Gabriel and the Guardians, an anime-style series three years in the making, finally premieres today on Angel Studios’ platforms. In my review of the pilot episode, I noted that it “exceeded my expectations” and “sets the stakes high for the remainder of season one.” But those praises don’t only refer to the encouraging first episode—they also extend to the many believers (dozens and dozens!) who came together (with some attending a special red carpet premiere this past Monday) to make this dream a reality. In doing so, they’ve together contributed to what I believe will be a turning point in Christian media—and in particular, for anime.
At Monday’s night event—graciously arranged and hosted by Angel—it was said more than once that Christian media often falls flat. I think even that is an understatement; with some notable exceptions, “Christian” filmmakers and series creators often restrict themselves in their work, forgetting or ignoring the immense creativity and storytelling acumen of our God. When that happens, the products often feel like modern adaptations of those four-pagers we read in Sunday School growing up: encouraging and even heartwarming, but nothing we would share with non-believers because, well, they aren’t good enough for that.
Things are getting better, but slowly. For instance, a BtT writer recently expressed to me his disappointment in a “Christian film” about one of the heroes of the faith; once again, we were let down. But excellent Christian works are more common now than ten years ago (see The Chosen), and far more than 25 years back.
But what about anime?
If there’s one thing I’ve heard over and over during the past 15 years of doing “anime ministry,” it’s that Christian otaku are desperate for a “Christian anime.” But what exactly do they want? Superbook (and its Western-style reboot) is out there, and it’s well-made, but it’s ultimately more of a teaching tool for young Christians and not something most adolescents or adults would turn on and find engaging. So instead, we reach for that handful of series that might intentionally lean into faith (see Haibane Renmei or as Johnny Yong Bosch specifically pointed out to me at the premiere the other night, Trigun) and those that don’t, labeling them “Christian anime” (and yes, this is a new trend among “Christian anime influencers” which, yes, do exist and are thriving!).
What Christians are really seeking are works that thematically encourage us to love God and seek him while also fulfilling us from a creative perspective. The former is expected from Christians living here and now in a world in which Satan runs rampant, while the latter should be, too, because God is creative and imbues us with that characteristic, too.
Thankfully, we haven’t yet had an anime created by Christians. Yes, I did write “thankfully,” because my worry has been that when the floodgate busts open, streaming platforms will produce more “flat” Christian series that ultimately don’t rise above the low standard of encouraging us in our faith. What I desire to see is something better, something more. What we need are Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings, but for the anime generation.
But unlike novels, which are created by one person (alongside heavy team effort from editors and others!), anime will require many hands. And is it even possible for Christians—who I’ve noted have largely fumbled the ball in the entertainment sphere—to come together to make a great anime?
If you asked me that before this past Monday, I would say “I’m not so sure.” But after the world premiere of Gabriel and the Guardians, I’m encouraged that it can happen. It has happened. And it will continue to.
Monday’s event was focused especially on four vital actors and their role in bringing Gabriel and the Guardians to life—creator, producer, writer, and all-around leader of and energizer for the project, Jason Moody; lead animator and producer (as well as an animator on some of your favorite Disney movies of the 90s), Al Moore; showrunner and writer—the man whose words brought life to Al’s amazing animation—David Cunningham; and notable voice actor whose talents not only shape the lead character but also add immediately legitimacy to the project, the one and only, Johnny Yong Bosch.
During the Q&A following the premiere (which was well-received, marked by cheers at virtually every turn) at Cinemark in Provo, Utah, the four explained their roles in the project and the many stories about how it came into being—how Jason met Johnny at a convention and wrangled him into agreeing to join in on a previous series he was working on before pivoting toward this passion project; how depth had to be added to Gabriel’s character so that he could be as compelling as the others in the series; how Gabriel’s unique halo was designed and brought to life; and much more besides.
What caught my attention, though, was the room itself. The reserved area for those directly involved was filled with rows and rows of people. It certainly wasn’t just the four guests of honor; folks like PEABOD, the dynamic musician who contributed to the soundtrack (with a banger of a tune!), attended and later performed at the after-party, and Bryan Atkinson, who produced the very cool and distinctive soundtrack, and whom I also chatted with. I met thoughtful producers, other incredible staff, and the wives—oh, the wives!—who played key elements in developing the series, too. There were so many others who weren’t on hand—some of whom I’d known previously from being involved in animation, manga, and faith, but hadn’t known that they participated in the project, like Gene Kim.
What a community can do when it comes together to glorify God through artistic endeavors! That’s a major part of the uniqueness of this project—how Jason gathered devout people in different creative realms. The rest is the way they created an anime-style production that dives into a fantasy world related to the Nephilim of the scripture and into themes any Christian will recognize, including redemption.
But it doesn’t quote scripture. It doesn’t pretend to adapt the Bible. And I’m so happy about that (and please, as a devoted believer who reads through the Bible every year, stay with me here), because another key thing happening here is that Christians are demonstrating that you can use the creative faculties given to us by the Father to weave a story that, while not from the Bible, is absolutely God-honoring and God-glorifying in how it engages with life and truth. Gabriel and the Guardians shows us that there are ways to engage in the entertainment world that are neither reductionist nor didactic, and are better than what we have been doing until now.
Because of that approach and the quality of Gabriel and the Guardians, I feel that Jason and his team have created something that we’ll look back on. Years from now, we’ll see this as a significant moment for Christian media and a historic turn for Christian anime fans. Here is the answer: creative Christians (and that phrase now almost always coincides with the phrase “anime fans”) now have a successful, engaging, beautiful model of how they can create something likewise to fit their interests, skills, talents, and desire to obey God.
We are finally here. And Gabriel and the Guardians is leading the way.
Here are a few fun photos and videos from the February 10th premiere—I’ll add more as Angel Studios posts official photos!
So cool, glad you got to go! Seems like it was a wonderful event. God is doing big things in the world of anime 🙂 Looking forward to watching the first episode.
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