Onyx Equinox an original animated series from Crunchyroll

I think another problem this show has is that it is virtually impossible to create any sort of mouth to mouth hype for. How would you explain this cartoon to people?

"Hey, there's this cartoon, it's a bit like Avatar, but it's about human sacrifice and the gods killing humanity, and the hero is this ten year old boy who is suicidal after seeing his sister get her throat slit, and he has this sword that is powered by cutting his wrist, and the gods possess people which makes them decompose, and there's lots of gore, and - hey, why are you looking at me like that? Stop backing away from me!"

Yeah. Not exactly water cooler material, this.

It once again leans into the Uncertain Audience that has plagued this show. Forgiving for a moment that indigenous work doesn’t have a massive audience to begin with (Remember Apocalypto?) this is yet another show that feels like all Western action animation must be Avatar-adjacent, in terms of characterization, humor, and art style. This seems to be an increasingly common trend, where ideas that don’t appeal to the audience or need heavy rounds of edits and workshopping get pushed forward as-is by creators insistent that said idea will work, only for the idea to not work.

Yeah, while I love works inspired by indigenous culture, this particular culture is just too alienating for modern audiences.

That goes for classical Western culture too, by the way. You'll notice that works set in ancient Rome generally leave out the rampant infanticide, for instance.

"An Aztec boy and his growing band of friends are tasked by the celestial gods to shut down all the underworld gates before the eclipse occurs and mankind is doomed" There, and I didn't need to go into pointless details specifically brought up to make the show look as unappealing as possible.

I do think you are kinda exaggerating how alienating show is when I think it wasn't that bad <_<

Like I think main problem is that it takes few episodes for show to pick up because it starts with introducing least likeable characters in their least likeable state before character development, so there isn't much to go by if you want to check out few episodes before deciding to see rest

Edited by SpookyMask on Feb 16th 2021 at 9:48:03 PM

But these elements do stand out once you actually watch the show. They can't really be gotten around.

Be honest, how many of you have recommended this show to your friends?

At least six and two are watching it right now. But they also watch other action/adventure shows like Castlevania, Blood of Zeus and anime in general.

I do think starting out with Zyanya's POV, followed by the bet, followed by Izel is a bit of an odd choice, even if I understand the reasoning. But Izel isn't any more unlikable than any other protagonist starting out at a low point and before their character development.

^^I don't recommend even Gravity Falls to my friends since I don't really do recommendations

^Anyhoo, I agree that Izel isn't actually worse than other protagonists in that regard, but he starts out extremely broken and its hard to watch

Edited by SpookyMask on Feb 16th 2021 at 5:15:21 PM

Izel gets better later on, but by that point he gets a bit overshadowed by Mictecacihuatl, who gets the most interesting and complex story so far.

Onyx Equinox will come to DVD/Blu-Ray at an unannounced date.

Seriously? But it hasn't even been renewed yet. Did it do well?

I mean, don't get me wrong, this show probably deserves a DVD, but it irks me a little that this show gets a DVD release when some others never do.

Looks like a bulk license order. Sentai got the rights to release all the Crunchyroll Originals...and that means ALL the Crunchyroll Originals. No picking and choosing Nobleese or God of High School and leaving this on the shelf.

Ah, I see. Some shows are just born lucky, I suppose.

Media Blasters released freaking Eiken on Blu-Ray. Show releases are truly unfair.

Edited by Beatman1 on May 18th 2021 at 11:36:33 AM

Sofia Alexander sent out these tweets where she shows off some of her concept art for the series. One is a poster for the pitch bible she made for the series in 2017. The other is from her original comic strips from 2007, where it was simply an idea in her head.

https://mobile.twitter.com/sofiaealexander/status/1405233858551828484

https://mobile.twitter.com/sofiaealexander/status/1407111800336748547

https://mobile.twitter.com/sofiaealexander/status/1407111802501009423

Everyone looks a lot younger than in the series. Zyanya is almost unrecognizable. Also, don't know how I feel about Izel's original weapon.

I hope Sofia changes her mind about the original comic strip eventually.

For all practical effects, this is basically a Mexican show made for both Mexicans and Latin Americans, and made with American money and staff. In the same way like Yasuke is an American show made for Americans and westerners in mind, but made with Japanese money and staff.

The show was nominated under the young adult programming for the Imagen Awards (which honors Latino programming and the people involved in the programming). There's also a nomination for music. The ceremony is October 10.

https://www.imagen.org/2021/08/36th-annual-imagen-awards-nominations-announced/

Edited by jessicadicicco610 on Aug 2nd 2021 at 11:01:28 AM

Speaking of Latino representation, what do Latinos think of this show now it's finished?

In Mexico it overall had a great reception. Fans even get it trending on Twitter every couple of months demanding a second season.

Neat! I wish them the best of luck!

Sofia Alexander did a recent interview. It is in Spanish, but around 1:06:00, she gives some teases about season 2, though that still hasn't been picked up and she is working now at Marvel Studios.

The teases she dropped are: (foldered, just in case)

Edited by GamerSlyRatchet on Oct 6th 2021 at 9:48:11 AM

The Blu Ray comes out February 22.

https://www.sentaifilmworks.com/collections/pre-order/products/816726029740-onyx-equinox-complete-collection-blu-ray?s=09

I positively adore this series, extremely accurate to the cultures it is representing and you can see Sofia's struggle with depression in the writting.

I also don't really understand the Uncertain Audience accusations? For one thing adult animated series have always experimented with "childish" artstyles, and Avatar already looks like a fairly mature anime in terms of aesthetics.

It's not an accusation, it's just that there seems to be a disconnect between the storytelling, which (at least in the first half of the season) follows pretty standard children's show conventions (a powerless child becomes the chosen one who has to save the world from the apocalypse), and the very mature content.

The latter half of the first season does a lot to complicate and deepen the plot, but there is no denying that the story starts out rather light-weight. I think this show would work much better for mature audiences if it had introduced more of those plot complications right from the start.