Seirei no moribito

Why are stories from the road alway the best?

Prince Chagum is possessed by a water demon which will endanger the whole land. To avoid a curse, there are those who would kill him. His mother hires - nay, she /extorts/ the woman warrior, Balsa, to run away with her son and keep him alive. "I saw within that woman's eyes a strange power and indominable strength. It was overwhelming," mom will later say. Balsa & Chagum set out on the road. They flee, fight, find new friends (and old), and they all form a unit together. They flourish. They do settle in somewhere, eventually, and that's where we see the prince mature. It's weird that the entire kingdom is filled with agents looking for the missing prince, yet they fail to change the prince's name when they're on the run. Are they worried about confusing us?

We'll learn that it's not exactly a water demon, but the egg of the water spirit inhabiting Prince Chagum. Destroying it is not the solution, but rather, they must keep it SAFE so that rain will return to the land once again. What is most distressing is that, for the egg to be born, the prince may have to die. That's been the fate of the other egg carriers. Balsa is determined to save his life. She has sworn an oath.

Rated 8.13 on MAL, M is a 2007 production of 1 season consisting of 26 25-minute English dubbed episodes with CC available. It's based, per Wiki, "entirely on the first novel in the Guardian series, and greatly expands the midsection of the novel." Author Uehashi, Nahoko wrote the light novels and her next most popular work is The Beast Player Erin. Once again, there's no English translation of many of the written words that appear in screen - a general failing of anime that has been widely corrected, as of late.

There's a rich and wide variety of characters. Musa Jiguro is the man who protected and raised Balsa. He turned her into a warrior. A noble one. Sagum is Chagum's older brother, the crown prince. The brothers love eachother. Jin is one of Chagum's pursuers who is in for many surprises. Madam Torogai, the ancient mystic and teacher is voiced wonderfully by Barbara Goodson. She's the smartest, funniest, and craziest character. Tanda, the madam's student and a particular admirer of Balsa, is always helping from the shadows. Shuga & Saya are two of the group from the city; the street betting scene in ep11 is well written.

Touya is the palace star reader who takes a great interest in Chagum. He's a stargazer, and he's a man of science. He is very conflicted about the decision to kill the prince. Even after he believes that Prince is dead, he continues to investigate the matter because it doesn't sit right. He's out in the countryside one day and talks to a local. There's no change in the number of fish, and the farmers had a bumper crop. BUT the mantis, per oral tradition, lay their eggs where they anticipate next year's water line to be, and the mantis have laid their eggs very low this year, the local guy points out. The insects anticipate a drought. Touya considers the evidence: 'There's plenty of fish and the harvest was bountiful. Doesn't that mean things are going well?' (To himself he wants to believe something good came from sacrificing Chagum). The local guy has another way of looking at it. Just in the way animals fatten themselves up before the winter, maybe nature is preparing itself for some bad months, maybe years, opines the man.

The evil of politics is one of the themes. "Resist this warning and you will find an underbelly to the Star Palace that you never knew existed." Everything is presented as mandatory. All options don't seem optional, but Balsa believes in fighting until the end for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The 2nd queen tells her son to NOT hate his father for ordering his death. She explains that he has a heavy responsibility to the kingdom and must do what is right for the kingdom first. In this case, "right" is killing the prince. The prince must die, not only because he is possessed by an "evil spirit", but merely because of /rumors/ that he is possessed. Perception is politics, and the opinion of the people factor as strongly into the King's decision to kill his son as anything else. This is how politics woos people to evil. We're always told there is no other way. The corrupting power of fear is another theme. This is what it looks like when rulers are driven by fear, and back at the palace, it's always politics as usual.

Fulfilling duty. Courage. Sacrifice for others, the greater good, and doing what's right are all themes of M. We see many fights, a plethora of colorful characters, and the plot is gloriously imaginative. M hardly seems Japanese, it's so like a Chinese fantasy feature. The author has explained that was deliberate- she was trying to represent all of east Asia in the work.

The palace intrigues are good. The local intrigues are good. The magical intrigues are good. The character development, and growth, the dialogue and interactions, are all better than good. Every element, in fact, is better than good. Every facet of M is excellent. Potential complaints are that it is methodical, maybe even plotting. But it goes at a steady pace. It's a solemn piece. There are some chuckles, smiles and humor between the human personalities and their varied interactions, but this is a serious drama.

Right away, it's obvious that the art is next-level. They send signals from the first frame that this is a quality production. In fact, after 5 minutes of watching, I stopped and waited for my son to visit so that we could watch it together. He loved it. The art truly is stunning. People are realistic with a high level of detail. The backgrounds are detailed. Most frames are a work of art. This supports the vibe of a serious yet beautiful and epic style drama. The opening song (Shine, by L'Arc〰en〰Cielis) is a little cheerful for the show's serious tone, but it's VG. It takes me to Napoleon Dynamite's expressive dance and I developed the urge to raise my arms expressivly and giggle every time it played. Another song, by Sachi Tainaka, which occasionally plays during the closing credits is very nice.

Only nomads and gypsies stay on the road forever. Their Journey eventually comes to an end and there's a resolution (of sorts). At the end, the palace door slams hard and heavy. Chagum's in a prison. Balsa is back out on the free, open road. Chagum may not be free, but he will be a better king for his experience.

