In part one, I highlighted five examples of Black indie animation: Toward Galaxy’s End, The Chaotic Misadventures of Arch & Reggie, Wheels & Roses, Pretty Pretty Please I Don’t Want to be a Magical Girl, and The Three Tomes. I also have plans to publish a review of The Ebony Witch pilot. Since part one […]
Tag: indie animation
The Promise of Black Indie Animation [Part 1]
With continuing corporate consolidation, there is an increasing push toward indie animation, particularly as a way to represent diverse stories, including those of Black people, away from executive meddling and/or threat of cancellation. Some have assembled small playlists of Black indie animation, said why you should care about it, and noted Black cartoons people forgot […]
A year of “Yuridemption”?: LGBTQ+ Representation in Animation in 2025 [Part 3]
In the last part of this series, I focused on series such as #1 Happy Family USA, Oh My God… Yes!, Maebashi Witches, Lazarus, Once Upon a Witch’s Death, There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless…, and A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof, and films like Princess Principal Crown Handler Chapter 4. There […]
Burkely’s Top Ten Indie Animated Pilots of 2025
In early February of last year, Olan Rogers, best known as creator of Final Space (sadly shafted by WarnerDiscovery), responded to a fan, writing “…it’s the worst it’s ever been. Indie is the way to go.” His words gave me the idea to highlight some recent indie animated series and pilots since my last post in […]
Knights of Guinevere “Pilot” Review
On September 19th, Knights of Guinevere, an animated mature sci-fi psychological thriller, with body horror and macabre qualities, premiered. It dropped on the YouTube channel of Glitch Productions, an indie animation powerhouse. The pilot was co-created by Dana Terrace, John Bailey Owen, and Zach Marcus. All three worked on The Owl House. Terrace was the creator. […]
MechWest Episodes 1-3 Review
I’ve watched many indie animations this year. One of my favorites is MechWest, which is streaming on YouTube. This indie action-adventure series is by David “Dave” Gallagher, and co-written by Clifford James Taylor and Noah Gallagher. It begins with a robot/mech, witnessing the death of its two compatriots. Soon, a spunky teenage girl named Pearl West (voiced […]
It’s time for… some piracy!: Examining fictional pirates in animation
Earlier this month, there was news that a new spinoff sequel of Steven Universe was in production, entitled Steven Universe: Lars of the Stars. Animation Magazine described protagonist Lars Barriga as an “eternal teenager and space outlaw.” It said that the series will follow him “and his pirate crew” as they “smuggle contraband, evade the authorities, and […]
Black animation at the crossroads?: Diversity, corporate mandates, backlash, and hope
I recently came across a piece in the St. Louis American about Iyanu: Child of Wonder, which is based on a Nigerian graphic novel by Roye Okupe and Godwin Akpan, which incorporates Yoruba mythology and stories and was produced by a Black-owned animation studio (Lion Forge Animation). While this series, said to be influenced by […]
Burkely’s Top Twenty Animated TV Shows of 2024
Last year I published a list of my top ten Western animated series. I am doing the same this year. Some are holdovers from last year, like Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, My Adventures with Superman, and Hailey’s On It!. Others are new additions, such as God’s School, Static Shock, Hazbin Hotel, Avatar: The Last […]
From Mahjong to Loving Magical Girls: LGBTQ+ Representation in Animation in 2024
2024 began slowly, with the premiere of the ecchi magical girl series, with yuri themes, Gushing Over Magical Girls, on January 3, and Pon no Michi, a yurish anime centered on mahjong, on January 6. While the former was on HIDIVE, the latter never aired on any streaming platforms available in Western countries. Following that, […]










