[reviewing the show as a whole]

"So what exactly was all the fuss about?"

"Is this review a food?"

[If you haven't already, I recommend reading parts one and two of this review series. This also contains spoilers, although if you hate the show, that might not necessarily matter]

   Scandalous and infamous, High Guardian Spice is notorious for everything that it is. If you're reading this, chances are, you are already aware of its nasty reputation. The series has received so much negative press, so much vitriol, that I was encouraged to watch it for myself. For this reason, it received much more attention than it is probably deserving of.

   As a result, I actually love how provocative it is, because there are worse shows and better shows that have never achieved the same level of attention or infamy as High Guardian Spice. If you want a show that's even worse, just watch Angel's Friends.

   But I still wonder if it would have achieved its notoriety if it wasn't for the trailer. Make no doubt, even with the studio's questionable ideology and motives behind the show, I think they should be judged separately from their creation, even if the writers, such as Kate Leth, are sexist and specifically wrote misandrist themes into the show. Besides, I am extremely doubtful that anyone will start hating men just by watching a cartoon, especially with the backlash against it.

   Not only that, but I didn't catch any sexism on the show at all. Either that, or I didn't really care about it; the main reason being that I did not focus on gender throughout my entire time viewing it. If they are referring to a lack of strong male characters, I didn't really see it. Characters like Hakone, Thyme's father, Moss Phlox, and even Mandrake are rather respectable. I could even include Slimeboy and Parnelle. If they are referring to an abundance of weak male characters, I also didn't see it. It's true that Rosemary's father, Fennel, is a stay-at-home father, he still has an important role as a parent and I literally don't mind this.

   Although if there is sexism, it's ironic, due to Raye's intention of creating a "more loving and empathetic place by sharing fantastical stories about queer, diverse and relatable characters," even though I don't see anything related to queerness in any of the episodes. Although what doesn't help is that I don't know what the word queer even means.

   Critics are quick to point out the irony of the show's title, because all four protagonists are named after herbs, and not spices. However, the reason behind the name is revealed at the very end of the series. Rosemary, being the leader of her team, comes up with it; and as established, she is impulsive, and may even have below-average intelligence. But even after knowing the names of each herb, I never had a problem with the name of the series.

   Critics are also harsh on the show's intro for being generic with simplistic lyrics. Yet, I'm surprised that they didn't mention Windy Wagner slurring the vocals. Even though another take would've been nice, and the fact I still don't know what's "warm and bright," I actually like intro theme for its optimism and sense of adventure; and the fact that opening sequence is synched to the lyrics.

   To "become the light" means to become a hero, what the girls, especially Rosemary, intend to do. Just look at her face when she looks in the mirror. Her expression shows absolute determination and will. For the reasons above, I find myself listening to the intro on repeat and wanting to watch it for every episode.

   And fun fact, High Guardian Spice is nowhere to be found on Windy's official website. It's like she wants to distance herself from the series. In spite of this, I actually love the work she did for it.

   However, I have a lower opinion towards the credits. While it expresses the joy of friendship, it just sounds too childish. While it does work for the majority of episodes, it absolutely does not when placed after episodes like "Festival of Fall" or "Scypith." The shift in mood is absolutely jarring and I don't know why anyone at Ellation Studios didn't notice. Both parts of the Autumn Processional conclude on dark endings, and after the scypith is killed, the girls melodramatically cry over its death before suddenly becoming happy again in the closing sequence.

   It's even more bizarre considering the content warning before each episode. If the show is not meant for children, then why does every episode have an ending designed for toddlers? Raye has said that the advisory is not his doing; instead, Crunchyroll is responsible, even though the show is nothing a ten-year old cannot handle, save for a bit of profanity.

[the show's advisory, although what for?]

   Although speaking of, I definitely dislike the swearing, not because I am a prude; but because the characters look too cute to use foul language. One exception is Rosemary calling Mandrake an asshole. It's not only funny, but she is clearly the kind of girl to use that word.

   The major conflict in the world of High Guardian Spice is the battle between old magic and new magic. Despite this, the show is extremely vague about the difference between them. It is not clearly explained or even demonstrated beyond their names and how powerful they are. The best I understand is, terrasphere are new magic, and they amplify magic powers. If I am wrong about this, it's the show's fault for not being more clear.