QUOTE📢

If you have money, life ends up being the same wherever you go.

〰🖍 IMHO

🎬87 📝86 🎭85 💓50 🦋30 🌞70 🎨95 ⚡67 🎵/🔊75 😅35 😭45 😱50 😯55 😖30 🤔60 💤15 🔚93

Age 10+ depending This is not appropriate for young kids.

There's violence, fighting, killing. The king decides to kill his son "for the greater good" The tradeoff is the way the protags handle adversity. This show reinforces the best qualities. Language v. Some d@mns & he!!s. Rated PG.

Re-📺? Absolutely

In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:

Anime- Here Comes Miss Modern-8, The Dragon Prince-8.7, My Happy Marriage-8.3, Samurai Champloo-8.6, Nina the Starry Bride-8.4 Akame ga Kill! 8.6, To your Eternity-7.6, Legend of Exorcism-8.8, Heaven Official's Blessing,Land Of The Lustrous-8 Watership Down-8.5 Vinland Saga-10

🔮🐉- C🇨🇳: Love Between Fairy & Devil 8.9; Douluo Continent 9.4; Handsome Siblings 8.7; Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber 9-Kung-fu!; Ancient Love Poetry 8.6; Love and Redemption 10

🎎 - C🇨🇳: Overlord 8.4, Under the Power 8.6, The Rebel Princess 9.1, The Sword and the Brocade 8.6 (in ancient Chinese opera style), The Rise of Phoenixes 9.

Seirei no Moribito is a solid anime series that boasts beautiful animation, compelling characters, and an interesting storyline. The show follows Balsa, a skilled warrior and bodyguard, as she sets out to protect a young prince from those who would harm him.

One of the strongest aspects of the series is its world-building. The show takes place in a richly detailed and immersive world, filled with diverse cultures and unique customs. The animation is also top-notch, with stunning landscapes and detailed character designs that add to the overall atmosphere of the show.

The characters are well-developed and likable, with Balsa serving as a particularly strong protagonist. Her backstory is intriguing, and her journey to protect the young prince is both exciting and emotionally resonant.

However, while Seirei no Moribito has many strengths, it also has some weaknesses. The pacing of the show can be slow at times, and the plot can feel predictable or lacking in urgency. Additionally, the show's themes of destiny and fate can feel heavy-handed or overused at times.

Overall, Seirei no Moribito is a good anime series that is worth watching for its strong characters, beautiful animation, and immersive world-building. However, it falls short of being a great series due to its pacing issues and occasional lack of depth in its storytelling.

I saw the last episode of Seirei no Moribito last night. Actually it was 3AM. I couldn't go to sleep without knowing what happens in the end. When the whole thing was over, I did something I don't usually do: I clapped my hands in amazement... This is something I do only when I am truly impressed by what I saw. This show is perfect! It's flawless pure and simple! The story is very interesting and beautifully told. It unfolds just right from one episode to the other like a perfectly written book. The character development, as others pointed out, is very well done! In the end you just wish the show would never stop and you develop a sort of respect for the characters that doesn't really happen with characters from other anime shows. Just like the title says, from time to time I surf the net and find a gem like "Seirei no Moribito". I'm glad I found it and I'm glad I can tell others about it. It's good that in our time you can still find amazing stories such as this one. 10 out of 10? Sure, if 10 is the highest score I can give it, but it's as simple as this: this series is Perfect and Beautiful! If you find it, for the love of God watch it and keep it safe! If you have children, this is the kind of quality they should be watching! Definitely a series that entertains you and also teaches you valuable things. Later I realized I started asking myself: "what would Balsa do in this situation?"...

MORIBITO: GUARDIAN OF THE SPIRIT (Seirei no moribito) (2007) is an epic fantasy anime series, based on the fantasy novels by Nohoko Uehashi, first published in 1996. This anime is a hidden gem and simply perfection. When this series was first released, I stumbled upon it by accident, browsing for something to watch. I wasn't expecting much but as the series progressed, I was simply blown away by the writing, the character development, the atmosphere, the level of detail and realism for a fantasy story. The art, design and also the OST (by Kenji Kawai) were all breathtaking.

"Balsa, the spear weilding woman is a wandering warrior, who takes on the task of saving lives, an act of atonement for a past sin. On her journey, she happens to save a young Prince, Chagum, from assassination and is tasked with becoming his bodyguard, by his mother the Empress, steaking him far away from the kingdom."

While this series definitely has action and adventure, it is well balanced in its focus on story and characters as well, so that the world building felt truly fleshed out and you feel connected to the characters and the story. Balsa, Prince Chagum, and Tanda were especially well developed characters, with meaningful arcs and changes, but many other characters left marks as well. There are some slower scenes which work through dialogue, emotions, politics and backstory but everything is key to the overall tension and bigger picture, tying things together coherently.

Overall, this series is highly recommended hidden gem which focuses on redemption and the bonds between people. This epic Taiga fantasy is a genius work of art, as a captivating survival adventure and as a memorable story that lives on with you. Unforgettable and highly underrated. The characters are so beautifully created and portrayed, making this such a great watch. This series was a great find and definitely rewatchable.

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.