Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (Fushigi no Umi no Nadia) 1990
There’s valid debate as to whether Nadia of the Mysterious Seas should actually be considered a classic or not and I understand the trepidation. There are some serious flaws resulting from a troubled production that I think would prevent the majority of folks from giving this anime that honorific.
However, I do think of the series as a classic, but then I’m a fan. (Having said that, I’m pretty aware of the problems too.)
This time around I’ve decided to split my review/discussion into seven posts (of varying lengths) that represent some of the show’s ‘arcs’ as I see them. I’ve named each arc but in a non-consistent way, partly to tie in with how fans tend to discuss certain parts of the series, but also to signal some tonal shifts, production changes or storytelling movements – and finally, ever my dream, I’m breaking it all up to make my posts shorter 😀
Here’s the lay of the land for the Nadia-themed posts:
- The NHK Arc –Episodes 1-4
- A Growing Darkness Arc – Episodes 5-8
- The Nautilus Arc – Episodes 9-19
- Beneath the Mask Arc – Episodes 20-22
- The Island Arc – Episodes 23-31
- The Africa Arc – Episodes 32-34
- The Tartessos Arc – Episodes 35-39
There will be spoilers in these posts – though not many big ones like ‘specific details on exactly how the series wraps up’. I’ll try to put a little warning in at times, but there will be spots where I have to discuss certain events (again, not the ending).
Not sure when I’ll start posting – have just got to deal with the tiny detail of going through 39 episodes for images 😀
The Review Heap 
Very good! That’s a nice way to review that particular series. I can’t wait to read your words about the story arcs. This would also mean that we would both review anime series that Disney won’t admit to stealing fro their films since you’ll be talking about the original Milo (Jean) and Kida (Nadia). Hahaha! 😛
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😀
Thanks! Hope it’s worth the wait!
I think I’ll end up adding a whole new post to explore that topic actually – I think it’d be too long to fit on to the end of my Tartessos Arc, lol
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Sure and I sure believe so.
Having a separate post could work about that issue. It would be nice to see the similarities, differences, how it compares to other plagiarism issues, and what can be done about it.
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I’m definitely going to do my best on those issues – I think I’ve also got enough material for a ninth post; it’s kinda getting out of hand 😀
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No problem. I guess you might be doing something right if you have that much material. Haha!
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This series is one of the best animated features ever made. Away from the bizarre island arc, it is nearly flawless. I recommend watching the 30th Anniversary fan edit, which converted the 16+ hours series into a trilogy of movies of less than 6 hours. It also treated the major issues like the island arc, and some other continuity errors and fillers in an amazing way. I personally think this is the best way to watch this work of art.
The best thing about this masterpiece is the character development and writing. This is by far one of the most enjoyable, relatable and well written cast of characters in a work of fiction. The music too is amazing. Could be Shiro Sagisu’s finest work.
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Wow, I’d never come across this, thanks! (I knew about a Laserdisc edition with heavy edits but I didn’t think it ever had an international release?)
Agree on the character development, yes! The cast definitely won me over – I like the OST too. Hard to choose only a few favs, though Nadia’s theme and ‘Nautilus-gou Oounabara Wo Yuku’ come to mind 🙂
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