A Gainax Gem: Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water

[bobbarker31]

I was wondering how many people out there have watched Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water. It is one of the earlier Gainax series, the one that preceeded Neon Genesis Evangelion, but seems to live in the long shadow cast by its more popular sister series.

Nadia had practically the entire same production team as Evangelion, including being helmed by Director Anno and designs by Sadamoto. Loosely based off stories by Jules Verne (mainly Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea), the show delved deep into many things we would consider essential for our anime today, but were uncommon then.

1. The characters (especially the heroine) were deeply flawed in one way or the other and spent the series overcoming or coming to terms with the flaw.

2. A sweeping storyline that delved deep into the popular mythology of Atlantis and made use of Biblical stories, and tied it all together into a Indiana Jones kind of adventure.

3. The creators intentially put scenes that references or gave homages to other popular series. The bad guys were nuanced villians that had a history for how they became the way their were and believed in what they were doing.

4. The series had a resolution that was both satisfying and truly wrapped up the series. The coda on the final episode is still the most satisfying of any series that I have seen. It shows how all of the surviving characters ended up years later.

5. The story travels the globe and has characters of many nationalities (German, French, Japanese, American, Italian, British, African)

6. The production value of the series is top notch and one of the best of the hand painted cell series. The soundtrack is exceptional too and befiting of the series sweeping nature.

If you have not seen the series, GO GET IT NOW!!! It is sold in two collections by ADV with 5 discs per clam case and several of the soundtrack CDs included. For its price it cannot be beat.

If you have seen the series, tell us what you think about it. I have been looking for other people who have seen the series.

[greenjinjo]

I actually just bought the first box set, and so far (I've only been able to see 2 episodes), it's actually surprising me to be quite good, I'll certainly watch the rest of it.

Best Buy is selling the first box (5 DVDs, 2 Soundtracks) for $30 and the second box (6 DVDs, ? Soundtracks) for $37, so it's not very expensive at all.

[Gemberkoekje]

Gainax? One should try the game Princess Maker 2 (the only one to have come out in english - out of three)...

[bobbarker31]

It has a very good dub considering when it was done. Not to knock the Japanese dub, but the English dub has accents added to show the nationalities of the characters.

The only thing that might disappoint with the series was the infamous "island" episodes in the latter half of the series. These episodes were created due to the enormous popularity of the series when it premeired. The episodes were not created by Gainax, but by a Korean studio contracted to put a few filler episodes to get the count up to 39. The episodes are loved by some and hated by others. They are mostly character development.

If you are a fan of Gainax productions (Evangelion, His and Her Circumstances, FLCL) you will see many things here that precursored their later work. It'll no doubt bring a smile to your face.

[DTJB]

I've already seen half of the series, need to get the second DVD box set at some point in the future. Really good so far, interesting plot. While it can be classified as a children's show. It's still deep enough to be enjoyed by others as well. I'm finding the dub to be exceptional, not great, but still good overall. What really impresses me about the dub is that ADV went out of their way to get age specific voice actors for Nadia, Jean and Marie, kids actually playing the roles of kids instead of adults doing the roles for once.

[paizuri]

Yes, it really was a groundbreaking anime at the time. Also at the end of the series, you can see the precursors for the plug suits in Evangelion.

[bobbarker31]

I've already seen half of the series, need to get the second DVD box set at some point in the future. Really good so far, interesting plot. While it can be classified as a children's show. It's still deep enough to be enjoyed by others as well. I'm finding the dub to be exceptional, not great, but still good overall. What really impresses me about the dub is that ADV went out of their way to get age specific voice actors for Nadia, Jean and Marie, kids actually playing the roles of kids instead of adults doing the roles for once.

A cursory look can make it look like a children's show... But then you have PG language (Sanson calling bad guys bastards) and then there are more than a few grusome deaths.

Marie pinned under the bodies of her dead parents.
Neo-Atlantians killing people (or getting killed themselves)
Nautilus crew members gassed to death.
Other burned to a crisp....
Nadia running around naked on Red Noah.
Patricide
And then there are the disturbing genetic engineering experiments that went wrong in the early days of Atlantis.

That's just off the top of my head.

It can be deadly serious at times... other times it is mostly a fun romp.

[DTJB]

I understand what you were getting at, and I totally agree. I was refering to how it was (possibly) received by it's original Japanese audience. Must of the stuff they put on their kid's shows you can't get away with calling it a kid's show here in the U.S. A few examples from Kodomo No Omocha come to mind.

[Jnzk]

I got the cheap bricks some time ago and liked the series. Lots of foreshadowing for Eva. Some filler material, but overall very good. I've been watching a lot of older shows recently, they seem to have much more soul in them than many recent productions and Nadia was no exception.

[ssbobbyh01]

I agree with you