The Promise of Black Indie Animation [Part 2]

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 published, major publications have highlighted a report by Maddy Buxton (YouTube’s Culture & Trends Manager), which examines how “independent creators are expanding the horizons of what’s possible in animation outside traditional industry pipelines.” The report says that these creators aren’t only “participating in the entertainment industry, but actively reshaping it.” The report cites indie animations like Helluva Boss, The Amazing Digital Circus, Hazbin Hotel, Milky Subway, Alien Stage, Murder Drones, Knights of Guinevere, Sociedade Da Virtude, Dungeon Flippers, Far-Fetched, EPIC: The Musical, and Wasted, while noting that online animators are “experimenting with a range of video formats that enable faster production and increased audience participation.” Lastly, it states that “globalization is at the center of indie animation’s rise.” At the same time, there are reports that more Americans than ever are quitting streaming services (including YouTube Premium) as living costs rise.

With that news, it makes sense to write about this again. After all, as AfroAnimation Summit founder, Keith White, stated recently, these days, “creators are building their own ecosystems and their own fan bases…I’m seeing studio-quality work being put out in short form, and it’s amazing…creators need more platforms to distribute and monetize their work…we’re seeing more creators build their own IP and monetize independently.” This part focuses on six Black indie animations, particularly The Moon Odyssey, T-Effect: The Angel’s Sun, Hero Corps: Deep Genesis, Indigo, Captain Zero, and Mmanwu, often building directly off a YouTube playlist shared with me by Breana Navickas in early February.

The Moon Odyssey

I talked about The Moon Odyssey, co-created by Kay Synclaire and Dominique “Dom” W. (two Black sisters who are also queer), briefly in my newsletter in early April, in a section about Toward Galaxy’s End, and other Black indie animations. The series was listed as part of a playlist shared with me by Navickas, creator of The Three Tomes, in early February, along with other series. The official Instagram describes The Moon Odyssey as an “indie animated series about a family of Black space pilots.” The Canva site calls it a comedy-adventure and an animated webseries that mixes Hilda and Bob’s Burgers, focusing on an “estranged family of space pilots searching for their missing family member,” Liz Moon, and has an all-Black cast. The series is dedicated to Joy, the late mother of Kay and Dom, who passed away in 2020. She is also the namesake of the mother of Jaime, Randy, and Liz in the series.

The protagonists are two siblings: 31-year-old Jamie Moon (voiced by Niki B.), and her brother, Randy (voiced by Shawn T.), a 35-year-old man and “decorated space pilot turned bounty hunter.” Jaime is a space pilot as well, who previously attended Marshall Academy, and becomes captain of the A.I. space vessel, M.I.A. Other characters, who are Liz’s children, include the techy 15-year-old niece and hair connoisseur, Raven Moon (voiced by Tyler W.), the 12-year-old nephew, Alex Moon (voiced by Taylor G.), a “film and media wizard,” and a five-year-old nephew, Noah Moan (voiced by Ami G.), a lover of books and animals. Additional characters include the Controller (voiced by Elgin F.), Mother God/Joy Moon (voiced by Trynity Byrd), and Moon children. Otherwise, the official YouTube channel is full of videos, mostly by Kay and Dom, which I’ll summarize in this section. In one of the first videos, it is noted that while the idea for the series was first conceived in 2023, it wasn’t until 2025 that they were in a place to make an animated series and started funding it themselves. After that they began building a team for the series by bringing in animators, artists, and others.

The videos on series official YouTube channel show the progress of The Moon Odyssey through pre-production and into production, including promotion on social media (and growing social media followings), additional crew members like a composer and musician (for opening sequence), and applying for local grants in Pennsylvania. Animation style for the series is inspired by Hilda and Infinity Train, due to the co-creators loving how colors are used in each of those shows. As time went on, the Kickstarter’s aim shifted from an action-packed teaser to another goal (funding production of the pilot). More people were recruited for the series crew such as a visual designer (Diana Tsai Santos), composer (Stacy S.), an background designer (Wren W.). Steven Universe and Sinbad served as further inspirations, with a futuristic solar punk vibe for the series. Other videos talk about the series plot, themes (identity, grief, loss, and coming back to together) in this coming-of-age story, getting a voice cast (after an open casting call), and creating a budget. There’s also an interview with screenwriter Ashlee Stormo, updates on the show opening (animated by Tyla B. and Tori E.), and an ambitious plan for this year. The series Kickstarter was launched on April 13th.

