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Humanity’s Defender: The Crunchyroll Original follows an Aztec boy named Izel who is saved from death by the gods and forced to prove humanity’s potential on a journey that will take him across ancient Mesoamerica.
Sofía Alexander
it’s depicted through a foreign lens. As a Mexican woman, I had to translate to Americans and then to our South Korean studio. Luckily, we also had the help of an archaeologist/anthropologist who helped keep certain aspects of the world of Onyx Equinox that are inspired from real history as accurate as possible. How did your experiences on Infinity Train and Powerpuff Girls prepare you for the show? Infinity Train and Powerpuff Girls were strictly experienced as a storyboard artist and visual storytelling, which does help in board direction. However for the rest, there’s nothing that would train you or give you experience to become a showrunner. This is something you learn on the job, and if you’re lucky you’ll have mentors and team members who will help guide you. I was very lucky in that aspect! What are you most pleased about in Onyx Equinox and what do you hope audiences take away from it? I’m very happy that I was able to tell this story in general! I’d say the parts I’m most proud of are the music and the color design, but I think everyone who worked with me on it really put their heart and soul into it, and I hope it shows. I hope the audience is compelled by the story and that it sparks interest in Mexico’s rich culture and history, and that people will want to travel to some of the sites that appear in the show. Most of all, I hope that audiences around the world will be able to love and identify with the characters.
december 20
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What do you think of the current animation boom and the opportunities available to Latinx talent? We’re getting there, but it isn’t perfect. It’s wonderful that there are doors being opened for diverse voices, but we’ve got a ways to go when it comes to increasing our numbers, being included in leadership positions and the normalizing of diversity in content instead of considering it a movement or a media phase. For example, it was wonderful to have my show greenlit knowing that an underrepresented population would be getting exposure, but it was more difficult to find Indigenous and Latinx talent than I thought it would be. My background is in art, so there were plenty of artists from all walks of life that I knew I wanted for my team, but for other departments like writing and acting, I didn’t know anybody personally, so I had to rely on agency connections to find people. But things are changing, and I know that there are programs that are already out there and
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that are being developed that are designed to find those talents in places outside of expensive art schools. I have high hopes that between elevating those voices that are already in the animation industry and seeking out talent from other areas than the usual ones, we will be seeing some positive changes very soon. (And hopefully, there will be more interest in coming onto Onyx Equinox for a possible Season 2!) I also hope that Indigenous and Latinx people who see the show can see themselves reflected in a way that they identify with, and that by feeling seen, they will know that their stories and content are valuable and wanted, and that they can and should tell their stories, whatever they may be. What kind of advice can you give newbies who want to thrive in the animation business like you did? Make genuine connections with your peers and help each other out. Accept others’ kindnesses and pay it forward when you can. Tell the story you want to tell instead of the one you think studios will buy, because if you’re going to be running a show, you’ll have a much better time if you love it every step of the way! I almost didn’t pitch Onyx Equinox when I had the chance, because I didn’t think any place would consider it “marketable.” But it was a story I told from my heart and I hope that shines through. ◆ Onyx Equinox premieres on Crunchyroll on Saturday, November 21.
www.animationmagazine.net
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