Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water

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.

I have this in Japanese, English subbed and dubbed and even in French. Slightly different edits for each. A superb show with first class animation, especially in the first episode. Some very slight nudity was removed from several edits (including the French aired shows) and there are some very powerful emotional moments - such as Marie's grief at the loss of her parents. If you can, sit down and enjoy the whole show - it will not leave you untouched. Highly recommended introduction to the real art of Japanese animation. NB: The movie which followed is not so good.

Before anime characters started sporting gravity defying hair and using freaky psychic powers to subvert the laws of physics, we got a few gems like these. Nadia is one of the most popular series of the 80s and one of the best looking, especially over the first few episodes. The visuals are breathtaking and the action is edge-of-your-seat exciting. The action is driven by exciting stunts and the (then) cutting edge inventions from the age of steam make for wonderfully unpredictable getaway vehicles. The first episode alone has one of the best anime chase scenes of the period, as memorable as anything in Castle Cagliostro, and the excitement keeps up from there. The 'villainous' trio pursuing the main character are my only real complaint with the series; they are meant to be both threatening and comical, but they just come off as goofy and tend to get in the way. The pace also tends to slacken a bit after episode two, but the rest of the series is still worth watching for its likable characters and gorgeous visuals. The first couple of episodes are maybe the best in the series and start things off at a frenetic pace, making for memorable entertainment and good fun.

A few years back, Disney announced they were going to be dubbing and releasing major Japanese anime in the US. So far, KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE and PRINCESS MONONOKE have been the only ones to make it. It's dang obvious though, that someone at Disney watched NADIA and took notes, because the character design of the Atlantean girl in ATLANTIS looks to have been lifted directly from here.

US release of the dubbed NADIA stalled at an early section on the series. I hope that the release of ATLANTIS prompts someone to complete the US release of NADIA, as I would like to finally understand what the heck I watched a decade ago in Japanese!

"Fushigi no umi no Nadia", or "Nadia of the Strange Sea" is loosely based on Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, however, I say 'loosely'. Anno Hideaki, who would later be recognized for his direction on 'Neo Genesis - Evangelion', directed this series in cooperation with NHK(Primary Japanese TV station), intended to be broadcast on TV.

The story centers on an intelligent(a nerd:), inventive boy named Jean(pronounced jAn-g) and a mysterious girl named Nadia. A close encounter with a trio of mercenaries led by a very attractive red-headed lady, Jean finds himself attracted to Nadia and a whole lot of adventures.

Of course, if you wanted to break down the series into recognizable formulas you could say: 1)The boy is nerdy but will stop at nothing to make the girl happy and rescue her, should the girl find herself in perilous situations 2)The girl kicks ass(and literally does too:) 3)The story is immensely complex 4)The action scenes are some of the most memorable in recent history, especially the detailed movements of machines left me breathless and in awe 5)Did I say the story is immensely complex?

Anno Hideaki, in later interviews, commented that the direction of the plot and character interactions for Nadia wasn't really what he wanted and he actually considers Nadia to be something of a failure.

Nadia was aimed at the primetime viewers of animation, namely, roughly anyone under the age of 14, I'd say. So, there are some dark overtones within the story that fans of Evangelion would easily identify with, however, the overall plot got 'serviced' to facilitate the wishes of NHK, so, I'd recommend this animation heartily to any one(even adults), however, with the intent of insuring future generations of literate human beings, how about guiding the kids to read the original '20,000 leagues under the sea' afterwards?

If you felt compelled to root for the bad guys in Nadia and loved their attire, and had previous experiences of warm and fuzzy feelings whenever you saw a red, double bladed light saber, why not watch 'Evangelion', a true master piece from the same Anno Hideaki, or perhaps 'Memories', an omnibus of animations that are best watched than explained.

If, on the other hand, you wanted a child just like Jean or wanted to build a time machine that sent you into the same era, I suggest 'Future Boy Conan' from the master of Japanese animation, Hayao Miyazaki.