Ejen Ali
Ejen Ali, is a Malaysian animated series produced by WAU Animation, focusing on a titular boy which accidentally became a MATA agent after using Infinity Retinal Intelligent System, a device prototype created by Meta Advance Tactical Agency. I.R.I.S is controlled by neuro-signals enabling the wearer to perform actions programmed by the computer. After the incident, Ali and his uncle, Bakar cooperate in M.A.T.A missions.
The series is published in HDTV format and was first broadcast on TV3, on 8 April 2016. Ejen Ali is the first animation series as the intellect property of Media Prima Berhad.
Background
Setting
The series is set in the fictional town of Cyberaya, largely based on the actual town of Cyberjaya, located approximately halfway between Kuala Lumpur and KLIA. In the series Cyberaya was shown to be a technologically-advanced city, much as the real-life Cyberjaya had envisioned.In episode MISI: MAIN Cyberaya was shown to have a rapid transit system.
Production
The idea of creating the animated series came for Usamah Zaid Yasin, the director and scriptwriter, after establishing WAU Animation in 2013. For the storyline, he and his team watched films, animated series and read novels about spy and intelligence. The making of Ejen Ali took two years before the production works started in July 2015. About the name chosen in the series, Usamah said that Ali is a simple name and frequently used in textbooks. They were confused about choosing a simple name and finally, Ali was chosen.At first, Wau Animation planned to make Ejen Ali as a feature-film project, but because of difficulties securing investment and after discussing with many parties and some feedbacks, they felt that it is a loss if they only produce a single movie as the concept is so wide. They planned to develop this series at least until 5 seasons, then the films will follow.
However, they released their first movie after 2 seasons, which was released on 28 November 2019.
Characters
Main characters
These characters are the agents of M.A.T.A, a secret spy organization that possess advanced technologies and is responsible for keeping the peace of Cyberaya. They play major roles in season 1, but some of them only appear in several episodes of season 2.;Ali
;Bakar
;Alicia
;General Rama
;Rizwan
;Comot
Numeros
Numeros is a group of main antagonists in Ejen Ali; their mission is to retrieve I.R.I.S and seek vengeance against M.A.T.A. Their name literally means numbers in Spanish; the members' code names are simply Spanish numerals. So far, there are only nine Numeros members, with four of them had their real name revealed. One of them, Cuatro does not want to work with Numeros anymore, although he was forced to do so.;Uno
;Dos
;Trez
;Cinco
;Seis and Siete
;Ocho
;Nueve
Young Agents of M.A.T.A Training Academy
;Jet;Moon
;Iman
;Khai
;Rudy
;Mika
;Roza
;Bulat
;Zass
;Chris
Mentor agents
;Leon;Geetha
;Karya
Pillar leaders
;Zain;Ganz
;Dayang
Other antagonists
;Wak Musang;Abang Bear:
;Komeng:
;Neonimus
;Analog Man
Other characters
;Victor;Puan Munah
;Dr. Tong
;Dr. Mala
;Dr. Ghazali
;Aliya
;Prof. Akram
Episodes
Broadcast
Aside from airing on TV3 in Malaysia, Ejen Ali can also streaming available on Iflix and Netflix in an English dub.Outside Malaysia, Ejen Ali has been expanded and shown across over 50 different countries worldwide. On June 2020, Primeworks Studios announced that Ejen Ali, along with 5 other animated series produced by Primeworks Studios, will stream on Amazon Prime in 6 different countries namely: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, as part of their deal between the Primeworks Studios subsidiary, Primeworks Distribution and Janson Media.
History
Season 1
The first episode was broadcast on 8 April 2016, with the second and third episodes shown on 15 April and 22 April respectively. It is shown every Friday, at 5:30 p.m. on TV3. Fourth, fifth and sixth episodes shown on 27 July, 29 July, and 5 August respectively. Seventh to ninth episodes are shown on 28 October 2016 for three consecutive weeks. Tenth to twelfth episodes are shown on 30 December 2016, 6 January and 13 January 2017. Thirteenth episode has been shown on 3 March.An English dub of the show premiered 15 December 2017 on Disney Channel Asia and it was finished on 8 June 2018. It also premiered on Nickelodeon Sonic in India on 16 July 2018; however it was abruptly taken off the schedule nearly two weeks later for unknown reasons, with the last few episodes remaining to be aired. But in mid-November 2018, the new episodes were aired on Nick HD+ and the entire season was finished on 18 November 2018.
Season 2
The first episode of Season 2 was broadcast 22 September 2017, with episode two, three and four shown on 29 September. 6 October and 13 October respectively. Just like Season 1, It is shown every Friday, at 5:30 p.m. on TV3, Fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth episodes shown on 17 November,24 November, 1 December and December 8 respectively. Episode nine to eleven aired from 9 February to 23 February 2018. The twelfth episode was released on 23 March 2018. Thirteenth episode was released on 30 March, making 26 episodes total.
An English dub for Season 2 premiered 15 April 2019 on Disney Channel Asia and it was finished on 1 January 2020.
Reception
Awards and nominations
In other media
Video game
Before the release of Ejen Ali, WAU Animation with the collaboration with Media Prima Digital released its own game which is Ejen Ali: MATA Training Academy for Android and iOS users on 4 March 2016. The game was downloaded for over 260,000 times. The second game, Ejen Ali: Emergency was released for iOS and Android in September 2016.Both games have succeeded to win medals in Mob-Ex Awards 2017. Ejen Ali: MATA Training Academy won three golds which were Best App - Creativity, Best App - Media Owner and Best App - Tablets and one bronze which was Best App - Games & Entertainment, while Ejen Ali: Emergency won one gold for Best App - Games and Entertainment and one bronze for Best App - Tablets.
In early 2020, WAU Animation with Media Prima Digital announced the releasing of a new game, "Ejen Ali: Agent's Arena"., which would bee soon available on Android, later iOS. It's already being played in Malaysia, and will later be released for different countries.