   Going beyond its allegory or metaphor for technology, new magic is a recent development in the show's universe, and the fact it can do anything, it should be causing problems in the world; i.e. new magic is causing new problems that have never been seen before, especially if it's more powerful than old magic for the world to responsibly handle. New magic is more powerful, but also more dangerous.

   A lot of viewers speculate that new magic is behind the Fairy Rot; and in all likelihood, they are correct. For the reasons described above, new magic is causing the destruction of the Fairy Woods. All of this however, is in the subtext, or background.

   I should also mention that I still don't know what a guardian is, beyond protecting someone or something. I'm willing to guess that a guardian is someone that defends Lyngarth, or it may even be a special class of people with special privileges. For that matter, High Guardian Academy might even be a military school.

   Similarly, an explanation for why Rose's parents switched gender roles would've been nice. Likewise, it also would have been nice to know more about Chicory, Rosemary's older brother; because surely, he is an important person in Rosemary's life. But for whatever reason, he is not attending High Guardian Academy just like her, and he doesn't even show up in Rosemary's flashback in the third episode. Even though he could easily be written out the show without consequence, I don't want him to.

   For the reasons above, the world-building terrible. The most crucial elements of the story are not clearly explained or just as bad, under-developed.

   Each of the four main characters have their own personal issue that suits their overall personality; Rosemary coping with losing her mother, Sage being caught between old magic and new magic as well as dealing with a school bully, Parsley needing to assume maternal responsibilities at home, and lastly, Thyme looking for a solution to the rot that is destroying her home in the Fairy Woods.

   Initially, I didn't like Rosemary, not because critics say she is stupid and annoying; but because of her character design. Her hairstyle and frilly skirt are completely impractical for combat. However, I have eventually come to respect her for multiple reasons.

   In the first episode, she wants to chase after an animal she believes has rabies. While this is obviously an extremely dangerous thing to do in real life and should have probably been replaced with something milder, this demonstrates her curiosity about the world, even if it is reckless.

   She is an energetic tomboy that idolizes her mother; and wanting to be just like her, has a strong sense of justice and virtue, as well as perseverance and determination. This is best demonstrated in the second part of "Festival of Fall." Despite her feuding with Sage in the episode, Rosemary goes after Olive anyways and fights her.

   As for Sage, she could've been my favorite character of the show. Despite ostensibly being the smart girl, the early episodes show how innocent and naive she is. Her stubbornness to adapt to new magic is actually her clinging on to her naivety and her desire to honor old magic.

   While I have heard critics deride her outfit for being generic, this actually demonstrates the conservative nature of tradition. Despite being dressed modestly, she still looks cute anyways.

   Although all of this begs the question of why her parents send her to High Guardian to begin with if the curriculum is exclusively new magic. However, I speculate that they're so conservative that they are completely oblivious to the new standards, and even the fact that the world is changing.

   Unfortunately, Sage becomes spiteful, hateful, and vindictive in the episode "Crushing Obstacles." She comes across as condescending when she claims that guys do not talk about their feelings, despite Parnelle talking about his feelings to her in the previous episode, and even crying. Worst of all, Sage's behavior is triggered by Rosemary having a crush on Aster.

   While it turns out that he is not a good match for her (at least according to what the writers intended), how Sage behaves is such a bizarre contrast to what she is like in the previous episodes. The reasons above are why I like Rosemary more than Sage, despite having a personality that is the polar opposite of mine; and despite Sage being a character I have more in common with.

   Now would be a bad time to mention that I actually like Amaryllis. What I like is how, despite being much smaller than the entire student population, she dominates the school in spite of her height, and has a ton of fun doing it. Small, fearless, and proud, she is so entertaining that even the fandom likes her.

   But my absolute favorite character is Parsley. Aside from being short and adorable, and also doing it with short hair, she is the most likeable protagonist for being optimistic, friendly, and cheerful. Having a great personality, she is the one main character that most people, even critics, are fine with. I also need to mention how she laughs in the episode "Transformations." Her laugh is so angelic, I find myself re-watching Rosemary burp just to hear it again.

