Watching Marvel Studios Animation’s Eyes of Wakanda feels like receiving thoughtful, hand-crafted, post cards from a friend who has recently visited a location you admire. Though not the lengthy visit to the world of Wakanda that the Black Panther films offer, this four-episode, half-hour mini-series presents a beautiful and compelling set of animated short stories. They are detailed snapshots that satisfy the desire to revisit the familiar. The series, from showrunner Todd Harris, is an anthology that takes an unexpected approach to its narrative, which may surprise viewers but is nevertheless satisfying.
Instead of returning to familiar characters like T’Challa or Shuri, each episode of Eyes of Wakanda follows members of the Hatut Zaraze, or the War Dogs, throughout the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The War Dogs are secret and elite agents of Wakanda, tasked with retrieving artifacts of their nation that have been displaced around the world and beyond its borders. The first episode, set in 1260 BC, follows Noni (Winnie Harlow) in Crete. Another follows B’Kai (Larry Herron), who is fighting in the Trojan War alongside Achilles (Adam Gold). The third follows Basha (Jacques Colimon) in 1400 AD China where his mission has unexpected consequences as he returns home to Wakanda. The final episode follows Tafar (Zeke Alton) and Kuda (Steve Toussaint) in 1896 AD where a seemingly simple quest to get an object turns into one of great stakes.
There are multiple benefits to having relatively standalone episodes set throughout such a grand timeline. On one hand, it doesn’t rely on prior knowledge of the MCU to work – a rarity these days. If you’re someone who just wants to see the cool, afrofuturist technology of the Hatut Zaraze beautifully rendered with a painted style animation from Axis Animation, you’ll get that. At the same time, if you’re an MCU die hard, this is a show that has exciting pieces of information that expands the world of Wakanda and the overall universe. From costuming that looks tangible to stories that touch on real world issues – you can feel the same authenticity here that has been present in the entirety of the Black Panther series, so far. That should come as no real surprise though, as the series is produced by Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media .
When you put all four episodes of Eyes of Wakanda together, they really do feel like a set of beautiful art pieces that put you in the headspace of the Black Panthe r world you know and love. Far from just a filler until the third movie, this is a series with depth, fantastic animation, and fun stories that add incredibly cool elements to the entire MCU mythos. If you’re a fan of the world of Wakanda, this is a series you won’t want to miss.
All four episodes of Eyes of Wakanda are currently available to stream on Disney+.