Apart from pages/profiles on Instagram and Canva, there is an official TikTok, Discord, YouTube channel, and merch store. The latter sells prints, stickers, posters, mugs, t-shirts (designs by character designer Winston), and other items. The YouTube channel has a lofi-like music video, with animation by Stacy Santos, an artist and animator based in Massachusetts, and music by Rachel Williams. The latter is a music composer for the series itself. As noted earlier, the Kickstarter for The Moon Odyssey began in mid-April, with the goal of funding a six-minute animated pilot, then a 12-part mini-series, posted on YouTube. As of April 16, the series, which blends a 1990s aesthetic with “steampunk and a dab of afrofuturism,” has earned over $3,200 in pledges on Kickstarter. I hope the Kickstarter is successful. Even if the crowdfunding does not succeed, the series crew will still work to ensure The Moon Odyssey happens. Otherwise, the series may have supernatural elements and be inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender, as the two co-creators love those series/themes.

T-Effect: The Angel’s Sun

I first learned about this indie animation from the aforementioned playlist shared with me by Navickas, creator of The Three Tomes. This series mixes action and musical elements together, following a warrior named Vingu (voiced by Darian Brewer), who has to overcome his crippling self-doubt so he can reach his “true potential.” Taking place on a future Earth, and a fictional Africa, Vingu is outdone by his sister, Cassandra (voiced by LaKira Porter). Both train under their mother, Aicha (voiced by Shakyra Dunn), once the general of the Chehthanda (most powerful nation on Earth), and wife of Queen Tamala. Vingu feels he will fail. He must to overcome his fears and insecurities to move forward in order to become a fully-fledged warrior. Apart from MilkyyMelodies doing an original song, Radiate Greatness, for this colorful series, it is additionally inspired by The Lion King, Dragon Ball, Prince of Egypt, Invincible, and Kung Fu Panda, to name a few influences.

From July to August of 2025, T-Effect: The Angel’s Sun had a Kickstarter. Sadly, it only earned $1,476 of the $8,000 goal, or about 18% of what they needed. I say this not only because of the ideas mentioned in the previous paragraph but the fact that each of the voice actors is very talented. Porter has voiced characters in Black indie animations like The Three Tomes (Tammy), Toward Galaxy’s End (Ami), Me & My Genie (Rana the Genie), Skelly Closet Cases (Sarah Kazmer), Brooklyn Broke the Universe (Sky), and many others. Additional members of the voice cast have worked on series like Primal (Brewer), My Deer Friend Nokotan (Dunn), and Defenders of Alodia (Dunn). The latter series is in development.

Presently, T-Effect is being crowdfunded through Patreon. Recent updates by Elsa, the series creator, and a “self-taught animation artist creating soulful and cinematic animated storytelling,” as it states on Patreon, include NSFW art, commissions, and an announcement that the series is in production. The latter began in mid-November 2025. I look forward to what this series has to offer when a pilot/short video/animatic is released, as this story is a very compelling and it could potentially connect and resonate with a lot of people. It amazing this series is continuing at because Elsa is, at present, the only one animating this entire series, which can be a way to reduce costs, but can be stressful at the same time.

Hero Corps: Deep Genesis

The four-minute-pilot for Hero Corps: Deep Genesis is directed, produced, and written by Ayodele Elegba (co-written by Dawn Rex). It is set in Lagos, just like Iwaju. Unlike that series, this series is a superhero fiction. It begins with an explosion, introducing Strikeguard/Abolaji Coker (voiced by Akano Charles Jr.), who can control electricity. He faces a villain whose body is on fire, Ganiu (voiced by Joshua Noah Portillo), a villain who works for the “dark lord.” When it seems like he has the upper-hand, the villain imprints his memories on Abolaji, and threatens Earth’s destruction. His “helper”/inner demon, Ajagbeja (voiced by Moh’Sa’Id), tells him there’s impending danger, but he ignores it. Produced by Spoof Animation, this series currently has three episodes released, according to this playlist, and likely more on the way. Each episode is released on YouTube and ranges from 3-6 minutes long.

