Recorded by Arizal

Recorded by Arizal is an American 2D animated web series created by Rooster Teeth director Yssa Badiola. The first episode was released on July 13, 2020. The series premiered Rooster Teeth's website for members, moving to other platforms and becoming free-to-watch a week later.[1] Badiola stated that the show is for young adults coming of age and incorporates her own life experience. The series was intended as a four-part prelude to a full series.

Recorded by Arizal
GenreScience-fiction
Created byYssa Badiola
Written by
  • Yssa Badiola
  • Joshua Kazemi
Directed byYssa Badiola
Creative directorJordan Cwierz
Voices of
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes4
Production
Executive producers
  • Matt Hullum
  • Luis Medina
  • Geoff Ramsey
Producers
  • Minni Clark
  • Austin Harper
Running time3–5 minutes
Production companyRooster Teeth
Release
Original networkRooster Teeth
Original releaseJuly 13 (2020-07-13) –
August 3, 2020 (2020-08-03)

Premise

The series follows the story of Arizal, a 16-year-old Pinoy girl and straight A student who is about to pursue her desired career, to become a Record Keeper.[2][3] The question remains if she can leave Maktaba, a cloistered city-state, and create records in the wide world. Through a set of vlogs, she ponders whether she can undertake this task,[4][5] as part of this entry of self-discovery, and head into the world, explaining life beyond the city's limits to those living within the city.[6][7] Arizal serves as the protagonist and the "audience's lens into this world".[8]

Production and promotion

Director Yssa Badiola first envisioned the show in 2017.[6] She hoped that the prelude helped audiences embrace and story. Arizal's name is derived from Filipino nationalist José Rizal. Badiola's own Filipino heritage shaped the show. She noted that Josh Kazemi and Jordan Cwierz were helpful in development of the show. Badiola pitched the show to Rooster Teeth executives and developed a full animatic of the show so she could convince them to support the show.[8] Badiola's idea coincided with Joshua Kazemi pitching a live-action series about "a female vlogger in a remote setting" in January 2018, and Rooster Teeth encouraged him to come together with Badiola, with both beginning to work together on the show after that.[9] Others who worked on the show include: Tess Richards, who worked on color, light, and detail of the backgrounds; Lauren Crozier, who designed the background;[10] Al McClelland, Jr., who worked on the storyboards;[11] supervising producer Maggie Tominey; producer Minni Clark; sound designer Alena Lecorchick; and re-recording mixer Philip Spann.[12]

In July 2020, Badiola confirmed that Recorded by Arizal was a four-part prelude to a longer show,[13][14] as suggested by fellow Rooster Teeth writer and director Joe Nicolosi.[12] Badiola felt that the prelude is a "great way" to do world-building. She was influenced by shows like Fleabag, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and other series by Pemberley Digital, along with animated vlogger Any Malu. She also stated the series had a lot of herself integrated into the story and "some observations and things I felt growing up," but is not a fictionalized version of herself.[8] Kazemi said it was fun to dream up the world and described it as the first animation project he had worked on, while also noting he had fun writing for the show. Lead animator Tanya Fetzer was pleased to do more smooth instead of snappy animation.[12]

Badiola said that the prelude is mainly a coming of age story, but the main driving theme is "the discussion of record keeping and learning," hoping that she can get the chance in the future to show that.[15] The lowercase Roman numerals in the episode titles intended to demonstrate that it is an introduction to the show.[16] Badiola stated that she sometimes felt that the show is for her, and incorporates the struggles of being an Asian-American, with the idea you have "one foot in your home country and the other the country you only ever knew about" as a peron's body straddles the line of "torn, inadequate, and desiring to engage, all at once".[17] She noted that she suffered several panic attacks during the show's production, and expressed her concerns about the show's future.[18] Kazemi wrote that the show became "more relatable" during the COVID-19 pandemic because more people are living in a world where "streaming from home, talking into webcams, and staying in their rooms".[9]

The show was originally promoted in a six-second clip by Rooster Teeth on January 15, 2020, under the name "Record Keeper".[19] The name was later changed as it was owned by another company.[7][12] Rooster Teeth shared the first promo for the show on June 23.[4] The same day, Badiola shared character designs of Arizal created for the show,[20] and confirmed that Arizal is a Filipina.[21] Rooster Teeth shared the second promo for the show on June 29.[5] Christine Marie Cabanos, who voices Arizal, noted her enjoyment of portraying a Filipina lead character.[22] Badiola hosted a Comic-Con@Home panel for the show in July.[23]

