High Guardian Spice: Flawed Brilliance and Fantasy Fun (Spoiler review/analysis)

(Note: This is an updated review to include a greater discussion of spoilers, and to elaborate on one or two points I could have made clear.)

TL;DR: Though far from perfect, primarily due to the rough-around-the-edges animation, High Guardian Spice does a wonderful job in presenting its fantasy coming of age story, building on common heroic fantasy tropes to great effect.

I will admit upfront that I have some level of bias in this review, since I'm a non-binary fantasy nerd who loves all things magical and colourful. This show was always going to be on my radar, but even then, my goal with any media I love is to express my perspective on it in a critical manner. So, in that regard, how does High Guardian Spice hold up?

It's worth noting that many of the basal character and setting archetypes are nothing new. We've had stories of happy-go-lucky protagonists, reserved best friends, and magical fantasy schools before. However, all stories are, to a greater or lesser extent, derivative. The Hero's Journey is a literary tool as old as storytelling itself, applying its structure in everything from the Hobbit to Star Wars.

This is why calling a story "unoriginal" is not an effective critique. What we need to do is examine how these tropes are used, and how effective they are to the overall story. The keystones to the story development is HGS' duel magic system.

The "New Magic" is the soft magic system, being faster, more direct, but also more expendable than the "Old" hard magic system, which requires extensive knowledge and use of runes. Though we don't get many specific details on exactly how it works, particularly how it "gives back" to nature, with only twelve episodes of the season, it's impossible to flesh out the consequences of each in their entirety.

But for what it's worth, we get to see how the rejection of old magic is having a dramatic effect on the world. We see the visible corruption in the tree roots, matching the dark purple colour of the mysterious villain. We can infer from Thyme's discussion of the topic that the problem is growing far worse in her home forest, and that the Elves are trying to fight back against it. Seeing what this corruption can do on a small scale helps to sell how bad the problem can be on a larger scale.

HGS draws character inspiration from both western and eastern animation, with influences ranging from Little Witch Academia to Steven Universe. As such, each of the characters have a different relation to magic, including different levels of magical skill. The more time we spend with them, the more we learn about their own goals and ideals, adding depth that sets them apart from their basal archetypes.

Sage follows the mage archetype to a T, with the added twist of having strong ties to her family's tradition of using old magic. It's interesting to see how the culture is built around these magic systems, with some teachers being bias towards new magic, in direct opposition to Sage. This is made all the more complex when the two magic systems aren't a strict binary. They can be used interchangeably, or mixed together, creating even stronger spells. As before, the show's limited first season can only show so much, but I expect a deeper dive should future seasons be green lit.

Thyme, being the ranger archetype, is the least skilled in magic, and is the most resistant to using it in general. Naturally, her archery skills are unmatched, but her ability to enhance her skills with magic shows a hidden versatility to her otherwise stubborn and stoic nature.

Each of the characters have a mixed relationship with their family, showing that even if conditions are generally good, they're rarely perfect. Rosemary's mother is missing, but not outright dead, which is unusually a softer outcome compared to shows like Steven Universe. She lives with the trauma associated with an absentee mother, though tries to make up for this by strongly treasuring the mementoes left over.

Parsley, despite having the least development out of the core four girls, still has a strong sense of responsibility in both the forge and her family life. Being the eldest of many siblings, she carries the burden of finding independence despite such a strong incentive to be a stay-at-home carer like her own mother is. This makes her a natural peace-maker, often helping to moderate arguments between her friends when tempers flare hot. Being a primarily coming of age story, there is a greater focus on development than there is worldbuilding, but that doesn't mean the latter is neglected. They learn as much about themselves as they do magic in general, showing a great strength in the overall character writing.

HGS should be especially noteworthy for its handling of transgender-related topics. Professor Caraway is an openly transgender man, being one of few characters in any animated series to be explicitly stated as such. This doesn't mean that he, or any of the other queer characters, are stereotypes, however. Their queerness isn't their only defining character trait, but rather a piece of the whole. Caraway is soft spoken, gentle, but firm, doing his duty as a teacher while also offering a listening ear to students who need it.