The second episode is directed, produced, and written by Elegba and Rex, like episode one. A news report is negative against Abolaji, while viewers learn that he is a data analyst in his non-superhero life, and is tired from everything. He is no longer sure if he is doing something good or noble anymore. He feels he is trapped in a “circle of chaos” with no escape. Abolaji would rather go on with his “normal” life and spend time his girlfriend Chichi. He does his best to push away Ajagbeja. He succeeds, with the “demon”/”helper” disappearing. This reminds me of what Julian Chase went through in gen:LOCK, a bit, although very different as he is haunted by an evil/distorted copy of himself.

The series is presently airing on the SpoofTV YouTube channel, which has interviews with the crew, and behind the scenes, along with an animated series name Area Daddy, a short film entitled AJAKA: Lost in Rome and other videos. In the process of writing this article, I found that a third episode had been released, along with a music score for that episode. In that episode, a group of gang members try to kill someone but their bullets bounce off his chest. The man is able to win against them, as they run in fear for their lives. I hope this series continues, keeping up a great mix of story, animation, audio quality, and everything else, making it easy to follow.

Indigo

For many years, I’ve been following the story of Indigo, a sci-fi comedy with lots of LGBTQ+ characters, and a non-binary protagonist (originally named Maxima “Max”). The pilot was first put forward in December 2019 by Argentinian non-binary storyboard artist Moon, who drew fanart for The Owl House. Moon even suspended a social media account at one point, as the animation pitching process continued. As the years went on, the series continued through its stages of development. Presently, Moon is the founder of an animation studio in Argentina named Studio Eepy, working on The Elevator (short film) and SOLACE (pilot).

In February 2025, a 13-minute video/pilot-of-sorts, with episodes 1-5, was posted. It centers around a scientist, Iridio, wanting to continue an experiment on Max despite Iridio’s partner, an alien named Gen, warning against it. Iridio tells Gen to stand aside. As the pilot continues, viewers can see more of Max’s life on the ship, where he is being experimented on, while Gen is nice to him. One day, Max is told that testing is over. With a break until they meet the One Eyed Brothers, with Max praised for being generally obedient and dedicated during training. Gen is unsure and apprehensive about all of this. Later, Iridio demands they move quicker and reveals that the day after Max’s birthday, their memories will be erased! Gen tries to resist, but is forced into submission by Iridio’s aggressiveness. Max is horrified to hear this but gets caught and is brought to the “punishment room” (i.e. a cell).

In a later episode, of this pilot-of-sorts, Max’s name is changed to Kepler and their design altered. Even so, the story still follows a similar plotline, as now-Kepler pleads to not have their memories erased and is age twenty two. They meet Jupiter, one of the former subjects of Iridio for his experiments. After escaping, Jupiter was brutally tortured by her mother. Kepler cannot remember her. In another episode, Max asks Gen if Kepler ever erased his memories. Gen says they shouldn’t worry about it (not a good sign!), leading Kepler to say they don’t fully trust Gen like before. Kepler and Jupiter get close to one another, with Kepler wanting to get her out of there, and angry at the whole situation.

In the first-episode to come, the story will change from the pilot-of-sorts with Kepler now named Pulsar. At the same time, other parts remain the same, with now-Pulsar being isolated with Iridio and Gen, while “meeting Jupiter and her little sister Rhea and hiding them in their bathroom, etc.” An unused first episode, a scrapped clip from episode two, animated shorts, the pilot (in animatic form), a chill lo-fi beats video, two original character animatics, a Patreon announcement, a prologue, and other videos were posted since the pilot-of-sorts was released. I liked how each of the episodes mixed animation and text. Although there aren’t voice actors, making it a bit like an animated comic, it is still enjoyable to watch. Each episode is made with Clip Studio Paint, Capcut, Bandlab, Soundtrap, and possibly Blender as well. Some of the episodes reminded me a little of Steven Universe. I really loved the style and music. The first episode will be coming soon. Indigo can be supported on Ko-fi, or followed on Instagram and Discord.

Captain Zero

I have written about Captain Zero for years at this point. In January 2022, in one of my first articles about indie animation, I briefly mentioned the series. Later that year, in July, I described Captain Zero as an action drama about a social media-obsessed superhero, Xerxes Hughes (his superhero name is Captain Zero) who “must find the cause of his depression-fueled blackouts in order to save his city and himself.” I noted that Black non-binary illustrator, filmmaker, and writer, Z Cher-Aimé, is creating the series. It is produced by their Black-owned animation company, Cutting Edge Animation. I further summarized Cher-Aimé, noting that the series tackles mental health in the Black community and identity. At the time, there were plans for five seasons, four specials, and a feature film. In later years, I said that Captain Zero was among indie animations which centered on Black stories and described it as one of the many indie animations that were in development.