On September 21, Badiola hosted a RTX panel with Christine Marie Cabanos, Joshua Kazemi, and Kdin Jenzen, the latter who was moderating.[24] In the panel, new merchandise related to the show was revealed, as was concept art, part of the original pitch of the show, with the word set thousands of years in the future on Earth. Badiola talked about the design of Arizal's room, how Arizal has a lot of physical items, and that she took inspiration from Atsuko "Akko" Kagar, the protagonist of Little Witch Academia, Izuku Midoriya / Deku, the protagonist of My Hero Academia in the design of Arizal, with her outfit based on school uniforms in the Philippines. At the same time, Kazemi described how Arizal values "physical things," said it was a "blast" to write the text messages between Arizal and her friends, and how the relationship Arizal had with the camera changed over the seas. Furthermore, Cabanos noted the emotional range she used in her voice overs, stated that Arizal's voice is close to her own, making her easy to voice the character, and explained how fun it was to voice Arizal as compared to those she voiced in the past, while pointing out how much the show means to the Asians and Filipino community. In the same panel, Badiola and Cabanos expressed excitement at "plans" for Arizal to travel outside her bedroom and into the wider world as a recordkeeper. Badiola added that there would be many "elements of storytime" with narration if there was a full season, while Arizal's sexuality (and gender) would be explored, and that there were a "lot" of LGBTQ characters in a "show proper" they originally pitched.[25]

On January 29, 2021, Badiola, when asked by a fan, said that there was "no news on a full season".[26]

Characters
  • Arizal (voiced by Christine Marie Cabanos),[27] the story's overachieving protagonist, a 16-year-old high school student putting together a series of vlogs about why she wants to be a record keeper, wanting to go on an adventure.[28] Her name is pronounced "AW-rih-sawl."[29]
  • Lia (voiced by Christine Stuckart),[2] as one of Arizal's childhood friends who convinced her to become a record keeper, and wants Arizal to experience the world rather than be holed up in her room.
  • Rizella, one of Arizal's childhood friends who convinced her to become a record keeper. Something happens to her which scares Tita, as indicated in "Log iv."
  • Tita Cherry (voiced by Monica Rial),[30] who is Arizal's aunt, who she is living with during the summer. Tita runs a tight ship in the house, chastising Arizal for not cleaning her room in the show's first episode.
  • Dante (voiced by César Altagracia),[12] an experienced record keeper, introduced in the second episode.

Episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
Prelude4July 13, 2020 (2020-07-13)August 3, 2020 (2020-08-03)

Prelude
No.TitleDirected byWritten byLengthOriginal air date
1"Log i"Yssa BadiolaYssa Badiola3:40July 13, 2020 (2020-07-13)[31]
In the middle of summer vacation, Arizal, a 16-year-old senior from Yamayan, begins her extra credit assignment: creating a video diary as to why she wants to be a record keeper. The latter are citizens of Maktaba who explore the world and record their progress while adding to the "global archive." She introduces her two childhood friends, Rizella and Lia, saying they convinced her to pursue this path, and notes how she lives with her aunt, uncle, and cousin. At the end of the episode, she struggles to answer why she wants to be a record keeper, saying she will get back to the question later.
2"Log ii"Yssa BadiolaJoshua Kazemi3:47July 20, 2020 (2020-07-20)
Arizal prepares herself to talk to Dante, an experienced "big boy" record keeper, even having a set of questions to ask him. However, what she hears from him shakes her rosy picture of a record keeper that she has painted in her mind. As he talks to her about issues like the importance of toilet paper, Arizal is confronted with some of the harsh realities of becoming a record keeper. After a sandstorm cuts their conversation short, Arizal unsure of how to proceed in fulfilling her dream to be a record keeper.
3"Log iii"Yssa BadiolaJoshua Kazemi4:03July 27, 2020 (2020-07-27)
After processing what Dante told her, Arizal breaks down, lamenting that she will be a record keeper alone, without her friends or her treasured books. In her despair, she questions if she should fulfill her dream, thinks that Dante called her pathetic to her face, and remembers that her mother traveled the world. Later on, she proves her knowledge when messaging her friend Rizella, who calls her an "adorable bookworm," which lifts her spirits. Toward the end of the episode, Lia stops by, points out that she has been holed up in her room the whole summer, and attempts to get her to come to a club to dance. Arizal compromises and agrees to dance with her friend in front of her house.
4"Log iv"Yssa BadiolaYssa Badiola4:53August 3, 2020 (2020-08-03)
Arizal reflects on what Dante told her and her mission as a record keeper, walking up a pitch-black staircase and onto a mountain overlook, which is outside the city and District 4 – the first time she has been outside the city and the district. She notes that her journey to the lookout is the same test given to record keepers, a test which the record keepers don't reveal. Arizal says that she should still try to be a record keeper, how Rizella is a dear friend to her, and gives reasons to be a record keeper: discover something out in the world, go to the places her mother has been to, or travel as a keeper with her friends. After noting how her friends complete her, she gets an urgent call from her Tita, telling her to return home since something happened to Rizella. The end of the episode shows her application to become a record keeper being accepted.

