Forum - View topicMoribito - Guardian of the Spirit (TV).
|
Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3 |
| Author | Message | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
WesW
 Posts: 144 |
|
|||
|
I'd be interested to find out how well this show did in Japan. I can see how it would appeal to adults and kids, but there is nothing much to appeal to teens or otaku. Given the money that must have been spent to produce such a quality production, if it flopped then I.G. could have lost a bundle.
Then again, this show seems to be made by the same team that made La'Chevalier D'Eon, and that show had much the same appeal (and lack thereof), so if this show was greenlighted, then La'Chevalier must have done well enough. Guardian is definitely the most beautiful show since D'Eon, and I loved the maturity with which it was handled. If there were more shows like it, then anime could possibly move beyond fringe appeal and into the mainstream. However, given the show's relative lack of action in the middle half, I wonder about its replay value. |
||||
|
||||
nightmaregenie
 Posts: 167 Location: Palmy, NZ - student central |
|
|||
I think both ANN and the Production IG site have referred to Guardian as a popular "children's book" and that's where I got that impression from. As far as palace intrigue goes I personally think it's pretty linear and simplified in the show. It really doesn't go very far beyond the scandal of Chagum's supposed possession and palace folks spoiler[1) trying to kill Chagum on the emperor's orders and then 2) trying to bring him back after Sagum dies and the founding history's proven false]. There's not enough to resemble real intrigue, and everything ends up well with barely any casualty involved.
Never said it was, but there's a difference between things turning out well and things being unrealistic (which is really what my problem is with the show). Guardian seems to be based on the notion that absolutely everyone has a sense of honour and duty, that someone who makes a living out of conning gamblers could just stop and promise to never do it again after being beaten by a child, that the rice grower would just give up without demanding compensation after his son's been spoiler[publicly humiliated by the stunt Saya pulled (and that's after spending a hefty amount of engagement money which was never returned). ]By shoddy I was just referring to the unusual amount of optimism that seems to be at work here without which I would have enjoyed the story more. |
||||
|
||||
Westlo
 Posts: 1684 |
|
|||
Data pulled from Oricon, posted in a thread on that bittorrent site. Guardian of the Sacred Spirit (Seirei no Moribito) *2,056 (7+) (Production I.G/Geneon USA) 2007/06/22 *1,833 Vol. 1 Limited Edition (Two episodes up to current volume) 2007/07/25 *2,303 Vol. 2 Limited Edition 2007/08/24 *2,097 Vol. 3 2007/09/21 *1,724 Vol. 4 2007/10/24 *2,215 Vol. 5 2007/11/21 *2,158 Vol. 6 2007/12/21 **,*** Vol. 7 Limited Edition Safe to say it didn't do well, though it could've been worse.. Heroic Age *1,313 (8+) (Xebec) Kaze no Stigma *1,790 (5+) (Gonzo) Touka Gettan *1,028 (3+) (Studio Deen) Going by Zero no Tsukaima and Higurashi an avg of 5-6k seems to be good enough for sequel. |
||||
|
||||
selenta
 Subscriber Posts: 1774 Location: Seattle, WA |
|
|||
I didn't say the palace intrigue was complicated, I said there would have been less of it. The amount of screen time the palace scenes were given was far more than was necessary solely for the plot.
I don't have time this morning, and even if I did I wouldn't really care to go as in depth as I would need to to convince you, but suffice to say that I disagree strongly when you talk about the realism. While modern society does not really have a code of morals/honor, and certainly everyone back then did not, an extremely large number of people did, and they did things because of it that you do not seem to comprehend the personal significance of. |
||||
|
||||
|
nightmaregenie
Posts: 167 Location: Palmy, NZ - student central |
|
|||
|
One question...why the name change from "Guardian of the Sacred Spirit" to "Guardian of the Spirit"? The latter probably comes closer to the original Japanese title but if so, why did IG add in the "sacred" part when they first announced the show? Personally I prefer the former...it has a nicer ring to it.
