Zyanya: Maya Warrior

Zyanya: Maya Warrior is an American coming of age-action-adventure-historical fiction animated series produced by Rich Animation Studios and developed by Richard Rich and J. J. Abrams, Rich was also the director. The series was originally shown on Nickelodeon between 1998 and 2005, totaling 8 seasons and 216 episodes, which vary between 20 and 30 minutes over these seasons.

The series follows 12-year-old preteen Zyanya and her companions, who are respectively the pet capybara Coyopa, Zyanya's 10-year-old brother Kianto, her best friend from also 12 years old Kichigonai, the two 9-year-old twin sisters and Zyanya's friends Xoc and Xoco, and the kitten of the two sisters Eleuia. The 7 protagonists defend their village from Spanish colonizers, led by the ambitious, self-centered and proud navigator nicknamed Léon De San Martín, who seeks to create a resource exploration colony, and be named by as viceroy of the colony.

The series was well received by critics, but it took a while to become a success with the audience, achieving this only in its third season, in 2000. The series has had nominations in prominent awards, notably for the, having managed to win the for 4 consecutive editions of the Daytime Emmy  sharing the record with  and being the only one to do so in a row.

1st season
In Central America, 16th century, the Mayan village of Tiyoti lives the uncertainty of the Spanish attack, which is radicalized by the aggressive posture of the navigator Léon de San Martín, like Zyanya, a 12-year-old girl who manages in various ways, armed or unarmed, idealize together with her other warrior friends, her brother Kianto and her friends Kichigonai, Xoc and Xoco, even obtaining a mount, the capybara Coyopa. Zyanya's attitude is brave, but does not please her father Kisin, the leader of the village, who represses her and says that the security of their home is not a child's play, and the pre-teen will be forced to prove her father that he is wrong and that they may well defend the village, and for that he will also have his first clashes with Léon and his maritime troop.

2nd season
Zyanya finally proved to Kisin that she is a great defender for the village, but while this proof is a source of pride for some, for Léon De San Martín it is a reason for revolt and headache, since after several successful campaigns, he finds a village that is capable of hitting him head on, and for that he is forced to try something more stealthy, so he convinces a villager from the territories he has already managed to dominate, named Zac-Cimi, to learn what brings so much skill to Zyanya and his group, until finally they can find a way to deceive them and colonize Tiyoti.

3rd season
Zac-Cimi continues to investigate the source of Zyanya and her group's ability, but already feels the presence of suspicion that someone is spying on Tiyoti in order to know what makes her unbeatable in front of the Spaniards, Léon begins to build barracks and supply ports In the conquered lands, thinking in the long term about a great offensive, Zyanya falls ill and Kianto assumes the leadership of the group, but due to his naivety, he often borders on handing over the village on a plate to be invaded by Léon's troops.

4th season
Zyanya finally recovers and returns with everything to the leadership of the group, meanwhile Léon invests in a large military complex to try again to overthrow Tiyoti, but Xoc, and a moment of curiosity, discovers the navigator's planning and presents Zyanya and Kisin and the others the great "military village that he formed", which leads Zyanya to idealize a spy campaign, in order to know what's there, getting into more clashes with Léon and his troops.

5th season
After a long time spying on the "military village" of the Spaniards, Zyanya finally knows the essentials about Léon's plan, his father Kisin then decides to seek alliances with other Mayan settlements still remaining to form an ultimate coalition to save his civilization from European domination, Léon, who still thinks his plan remains secret, is convinced that Zac-Cimi will no longer be useful, and orders one of his soldiers to eliminate the native. It is notable that Zyanya and Kichigonai begin to develop a certain, albeit timid, love interest.

6th season
8 years have passed, Zyanya and Kichigonai are now 20 year old young adults, Kianto is now 17 and in a romantic relationship with Xoc, while Xoco is in a relationship with one of Tiyoti's boys, Alom. It is known that for some time, Léon has not invested in offensives, and that the Mayans are more united than ever before, thus paving the way for a good development of civilization, a "satellite network" of espionage was also created, which now also is intercepting the weapons of the Spanish "military village" and also training with them, which means that the Mayans learned to shoot with firearms. Kisin dies, and Zyanya ascends to Tiyoti's leadership.

7th season
Léon is preparing a war strategy, and by naming Great Afternoon, Zyanya on the other hand already knows how he will respond and surprise Léon, planning a counterattack that will leave the Spaniards scared and without the courage to return to those lands for years. Kichigonai finally expresses his feelings to Zyanya, who responds to them, meanwhile, Kianto and Xoc officially become partners.

8th season
Léon finally puts his plan into practice and begins to unite his troops around Tiyoti, at the same time, Zyanya also puts his well-prepared soldiers on the defensive, the final attack takes place, and the main battle, is the direct battle between Zyanya and Léon, Léon uses a scythe as a weapon, and almost decapitates the head of the Mayan leader, but she uses the same skills as always, which makes Léon angry, and if she wants to, when he uses a torch to try to set Zyanya on fire, it ends forgetting that there are flammable products, which explode your entire "military village". After the Mayan victory over the Spaniards, the Europeans return to Spain while the Mayans celebrate, and they know that from then on, it will take a long time for any Europeans to try to colonize them again. Zyanya and Kichinogai have a child, while Xoc is pregnant with Kianto's baby, and Xoco and Alom finally become partners. Time passes and the children of Zyanya and her brother are grown, both 9 years old, and then their parents decide that it is time to pass the torch, and become Mayan Warriors.