Mark Of Uru, an award-winning Nigerian animated series we first wrote about in 2009, is now available to watch online in its entirety.

Produced by Mayhem Productions, created by Obinna Onwuekwe, Mark of Uru was essentially created as a web-based animated series, allowing the producers to distribute it widely, outside of Africa especially, given that authentic works of animation from African countries by Africans are rarely covered by international media, and thus not seen by audiences outside of the continent, or the specific countries in which they’re made.

Uru tells the tale of Azuka, a girl born with a birthmark identical to the tattoo of the banished village sorceress Uru. Azuka’s mother’s tries desperately to keep the birthmark hidden from plain sight, but isn’t entirely successful, when it’s eventually made public, and Azuka becomes a hunted child, as the rest of the villagers want to get rid of this supposed cursed child. Azuka is nearly executed, but is saved by a fallen spirit and his apprentice, who take her on a “grueling journey through treacherous terrains to unravel the mystery behind her bizarre birthmark.”

When we last wrote about this, there was just one episode available online to watch; but I was just made aware that a full hour+, which combines all the episodes together into one feature, was uploaded onto YouTube 2 days ago, said to be in partnership with the video sharing site.

It’s not the top-notch style of 3D animation from the likes of Pixar that you’re all familiar with, and isn’t without its technical gaffs, but it deserves a look. There’s an interesting story here, and baby steps, as the saying goes: