High Guardian Spice
In the opening scene of High Guardian Spice, four young girls stand before a glowing portal at West City's edge. Rosemary, with pink hair and a sword in hand, declares she will become a guardian no matter what. Sage, whose blue hair marks her as a witch, objects to the New Magic-centered school that surrounds them. Parsley, a dwarf blacksmith with blond hair, hammers away at metal while Thyme, an elf archer with red hair, scans the horizon for danger.
The threat they face is called the Rot, a mysterious ailment spreading through their world. Thyme's home suffers from this sickness, driving her commitment to save it. The four attend High Guardian Academy together, training under the Triad, three immortal female headmasters who appear as young-appearing, middle-aged, and elderly women. They must protect everything from enemies like Olive, a catgirl assassin, and Mandrake, a human shapeshifter working for the Triumvirate.
Rosemary wants to take up her mother's sword and follow in her footsteps. Her mother Lavender was once a well-known Guardian. Sage uses Old Magic while the school teaches New Magic. This conflict creates tension within the group. Amaryllis, a rich human girl with purple hair, goes to the academy despite being violent. She remains loyal to Snapdragon, a snarky human student with red hair who is her best friend.
Raye Rodriguez first came up with the idea for the show in 2013. He pitched it to Frederator Studios but received rejection that same year. In 2016, he pitched the concept to Crunchyroll instead. By 2017, the project developed into a comic book before being re-pitched again in 2018 when Marge Dean started at Crunchyroll. The series finally became a television show after this long process.
Rodriguez told Melanie Cionco of Skwigly in October 2023 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. He noted that he downplayed the show's queerness when pitching it as a kids show for networks like Nickelodeon, Frederator, and Cartoon Network. Production began in 2017 according to Claire Stenger's resume, which shows she worked on pitch documents between September 2017 and October 2018.
The show was originally set to be released in early 2019, but delays pushed the premiere back multiple times. It wrapped production in autumn 2019, yet Crunchyroll missed deadlines for release in both 2019 and 2020. The series premiered on its own streaming service on the 26th of October 2021, after approximately two years of delay from its initial expected launch window.
In January 2022, Rodriguez revealed that the series was significantly low budget by U.S. animation standards. He stated that many problems people attributed to the writing and art could be traced directly to this financial constraint. Even though the show aired on Crunchyroll, it used a similar production pipeline to American animations like those on Cartoon Network. The project remained ambitious artistically within the schedule and budget provided.
Rodriguez noted that Onyx Equinox learned from mistakes made on High Guardian Spice while being unionized. He urged people to consider what happened behind the scenes when thinking about who started hatred toward the show. Claire Stenger worked as co-developer, writer, and co-story editor between September 2017 and October 2018. She helped with voice sessions, gave notes, and assisted with writing during that period.
William Ruzicka worked as a storyboarder for the series. The writers room was composed completely of women, and the crew was fifty percent female according to Margaret Dean, head of Crunchyroll Studios at the time. The team described themselves as very ethnically and LGBTQ+ diverse. Despite these efforts, the limited resources affected the final visual quality and pacing of the twelve 22-minute episodes.
Anise, Sage's cousin, is married to an elf woman named Aloe. Anise is voiced by Haviland Stillwell, a lesbian woman. Professor Caraway, a professor at the High Guardian Academy, is a trans man. In the third episode titled Transformations, he is revealed to be a trans man and is voiced by the show's creator, Raye Rodriguez. Snapdragon is a trans woman whose journey figures out who she is over the course of the series.
Caraway helps Snapdragon move toward gender transition while the voice actress Julia Kaye confirmed that Snap is a trans woman. Rodriguez based aspects of the character on her own experiences. The series includes openly gay Cam Clarke who voices Neppy Cat and Sorrel. Julian Koster voices Slime Boy and is ambiguously queer. These characters appear throughout the academy setting alongside other students like Parnelle, a child prodigy age ten.
Rodriguez stated in October 2021 that he was passionate about telling diverse and inclusive stories. He wanted to share fantastical stories about queer, diverse and relatable characters. In November 2021 interviews, he noted the importance of representation and voiced optimism for inclusivity in animation. He praised Crunchyroll for not giving any pushback to LGBTQ representation in the series.
Crunchyroll's announcement of the show prompted negative backlash from some of the site's users due to the diversity of the cast and crew. Tom Capon of Gay Star News described Rodriguez as the creative force behind the show, noting that he would lead an all-female writing room. Callum May of Anime News Network wrote that due to response by some to the show's unveiling, Crunchyroll seemed to have put off releasing the show for almost two years.
On public review sites, the series was review bombed after its release. Steve Jones, in an edition of This Week in Anime for Anime News Network, described the series and others under the Crunchyroll Originals brand as likely giving the cadre of reactionary chud grifters a new target to chew on in their perpetual culture war. Lucas DeRuyter of the same site asserted that Gamergate-style chuds created issues in talking about existing controversies surrounding the IP and CR Originals brand.
Rodriguez argued that negative backlash by some people to the series was why there was a lack of communication or release of the series. He stated that Crunchyroll has an internal and external communication problem. The delays appeared ridiculous at that point according to Constance Sarantos of CBR who advocated for the series' release in November 2020.
Evan Valentine, in an article for ComicBook.com, described the series as having a unique aesthetic while Ritwik Mitra of Game Rant called it pretty lighthearted and interesting but criticized the pacing and premise. Chiaki Hirai reviewed the first episode for Anime Feminist, describing it as comfortable and enjoyable while praising the show's setting and story. She said that explicit LGBTQ positivity stands out despite criticizing the lack of English subtitles which makes it hard for people with impaired hearing to watch.
Madeline Carpou of The Mary Sue described the show as middle of the road, saying quality varied but praised representation. Samuel Gachon of Collider said anime-inspired series like High Guardian Spice and RWBY are not always great. Steve Jones of Anime News Network criticized the production pipeline and series release schedule, saying it was unlikely that Crunchyroll would talk about the series ever again.
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Common questions
Who created the animated series High Guardian Spice?
Raye Rodriguez created the animated series High Guardian Spice. He first came up with the idea for the show in 2013 and pitched it to Frederator Studios that same year.
When did the television series High Guardian Spice premiere on streaming services?
The series premiered on its own streaming service on the 26th of October 2021. It wrapped production in autumn 2019 after delays pushed the initial expected release from early 2019.
What is the Rot ailment in the story of High Guardian Spice?
The Rot is a mysterious ailment spreading through the world of High Guardian Spice. Thyme's home suffers from this sickness, which drives her commitment to save it.
How many episodes does the final version of High Guardian Spice contain?
High Guardian Spice contains twelve 22-minute episodes. Limited resources affected the visual quality and pacing of these episodes during production.
Which characters in High Guardian Spice are identified as LGBTQ+ individuals?
Professor Caraway is a trans man voiced by Raye Rodriguez, and Snapdragon is a trans woman whose journey figures out who she is over the course of the series. The voice cast includes openly gay Cam Clarke and ambiguously queer character Slime Boy voiced by Julian Koster.