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Onyx Equinox

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Onyx Equinox
Promotional poster
Genre
Created bySofia Alexander
Written byVarious
Directed byVarious
Starring
  • Olivia J Brown
  • Alejandro Vargas-Lugo
  • Sofia Alexander
ComposerGustavo Farias
Country of origin
  • United States
  • Mexico
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes12
Production
Executive producers
  • Sofia Alexander
  • Margaret M. Dean
Producers
  • Allison Monterosso
  • Marisa Balkus
Editors
  • Don Devine
  • Katherine Duffy
Running time23–25 minutes
Production companies
  • Crunchyroll Studios
  • Tiger Animation (animation)
  • DR Movie (animation)
Original release
NetworkCrunchyroll
ReleaseNovember 21 (2020-11-21) –
December 26, 2020 (2020-12-26)

Onyx Equinox[1] is a Mexican-American animated streaming television series created by Sofia Alexander for Crunchyroll. It is based on the mythologies of Mesoamerica, featuring deities of Aztec, Maya and Zapotec myth, while also making references to the Olmecs.

The series premiered on November 21, 2020.[2] Alexander said that she hoped that fans of Western animation would "see the appeal of action-drama animation for adults."[3] While Alexander was initially nervous about pitching the show due to the lack of "stories about Mesoamerica," a Crunchyroll executive, Marisa Balkus, loved the pitch, and the show became "the first original series to be produced entirely out of Crunchyroll Studios."[4]

Synopsis

The Mexica/Aztec god of the underworld, Mictlantecuhtli, has began stealing blood sacrifices from the other gods, culminating in a Zapotec city being leveled. To these ends, Quetzalcoatl decides to close the gates to the underworld, but can't due to said gates being made of obsidian, which is toxic against the gods. So instead he makes a bet with Tezcatlipoca: he will find a human, "the lowest of the low", and crown him his champion so he will close the gates before the equinox, when Tezcatlipoca will kill off humanity. Tezcatlipoca agrees to the bet, but sends his champion Yaotl along as an emissary so Quetzalcoatl doesn't cheat.

Quetzalcoatl chooses Izel, a slave who lost his sister to blood sacrifice.

Voice cast

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
1"The Last Day"Kevin AltieriCharlie ReevesNovember 21, 2020 (2020-11-21)
Using an ancient dimensional gate built beneath it by the Olmecs, Mictlantecuhtli, Lord of the Underworld, attacks the city of Dani Baán, stealing its blood sacrifices from the gods and wiping out its populace. Undergoing an extended period of "blood draught" and receiving fewer sacrifices of late, the gods agree that Mictlantecuhtli's actions constitute drastic measures as his theft may lead to a war with Mictlantecuhtli for human offerings. To that end, they entrust Quetzalcoatl to close the five gates to the Underworld situated in various locations around Mesoamerica, cutting Mictlantecuhtli and his off from further theft of their divine sustenance. Suspect of his intensions due to the latter's manifest family ties in the Underworld, Tezcatlipoca informs Quetzalcoatl that he intends to destroy this era of humanity on the following equinox, but Quetzalcoatl coerces him into a wager: unable to directly work the Olmec obsidian gates himself as they are repellent to gods and mystic beings, he will choose the "lowest of the low" among humans to close them all instead before Tezcatlipoca's deadline. Should said champion manage before then, humanity will be spared. Should they fail, humanity will be destroyed. In either case, the additional prize is the respective winner's human offerings, sentencing the loser to blood starvation. Tezcatlipoca accepts. In Uxmal, a young Aztec boy named Izel and his elder sister Nelli, both slaves to a fair man, learn of what has transpired in Dani Baán and Izel is to be sacrificed to Mictlantecuhtli by the city elders to protect Uxmal from meeting the same fate. Nelli willingly insists on taking his place and is sacrificed in the city temple as a horrified Izel watches. Having lost the will to live in his grief, Izel leaps into the well by the temple in an attempt at suicide (and reconciliation with Nelli), only to be touched by a mysterious Underworld creature moments before he can cross through the gate, an act which inadvertently restores him to life, changing his eye colour to blue. Before he can drown again, Izel is rescued by a mystical panther which proclaims that the scrawny boy is a poor choice for humanity's apparent saviour.
2"Jaws of the Jaguar"Kuni TomitaJoshua PruettNovember 28, 2020 (2020-11-28)
3"Thicker Than Water"Emi YonemuraJoshua PruettDecember 5, 2020 (2020-12-05)
4"The Stranger"Ken WongJennifer Muro & Charlie ReevesDecember 12, 2020 (2020-12-12)
5"Predation"Kevin AltieriKristle PelusoDecember 19, 2020 (2020-12-19)
6"What She Carries"Emi YonemuraCharlie ReevesDecember 26, 2020 (2020-12-26)
7"The Underworld"Ken WongJoshua Pruett & Charlie ReevesDecember 26, 2020 (2020-12-26)
8"Run"Kevin AltieriCharlie ReevesDecember 26, 2020 (2020-12-26)
9"Death From Above"Emi YonemuraJoshua PruettDecember 26, 2020 (2020-12-26)
10"Death From Below"Ken WongJennifer Muro, Joshua Pruett, & Charlie ReevesDecember 26, 2020 (2020-12-26)
11"The Last Year"Kevin AltieriCharlie ReevesDecember 26, 2020 (2020-12-26)
12"The Bet"Kuni Tomita and Ken WongJennifer Muro, Kristle Peluso, Joshua Pruett, & Charlie ReevesDecember 26, 2020 (2020-12-26)

