High Guardian Spice

• 1. Introduction

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  High Guardian Spice was supposed to be Crunchyroll's very first original series. Instead, when it premiered on the 26th of October, 2021, it was approximately two years behind schedule. Before the series aired a single episode, its announcement had drawn a hostile backlash from parts of Crunchyroll's own user base. What did it take to get an openly queer animated fantasy onto one of the world's largest anime platforms? And what happened when it finally arrived?

• 2. Five Years of Pitching

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  In 2013, creator Raye Rodriguez first brought his concept to Frederator Studios. Frederator rejected it. Rodriguez then pitched to Crunchyroll in 2016 and developed the idea into a comic in 2017. A re-pitch in 2018, timed to when Marge Dean joined Crunchyroll, transformed the comic into a television series. In October 2023, Rodriguez told Melanie Cionco of Skwigly about those years of rejection. He said he had tried to "pitch the show for five years" before Crunchyroll finally agreed to produce it. He also admitted to downplaying the show's queerness when pitching to Nickelodeon, Frederator, and Cartoon Network.

  Production began in 2017. Claire Stenger, listed on her resume as a co-developer, writer, and co-story editor, worked on the project between September 2017 and October 2018. She helped write pitch documents, attend voice-over sessions, and give notes. The show wrapped production in autumn 2019. Crunchyroll then missed its own release windows in both 2019 and 2020. On the 25th of February, 2020, the studio released a trailer bundling High Guardian Spice with seven other original series. By the 15th of November, 2020, Constance Sarantos of CBR was publicly demanding that Crunchyroll release the show. Rodriguez told his followers on the 13th of May, 2021 to watch for news. A release date arrived on the 10th of October, 2021. The premiere was sixteen days away.

• 3. The High Guardian Academy

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  Rosemary's mother Lavender was once a well-known Guardian, and that legacy pulls Rosemary toward the High Guardian Academy and everything that comes with it. Rosemary, voiced by Briana Leon, is pink-haired and fearless, driven by the example her mother set. Her closest companion at school is Sage, voiced by Lauren White, a witch who favors Old Magic over the academy's New Magic curriculum. Parsley, voiced by Amber Romero, is a dwarf girl who also works as a blacksmith. Thyme, voiced by Michelle Deco, is an elven archer. Her mission is to save her homeland from a mysterious affliction the show calls the Rot.

  The Triad, voiced by Salli Saffioti, are three immortal female headmasters whose apparent ages span from young to elderly. Professor Harkone, voiced by Anthony Brandon Walker, teaches battle tactics. A science teacher named Redbud, voiced by Barbara Goodson, is known for deliberately putting students in danger as a form of testing. Among the students is Snapdragon, voiced by Julia Kaye, a snarky, ginger-haired girl and the best friend of a wealthier student named Amaryllis.

  In a November 2021 interview, Rodriguez described the show's central theme. Being a Guardian, he said, means risking your life to stand up for what you believe. The four leads "have to decide for themselves if this really is the path they want to walk down." He named Magic Knight Rayearth, Sailor Moon, Petite Princess Yucie, and Little Witch Academia as his main inspirations. He described the show's visual approach as a "hybrid Eastern-Western cartoon style." John Witiw of CBR noted that the characters' names reference "Scarborough Fair," an English folk ballad made popular by Simon and Garfunkel. Before the premiere, Animation Magazine noted that Rodriguez wanted to share "fantastical stories about queer, diverse and relatable characters."

• 4. Queerness at the Center

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  Professor Caraway is revealed to be a trans man in the third episode, titled "Transformations." He is voiced by Raye Rodriguez, who is also a trans man. Snapdragon, voiced by Julia Kaye, is a trans woman. Across the series, she works through her identity, and Caraway helps her move toward gender transition. Rodriguez confirmed that he based aspects of Snapdragon's character on Kaye. Kaye separately confirmed that Snapdragon is a trans woman.

  Anise, Sage's cousin, is a lesbian character voiced by Haviland Stillwell, who is herself a lesbian woman. She is married within the show to an elf named Aloe, voiced by Joy Lerner. Cam Clarke, who voices both Neppy Cat and Sorrel, is openly gay. Julian Koster, who voices Slime Boy, is described as ambiguously queer.

  In a November 2021 interview, Rodriguez praised Crunchyroll for not pushing back on any of the LGBTQ representation in the series. He said that within the show's world, people are "generally a lot more chill about LGBTQ+ people than they are in real life." He also said the content warnings before episodes were not his idea. He insisted the series was not intended for "mature audiences only," despite occasional mild language and blood.

  The head of Crunchyroll Studios, Margaret Dean, described the crew as "50% female" and "very ethnically and LGBTQ+ diverse." That crew and its show were about to face a deeply polarized online audience.

• 5. Controversy and Critics

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  Steve Jones of Anime News Network described what he called a "cadre of reactionary chud grifters" targeting the show within their "perpetual culture war." On public review sites, the series was review bombed. Lucas DeRuyter, also of Anime News Network, said what he called "Gamergate-style chuds" had made honest discussion of the show nearly impossible. He cited issues around both the show and the broader Crunchyroll Originals brand.

  Chiaki Hirai of Anime Feminist called the first episode "enjoyable" and praised the show's setting and story. She singled out the "explicit LGBTQ positivity" as a standout quality. Her main criticism was the absence of English subtitles, which she said made the show hard to watch for viewers with impaired hearing. Melanie Cionco of Skwigly described the series as "as queer and loud in its representation as it could" be. She lamented that the show's uncertain future had left its themes, plotlines, and characters "not fully developed." Ritwik Mitra of Game Rant called it "pretty lighthearted and interesting" but criticized its pacing. Madeline Carpou of The Mary Sue called the show "middle of the road" but said she ultimately liked it.

  On the 12th of November, 2021, Crunchyroll announced a pin set of the four leads in the chibi style from the show's closing credits. On the 10th of December, the company followed with four recipes inspired by the series, ranging from "sweet to savory treats."

  In January 2022, Rodriguez addressed the production criticisms directly. He said the series was "significantly low budget by U.S. animation standards." He argued that writing and art problems were largely a product of that budget. He noted that Onyx Equinox had shared "a lot of the same team and same pipeline" as High Guardian Spice. Onyx Equinox, he said, was union and had learned from mistakes made on the earlier show. Steve Jones separately said the series, like Onyx Equinox, had its own charm. Jones added that he felt more positively toward High Guardian Spice "due to the frustrations" expressed by its creator. Rodriguez urged viewers to think about "what happened behind the scenes" and to consider who had started the hatred toward the show.