Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit...
I saw an episode of Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit on Cartoon Network over the weekend. While I don't normally have any great interest in samurai-type shows, I found Moribito to be surprisingly good. I came into the middle of one episode and I didn't actually see anything awe inspiring, but, there was enough of a story to hold my interest for a bit. I'm fairly certain that the episode I saw was somewhere in the middle of the series.
A good thing about Moribito is that it's fairly short. While, I have no problems buying one or two volumes of a series, even if I suspect that it's something I might not like, unless I know that the subject matter of a series is going to appeal to me, sight unseen, I'm really very reluctant to buy an entire series.
In the case of Moribito, the length of the series is not really an issue and what little I've seen of the series, suggests that the series probably won't suck, so, I'll have no problem picking up the entire series when it becomes available. Overall, the animation quality is good. I didn't see much in terms of action, but, the one episode that I did see, managed to hold my interest. The English dub was reasonable. Though, it remains to be heard, if it compares favorably to the Japanese language version.
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 to 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 don't think I'll try to track down additional episodes on Cartoon Network -- I'd really rather see it on DVD from the beginning. Unfortunately, it looks like I'll have to wait until November to pick it up on DVD.At 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?
A good thing about Moribito is that it's fairly short. While, I have no problems buying one or two volumes of a series, even if I suspect that it's something I might not like, unless I know that the subject matter of a series is going to appeal to me, sight unseen, I'm really very reluctant to buy an entire series.
In the case of Moribito, the length of the series is not really an issue and what little I've seen of the series, suggests that the series probably won't suck, so, I'll have no problem picking up the entire series when it becomes available. Overall, the animation quality is good. I didn't see much in terms of action, but, the one episode that I did see, managed to hold my interest. The English dub was reasonable. Though, it remains to be heard, if it compares favorably to the Japanese language version.
October 24, 2008
Update
I happened to stumble upon two more episodes in the series in the last few weeks. I still haven't seen much in terms of action, but, the series is managing to hold my interest.Update
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 to 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.
