Forum - View topicREVIEW: Moribito - Guardian of the Spirit DVD 1
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penguintruth
 Posts: 8461 Location: Penguinopolis |
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Every episode: 1. Balsa and prince are on the run/waiting/resting; TALKING 2. Authority is after them; TALKING 3. Star reader guy is akward dealing with superiors; TALKING 4. Balsa formulates a fake-out plan; TALKING 5. Plan goes into motion (sometimes actual action here) 6. Plan works; Balsa and prince escape; TALKING 7. Star reader guy continues to work; TALKING 8. Rinse and repeat. |
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Greed1914
 Posts: 4447 |
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For once, I'm agreeing with penguintruth. The show is a little too heavy on the talking so far. The few fight scenes have been pretty good, but there are so few of them. It's not bad by any means, but I would say that this doesn't help it's chances on Adult Swim very much. And .hack is probably what I'd compare it to so far in how I'm viewing it. Yes I'm interested in what they're saying and what is going on, but some more spice wouldn't hurt.
I too seem to be having the extra quiet problem when it's on TV. I end up having to turn my TV up to 50% when I rarely need to go up to 20% volume. |
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Mad_Scientist
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 3011 |
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I was wondering when this would be revered. Moribito is one of my favorite animes, from what I've seen of it, so I definitely agree with the review.
Interestingly, I've learned that the book it is based on is only the first book in a 10 book series. Not sure what the chances of any of the other books being given the anime treatment are though. If by some freakish chance all of them are animated, and all of them are as good as Moribito....  
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maaya
Posts: 976 |
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That pretty much sums it all up for me. Guardian of the Spirit is the best fantasy anime since the 12 Kingdoms ... and those two are pretty far apart from all the rest imho xD I really really hope that a second season based on the second novel will be made. what's the difference between this and the Two Pack version? only more episodes or also something else? and how about the Special Edition? How about a note in the review that the novel has been/is being translated into English? That should definitely be interesting for those who liked the series and it seems to me that this information hasn't reached that many fans yet ... For those who want to know how Balsa's story continues, the second novels Guardian Of The Darkness seems to be scheduled for an english release in May 2009. |
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Monster in a box
Posts: 671 |
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The only time I have trouble hearing people is when one character is off-screen. I assumed it was a problem with my speaker, as it happens in Family Guy too, but it didn't happen a few months ago. A couple theme songs sound off too, but didn't before.
Also, I don't know if charm is the right word, but it's just not distinguished. If I see a random screenshot of Moribito with no main characters in it, I'm not going to know what show it is. I'll just think it's Feudal Japan Anime X, even if it doesn't actually take place in Japan. |
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nargun
Posts: 925 |
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"Hard of hearing? Try listening!" See, strange as it may seem, conversations can exist for purposes other than filling the gaps in between action setpieces; in fact, for a lot of shows the focus is on the talk rather than the action, to the point that some shows, even extraordinarilly complex and structured ones, don't have any fight scenes at all. However, to get full enjoyment of this sort of show does require that you watch the dialogue scenes and listen to what is said, rather than fast-forwarding to the next stabby death bit. |
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nargun
Posts: 925 |
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Splendid. I shall order it in. [ -n, still peeved about the good witch of the west novels] |
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Veers
 Posts: 1197 Location: Texas |
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This was one of the best shows from 2007 (along with Dennou Coil and Gurren Lagann) and it’s a shame that, from what I could tell, it's been so ignored. I checked this show out after hearing it was similar to The Twelve Kingdoms. I think TTK is a better story with better world and character development and better pacing, but Seirei no Moribito was still very good; it has a very steady and solid story and character development with some really amazing fight scenes (and beats TTK in animation hands down). TTK is, at the core, a different style of story so while I like TTK better, I can't really line it up beside Moribito and say one far outdoes the other. TTK is a coming-of-age political fantasy epic while Moribito, with its lead being beyond that stage in life, is different (though it does have a coming-of-age side to it, in Chagum).
My main complaint about the show, though, is that after around the halfway mark the cast dynamics change drastically and while none of the characters really go “out of character” I still feel like the shift really removed what made the first half of the show so engaging; namely the ongoing manhunt for Balsa and Chagum. I didn’t think the ending was rushed (abrupt, perhaps, but not rushed); rather, in a sense, you could argue that the whole second half of the show is falling action, which honestly gave the show a bit of a dragging-out-a-tad-too-long feeling. spoiler[In the first part of the show, the conflict is man vs man, Balsa vs the Emperor's hitmen, and that makes for good action and storytelling. It's a battle of wits and brawn that the viewer can relate to (in a way). In the second half, though, the elite squad become Balsa's allies and the role of antagonist is handed off to those big plant things which are rather uninteresting. It's still fun to see Tanda and the crazy Shaman trying to unravel how the worlds overlap and stuff, and to see Balsa interact with Chagum and the Emperor's men, but it's just not the same--the feeling of urgency is severly diminished because it's almost like at that turning point the main conflict is resolved and the rest of the show, as I said, is falling action.] I’ll be picking this one up when a boxset is out, though, it’s a winner of a show.
