Ta-chan starts as a Tarzan parody and never apologizes for the whiplash when it stops being funny. The show pivots hard from slapstick into actual stakes, poachers who mean business, a wife whose character design got brutally realistic, and martial arts that land with real weight. By episode ten you're watching something that doesn't know what genre it is, and that's exactly what makes it work.

Ta-chan grew up on the savanna, raised by a chimpanzee named Etekichi after being abandoned there. Now he rules as king of the jungle, protecting its animals from poachers. His beloved wife Jane was once a top model in New York, though her looks have changed since. Alongside his disciple Pedro and Ryo, a master of Chinese martial arts, Ta-chan fights the poachers head on. Adapted from the manga of the same name, the action comedy opens as a playful Tarzan parody. The first several episodes are played for laughs, while the rest of the run turns noticeably more serious.