Another thing I've been wondering has to do with the second to last episode. Why did that spoiler[horde of La Lunga just suddenly stop attaking as soon dawn arrived? Apparently the old Yugo heroes spent days defending the eggbearer so it couldn't be because of the sun. They had the upper hand through sheer force of numbers]. It just seems odd that they abandoned their prey. Does the novel provide an explanation? |
||||
|
||||
Belle Starlia
 Posts: 27 |
|
|||
My answer: spoiler[ Keep in mind that some of the old Yogo heros' tale is myth. Yes, they probably fought to save the eggbearer, but I highly doubt it was for days on end. The La Lunga probably killed him right off as the old Yogo heroes had no means of which to kill the monsters -- I highly doubt they knew about the flower, or else they would have mentioned it in their recordings. The La Lunga froze up because of the sunlight, not to mention the "link" between the two worlds was becoming weak. ] |
||||
|
||||
ace52387
 Posts: 61 |
|
|||
A lot of the characters are pretty obscenely selfless. The setting seems to fit that though. It reminds me of Wuxia stories or movies, where the main characters aren't only superhuman in phsyical abilities, but spirituality or morality or philosophy also. I didn't like Hero personally (for other reasons), but it shares the same simplicity in the politics and characters. They all have strict codes of conduct where real people are much more flexible. The whole thing kind of feels like a great big bed time story with simple morals or lessons, geared towards kids or teenagers. Come to think of it...Hero seems kind of like that too. spoiler[The Blue Hand was paid by Balsa, so it was a business deal. The gambling episode was a bit awkward, but you could make a case that the guy didn't want to look any more crooked than he already did infront of the crowd. I'm not sure what's wrong with backing out of the arranged marriage. as for the politics, there's no denying it's pretty simple, but it doesn't seem awkward or nonsensical either to me. I don't recall this part of the story very well, but Didn't the head star diviner give the OK after they found out the truth from the texts? The public never knew of the possession in the first place, so cleaning that up wasn't a big deal. The head star diviner was faced with the texts written by his predecessors, which stated their duty was to protect the spirit, so it was his duty to oblige. The founding history is proven wrong, but the public never has to know about that either, so it's nothing revolutionary. I also much preferred learning of Balsa's struggles over watching the main plotline. The series is only based off the first novel, and the rest of the series does keep focus on Balsa, so in essence, this is kind of just a chapter of her putting the past behind her. The premise of the 2nd novel is set up by the last episode. She's returning to her homeland to clear her father's name or something like that.] |
||||
|
||||
|
nightmaregenie
Posts: 167 Location: Palmy, NZ - student central |
|
|||
|
@ Belle Starlia:
Why of course...my mind must have slipped when I posted that. Oh well it's been months since I last watched the show...
Couldn't agree more. It would be interesting though to continue following Balsa's journey after the end of Seirei. I'd like to know what she's doing after atoning for the eight lives she's taken. I felt a bit sorry for Tanda at the end of the series... |
||||
|
||||
|
Belle Starlia
Posts: 27 |
|
|||
Considering the books are geared more towards younger people in Japan (I believe they called the Seirei series childrens' books) that doesn't surprise me in the least. The selflessness of the characters in the anime didn't bother me over much though. |
||||
|
||||
|
WesW
Posts: 144 |
|
|||
Thanks, Westlo. I really had no idea what size the anime market is. Re: Seirei, I was afraid of that. Perhaps it'll do well enough in the foreign markets for I.G. to continue making mature, respectable shows. |
||||
|
||||
|
fran2121
Posts: 4 |
|
|||
Unfortunately I think Geneon picked it up before they went down so there's no telling when (if ever) we'll see this distributed outside of Japan; which is a total shame since it was such a well done series as well that could do very well in R1. |
||||
|
||||
|
Crisha
Moderator
 Posts: 4290 |
|
|||
|
Anime Marathon Discussion (Nov. 6th, 2015 - Nov. 15th, 2015)
Spoilers Reminder for Marathon Discussion: Tag all spoilers within your post(s) and record the episode number(s) you're discussing at the top of your post. |
||||
|
||||
Imperialkat
 Posts: 227 |
|
|||
|
So far I've watched up to episode 13. The story here is simple: a bodyguard gets forced into protecting a young prince, and she starts to bring him up as her own.The art is gorgeous with backgrounds having a little bit of a watercolor feel. There are lush greens and blues everywhere, and I think some shots have individually painted blades of grass. The pace of storytelling is a bit slow for my taste (I'm more of an action guy), but not so slow that it makes me lose interest. Most of the main characters are presented as likeable and human - especially Balsa - and the ones that aren't haven't been fleshed out yet. The few chase and fight scenes there have been were well choreographed, adding some excitement to what would otherwise be a fantasy slice-of-life. Not that that would be a bad thing, as the non-action stories have been interesting so far.
