kriitikko
"Nadia: the Secret of Blue Water" (originally called "Fushigi no umi no Nadia", literally translating "Nadia of the Mysterious Seas") is 39 episodes long anime series, which was originally aired in the years 1990-1991. Series primary director was Hideaki Anno, who had previously worked as one of the animators in Hayao Miyazaki's film "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" (1984) and who would later direct one of the most successful anime series ever; "Neon Genesis Evangelion" (1995-1996). The story of the series has been inspired by the novels of Jules Verne, especially "20.000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1870). Also Miyazaki's film "Laputa- Castle in the Sky" (1986) has inspired some elements of the story.Set in the year of 1890, Nadia, an orphaned acrobat girl working in circus, is trying to find a way to get to Africa to look her possible family and origins. While coming to Paris to perform, she is chased by a very Team Rocket- like gang of thieves, who try to steal "Blue Water", a mysterious blue stone Nadia is wearing around her neck. She is helped by Jean, a young inventor boy, who out of good heart decides to help Nadia to get to Africa. While trying to avoid any more contacts with the thieves, Nadia and Jean find themselves in the middle of a secret war between Captain Nemo, a mysterious scientist who lives in his submarine "Nautilus" with his crew, and Gargoyle, a power-mad masked villain. Just what is the secret of "Blue Water" and what is the connection of Nadia to both Nemo and Gargoyle? When I watched the series I was already well passed the age when the animations with good guys vs. evil world dominating villains were interesting. Yet, "Nadia" is not as simple as it may first look like. The characters are not just two-dimensional but have some real life in them. Especially Nadia's character; who first appears as temperamental and distrusting, but learns to become caring and what she most values in her life, when she nearly looses all. Also, her relationship with Jean is very realistic for a change. Music is captivating and the story telling dynamic. The animation itself is not the best possible quality but it really doesn't bother. Voice actors (I'm talking the original Japanese ones, for I have not heard either of the two English dubs) are doing a great job. Noriko Hidaka (who has done such great anime roles as Akane in "Ranma 1/2", Kikyo in "Inuyasha" and Near in "Death Note") really convinced me that she was voicing a 14 year old boy; Jean. Yoshino Takamori did a great job with temperamental but caring Nadia and Motomu Kiyokawa (Walter in both "Hellsing" and "Hellsing OVA" series) was absolutely chilling as Gargoyle.Sadly, series does have one terrible down side to it: the filler episodes directed by Shinji Higuchi, that for some unclear reason were demanded in the middle of the series. During those episodes story hardly moved at all, characters loose their interest and almost every minute is spend with some of the worst anime humor ever. These filler episodes are episodes 23-29 and 32-34. Episodes 30-31 are worth seeing for the story actually moves there somewhat and the relationship of Nadia and Jean strengthens there.If you can forgive some simple animation, unbelievable plot twists and skip the previously mentioned filler episodes, then you have a great and entertaining anime series here, that will keep you interested from the beginning to the end. Warmly recommended.
JTurner82
In the mid 1970's, prior to obtaining his well-deserved status as Japan's greatest animator ever, a young Hayao Miyazaki was hired by Japanese movie giant Toho to develop ideas for TV series. One of these concepts was "Around the World Under the Sea", based on Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," in which two orphan children pursued by villains team up with Captain Nemo and his mighty submarine, the Nautilus. Although it was never produced, Toho nonetheless kept the rights to the story outline. Miyazaki would reuse elements from his original concept in later projects of his, most notably the terrific action-adventure CASTLE IN THE SKY. Ten years later, in the mid-1980's, animation studio Gainax was commissioned to produce an original Anime series to be broadcast on television network NHK. Under the direction of a brilliant but angst-ridden artist known as Hideaki Anno, the studio selected Miyazaki's concept, and crafted an engaging story set in a steampunk 1889 France, with interesting characters, amazing animation (for its time), and a mixture of comedy, romance, mystery, and drama. The result was NADIA: THE SECRET OF BLUE WATER, which has since become a worldwide fan favorite.The story begins at a Paris World Exposition Fair where Jean, a nerdy but charming and instantly lovable inventor boy of fourteen, becomes smitten with a pretty, dark-skinned girl his own age. The girl, known as Nadia, is an unhappy circus acrobat with no clue about her past other than a jeweled necklace she wears. After rescuing her from a trio of comic bandits (the Grandis Gang) Jean earns Nadia's trust. The two set off on an even bigger adventure to find Nadia's birthplace, which supposedly lies in Africa. Along the way, they have run-ins with a supercharged submarine commanded by the mysterious Captain Nemo and his pretty but overprotective first officer Electra as well as a shadowy cult of Nazi-like masked soldiers known as Neo-Atlanteans led by the misanthropic, sinister Gargoyle, who wants Nadia's pendant at any cost. In the course of their around-the-world adventure, Jean and Nadia adopt an orphaned little girl, Marie, who senses that her new guardians will become more than just close friends. Although Nadia's explosive temper poses problems, Jean's patience and loyalty keeps their relationship afloat, and her growing love for the boy gradually transforms her as a person.NADIA has all the makings of a classic series: a well-rounded cast of characters, unforgettable sequences, and a long, involving action adventure. There is a distinctive "Miyazaki-esque" style to the visual designs of the leads, yet only Jean seems to emerge as a Miyazaki