   But compared to the other girls, she has no meaningful conflict to face. Additionally, she has been a blacksmith since birth, she doesn't need schooling. The second episode shows that she is already proficient.

   For this reason, I had to speculate why Parsley would like to attend High Guardian Academy. Her enrollment is redundant, and she can just get an apprenticeship under her father. However, a deviantArt user I spoke to has speculated that, by going to High Guardian, she will be able to become her own blacksmith sooner. By doing this, she will be able to help her family out by earning a higher income.

   I have also guessed that her life at home prevents her making friends. After all, before attending, it was her responsibility to look after her brothers. Without her, her parents will have more trouble taking care of the boys, although this could be mitigated if her parents had less. But by living away from home, Parsley does not struggle like the other girls do.

   As for Thyme, I don't have any strong opinion on her. Part of the problem is that she is stoic; and as a minor criticism, her bow makes no sense whatsoever. The strings come out from the top and bottom, but then they magically connect.

[either she is distressed, or she had a bowel movement, from the episode "Festival of Fall, part one"]

   The show is not formulaic; and because each episode is unique, I can easily identify any episode just by looking at a screenshot. I also love how each one begins with a cold opening, as a way to build anticipation for the next adventure that Rosemary and the girls will have. The best teaser is the one for "Rainy Day Memories."

   Anyone who has read my previous reviews for Lolirock and Tara Duncan is aware that I prefer shows without a central story arc; and despite High Guardian Spice's linear nature, it is short enough that this is not a problem. And because there's only twelve episodes, the show has relatively strong continuity.

   And even when the show's harshest critics have seen everything wrong with the show, it still has personality. Even if you think the show is terrible, it's still unique for what it is. You could even argue it's so bad it's good.

   Overall, High Guardian Spice feels like a very rough draft that Raye and his studio weren't allowed to proofread or revise. The writing, being all over the place, encompasses an entire gamut from bad, to clumsy, to unfinished.

   What complicates everything is how the show was under-financed, badly promoted, rushed, and lead by an amateur (sorry Raye). After all, the production crew had to start the storyboard process for the first episode before the script was even finished.

   A part of me believes everything would have been explained with a second season, but at the time of writing this, there are no plans for season two. So ironically, the studio actually has been separated from their work, and at the time of writing this, Ellation Studios has shut down. Interestingly, Raye would like to reboot the show instead of continuing it. I can only imagine how badly Crunchyroll (mis)treated the series as badly as it did.

   In spite of all of this, the show looks great, and I absolutely adore the aesthetics. This includes the character designs and the environments; and at least the show doesn't use flash animation all that often. But High Guardian Spice is so cute, it's clumsy; or, it's so clumsy, it's cute. For these reasons, I actually like the show.

   However, there is a caveat to note. Because I already knew a lot about the show before watching a single episode, I was already aware of its problems; so I accepted most of them without question and didn't take it all that seriously. Having low expectations, I just didn't find myself hating it as the average person.

   Although, if you have seen my image of Parsley and Heauxy, you already know that I like the show enough to make fanart out of it, and the fact I posted screenshots from it.

   There are easy fixes for most of its problems; and in fact, I could probably fix them myself. The most effective would be to remove old magic and new magic completely or to explain the difference between them more clearly.

   And besides, with how much hatred it has received, it has a unique, but highly provocative identity, even when the production studio was not trying to make it that way. I actually like it for what it is, and I'm also glad that I was able to review all twelve episodes. This marks the first time that I covered every episode in a series. The only thing I dislike is how difficult this part of the review was to write.

   With (or even because of) the amount of vitriol against it, there is still charm to be found in the world of lHigh Guardian Spice. In fact, I'm in the mood to watch it again to see if my opinion sours.

   For most critics, the show has left a bitter taste in their mouths; but for me, the show just doesn't taste all that bad. This particular spice is not meant for everyone; but at the same time, not all spices need to taste like cinnamon.

Grade: B -

(is the internet going to kill me for this?)

  [ Usually, when I do a review series like this, I don't gain watchers. In fact, I lose a significant number of profile views. For this reason, I am surprised that I gained not one, but several followers here on Newgrounds since I started this series. I really appreciate it]