Serei No Moribito
Once every 100 years, a Water Fairy implants an egg into a person who then becomes the Guardian of Fairies. This time, the responsibility falls on Chagumu, the second prince of the New Yogo Kingdom. Chagumu’s life isn’t easy. The king finds Chagumu an inconvenience and attempts to have him killed. As a result, the queen asks a female guard, Valsa, to protect Chagumu. In addition to this, beings from another world, known as Nayugu, constantly attack him in order to eat the egg carried in Chagumu's body. Synopsis courtesy of Animenfo Seirei No Moribito, or "Guardian Of The Sacred Spirit" started out as the first of a series (currently 10) of novels in the Guardian Lore series, authored by Nahoko Uehashi. The first novel will be coming to the states in an english translation in the middle of next year, and I for one cannot wait! This is very strong and well-written story with characters whom I find quite unique. From the first episode I have greatly admired Balsa, a woman with determination and skills. And unlike most women in anime, she is not 16, nor ditzy. Balsa the spearwoman is a wandering warrior, who takes on the task of saving lives, in atonement for a past sin, though we come to find out later the sin wasn't truly her own. On her journey, she happens to save a young prince Chagum, second heir to the Yogo Empire throne, and is tasked (somewhat against her will) with becoming his bodyguard by his mother the queen. And he is going to need one, for his own father, the emperor, wants him dead due to misunderstanding the nature of his posession by the "egg" of a water spirit within him. Due to the belief that Chagum was possessed and that the possession was the reason for the Drought Sign being seen, he ordered Chagum to be killed. The Emperor is the only one able to kill Chagum due to fact that was how his ancestor ascended the throne (by killing a Water Spirit), and the belief that only the Emperor knows this method. The realization that the "egg" itself doesn't represent evil only comes later in the story, which further complicates matters when the Yogo Emperor does an about-face and tries to locate and save his son. A cross between period and fantasy work, the story is set in an era and place similar to feudal japan around a millenia ago. The fantasy elements of the story are light yet central to the story, borrowing much from feudal Omnyo Mysticism. Even if the story is simple by itself, the anime tells it well and every episode (I've seen till 19) is interesting and the story progresses well. No fillers, no unnecessary stuff, but still no feeling of haste, rather the pace of story telling is really well thought out. Every episode reveals new facts to the plot, develops the characters and their relationships. Not only Balsa, but also other characters are interesting, and add well to the tale. There are really not any "bad and good guys", just people with different opinions or different knowledge on matters, all of whom are acting from different, understandable reasonings. The elements of fantasy and history are woven well together, the voice acting, music and animation are all enjoyable. Also the balance between action and talking works well for me. This is one of the best anime series I've watched in recent history. This series caught me off guard this season. Artistically beautiful, this is a serious period piece with enough story depth to easily keep you engaged. Studio "Production I.G." (behind such memorable series as Ghost In The Shell, Furi Kuri, Reideen, Tsubasa Chronicles and more) is definitely spending a fortune on the production of this one. A fair amount of C.G. is used, but it blends in well and helps cement the period backdrop to the story. I have a feeling this will end up (so far 19 episodes deep out of 26) as not only one of the best series this year, but one of the best in recent history.
Once every 100 years, a Water Fairy implants an egg into a person who then becomes the Guardian of Fairies. This time, the responsibility falls on Chagumu, the second prince of the New Yogo Kingdom. Chagumu’s life isn’t easy. The king finds Chagumu an inconvenience and attempts to have him killed. As a result, the queen asks a female guard, Valsa, to protect Chagumu. In addition to this, beings from another world, known as Nayugu, constantly attack him in order to eat the egg carried in Chagumu's body. Synopsis courtesy of Animenfo Seirei No Moribito, or "Guardian Of The Sacred Spirit" started out as the first of a series (currently 10) of novels in the Guardian Lore series, authored by Nahoko Uehashi. The first novel will be coming to the states in an english translation in the middle of next year, and I for one cannot wait! This is very strong and well-written story with characters whom I find quite unique. From the first episode I have greatly admired Balsa, a woman with determination and skills. And unlike most women in anime, she is not 16, nor ditzy. Balsa the spearwoman is a wandering warrior, who takes on the task of saving lives, in atonement for a past sin, though we come to find out later the sin wasn't truly her own. On her journey, she happens to save a young prince Chagum, second heir to the Yogo Empire throne, and is tasked (somewhat against her will) with becoming his bodyguard by his mother the queen. And he is going to need one, for his own father, the emperor, wants him dead due to misunderstanding the nature of his posession by the "egg" of a water spirit within him. Due to the belief that Chagum was possessed and that the possession was the reason for the Drought Sign being seen, he ordered Chagum to be killed. The Emperor is the only one able to kill Chagum due to fact that was how his ancestor ascended the throne (by killing a Water Spirit), and the belief that only the Emperor knows this method. The realization that the "egg" itself doesn't represent evil only comes later in the story, which further complicates matters when the Yogo Emperor does an about-face and tries to locate and save his son. A cross between period and fantasy work, the story is set in an era and place similar to feudal japan around a millenia ago. The fantasy elements of the story are light yet central to the story, borrowing much from feudal Omnyo Mysticism. Even if the story is simple by itself, the anime tells it well and every episode (I've seen till 19) is interesting and the story progresses well. No fillers, no unnecessary stuff, but still no feeling of haste, rather the pace of story telling is really well thought out. Every episode reveals new facts to the plot, develops the characters and their relationships. Not only Balsa, but also other characters are interesting, and add well to the tale. There are really not any "bad and good guys", just people with different opinions or different knowledge on matters, all of whom are acting from different, understandable reasonings. The elements of fantasy and history are woven well together, the voice acting, music and animation are all enjoyable. Also the balance between action and talking works well for me. This is one of the best anime series I've watched in recent history. This series caught me off guard this season. Artistically beautiful, this is a serious period piece with enough story depth to easily keep you engaged. Studio "Production I.G." (behind such memorable series as Ghost In The Shell, Furi Kuri, Reideen, Tsubasa Chronicles and more) is definitely spending a fortune on the production of this one. A fair amount of C.G. is used, but it blends in well and helps cement the period backdrop to the story. I have a feeling this will end up (so far 19 episodes deep out of 26) as not only one of the best series this year, but one of the best in recent history.