Guardian of the Spirit

I can't for a second that this is from 2007. I've watched literally hundreds of animes in the past year and none has made me this surprised. I dont think anyone would doubt you if you said this came out yesterday because yes the animation is that good ESPECIALLY for its time, and the art doesn't feel old in the slightest both character and environment. The story gradually progresses and so the character development. Theres no five minute clip that they make us ingest and want us to care or at least be interested in the various characters of diverse personalities and values.audios heartwarming.

The Japanese love their taiga. So much so that entire production companies are vested in bring stories of the past, fictional and mythical, to light.

Moribito is one such taiga that stems from a novel series about a travelling spear warrior and her encounters with kings, princes and commoners, demons, spirits and spiritualists, while embodying a courageous noble code of not killing her opponents.

Because taiga are episodic, they carry much of a soap opera style in writing and dramatic effect. Moreso than the source material they derive from. Motivations and emotions are very key to the characters' journeys and arcs from beginning to end.

Apart from the through-plotline there were enough episodes to show slice-of-life scenes that grounded the main characters in their locale, and several that gave enough back story to Balsa's tale.

If you enjoy period fantasy tales, this series is for you. Watch it with enjoyment.

This series is a fantasy tale, a story about survival and redemption, exquisitely crafted. There are no "stand-alone" episodes here; the story unfolds in a linear fashion, effectively leaving the viewer wanting more at the end of each episode. Great character development, you can't help but sympathize with the main characters as their relationships strengthen throughout their ordeals. The animation is exceptional as well as very realistic and backed by a fitting soundtrack by Kenji Kawai, makes for an elaborately atmospheric experience. The action scenes play a secondary role, one of building the tension when needed, although superbly choreographed nonetheless! There is no real explicit content but the spiritual aspects and the inescapable "cycle of life" theme embedded in the series is definitely for mature audiences only!

I think I haven't seen a series in a recent years that could be that valuable for the development of respect and caring for each other. If I had a 11 year old child I would want him/her to watch it. And let me tell you it is also if not more important for adults to have more respect for their environment and other living beings.

Whenever I watched this series it gave me a warm and calming feeling of sanity and comprehension, like meditating. This series was somehow giving me a kind of wisdom. I wish there was more like this.

From an artistic view the background graphics are absolutely top-notch, and the animations have a kind of realism to them through the addition of small movements to plausibly underline thoughts and behaviors. The only thing I would have elaborated on is the main character's face (the placement of her mouth?).

"Guardian of the Spirit" primarily convinces with animations that were pretty good for the time. The story of the anime is not extremely imaginative, but it still tells an exciting and interesting story. What I particularly liked about the anime was how the characters' relationships with each other grew closer and closer as the story progressed. The relationship also develops at a comfortable pace without rushing anything.

A big point of criticism that I have, however, is that the story is told extremely slowly, so that I got really bored at times. The number of episodes could easily have been halved in my opinion and the anime would have been more enjoyable to watch.