Most recently, in April of last year, I noted the release of a fifteen-minute short film for Captain Zero (entitled Into the Abyss Part II), with Xerxes aiming to “uncover why he keeps blacking out from a demon,” a demon that is a “physical manifestation of all his deep-seated insecurities.” There was the original aim to produce and release a 92-minute feature film, entitled Captain Zero: The Movie, in 2027, then an animated series with five potential seasons, with each episode being thirty minutes long. Most recently, the aforementioned playlist shared with me by Navickas, creator of The Three Tomes, listed a trailer and a short film for Captain Zero.

This year, Tribeca Film Festival showcased a short film for Captain Zero (talked about in the video at the beginning of this section). Cher-Aimé praised their team and everyone who championed, and supported, the project, adding “this is still only the beginning. The movie is coming next.” Whoopi Goldberg will be an executive producer on the film, which will, like 2025 short film, feature Keith David, Angelica Ross, Zolee Griggs, Cher-Aimé, and Coty Galloway. In addition, Goldberg, Gary LeRoi, Nandi Nfr Ka, and Blue Telusma​ will voice characters too. The film will follow Xerxes, a Haitian-American teen, as he tries to balance his “life as a student, son, friend, and superhero…while trying to stop a homicidal cyber stalker.”

Presently, Cutting Edge Animation has, apart from this film, and the animated series, various future projects, particularly a sci-fi action-adventure (Space Friends), a supernatural series (The Necromancer & The Real of the Unreal), a sci-fi series (Bounty Hunter: Stripper in Space), and a fantasy series (Nyx: The Dream Warrior), all of which undoubtedly center Black characters. The animation studio has other projects in development which are either sci-fi (Go, Go Power Team B-17), supernatural thriller (Between the Devil & The Deep Blue Sea), Western (Inkani: The Unkillable), and horror (The Lady Upstairs). I look forward to the Captain Zero film and the other releases of this animation studio.

Mmanwu

I first learned about this indie animation from the aforementioned playlist shared with me by Navickas, creator of The Three Tomes. The full trailer for this animated film, which is shown above, was posted in mid-March 2024. Mmanwu is a 2D animated horror short set in modern-day Nigeria, following the story of a Nigerian-American teenager, Ogechi, who is forced to contend with her dual identity as an American and a Nigerian. This film mixes horror and magical realism, while explores, as the YouTube video description states, “themes of grief, spirituality and cross-cultural understanding.” Presently, the Kickstarter was successful, garnering over $68,000 when it was fully funded in April 2024. There have been production updates since then, with the most recent one in late March, from ZOMA Studios, the studio producing this ten-minute film. The film will feature Ogechi‘s brother, Felix, and will have, as a central part of the story, masquerades, a cultural tradition across Africa, particularly, “the Ijele masquerade, known as the king of masquerades.”

In the above trailer for Mmanwu, which is 1 minute and 30 seconds long, Ogechi looks at photos of her family, viewers briefly see how some Nigerians live, and Ogechi watches an Ijele masquerade with her family. When cleaning up the event, a gate mysteriously opens. Not long after she explores around a dwelling with her flashlight, illuminating the darkness, at one point she grabs for her flashlight, and the trailer comes to an end. Since this trailer was posted, nothing else has been added to the ZOOM Studios YouTube channel. This animation studio is specifically working on this short film. It is a “Black woman owned studio…committed to championing underrepresented voices and centering culturally specific storytelling,” according to the YouTube channel description. Prior to the posting of the trailer, a short version of the teaser and a ten second teaser were posted on channel. As it states on the studio’s official website, Mmanwu is the studio’s debut project, and the full short film is currently in pre-production.

This shirt film is directed, written, and produced by Uzoma Nguwu. Last month, the animatic for the film was screened at ZOMA House, an event venue and community art studio in Minneapolis. There was so much interest that the event was at capacity! To be more specific, ZOMA House is a storefront that is collectively run by three Black-led arts organizations in the Twin Cities. Those organizations are: ZOMA Studios, Seat At The Table (media collective), and The Heartcraft Collective (craft wellness business). I look forward to the release of this short film and the hopefully updates on this film in the year ahead.