Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit3dvddubsub
Volume 1
Spearwoman Of Kanbal
moribitoAt a time when the balance of nature still held the civilizations of mankind in thrall, a single drought could spell the end of a society and doom its inhabitants to piteous deaths. Prince Chagum has been imbued with the power to stave off the drought and bring new life to his empire. However, this is a suspicious time, and he is accused of possession by an evil spirit.
Court advisors only see one solution. Chagum must be put to death by his own father's hand. His salvation is in the form of Balsa, a spear woman and mercenary from Kanbal, the kingdom across the mountains. Her skills are legendary, and although reluctant, she is held by a mysterious vow to save eight souls before she dies. Can she fend off an entire empire and make Chagum her eighth soul?
Volume 2
From Prince To Peasant
Prince Chagum is hunted by his own father, who believes he is possessed by an evil spirit. Under the protection of a master spear woman named Balsa and her friends, he wonders if his strange powers are in truth a blessing or a curse. The empire's strongest warriors have been sent after them, a team called the Hunters who answer only to the throne. Not only are they seasoned warriors, but they have the resources of the empire behind them.
Escaping the town with a careful trick, Balsa's only chance is to take Chagum with her on a perilous ride over the mountains to reach her home kingdom. Wounded from an encounter with the Hunters, Balsa takes off on the desperate crossing. It's a journey she would be hard-pressed to complete safely, even unhurt and without killers on her trail.
Volume 3
Balsa decides the best way to hide from the empire's Hunters is in plain sight. She creates a simple home for herself and Chagum in an old mill and hopes to live with him in peace. The boy prince must learn to live among the commoners but intelligence and sense of justice make him stand out. Balsa's new start is halted when she asks a local sword smith to fix her damaged spear. He knows who she is and the emperor's Hunters are also his clients. Balsa and Chagum are locked in a back room as the smith meets with the Hunters just a few feet away.
Volume 4
TBA
Volume 5
TBA
Volume 6
TBA
Volume 7
TBA
Volume 8
TBA
Details
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit is also known as Seirei No Moribito.
Commentary
I first encountered Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit on Cartoon Network. While I don't normally have any great interest in samurai-type shows, I found that Moribito was surprisingly good. I came into the middle of the series and have since managed to see almost half of the series and even though there's not much in the way of action, the series still managed to hold my interest.
The animation quality is crisp and clean. It's mostly traditional animation with a handful of CG effects thrown in here and there. One scene that occurs early in the series, shows Balsa standing at the top of a hill and then the point of view rotates 180-degrees. The scene looked good, but, was a bit choppy -- it was not as smooth as the animation in Tweeny Witches, which made extensive use of CG effects.
There's not much in the way of action. There is some in the first few episodes, but, most of what I've seen is somewhat less than action-packed. The story (or at least what I've seen so far) is more of a character-driven drama then a samurai epic. There's also a fair amount of political intrigue in the series.
The English dubbing is not bad. I've seen more episodes on Cartoon Network than I actually have on DVD and I think that the voice actors did a fairly good job. That being said, I still prefer to read my anime.
The packaging leaves something to be desired. The series is packaged in jewel DVD cases -- like a jewel CD case, but, tall enough not to look out of place in a DVD rack. I don't like these cases because they scratch and crack very easily, the spindle that holds the DVD is particularly flimsy and they won't be easy to replace, should the need arise. The good thing (or bad depending on your point of view) is that the box for the series reveals just how large the series is going the be. I'm pretty sure it'll be eight volumes with 3 or 4 episodes per volume and a total of 26 episodes.
Overall, the animation quality is very good, but, the pace of the series is a bit slow. I was, however, still pleased with the series, if not the DVD packaging. I have the first two volumes.