Hollywood productions have long portrayed Aztec and Mesoamerican cultures very differently than, say, Greek or Roman ones. More often than not they are reduced to one of two things: either a desolated, mystical place deep in the jungle and filled with treasure, or a savage and bloody civilization whose only pastime is to cut people open and take out their still-beating hearts as sacrifices to the gods. Thankfully, the new anime-inspired show
Onyx Equinox tries to change all that.
The show, which is streaming on Crunchyroll, is about a young boy named Izel who is chosen to be humanity s champion in the upcoming war between gods, after the god of the dead, Mictlantecuhtli, raises arms against the other gods and steals their blood sacrifices. While some of the visuals may seem familiar to those who only know these rich cultures from Hollywood tropes like the show s opening scene, in which a priest slits his own throat as an offer to the gods to save the town from the monsters
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Onyx Equinox begins when the Aztec god of the underworld, Mictlantecuhtli, levels a Zapotec city after stealing blood sacrifices from the other gods. This prompts god Quetzalcoatl to close the gates to the underworld. However, he can’t due do this due to said gates being made of obsidian, which is toxic against the gods. So instead he makes a bet with Tezcatlipoca: he will find a human, “the lowest of the low”, and crown one his champion so they will close the gates before the equinox, when Tezcatlipoca will kill off humanity.
The chosen is young Izel, who is forced to discard his apathy toward his fellow man and prove humanity’s potential. Soon Izel’s epic journey will take him across ancient Mesoamerica to save humanity from a war between the gods…
Illustration: James Bareham/Polygon
On Wednesday, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. announced that AT&T and WarnerMedia agreed to sell Crunchyroll to Funimation. Though there had been rumblings of the acquisition for a few weeks, it wasn’t clear just how the deal would go down or if it would at all. The purchase price for the transaction was estimated by Sony to be $1.175 billion.
“The Crunchyroll team has done an extraordinary job of not only growing the Crunchyroll brand but also building a passionate community of anime fans. Crunchyroll’s success is a direct result of the company’s culture and commitment to their fans,” said Tony Goncalves, WarnerMedia’s CRO, in a statement. “By combining with Funimation, they will continue to nurture a global community and bring more anime to more people. I’m incredibly proud of the Crunchyroll team and what they have been able to accomplish in the digital media space in such a short period of time. They’ve created an end-to-en