I'm really liking this show. There are some potentially interesting political and mystical story threads that I hope are expanded on later. EDIT: I've finished the whole thing. The show delivered on some information I've been wanting, like spoiler[what would happen to Chagum when the egg hatches] and Balsa's backstory. It was interesting how the star readers spent nearly the whole show studying the legend of the water demon, spoiler[realized that the whole thing was wrong, and had to work with Balsa and company to save Chagum]. Chagum's growth throughout the series was cleanly presented and interesting to watch, especially spoiler[his rift with Balsa after learning his brother died]. It was nice that every thread that the story presented was tied up in the end in some way - it helped make the ending battle and conclusion complete and very satisfying. I enjoyed this show quite a bit. It was a little slow, but it had beautiful art, strong characters, clean story, and a finish that wraps everything up nicely. 8/10 Did anyone else notice how spoiler[the screencatches show the growth of the egg]? I started paying attention around episode 16. |
||||
|
||||
|
CameloLabadie
Posts: 2 |
|
|||
|
Synopsis, Screenshots, Reviews, Recommendations ~ Add Your Own Recommendations
Discuss individual episodes and first impressions of this anime here. Full reviews should be posted here. Forum rules and post guidelines can be found here --- Oh my, the visuals are so beautiful I could cry. The opening says it all, it gives a good overview. It looks like it is going to depend in its own strengths, without the aid of cheap service (low angle shots). It might appeal to only a few select fans because of this, mostly the GITS type fans, who like mature characters. Hey, it's not a moe or cute anime. It just tells a story while trying to be as close to reality as an anime can come or for lack of better words, it look like something you would expect from studio Ghibli. The setting is most definitely not Japan, more main land Asia, like China/Korea/Tibet. The anime is being produced by Production IG (which is a big plus in my book) and it's being directed by Kenji Kamiyama (who did GITS). So that's why I thought it kinda had the same feel as GITS. I almost cried when I saw the main character, at last, a female fighter who is NOT half naked or cute and she acts her age.  it's been so long. A spear fighter simple and clear, no bouncy, bouncy, my pantsu are showing. She does have a manly voice, well kinda, but I’m ok with that.
Oh, this one gets very high marks in my book. I just hope the story holds up and they keep the quality as high as it is in the first episode. ps: trying to take screenshots, but it doesn't seem to work
Moved your post here as we already have a thread. Errinundra. (BTW, it's one of my favourite anime.) |
||||
|
||||
yuna49
 Posts: 3804 |
|
|||
|
Those curious about how things develop after the end of Moribito can turn either to the rest of the novel series or track down the live-action version made by the NHK. The second story has similarities to Chagum's, though this time it is a young girl who is the vessel for a supernatural being, and in this case it's a malevolent force. I liked the third story more. Chagum makes a return at around age sixteen and tries to negotiate a set of alliances with neighboring countries when New Yogo is attacked by another power. Balsa decides to resolve matters with the King of Kanbal.
The sets and exteriors are lovely, with a great performance by Ayase Haruka in the lead role. You can tell that she learned the art of the spear before making this series as she appears in many of the fighting scenes. The first four episodes appear on Amazon Prime, but they cover only the same material as found in the anime. To see the remaining eighteen episodes you would have to turn to some extra-legal methods. Here's is the trailer that was made by the NHK when it entered the first part of the series into an international competition. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsxSZ-sHWyg The novels are considered books for "young adults" and commonly compared to the Harry Potter series. The series Kemono no Sou-ja Erin was also written by Uehashi Nahoko but targets a slightly younger demographic. It, too, was adapted into an anime series by Production I.G and the NHK. Sadly it is no longer streaming on Crunchyroll and again only fansubs are available. |
||||
|
||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group