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Machius
 Posts: 23 Location: Australia wishing I was back in Japan |
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Moribito is a beautifully crafted fantasy anime and i'm glad to see it get an english DVD release.
Balsa is a stand out as one of the best strong female leads ever, she manages to have a depth to her character as well as an appearance which while attractive doesn't have any of the inherent sexual overtones that so many other female leads suffer from(even Ghost in the Shell's Major Kusanagi suffers from it) i'm not in any way against that sort of thing but it is nice to see a strong female character in anime who doesn't have or need anything extra to boost her appeal. The pace of the story is a little laidback for some peoples taste(I suggest they stick to Jump style shonen anime instead) and there is a lot of dialogue involved which turns some people off(ditto previous suggestion). But personally I really enjoyed watching the series, it draws you into it's world and you come to genuinely care about the characters(a couple of things that a lot of the flashier titles just don't manage to do). Anyways hooray for a DVD release and props for a well written and argued review. |
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bcbenn
Posts: 6 |
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No one show can be all things to all viewers.
For example, I agree there are frequent monologues but I believe they help to understand the culture, history or character motives and actions. Yes, they slow down the pace and yes, a fantastic director can use other means to explain (for example, Haibane Renmei); even so, I defy anyone to show one of these that doesn't increase viewer understanding. Saw this in fansubs and I am eager for the boxset - love the Adult Swim showing and am captivated by Balsa's English VA: rich and nuanced with a husky hint of warmth, especially when speaking of Chagum. I also am tired of people defining a story's quality according to categories of gender, age, color, etc., even where well-intentioned. IMHO Balsa could just as easily have been a boy (although of course observers would consider the character far less remarkable). Also, Chagum and his poor brother are not elitist at all; instead, the insular nature of their position make them utterly ignorant of ordinary life. To me, this was a great story filled with memorable characters that are great because they have comprehensible motivations and realistic personalities, with a variety of cultures and value systems that are credible. Balsa's encounter with the spearhead repairman stands out as a particularly great example of the writer giving everyone a chance to be distinctive, but there are many more cases like this. |
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Greg Aubry
 Posts: 224 Location: Detroit, MI |
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My wife and I watch this together, completely engrossed in it. Rather than being bogged down by the dialogue scenes, we found the pacing of the show just perfect. If Kamiyama's gotten really good at one thing, it's the cliffhanger ending that makes you go "what-- its' over already?"
Episode 10, for instance, took us by surprise. I never thought I'd find myself so enthralled by a story about gambling with overtones of class warfare. Moribito is a beautiful series, and one for which I hope Media Blasters finds the resources to release on Blu-ray Disc. I can only imagine how much better the show would look in high-definition. And for this viewer, Balsa is the most beautiful woman in anime for this year, without being overtly "hot." |
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KrisEllieOphi
 Posts: 111 Location: Texas |
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The Major is fantastic, but it's easy to cross her off as little more than yet another sex object. |
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Murasakisuishou
 Posts: 1469 Location: NE Ohio |
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Seriously? I'll admit that through the first season of SAC I was rather taken aback by her battle thong (her incredible badass awesomeness kind of made me forget about it after a while), and her character was really little more than "Don't mess with the Major or she will END YOU", but...seriously? After 2nd GIG? When she starts wearing pants and gets those reams of backstory and character development? Her character design is purely fanservice, of course, but I think that knowing her motivations (or lack thereof) and what she's seen and where she came from makes her far more interesting than "yet another sex object". -is miffed- I'll admit, though, that Balsa's a far more accessible heroine - you don't have to deconstruct her at all. She openly talks about her motivations and everything, and the relationship she develops with Chagum is something that a lot of people can identify with on a personal level. If I may make the analogy, compared to Motoko she's a bit like Deunan Knute - all the awesome, far less veiling on the character, and oh yeah, she wants babies
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enurtsol
 Posts: 14784 |
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Like Monty Python and Seinfeld. 
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JINROH
Posts: 56 |
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Fully agree ! I have been chomping at the bit to get the dvd'a for ages.I ordered the double pack from TRSI last month. Love the Super jewel cases too ! |
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