Likewise, Anise and Aloe are both static characters, being the adult cousins of Sage. Their role in the story is largely a secondary one, providing somewhere for Rose and Sage to stay while encouraging their exploration of specialities. Though they could perhaps have had a little more conflict in the story, as Caraway does, with such a large supporting cast, it would be impossible for them all to get their time in the sun.

If there is one thing HGS does an incredible job of tackling toxic masculinity and internalised transphobia. Snapdragon is AMAB (Assigned Male At Birth) and despite initially coming off as just another bully, the more we get to know him, the more we see how much emotional baggage he has. Being born into a family with strict gender roles, he is very sensitive to having his masculinity questioned, often lashing out violently as his father taught him to do.

This reflects how toxic masculinity expects men and masculine people to suppress their emotions, to be stoic, and for any sign of femininity to be considered a weakness of character. Snapdragon is not a masculine individual, and in fact, hates being called a man. It's strongly implied that he is either transfem or non-binary, and here is the point where HGS busts a huge myth regarding trans youth.

Caraway does not insist that he use transition magic immediately. He is not pushing Snapdragon to become a trans woman, but rather to be kind to himself. Caraway wants Snapdragon to take the time to explore his gender expression and to trust his friends, his real friends, to accept his desire for femininity. Strict gender roles are a great source of stifle for many trans and non-binary individuals, shaming them should they ever deviate from the standards of gender they're expected to adhere to.

This leads into Amaryllis, who is quite a mixed bag. Much of the time, she is the generic bully character, talking down to those she considers beneath her. We don't get to meet her parents as we do others, but from the conversations the main girls have with her, it's clear she comes from a very stuck-up controlling background. This is where my point about unoriginality comes in. So much of her personality revolves around this one character trait, and we don't get to see as much development from her as we perhaps should.

This doesn't mean she's completely shallow, however. Even if she flip-flops and acts aggressive to most, she does genuinely care for her friends, showing an openness to emotion which few other shows would even touch upon. Snapdragon isn't her lacky, he's her friend. She doesn't care what gender he is or what he presents as. She wants to know and support him as a person, and if that means getting his nails painted (a feat I have yet to master!), then she'll do so without a second thought.

None of the heroes aren't perfect, and that's the point. They aren't the chosen ones, they are just ordinary girls dedicated to their causes. Thyme in particular can be very insensitive at times, and is implied to perhaps be on the autistic spectrum. She doesn't express emotion very well, coming off as standoffish and cruel. She isn't, however, a bully. This sets her apart from Amaryllis, since Thyme wants to enjoy her time with her friends. She is slowly opening up as the series goes on.

The show does have its fair share of blood and swearing, but not to a gratuitous degree. Personally, I find the content warnings at the beginning from Crunchyroll are excessive. This is not a kids show, but it's not strictly adult animation by modern standards, either. In that sense, I think it does well to avoid the shock value that comes with trying too hard to escape the animation age ghetto. One episode toward the end of the season shows that not every victory is a clean one.

Despite their best efforts, Sage's inexperience with new magic results in an already enraged sea dragon being mortally wounded. It falls to Rose to put it out of its misery, coming with a heavy emotional toll. This coming off the back of what, at first, appears to be your standard mermaid episode, can be a bit jarring. But it's this kind of emotional honesty that makes the world feel alive, and adds a layer of risk to every adventure the heroes may partake in.

HGS does have some notable flaws, however. Some shots linger on a single animation frame for a little too long, and the lip flaps don't always synch up. I find these are easy to ignore if you can get absorbed into the story, but they do stick out like a sore thumb in such a colourful, vibrant world. A bigger issue is with some of the voice acting. I understand what was intended for characters like Slime Boy. Some people are soft spoken and are more awkward in conversation.

The problem comes when it's hard to hear what they're saying, especially with the deaf/hard of hearing people like myself. The lack of subtitles is an issue with Crunchyroll more than it is the show itself, but it still presents a problem when we're struggling to understand the spoken dialogue.

If you can overlook these minor flaws, there is a great time to be had here. If you're looking for something dark and edgy, then this show isn't for you. But if you've enjoyed any of the instant classics that have come from western animation in recent years (The Owl House, Steven Universe, She-Ra, etc), then you will love this series. I just hope that the entitled weebs review bombing the show don't kill its future prospects!

High Guardian Spice gets a final rating of 8/10.