Forum - View topicREVIEW: Moribito - Guardian of the Spirit DVD 1
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Vulcannis
Posts: 41 |
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After reading the original novel I was surprised at how the anime took it and improved it. Small, throw away paragraphs in the novel get expanded in the anime and really help flesh out the world and its characters. After watching so many adaptations that fail to live up to their source material, Moribito is the best example of going one better I've ever seen.
I can't recommend Moribito to action fans though--while the action scenes are exquisite, the show has much more to do with parental love than fighting. Can't wait to order this one, definitely one of my top ten. So there are multiple versions available? What's different about them? |
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Top Gun
 Posts: 4575 |
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Fantastic, fantastic series. Episode 11 can't come fast enough for me. The characters, the artwork, the music, the animation, the acting...everything is top-notch. Moribito feels for all the world like the literary adaptation that it is; its pacing and deliberateness are just like reading a well-crafted fantasy story. Balsa and Chagum make for one of the most engaging main-character pairs I've ever seen. I really can't say enough good about this show, and I'm happy to see it getting similar praise here.
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penguintruth
 Posts: 8461 Location: Penguinopolis |
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How honesty amusing, you mistaking me for an imbecile who constantly needs action to entertain himself. No, the point is, when a series is constantly setting itself up for action sequences as this does (hell, the main character is an expert spear wielder and a bodyguard), only to disappoint in favor of a long, drawn out conversation that could have been simplified, then you have a problem. Not to mention each episode is structured exactly the same as the last one. I don't dislike the show, it has rich characterizations and wonderful potential. However, it's pointless to animate something without anything to animate but mouths moving. Why don't I just read the books? (Are they available yet?) |
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Who Is This Guy!?
Posts: 183 |
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You do realize you just totally contradicted yourself in a relatively small sentence...right? |
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Kyogissun
 Posts: 676 |
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I'm sorry, I just tried watching a couple episodes of this...
For people who thought there were moments in GitS: SAC and 2nd Gig that were extremely long and drawn out, just avoid this. Look, I appreciate my fair share of epic fantasy and the like but... This is just unbearable. It is... too much of a novel trying to be expressed through an anime. I think that the pacing is just way too slow to fit with AS's normal 'regime' which is why I am confused as to why they picked it up. Guess it's because they though, "Hey! Production I.G.! Ghost in the Shell! Art! Story! EPICNESS!" or something like that. I have nothing against the series... But my attention span can't carry for it. Ironically enough, I was willing to put up with the 8+ episodes it took for the main plot for After Story to get up to speed to... have whatever opinion of me you wish to have. |
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belvadeer
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I'm sorry but no. Cindy Robinson's Zola-esque voice is a perfect fit for Balsa and Peter Doyle as Tanda is fine (he's supposed to sound like a disinterested doctor, isn't he?). I think you're not giving the English dub enough credit.
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18188 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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I think you're misinterpreting what I was saying. Cindy Robinson's performance doesn't use the same delivery style as the original performance, but by no means was I trying to imply that it was inferior. (Remember who's writing this!  )
Don't think we're going to agree on Tanda, though. His was the one English performance which outright disappointed me, and calling the character "disinterested" or even "dispassionate" is inaccurate. |
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belvadeer
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Well how does the Japanese actress sound? He came across like that at first word, but I think I might change my opinion. Last edited by belvadeer on Sun Dec 18, 2011 7:02 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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sabriyahm
 Posts: 291 Location: Georgia |
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I am not willing to invest that much time in a show. She may have grown into a better character but nothing about the first half of the first season made me want to watch her in the second half much less a second season. Thats the problem with a show whose character development comes at the end. People lose interest. I doubt I'll ever finish the first season. |
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Machius
 Posts: 23 Location: Australia wishing I was back in Japan |
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I love how everyone keeps bringing up the comparison to Gits, the comparison has to be made but since they were both done by Production I.G. and directed by Kenji Kamiyama. It's obvious that they wanted to make Moribito more than just a history/fantasy version of Gits.
The major vs Balsa, both are amongst my favorite all time characters and both are strong female leads, but the Major does have an overly sexual character, while Balsa stands as a female warrior with no real need for anything more. This goes back to the source material as well, the Major in Gits while still sexual is actually considerably more family friendly than her character in the original manga, whereas Balsa's strong yet not overly sexual character runs true in the novels. |
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Kyogissun
Posts: 676 |
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Easily understandable... Only reason I stuck through with GitS is because I liked the sci fi style... The music, etc. And I skipped like 4 or 5 episodes of 2nd Gig due to pure boredom and needing a break from it. |
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Top Gun
Posts: 4575 |
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If you were watching GITS in hope of the Major's character development, you were kind of doing it wrong to begin with.
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Unit 03.5-ish
Posts: 1540 Location: This space for rent |
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This show looks like another one to keep my eye on, but I think I'll wait for the collected version. No offense to the makers of the show, but you know how money is these days.
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Raven Shinobi
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I've been wanting to watch this series for the longest time.
Balsa is indeed one of the best anime heroines to come around in recent years. While her JP voice did well in making her sound tough-as-nail, I thought that her English voice did a good job in highlighting her intelligence and level-headedness, especially when she divulges her plans or offers her views on how the world works. This reminds me of GITS in which I thought the two voices are contrastingly different yet, you can't go wrong with either one of them. While I was happy that I got two volumes at a good price, I was utterly disappointed with the cardboard box. If I knew before hand about the quality of the box, I wouldn't have gone for the so-called "Collector's Edition". I'm also quite disappointed with the DVD release speed and that it seems we'll have to wait 3 months for each DVD to come 
Overall, aside from Baccano that I heard great things about, this might turn out to be my favorite series on DVD of 2008/2009. I'm also glad to hear about the novel which continues Balsa's story after the TV series. |
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Veers
 Posts: 1197 Location: Texas |
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Balsa: To others, her reputation as a mercenary/bodyguard influences their view of her, but there's much more to her than just that (especially her reason for her current occupation when compared to others who do it for just money). Torogai: Looks like a crazy old woman, but is far from it. She is highly intelligent and much more spry than her grey hair and stunted stature indicates. The Emperor: Appears to be an cruel, paranoid ruler but there's really much more to this troubled father. Chagum: Seems like a total wimp (well, for a couple episodes he truely is) but in reality he has a lot of courage. Tanda: An impersonal country herbalist who clicks his tongue and speaks with a lisp (or whatever you call the way his Japanese voice actor slurs some words) who is actually knowledgeable beyond his years and very curious about both worlds. He's also obviously interested in Balsa He is composed and patient but not nonchalant.
The star diviners, Chagum's brother, the weaponsmith, etc. the list continues. Tanda has a very distinct voice in the Japanese and I think that when he sounds disinterested from time to time (which he does in the Japanese) that that is neither his true personality nor all there is to his voice or his character. |
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