High Guardian Spice 9/1/18 Panel
No recording allowed[including recording through text, but said person did it anyways]. Would be escorted out if caught. Not sure if they meant from the panel or from the con, but given the security guard at the first checkpoint of the event told us not to record in the panel rooms, leaning towards ejected from the con
No Q&A in the panel. Told this from the start.
The show was originally conceptualized by Raye Rodriquez in 2013. It was pitched to cartoon studios at the time and was rejected. Later it was picked up as a comic series, now a show.
--What was Shown--
Crunchyroll Originals - shown a sizzle reel showing of snippets of the original programming they're working on. Styles ranged from this kind of western to french graphic novel style to outright anime. Looked to be between 5 and 8 different shows, judging from the various styles. The studio is Ellation Studios, with one office in LA and one in Tokyo. The shows are coming out in 2019. Other shows being in production were already mentioned in a post shortly after High Guardian Spice was announced, but no other information was given back then.
High Guardian Spice Sizzle Reel - shown a reel of very rough animatic snippets, backgrounds, and a short 3 second animation of the two primary characters riding a broom and then jumping down, with the pink one catching the blue one.
Powerpoint - Showed turnarounds of main 4 characters, stills of 4 teachers, wips of two classmates, and backgrounds/settings
--Information given during the Panel--
Show is inspired by older Shoujo magical girl anime (Sailor Moon, Tokyo Mew Mew, Magical Knight Rayearth, etc)
How to be a Hero Story, A coming of age story following the high school life of two 14 year old childhood friends (pink and blue) from the small town of Pebble, moving into the big city Lyngarth to study to become guardians (the in world equivalent to heroes/adventurers).
The show will be doing an in depth look at female friendships, as well as sacrifices one has to make as they grow up. There will also be looks at relationships formed by both mutual love of things and mutual hatred of things.
"Forming alliances" was a phrase used about 15 times to accentuate the relationship delves.
The story takes place at a magic academy
There will be dragons
Story is heavily influenced by DnD, and characters are DnD archetypes
Most all of the names are derived from plant names, both scientific and botanical origins.
The nature of magic in the show is quite dynamic. It's a driving force of the story.
The show is built from the Team's High school experiences as teenage outcasts, but accepted in certain groups. The characters are infused with the team's own flaws they had in high school that they later grew out of.
"Depictions aren't mean spirited but sympathetic"
There's going to be a lot of angsty boys, and a lot of angst in general. A lot of crying as well.
No Broadcast restrictions. The topics presented will be "high stakes" thematically.
"Internal looks at characters, but also monster punching"
There will be fantasy combat sequences.
A lot of animals
Most of the animation is done by a Korean studio. Said studio also did the inbetweening animation on some Ghibli films.
There will be POC and Trans characters, voiced by POC and Trans voice actors.
6 episodes have already been recorded.
The show will be out in about 6 months.
There are first time VAs, as well as "Voices you might recognize from other anime"
Large cast of characters.
A lot of cats are in the show. Some are magical beings, and there are transforming cats. A theme of "Hidden Identities" was brought up when talking about the shapeshifting cats.
"So much love and depth was put into this show"
Posters of the image shown during the online reveal were given out on a table at the end.
--Characters--
-The 4 in the poster-
Rosemary (Pink) - One of the two main characters, childhood friends with Sage. "Likes yelling and trips a lot". High energy. Only uses a sword and punching, no magic. Based off the warrior class of DnD. The character was conceptualized from the creator's (Raye Rodriguez) ideal self image as a cool magical girl from when they were a kid, specifically Hikaru from Magic Knight Rayearth, before realizing they were trans. "Well if I'm going to be a girl, I want to at least be this cool magical girl"
Sage (Blue) - One of the two main characters, childhood friends with Rosemary. Magic caster. The duo are living with Sage's cousin and their partner, Aloe and Anise, while in Lyngarth. No other information was actually given about this character. Most likely based off of one of the spellcaster classes in DnD
Parsley (Yellow) - Dwarf. From a big family, has about 12 siblings. Went against tradition of smithing to go to the magic academy. "The mom friend." Physically the strongest character. Can make/ MacGyver anything. Favorite class in school is smithing. Written by Kate Leth. DnD basis not given.
Thyme (Green/Red) - Elf, an immigrant from another region sent to the school against her will by her mother. Survivalist. "Too cool for school". Aloof, sarcastic. A "mini-nemesis" at the start, later becomes an ally. "Daria but anime". Based off of rogue class. Not explicitly stated, but made out to be a tsundere. Also not explicitly stated, but most likely a POC character.
-Teachers-
Carroway - literature teacher (Magical alphabets iirc). Posh looking guy, a dorky professor.
Monk Teacher (Missed the name) - PE/weapons teacher, bald monk in Tibetan monk-esque robes
Redbud - Potions/Botany teacher, "a lot like Cruella DeVille", "Don't drink anything she gives you"
Satyr Teacher (Missed the name)- Smithing teacher, bumbling. Bigger fella in a blacksmiths apron.
Tiefling Teacher (Name not given) - "A hot tiefling teacher", shown briefly in an animatic. Female. Class taught not given.
-Other Students-
Amaryllis - "A symbol of teenage aggression". A bully and antagonist to the main characters. Only friend is Snapdragon. "Kate's specific skills" were used to write the character. Long blonde haired girl, looks visually like a mash between Diana from LWA and Pacifica from Gravity falls. No other information was given about this character.
Snapdragon - Pretty boy. "A hottie". "An angsty boy". "Representation for all angsty boys out there." The only friend of Amaryllis.
-Other Characters-
Aloe and Anise - Sage's cousin and their partner. Married Lesbian witch duo. Main characters are living with them. Featured prominently in their apartment is their wedding photo together. The family role, acts as an anchor to the main characters. A tall, long white haired pasty elf, and a tanned human with an undercut and tattoos. Was not told which is which.
--Settings--
Lyngarth - A cultural melting pot of a city, and the main location of the story. Races include Centaurs, Elves, Witches, Humans, Tieflings, Satyrs, and sentient animals.
Pebble - The small town Rosemary and Sage came from
Magic Academy (Might also be called Lyngarth) - The in world equivalent to high school, where the main characters are going to study to become guardians. Front of school is regal classical in design, but steadily becomes more chaotic in design as you go farther back towards the forest. Aerial shot showed a pentagon of buildings connected (Ring school), creating a large center quad area. Several building shots were shown. Underneath the school is a series of tunnels and passageways, also part of the school. Towards the bottom of these is where the smithing classes take place.
Aloe and Anise's Apartment - Rosemary and Sage live here with Aloe and Anise. A bust shot photo of Aloe and Anise in their wedding outfits together with a bouquet of flowers containing rosemary, sage, and many other plants is featured prominently in the apartment wall.
--Name breakdown of High Guardian Spice--
--(extrapolated from information given)--
High school
Training to become Guardians
Everyone is named after Spice
A very on the nose name, not uncommon
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