High Guardian Spice

Lore & Background

Rodriguez first conceived the show in 2013 and pitched it to Frederator Studios, where it was rejected. It was later pitched to Crunchyroll in 2016, developed into a comic in 2017, and re-pitched in 2018 when Marge Dean joined Crunchyroll. Production began in 2018, with a writers room composed entirely of women and a crew that was 50% female and very ethnically and LGBTQ+ diverse. The show was originally set for an early 2019 release but was delayed, wrapping production in autumn 2019. Rodriguez noted the series had a significantly low budget by U.S. animation standards, which affected writing and art.

Reader's Guide

High Guardian Spice is significant as Crunchyroll's first original series, marking the company's entry into original animation production. Its development faced notable delays and backlash, which some attributed to communication issues at Crunchyroll. The series is also notable for its diverse crew, including creator Raye Rodriguez, a trans man, and a predominantly female writers room. Despite its low budget, the show aimed to blend American animation pipelines with anime-inspired storytelling. Its legacy includes influencing later Crunchyroll originals like Onyx Equinox, which shared some team members and production methods. The series remains a case study in the challenges of launching original content in a streaming landscape.

Did You Know?

• The series was originally pitched to Frederator Studios in 2013 and rejected before being picked up by Crunchyroll.
• Raye Rodriguez downplayed the show's queerness when pitching it to networks like Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.
• The show had a writers room composed completely of women and a crew that was 50% female.

The Long Road to the Screen

High Guardian Spice did not arrive on streaming platforms overnight. Creator Raye Rodriguez first conceived the concept in 2013 and brought it to Frederator Studios, only to face rejection. The idea sat dormant until 2016, when Rodriguez pitched it to Crunchyroll. By 2017, the project had been developed into a comic format, and in 2018, with new executive Marge Dean at Crunchyroll, the pitch was revisited and finally greenlit as a television series. Rodriguez later revealed to Skwigly's Melanie Cionco in October 2023 that he spent roughly five years trying to sell the show, and during that period he deliberately softened its queer elements, framing it as a conventional kids' property suitable for networks like Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network. Production officially kicked off in 2017, with co-developer Claire Stenger contributing to pitch documents, voice sessions, and writing between September 2017 and October 2018. The series wrapped production in autumn 2019, yet Crunchyroll missed its release windows in both 2019 and 2020, pushing the premiere to October 26, 2021.

A World of Guardians and Threats

The narrative centers on four young students at the High Guardian Academy, a school where they train to become protectors of West City. The ensemble is deliberately diverse in species and background: Rosemary is a brash human with pink hair who aspires to match her mother Lavender's legacy as a former Guardian; Sage is a blue-haired witch who practices Old Magic and clashes with the academy's New Magic curriculum; Parsley is a blond-haired dwarf who works as a blacksmith; and Thyme is a red-haired elf archer driven by the urgent need to save her homeland from a mysterious affliction known as the Rot. Beyond their training, the girls navigate friendships, rivalries, and betrayals while an unknown global threat looms. The antagonistic force behind much of the conflict is the Triumvirate, a shadowy governing body whose operatives include the catgirl Olive, the shapeshifting warlock Mandrake, and the smoky wisp entity Smoke Face. The academy itself is populated by an eclectic staff—three immortal headmasters called the Triad, a demon ethics professor, a satyr blacksmithing instructor, and a science teacher who repeatedly endangers her students under the guise of testing them.

Voices of Representation

One of the series' most notable strengths is its layered approach to identity and representation across its cast. Among the supporting students, Snapdragon is a ginger-haired human dealing with gender dysphoria, a storyline complicated by the transphobic student Cal, while her wealthy, aggressive best friend Amaryllis provides a contrasting dynamic. The faculty includes Professor Caraway, a trans-male human who teaches sacred alphabets and is a childhood friend of Rosemary's mother. Sage's family features her lesbian cousin Anise, married to an elf named Aloe. The voice cast spans a wide range of talent, with Briana Leon, Lauren White, Amber Romero, and Michelle Deco leading the principal quartet, while Audu Paden, AJ Beckles, and SungWon Cho appear in multiple roles across the series. Creator Raye Rodriguez himself lends his voice to two characters: Professor Caraway and the academy cat Kino. The show also includes merpeople, a demon, and a satyr, building a world where non-human species coexist naturally with humans in an academic and urban setting.

Crunchyroll's Pioneering Original

High Guardian Spice holds a distinctive place in streaming history as what was originally intended to be Crunchyroll's first original animated series. The production company behind it, Crunchyroll Studios (previously operating under the name Ellation), took on the project during a period when the platform was expanding beyond its traditional anime catalog into original Western animation. The show's journey from a 2013 pitch to its October 26, 2021 premiere on Crunchyroll's own streaming service spanned roughly eight years, a timeline marked by rejections, format changes from pitch to comic to television series, and a roughly two-year delay after production wrapped in late 2019. Rodriguez's background as a character designer on Danger & Eggs informed the show's visual and character-driven sensibility. The series also attracted a substantial voice ensemble, with performers like Salli Saffioti, Stephanie Sheh, Anthony Brandon Walker, and Barbara Goodson contributing to the supporting and antagonist roles, giving the production a depth of casting typical of larger studio projects.