Article by Ella Mariano Graphics by Rianna Alania
October 18, 2022
From the comics turned Netflix series, Trese, we are blessed to have another Filipino mythology series! Mga Kwentong Epik: Maria Makiling is a 6-episode motion comics series by Epik Studios, narrated by Bodjie Pascua and starring the voice of Ryza Cenon. Debuted last September 17, Mga Kwentong Epik series was a comic book series that had a TV adaptation and has been going on by telling different local myths in the country. From being shown on TV5 in the mornings, to a big leap to one of the world’s leading streaming services, Maria Makiling is something that you would want to be invested in.
The first episode starts with the legend of Maria Makiling, where we get information about her sudden disappearance after being heartbroken by her first love. It was still a mystery to this day about what could’ve happened, but that didn’t matter to young Ria, as she admired the powerful woman who did nothing but lend a helping hand to those in need. That made her want to be her own superhero when she was saved from aswangs who killed her parents by an almighty Babaylan named Lourdes. The woman took care of the now-orphaned Ria and she made sure to take care of the kid as her own.
As Ria grew up, she continued helping other people, despite being seen as witches by the whole town. With Pedro Penduko by her side, it doesn’t matter what other people think of her. All’s good and well after dealing with a wild Nuno until a mystery woman introduced herself as Binibining Sonya, Lourdes’ friend and colleague from the Sirkulo, a group of powerful Babaylans. Knowing little bits of information about the group, Ria wanted to join them as it was her goal to be someone like Maria Makiling and her stepmom, Lourdes. What she didn’t know was that to join the group, she must first see the “Banal na Pangitain” which will just suddenly appear to her when the time comes. The question is, how will she seek this and when will she see it?
Mga Kwentong Epik: Maria Makiling is worth the watch because it has everything – creative storytelling, stunning imagery, and it’s made in the Philippines! It’s also important to point out that this is a way of introducing different myths we heard from our grandparents or in elementary school. With our colonized environment, it’s a breath of fresh air to see Filipino content emerging and thriving on a platform like Netflix. For someone unaware of these stories, this show gave me a reason to know more about the country's rich culture. Gone are the days of being amazed by vampires and werewolves because they have no match for our aswangs and tikbalangs.
Want to know more about Ria's adventures? The rest of the episodes are available to watch on Netflix.
And have I told you that they just released another series on the tudum app? Dive into the story of Osyana as Mga Kwentong Epik: Osyana is now streaming on Netflix, with narrations by Jerald Napoles and voiced by Kylie Versoza. Manood na, mga Ka-Epik!
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