for Mental/Mobile/Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first MODOK is George Tarleton, a former e ...
'' and ones based on
Tigra Tigra (Greer Grant Nelson) is a fictional superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Introduced as the superpowered and gadget-wielding crime fighter the Cat in ''The Claws of the Cat'' #1 (November 1972). The ...
and Dazzler together, as well as
Howard the Duck Howard the Duck is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik. Howard the Duck first appeared in ''Adventure into F ...
, that were intended to lead up to a crossover special titled ''The Offenders''. The series was created by
Will Speck and Josh Gordon Will Speck (born December 31, 1969) and Josh Gordon are an American filmmaker duo who generally work in the comedy genre. They have directed six feature films together. Their accolades include an Academy Award nomination. Speck and Gordon met ...
, both of whom were expected to write for the series and executive produce alongside
Jeph Loeb Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III () is an American film and television writer, producer and comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV series '' Smallville'' and ''Lost'', writer for the films ''Commando'' and ''Teen Wolf'', and a writer and ...
. In December 2019, Marvel Television was folded into
Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...
, which carried subsequent oversight of the series. The following month, Marvel decided not to move forward with ''Howard the Duck'', ''Tigra & Dazzler'', and ''The Offenders'', with ''M.O.D.O.K.'' and ''Hit-Monkey'' continuing as planned. In May 2021, ''M.O.D.O.K.'' co-creator Jordan Blum revealed that the series would have a different animation style from ''M.O.D.O.K.''. In January 2022, Hulu's head of content Craig Erwich stated that additional seasons of ''Hit Monkey'' would be determined solely by the Marvel Studios team. With the cancelation of ''M.O.D.O.K.'' in May 2022, ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' reported ''Hit-Monkey'' was also not expected to be renewed. However, the series was renewed in February 2023, with
20th Television Animation 20th Television Animation (formerly Fox Television Animation) is an American animation studio that creates, develops and produces adult animated television series and specials. It is a unit of Disney Television Studios, a subsidiary of Walt Disne ...
taking over production of the series, given Marvel Television no longer existed. Additionally, the series no longer featured "Marvel's" in its name, though the Marvel logo would still be attached to the series "in other ways".


Casting

In September 2021, it was revealed that
Jason Sudeikis Daniel Jason Sudeikis ( ; born September 18, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. In the 1990s, he began his career in improv comedy and performed with ComedySportz, iO Chicago (Improv Olympic), and The Second City. In 200 ...
would voice Bryce, along with
Fred Tatasciore Fred Tatasciore (; ) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk and Beast (comics), Beast in various Marvel media and Solomon Grundy ( ...
as Hit-Monkey, with
George Takei George Takei (; ja, ジョージ・タケイ; born Hosato Takei (武井 穂郷), April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS ''Enterprise'' in the televi ...
,
Olivia Munn Lisa Olivia Munn (born July 3, 1980) is an American actress and former television host. After an internship at a news station in Tulsa, she moved to Los Angeles where she began her professional career as a television host for the gaming network ...
,
Ally Maki Ally Maki Matsumura (born December 29, 1986), known professionally as Ally Maki, is an American actress and model. She portrayed Jess Kato in the TBS comedy series '' Wrecked'' and the voice of Giggle McDimples in ''Toy Story 4''. Career Maki ...
, and Nobi Nakanishi also starring. Tatasciore, Sudeikis, Munn, and Maki return for the second season, with Leslie Jones joining the cast.


Release

''Hit Monkey'' was released on November 17, 2021, on
Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
in the United States. Internationally, the series was released on January 26, 2022, on
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
(via
Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
),
Disney+ Hotstar The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
and
Star+ A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...
in Latin America.


Reception

The review aggregator website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
reports an 84% approval rating with an average rating of 7.0/10 based on 19 critic reviews. The website's critical consensus reads: "If Marvel's ''Hit-Monkey'' is never as thrillingly original as its title might suggest, vibrant animation and a solid voice cast keep things consistently watchable."
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 57 out of 100 based on 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Kristen Reid of '' Paste'' stated that the animation of ''Hit-Monkey'' is remarkable with its inspiration of
Japanese animation is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening ...
, and claimed that the level of violence and lack of morality is refreshing compared to the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
, while finding the sense of humor of the series entertaining despite its lack of originality. Brenton Stewart of ''
Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...
'' found ''Hit-Monkey'' unique and refreshing through its animation compared to other high-quality
Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...
productions, stating that the company should continue to provide more adult animated projects that take risks. Stephen Robinson of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' gave the series a A− rating, stating that ''Hit-Monkey'' manages to be one of the best recent Marvel TV shows created, while the animation and the development of the villains, and complimenting the performance and chemistry of the cast. Siddhant Adlakha of ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' rated the series 7 out of 10 and found the animation of the series impressive, complimented how the plot and the visual elements manage to balance between humor and gore, despite saying that the characters feel more American than Japanese through their dialogues and mannerism. John Townsend of '' Starburst'' rated the series 3 out of 5 stars, saying that Marvel Television successfully provides a show with an inventive and clever humor, making less-known Marvel characters likable.


References


External links

* * * {{Authority control 2020s American adult animated television series 2020s American animated comedy television series 2020s American comic science fiction television series 2020s American superhero comedy television series 2021 American television series debuts Adult animated television shows based on Marvel Comics American adult animated comedy television series American adult animated science fiction television series American adult animated superhero television series American comic science fiction television series Animated television series about ghosts Animated television series about monkeys Anime-influenced Western animated television series English-language television shows Hulu original programming Television series by Fox Television Animation Television series by Marvel Studios Television series by Marvel Television Television shows set in Japan Television shows set in New York City Television shows set in Tokyo Works about the Yakuza