creation. Which is arguably what makes him the most lovable character in the whole show. It's easy to see why Nadia finds herself falling for him--who wouldn't want to be with a boy as intelligent, genuinely compassionate, and impossibly generous as Jean? While he does display clumsiness in terms of social graces around the opposite sex, it only makes him all the more appealing as a character. Nadia herself, by contrast, is not always lovable. In addition to having serious anger management issues, she also has unbending and irrational principles about killing, eating meat, or trusting grown-ups. She does, however, display courage and, as mentioned, finds herself growing to care for Jean. Actually, Anno has said that he created Jean and Nadia based on his "light" and "dark" sides.For all its assets, however, NADIA suffers from one fatal flaw that prevents it from being the classic it aims to be--it doesn't always stay afloat throughout its 39-episode count. The first twenty-two episodes are old-fashioned adventure at its best, with humor, young love, traumatic situations which involve death, and compelling, engrossing mysteries as we learn about Nadia, the Nautilus, and the Atlanteans. In episodes 23-34, however, it devolves into a painfully dull, unengaging, haphazard, incoherent Saturday morning cartoon, with warped characterizations, sloppy animation, and even worse scenarios totally devoid of imagination or credibility. (In all fairness, these dreadful half-hours weren't supposed to have existed; distributor NHK requested that they be made after the show became a smash hit in Japan.) In the final five episodes NADIA does recover, delivering a satisfying finale, but it's hard to compensate for the damage that has been done. Simply put, the show would have been far better if it were eleven episodes shorter.For their part, however, ADV Films deserves a shout-out for their work on bringing this series to American audiences. The visual and aural transfers are competently done, but it's their translation that really shines. The English dub, a wonderful achievement for the now defunct Austin-based Monster Island studios, is notable for casting three actual children in the roles of Jean, Nadia, and Marie--Nathan Parsons (12), Meg Bauman (14), and Margaret Cassidy (11), respectively. For inexperienced youngsters, all three do exceptional jobs, and are amply supported by an excellent cast of adults, particularly Sarah Richardson, Corey Gagne, Martin Blacker (as the Grandis Gang) as well as Jennifer Stuart (Electra), and Ev Lunning Jr. (Nemo). All show liveliness and enthusiasm for the characters and give the performances of their careers. Ditto for the use of genuinely believable accents--it adds a national flavor to the characters (although Jean's sometimes shaky French dialect takes some getting used to).Is NADIA a complete waste of time? Not at all; as mentioned, the characters are fully-realized, and for twenty-two episodes and the final five, the show does indeed deliver an entertaining, consistently engaging adventure story with just the right amount of heart, humor, and drama. It's just too bad that it goes downhill in the second half (despite delivering a phenomenal conclusion). Otherwise, this series would truly be worthy of the praise it receives as one of the greats. The best way to appreciate NADIA is to view episodes 1-22, then 31 (the only "filler" episode to have any genuine plot development), and finally 35-39. It will provide for a much more pleasing experience.
Vegeta-2
This series, a creation of Studio Gainax, is a perfect example of why I love anime. It has everything: Adventure, romance, action, comedy, and drama. Oh, does it have drama. And all of these elements are brought together in such a way that "perfection" doesn't do it justice. Running for 39 episodes, this series starts out in Paris in the late 1800's. Jean (pronounced the French way), a young boy with an incredible knowledge for designing aircraft, meets a girl named Nadia. Nadia is a mysterious girl, and quite unusual. Her companion is a grey lion cub named King, and they are being chased by a band of jewel thieves (Graten, Samson, and Hanson, three of the coolest anime characters ever)because Nadia has a pendant around her neck, a diamond-shaped, blue crystal. But, that's just a small part of the story, for you see, that crystal holds a secret capable of destroying the world. Nadia and Jean meet other characters, including the enigmatic Captain Nemo, captain of a high-tech, almost futuristic submarine named the Nautilus (the series borrows some elements from the Jules Vernes novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, then adds it's own spin to them). They also encounter the series' true villain, the leader of a society called Neo Atlantis. This villain, named Gargoyle, is perhaps the single most evil villain I've ever seen, as well as one of the coolest. He's very proper, with a calm, smooth voice, not loud and over-the-top like most typical villains, and hides his face behind a mask (take Darth Vader's coolness and multiply it by about 10, and you've got Gargoyle). Eventually, the series explores the secrets of Nadia's past, her relationship with Nemo and Jean, and the awesome power her pendant, the Blue Water, unlocks. The series' finale, the final four episodes, are some of the best viewing you can get (why, oh why can't American animation be this good?), with heart-wrenching drama and glorious animation. The music, by the same composer as the Evangelion music, is heavenly, and the character designs by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto are as good as his Eva character designs (the man is an artistic genius). The opening and ending themes are fantastic, also. All in all, this series is the only anime I can think of that equals Neon Genesis Evangelion in every respect, and in some may actually surpass Eva. After all, Eva was great, but lacked a cool villain (and Gargoyle is one of the coolest). If A.D. Vision ever gets around to releasing this officially over here, buy it (and please buy the subtitled versions, the voices are just TOO GOOD to watch a dubbed version). An 11 out of 10.
