So, a long time ago I watched this little 2 season show on Netflix in the span of about a day. I was a kid that just really loves finding a series, watching all of it, then daydreaming about it for a little while. I had long since forgotten about it until a couple days ago, but when I looked into it appeared to be teetering on the edge of obscurity/lost media. I want to change that because this show means a lot to me and it needs more attention because it’s actually really good for late 2000s kids cartoons. I’d like to give a little introduction to kinda bridge the gap of Inami to potential fandom interest because it’s hard enough to even find this show on one’s own as it is.
Inami is a cartoon consisting of 26 episodes total divided into 2 seasons. It is a French show from 2008 (though some broadcasters bought the distribution rights and provided dubs of many other languages, including the English version on Netflix. This show was available as an English dub on Netflix up until around 2017. The show follows an 11 year old boy named Inami living in an Amazonian tribe and tackling the challenges of living in a jungle and sparing with the rival tribe.
Here are some of the main characters!
(Now bear with me here, the only versions of this series I could find to watch were in French, Russian, and Portuguese, which I then auto translated and cross referenced with what little information I could find about this show. Some of the spelling, character traits, or dynamics may be a little off, but I am relatively confident on my deductions provided below. If anyone has any better/further knowledge on this, please feel free to let me know as I will be more than happy to gain more information on this show!
Inami is the main character of the series; an 11-year-old boy dealing with a mix of cultural initiations, societal dilemmas, and challenges of living in the Amazon. He is very fervent and courageous, often putting himself in harm's way to do the right thing or help someone out of a tough spot. He can be a little hardheaded at times, but that just comes with being a little kid sometimes.
Shimiwe is another 11 year old boy inhabiting the same tribe. He is Inami’s best friend and often accompanies him on his exploits, however wary he may be against them. He differs from Inami in that he is far more level headed and thinks before he acts. This provides a nice dynamic where, when using both their heads, they are able to approach the same issue with different strategies to achieve the same result. Shimiwe is also sensitive to the spirit world and trains intermittently with the village Shaman to harness his abilities.
Aminata is Inami’s younger sister. Every so often she is able to convince her brother to let her accompany him on his adventures, but when she can’t she plays a very convincing part in covering for his absence. This is especially helpful when Inami goes against the wishes of his peers in favor of his better judgement.
Xiomaro is Inami and Aminata’s father, and the chief of the Bellacaïbos tribe. He is a responsible and steadfast leader who does whatever he can to ensure the safety of his people, despite the many attempts to deceive his impartial disposition.
Minoska is the mother of Inami and Aminata, and the wife of Xiomaro. She, like her husband, does anything she can to ensure the welfare of her tribe and family. She tends to be a bit more level headed than her son and husband, preferring to wait for results because she relies on the nature of those around her to predict outcomes.
Hyaema is an 11-year-old girl belonging to the rival tribe, The Patami, hereditary enemies of the Bellacaïbos tribe. She is Shimiwe's friend and Inami's love interest. Inami and Shimiwe will often visit her in private because knowledge of one of their own fraternizing with the enemy would cause the Patamis to declare all-out war on the Bellacaïbos. She balances out the dynamic between Shimiwe and Inami in being brave yet reserved; whatever the situation at hand calls for.
Pantos is the father of Shimiwe. He is often very selfish, scheming, and not very supportive of anything his son does. This could be due in part by the fact that his wife- Shimiwe's mother, drowned when his son was just a baby. Most of the time, when an episode features Pantos, he is seen concocting/abetting some kind of hair brained scheme to usurp the position of chief from Xiomaro with Morikas.
Carras! (My personal favorite)
Carras is the Bellacaïbos Shaman. He is extremely wise, patient, and capable. He communes with the spirit world or the God(s) Hekuras to interpret omens, predict disasters, protect the village, and guide Inami and his friends. Inside his hut is the totem of the Sacred Armadillo, a protective token representing connection and defense to the Bellacaïbos. He, and by extension, the totem are often targets of Morikas's envy/tricky schemes. I believe he is the older brother of Xiomaru/uncle of Aminata and Inami but I'm not entirely sure (if this is not in fact true then I'll claim it as a headcannon instead).
Morikas is the Patami Shaman, and since there doesn't seem to be one, chief to the tribe as well. He is arrogant, foolhardy, and covetous, doing anything he can to steal glory for himself. Instead of focusing on his connection with the Hekuras or improving his abilities as a Shaman, he insists on unseating Carras and/or taking up the duties of both tribes' Shamans. He also tries to steal the Sacred Armadillo whenever the opportunity arises or strikes deals with Pantos to unseat Xiomaro and replace Carras. Usually, Morikas' schemes never come to fruition, and on the rare occasion that they do they are quickly thwarted by a Bellacaïbo or, every so often, a fellow Patami.
Horonami is the mother of Hyaema and allegedly a widow. She does her best to protect Hyaema, despite her insistence to sneak off with Shimiwe and Inami on perilous quests. Her love for her daughter often causes Horonami to go against the wishes of Morikas whether it is to save Hyaema or simply out of personal morality.
Fousiwe/Fousilwe!(???) (I have no idea. His name only auto translates to "rifle" in Portuguese, so I had to just go by what the characters said)
Fousilwe is a Patami boy that briefly served as Inami's rival due to his romantic interest in Hyaema. He is Morikas' nephew, and he usually appears to act under the paternal guidance of Morikas as a tool against the Bellacaïbos. (There is an episode where Morikas refers to Horonami by "daughter" though this must be a mistranslation referring to his position as the leader of the tribe. Otheriwise, this would therefore make Fousilwe and Hyaema cousins, which considering the romantic rivalry, is a little weird.)
Last but not least, Tatoon!
Tatoon is Inami's pet/double. A double is essentially a spirit animal, one soul sharing two bodies, that being Inami and Tatoon. She is very smart, humorous, and- much like her other half, a little stubborn at times. She often delivers messages to Hyaema or to Inami, she accompanies him on quests and keeps an eye on Inami and Shimiwe. Whenever Tatoon is hurt or poisoned, it hurts Inami as well, which is true of everyone's double/partner. Tatoon serves as a sort of connection to nature, and by extension, the magic that imbues it. (Tatoon and the other spirit doubles seem to exclusively be referred to as girls, so all doubles might be females? I'm not sure/could be another translation bug.)
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