Release

The show was released on November 21, 2020. A trailer was released on June 25.[5] A second trailer showing off the show's characters was released on September 4, 2020,[6] with a final trailer on October 29.[7] On November 11, 2020, Crunchyroll announced that the series would be dubbed in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German upon release.[8][9] Crunchyroll released the remaining seven episodes of the series on December 26, 2020 due to a high demand of viewers wanting to binge the series rather than waiting weekly for new episodes through February 2021.[10]

Awards

In early December 2020, Onyx Equinox creator Sofia Alexander received Animation Magazine's "New Voice of the Year" award.[11]

Reception

Ederlyn Peralta of CBR said that the series is unique, with "mesmerizing and highly-detailed character designs for the gods" of Mesoamerican culture and noted that while it is an adult animation, due to the "gore, profanity and sexual content," it, in their opinion, fails to have "quality character development for Izel and his comrades," and reported that some viewers believe that the protagonists are annoying and unlikeable because of their "whining."[12] In contrast, Monique Thomas and Steve Jones of Anime News Network praised the series, calling it a "big landmark for animation," as it is the first animated series produced by Crunchyroll and has a "diverse staff."[13] They also argued that the series has more in common with Western animation than anime, arguing it is anime inspired, and an original "action-fantasy for adults" while pointing out the curse words and violence. Thomas and Jones had one criticism, not of the show, but of Crunchyroll, asking why the show did not have English subtitles, leading one the reviewers to watch using the Spanish subtitles instead. Melissa Camacho of family-oriented non-profit Common Sense Media criticized the series for its "brutal violence" and nudity, while admitting that the series had a great plot, and "worthy of your time," pointing out it is "an adult-oriented anime series set in ancient Mesoamerican history."[14]

References

  1. ^ "Onyx Equinox Opens the Doors of Destiny in New Trailer and Key Visual". Crunchyroll. June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Crunchyroll Announces Cast, Premiere Date for Onyx Equinox". CBR. September 5, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  3. ^ Prentice, Robert (November 20, 2020). ""Onyx Equinox" Premieres Saturday on Crunchyroll". Three If By Space. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; November 21, 2020 suggested (help)
  4. ^ Cao, Caroline (November 21, 2020). "Crunchyroll's violent, new epic Onyx Equinox brings Mesoamerican culture to animation". Polygon. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  5. ^ Crunchyroll Collections (June 25, 2020). Onyx Equinox | A Crunchyroll Original | OFFICIAL TRAILER. YouTube. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  6. ^ Crunchyroll Collections (September 4, 2020). Onyx Equinox | A Crunchyroll Original | CHARACTER TRAILER. YouTube. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  7. ^ Crunchyroll Collections (October 29, 2020). Onyx Equinox | A Crunchyroll Original | DARK TRAILER. YouTube. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  8. ^ Cardine, Kyle (November 11, 2020). "Crunchyroll Announces JUJUTSU KAISEN, Noblesse, and More Fall 2020 Season Dubs!". Crunchyroll. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  9. ^ Mateo, Alex (November 11, 2020). "Crunchyroll Announces English Dubs, Casts for Jujutsu Kaisen, I'm Standing on a Million Lives, TONIKAWA, Noblesse Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  10. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (December 21, 2020). "Crunchyroll Offers Full Season of 'Onyx Equinox' to Viewers Saturday". Animation Magazine. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  11. ^ Zahed, Ramin (December 1, 2020). "A Celebration of Excellence: Animation Magazine's 2020 Awards". Animation Magazine. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  12. ^ Peralta, Ederlyn (January 10, 2021). "Every Crunchyroll Original Anime (So Far), Ranked". CBR. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  13. ^ Thomas, Monique; Jones, Steve (January 5, 2021). "The Blood-Soaked World of Onyx Equinox". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  14. ^ Camacho, Melissa (November 21, 2020). "Onyx Equinox". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
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