Reception

Tommy Williams of GeekTyrant praised the series, calling it interesting but shorter than expected, noting that the first episode gave a small glimpse into the character of Arizal's Tita, Cherry, and her best friend, Lia. He described the animation as "decent" and said he would be likely to watch the other episodes to see where the show goes, though worried that interest for the show would "die down in the interim" between episode releases.[28] Burkely Hermann, of the National Security Archive, noted on the American Archivist Reviews Portal that although the show does not feature archives as physical spaces or institutions, it had archival themes that could be expanded in a future "proper season."[32] His review also noted how recordkeepers in the show have similar roles as those of real-world archivists, expressed hope that Arizal's quests will make the "annals of history richer for all the people of Maktaba," and stated that, in the future, Arizal may be responsible for records of enduring value. This would mean, in his assessment, that Arizal would be in good company with fellow learned scholars at the athenaeum.[32]

References
  1. Williams, Tommy (June 24, 2020). "Rooster Teeth Announces New Miniseries RECORDED BY ARIZAL". GeekTyrant. GeekTyrant Industries, LLC. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  2. Milligan, Mercedes (June 23, 2020). "'Recorded by Arizal' Premieres July 13 on Rooster Teeth". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  3. Williams, Tommy (July 1, 2020). "Here's a Clip From Rooster Teeth's New Series RECORDED BY ARIZAL". GeekTyrant. GeekTyrant Industries, LLC. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  4. Rooster Teeth [@RoosterTeeth] (June 23, 2020). "Straight-A student Arizal learns, through a series of personal vlogs, whether the life she signs up for is the life she wants. Recorded by Arizal, a prelude to a new story from creator @dearbassy, premieres July 13th!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020 – via Twitter.
  5. Rooster Teeth [@RoosterTeeth] (June 29, 2020). "Meet Arizal, an aspiring Record Keeper, in this sneak peek of Recorded By Arizal!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020 – via Twitter.
  6. Bazan, Sage (July 10, 2020). "A Look at Recorded By Arizal with creator Yssa Badiola". RoosterTeeth Blog. Rooster Teeth. Archived from the original on July 11, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  7. "Let's Talk Arizal - RT Podcast Highlight". Rooster Teeth Trailers. YouTube. July 13, 2020. Archived from the original on July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  8. Whitaker, Richard (July 13, 2020). "Now Streaming in Austin: Recorded by Arizal". The Austin Chronicle. Austin Chronicle Corp. Archived from the original on July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  9. Kazemi, Joshua (August 10, 2020). "Recorded By Arizal Notes!". Rooster Teeth. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  10. Crozier, Laurin [@LaurinofEarth] (June 29, 2020). "What you added to these is phenomenal! You really did the bulk of the work. For anyone curious, I blocked out the pieces in flat colors and then Tess filled in EVERYTHING after that; details on the walls, posters, and the lighting, shading, and color adjustments. She's excellent" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020 – via Twitter.
  11. Crozier, Laurin [@LaurinofEarth] (June 29, 2020). "PLEASE watch Recorded By Arizal not just to support @dearbassy but to witness @tankmonkey [Al McClelland, Jr.]'s storyboard beat trickery to mimic a unique 2D show pacing; excellent character animation by the 2D tea; and esp @ARTesst_R [Tess Richards]'s skill at color/light/detail of a single shot. Cake 4 your eyes" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020 – via Twitter.
  12. Badiola, Yssa (July 16, 2020). "Recorded by Yssa - The Team". Rooster Teeth. Archived from the original on July 18, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  13. Badiola, Yssa [@dearbassy] (July 1, 2020). "Went thru a name change! It is all now considered "Recorded By Arizal" :)" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Twitter.
  14. Badiola, Yssa [@dearbassy] (July 1, 2020). "When creating this #RecordedByArizal prelude, we made this a 4-part intro to our protagonist. They're pretty short episodes, all less than 5 minutes each, but they're meant to be small, digestible bits. This is just the beginning. Follow along and let us know if you want more!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Twitter.
