High Guardian Spice[2] is an American animated television series created by Raye Rodriguez, who formerly worked for Danger & Eggs as a character designer.[3][4] The series is produced by Crunchyroll Studios (formerly named Ellation), and was originally slated to be Crunchyroll's first original series before it was delayed for approximately 2 years.[5] The series premiered on its own streaming service on October 26, 2021.[6][7]
Premise
A group of four young girls who attend the High Guardian Academy are training to become guardians of West City.[8] At the same time, they deal with friends, enemies, and betrayals, as they attempt to protect everything from an unknown threat against the world.
Characters
Main
- Rosemary (voiced by Briana Leon)[9] – A human who has pink hair and wants to become a guardian no matter what. She is brash, bold, and wants to take up her mother's sword and follow in her mother's footsteps. She attends High Guardian Academy with Sage, Parsley, Thyme, and others.
- Sage (voiced by Lauren White)[4] – A witch who has blue hair and uses Old Magic. She often runs into problems with the New Magic-centered school, as she objects to New Magic.
- Parsley (voiced by Amber Romero)[6] – A dwarf and a magical girl with blond hair who works as a blacksmith.
- Thyme (voiced by Michelle Deco)[4]
Production
Development
In 2013, Rodriguez first came up with the idea for the show and pitched it to Frederator Studios but it was rejected. It was later pitched to Crunchyroll in 2016, developed into a comic in 2017, and re-pitched in 2018 when Marge Dean started at Crunchyroll, becoming a TV show. In October 2023, Rodriguez told Melanie Cionco of Skwigly that he tried to "pitch the show for five years before it would eventually get picked up by Crunchyroll as part of their original series" and noted that he downplayed the show's queerness when he was "pitching it as a kids show for like Nickelodeon, Frederator, Cartoon Network etc."[39]
The show began production in 2017. According to the resume of Claire Stenger, a co-developer, writer, and co-story editor for the show, she worked on pitch documents, helped with VO sessions, gave notes, and helped with the writing, between September 2017 and October 2018.[40] The show was originally set to be released in early 2019, but was delayed.[2]
LGBTQ representation
The series features various LGBTQ characters. Anise, Sage's cousin, is married to an Elf woman named Aloe, with Anise voiced by Haviland Stillwell, a lesbian woman.[69] Professor Caraway, a professor at the High Guardian Academy, is a trans man. In the third episode "Transformations", he is revealed to be a trans man, and is voiced by the show's creator, Raye Rodriguez.[70][71][4] Snapdragon is a trans woman. Over the course of the series, Snapdragon "Snap" figures out who she is and Caraway helps her move toward gender transition. The voice actress for Snap, Julia Kaye, confirmed that Snap is a trans woman and that Rodriguez based aspects of the character on her.[72] Rodriguez further confirmed that Snap is a trans woman.[73]
Episodes
Reception
Pre-release
In March 2020, John Witiw of CBR said that the series reminded them of RWBY, Mysticons, and Harry Potter, while noting that the names of the characters are a reference to "Scarborough Fair", an English folk ballad made popular by Simon & Garfunkel.[74] Another reviewer, Ethan Supovitz, also of CBR, said that the show has "a lot of anime influences", blending Eastern and Western animation, calling it reminiscent of Steven Universe, The Owl House, and Dungeons & Dragons, praising the creative team, variety of characters, while expressing worry about the show's style over substance, the number of "newcomers", familiar themes, and delay in release.[52]
Crunchyroll's announcement of the show prompted a negative backlash from some of the site's users due to the diversity of the cast and crew and inclusion of LGBTQ+ themes.[75]
Franchise
On November 12, 2021, Crunchyroll announced that a pin set of characters Rosemary, Sage, Parsley, and Thyme, in the chibi style from the show's closing credits, could be bought from the company's web store.[85]
On December 10, 2021, Crunchyroll shared four recipes inspired by the show ranging from "sweet to savory treats".[86]
External links
References
- Raye Rodridguez. About Raye Rodriguez's Official Website, 2020, retrieved October 10, 2020^
- Richard Whittaker, 4:22PM. Corporate Reshuffle Signals New Era at Rooster Teeth Austin Chronicle, December 12, 2018, retrieved 2019-01-11^
- Janko Roettgers. AT&T's Ellation Launches Studios in Burbank and Tokyo to Produce Crunchyroll Originals