Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire is a 2023 animated science fiction anthology series executive produced by Peter Ramsey. The 10 episode season was produced by creators across six African countries with the intent of presenting an Afrofuturist vision of society and the future.
The shorts for the first season include "Stardust" by Egypt's Ahmed Teilab, "Mkhuzi: The Spirit Racer" by South Africa’s Simangaliso "Panda" Sibaya and Malcolm Wopé, "Hatima" by South Africa's Terence Maluleke and Isaac Mogajane, "Enkai" by Kenya's Ng'endo Mukii, "Moremi" by Nigeria's Shofela Coker, "Surf Sangoma" by South Africa's Nthato Mokgata and Catherine Green, "Mukudzei" by Zimbabwe's Pious Nyenyewa and Tafadzwa Hove, "First Totem Problems" by South Africa's Tshepo Moche, "Herderboy" by Uganda's Raymond Malinga, and "You Give Me Heart" by South Africa's Lesego Vorster. South African studio Triggerfish Animation Studios supervises. The series premiered worldwide July 5, 2023 on Disney+.
Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire includes examples of the following:
- Afrofuturism: The tagline in the trailer states that the series is composed of “10 stories of the future from Africa”.
- Animesque: "Mkhuzi: the Spirit Racer's style can be described as "REDLINE meets Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
- Bilingual Bonus: "Mukudzei" involves an alternate timeline in which Great Zimbabwe never collapsed. The city is named Muchadenga, which means "universe" in Shona.
- Falling Chandelier of Doom: A variant in "Stardust" - the massive orrery hanging from the Oracle's ceiling is far too elaborate not to become an action set-piece. Nawara and the bandits fight themselves back into another tense standoff, but by that point they've knocked one of the arms loose, and it's obvious its pendulous swinging will hit someone eventually. It sends the thieves flying out the window.
- Fish People: "Hatima" is about a conflict between humans and a race of brightly colored humanoids who have final and live underwater.
- Gods Need Prayer Badly: In "You Give Me Heart", Maadi and her pantheon are empowered by the worship of their social media following. Sundiata's final challenge is to attain enough followers in 24 hours to become the new God of Creativity.
- Graceful Loser: Ogam is shown as a boisterous, sneering Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy for most of his race with Manzo, but when the two come to a tie, Ogam acknowledges he has a worthy opponent and spares the boy's town from alien gentrification.
- Half-Breed Discrimination: Manzo gets scorn from both humans and aliens for his hybrid nature.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Manzo, the protagonist of "Mkhuzi: the Spirit Racer", is a human-alien hybrid. He can partially shapeshift, which provides a boost in facing the dreaded racer Ogun.
- Hover Board: There is a shot in the trailer of two people riding a hovering platform into a glowing cityscape.
- The Internet Is for Cats: In "Mukudzei", the protagonist is hoping that his online video will beat the current number one, which is shown to star a cat.
- Laser Blade: In the teaser, a character can be seen jumping around a vicious creature while brandishing a laser sword.
- Rage Within the Machine: At the start of "You Give Me Heart", Sundiata is attempting to impress Maadi, Goddess of Plenty, enough that she'll sponsor him as the new God of Creativity. But by the end, they're both so disillusioned with divinity that they want to destroy the social media network Maadi's pantheon depends on.
- Sequencing Deception: In "Hatima", it first looks like that the plot is going back and forth between a battle in the Fish People underwater settlement and a young human woman on the surface who is studying the Hatima right as the battle is happening. It then turns out that the human segment is actually depicting the forgotten origin story of the Fish People, who were all ill or disabled people who considered transforming into one to be a reasonable price to pay to be cured, only to find out that the other humans didn't agree.
- Social Media Before Reason: In "Mukudzei", the protagonist prioritizes filming himself in the alternate timeline in which he landed, to the point that he causes the vehicle that is supposed to help him back to his own timeline to crash.
- Wacky Racing: A sci-fi version is the premise of "Mkhuzi: The Spirit Racer". Manzo's mother was the famed racer Mkhuzi in her youth, but when the alien overlord Ogam challenges his community to an interplanetary race, Manzo must step up to save his hometown and compete against Ogam and other powerful alien pilots. At one point, both their cars become mechs to fight each other.