  15. Badiola, Yssa (July 17, 2020). "Ohhh wow!!! that's honestly really cool, I admire people whose professions are centered around archival/librarian in nature. Although it's clear the two shouldn't be mixed up? hahaha Perhaps if I were more educated on how librarian/historian was an actual profession, I would've gotten into those careers instead of being an artist. I'd definitely describe these 4-parts as more concentrated on the coming-of-age aspect, but I wanted to say that the main driving idea/theme of it IS the discussion of record keeping and learning. I'm hoping I can get that chance in the future to really show that~". Reddit. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  16. Badiola, Yssa [@dearbassy] (July 25, 2020). "Thank you for your interest 🧡! no spoilers: the Prelude's format would've been the same as what we intended for a full season. it was a way to introduce to audiences said format. The prelude has the subtitle OF Prelude and logs are appropriately named with lowercase roman--numerals to reflect its introduction. Recorded By Arizal is the name of the series, periodt!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020 – via Twitter.
  17. Badiola, Yssa (July 23, 2020). "Recorded by Yssa - The Purpose". Rooster Teeth. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  18. Badiola, Yssa (July 30, 2020). "Recorded by Yssa - The Creator". Rooster Teeth. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  19. Rooster Teeth (June 23, 2020). "Rooster Teeth 2020: We're Just Getting Started". Rooster Teeth Trailers. YouTube. Event occurs at 1:38–1:42. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  20. Badiola, Yssa [@dearbassy] (June 23, 2020). "Thank you, everyone, for your support! Are you ready for me to continue talking about this?? ye s? OK!!11!!!!!1 Here she is!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020 – via Twitter.
  21. Badiola, Yssa [@dearbassy] (June 23, 2020). "an actual DM btwn @YukaOmatic and me" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020 – via Twitter.
  22. Cabanos, Christine Maria [@christinemcabz] (June 30, 2020). "Yes! I cried with joy at the opportunity to play a Filipina lead 😭 ♥️" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Twitter.
  23. Dominguez, Noah (July 25, 2020). "Recorded by Arizal: Rooster Teeth Reveals Sneak Peek at Monday's Episode 3". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  24. Badiola, Yssa (August 29, 2020). "Hey gang, I'm Yssa 👋🏽 Creator & showrunner of Recorded By Arizal. And we have a panel for RTX!!! That's wild!". Rooster Teeth. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  25. Badiola, Yssa; Cabanos, Christine Marie; Kazemi, Joshua; Jenzen, Kdin (September 21, 2020). "RTX - Recorded by Arizal". Rooster Teeth. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  26. Badiola, Yssa [@dearbassy] (January 29, 2021). "You can watch the four prologue episodes/logs on rooster teeth and YouTube! :) no news on a full season, but thank u for asking!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021 – via Twitter.
  27. Cabanos, Christine Maria [@christinemcabz] (June 24, 2020). "I voice Arizal in 'Recorded by Arizal'! I can't express how grateful and honored I am to be a part of this project! Thank you so so much @roosterteeth @dearbassy for having me! I am well and truly PSYCHED for you guys to see it!!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020 – via Twitter.
  28. Williams, Tommy (July 17, 2020). "First Impressions: RECORDED BY ARIZAL is a Prototype Miniseries". GeekTyrant. GeekTyrant Industries, LLC. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  29. Badiola, Yssa [@dearbassy] (June 23, 2020). "AW-rih-sawl" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Twitter.
  30. Rial, Monica [@Rialisms] (June 24, 2020). "I'm so incredibly honored to voice Tita Cherry in 'Recorded by Arizal' for @RoosterTeeth. Thank you for having me @dearbassy! 😘 I can't wait for you all to see this amazing show. 💗" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020 – via Twitter.
  31. Peterson, Erik (May 25, 2020). "Summer Premiere Dates 2020: Here's What's On As Lockdown Starts To Lift". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  32. Hermann, Burkely (September 30, 2020). "Arizal, Recordkeeping, and the World of Maktaba". The American Archivist Reviews Portal. Society of American Archivists. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
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