The Starstrike Inquisitive Episode 1:
Who Are the Giants (Jotuzons) in Terri Starstrike?
In the world of Terri Starstrike, there are two separate realms, the Human World and the Jotuzon Empire. A huge majority of the series takes place in the human world and focuses on Terri learning to blend into her new Lilliputian-sized world, but the show's creator, Jerrica "Eri" Castro, wanted to dive deeper into Terri's origins and explore the power dynamic between the human characters and a race of giants known as the Jotuzons.
One of the defining questions that pivoted the creation of Terri Starstrike was "What if there were actual giants in the sky? Who are those giants? Are they the same as us? And what if we were to explore that world and see through their perspective?" Thus, the Jotuzon Empire was created.
"I want to immerse the audience in a world where they're constantly looking at the sky and wondering about the giants in the sky." Eri Castro says "There's a sense of suspense hanging over Westshore, and as Terri is being assimilated into the city, you're constantly wondering if there are more giants like herself up there, and that the world beyond the planet of Earth is so much bigger in scope. It completely widens the picture."
When unseen, the Jotuzon Empire is a representation of fears, societal pressures, and the inner demons that haunt the characters. When they are offscreen, the audience can imagine the Jotuzons as an metaphor for their own life struggles, just like how Terrina is constantly held back by what her own people will say about her if they found out she was half-human or falling in love with a human, it's kinda like a recurring theme in this show, that there are giants out there dictating our anxiety, and that we have to push through them to be the best version of ourselves.
And then, when we meet the giants, we are suddenly given a bigger picture that Earth is just a speck of dust compared to the bigger universe at hand, and that they're living in the shadow of the imposing Jotuzon Empire. On El-Doe, the Jotuzons cherish the virtues of honesty, loyalty, common sense, and superiority, but they're also deeply superficial, and they can carelessly crush lives without ever needing to name them. Whenever a human is seen in the empire, they are "benevolently assimilated" into being a Jotuzon's servant or pet, and the Empire has effectively banned Jotuzons from visiting Earth, unless they are Earth-born Jotuzons visiting the Empire.
Castro looked to Gulliver's Travels and the Brobdingnagians as direct inspiration for the Jotuzons' society, establishing them as a race that often takes the moral high ground, only threatening to intervene or bring destruction when someone questions their authority. "They're so wrapped up in their perfection, their beauty, and their utopian society, that they look down and scoff at anything that's tiny, reckless, and corrupt. But Terri's different, she believes that moral differences between the Jotuzons and the humans shouldn't lead to a war or a rift."
When developing the Jotuzons and their world, Eri Castro didn't want the giants to just be enlarged humans with ground-shaking footsteps and natural super-strength; they incorporated magical and nature motifs, connecting them to the stars, and shaping the Jotuzons into a race of magical and omnipotent giants. "They are in tune with the cosmos and nature around them. They were made from stardust, so it runs in their blood. The Jotuzons are divided into factions based on their powers, so some of them will have fire and ice powers, others can create clouds and rainbows, and others can project thunder and lightning. That's the approach I wanted to go for with the Giants, to make them look omnipotent and magical, but also deeply superficial and pompous."
The Jotuzons also have various traits that separate them from their tiny "Lilliputian" counterparts on Earth. They can fly around like glowing comets without wings, powered by their inner stardust. They like to express their thoughts through singing when their emotions are too much. "It's considered their second language; whenever they can't get the words out, or whenever they have a lightbulb going off in their heads, and they want to present their ideas to others." They are also unfoolish and value honesty in communication. "Terri, Jacqueline, they can all see through bullshit, and they demand the truth if it's tucked away from them."
But the biggest challenge was ensuring a motivation for Terri to run away to Earth, something that prompts her to feel like she will never belong with her own people, and that she will be happier with the humans. "Terrina is half-human, so she constantly feels like she is being unheard, especially in her own family. It's not just her being the little sister, it's about her protecting her dignity as a half-human hybrid, and proving that humans are just as equal as Jotuzons. So the queen showed her the true picture of the human world and that they're not defined by their wars and their pettiness, but rather by their loving, creative, and inspiring side, and sent her Earth with the notion that she will prove that humans are just like the Jotuzons."
The Jotuzons' lack of empathy towards the "tiny" humans is a form of systemic oppression and negligence, but there are remnants of human society scattered all over the "glamorous" empire and put on display like museums. "Terri actually has a giant closet in her palace bedroom, and it's full of human treasures and crashed spaceships from Earth. In fact, she made a tiny human-sized city in her closet to cope with her growing curiosity. It just shows how artsy-and-crafty she truly is as a character, but it also implies that man has reached the Jotuzon Empire before, they found a way to cross over into the Giants' galaxy."
Even though we have yet to see them in future episodes, the Jotuzons have already had a major presence in the series, a shadow looming over the city of Westshore, as Castro is excited to explore the potential power dynamic between the two worlds. "It's going to be really exciting! I can't wait to show the audience that there's a lot more to the story, and I can't wait to show them that, at the end of the day, these huge giants are exactly like us."
