Seirei no Moribito
Following my resolution to find some new anime to follow, I checked out many of the currently running series. Most of them left me with a sad realization, that maybe I’m getting too old for this. Or too picky. But just as I was starting to think that Japan had nothing to offer, I came upon this gem.
If I was to describe Moribito in just one word it would be QUALITY.
It took only the opening sequence of Balsa’s return to make me realize that I’m dealing with something special here. Wind that looks like wind!
(static screencaps don’t do this scene justice - you just have to see this in motion)
Normally you can see animation of this caliber (with an almost Ghibili-esque attention to detail and landscapes) only in high budget movies. And SnM keeps up this level more or less in every episode!
Yes, I know that gorgeous animation alone doesn’t make a good anime if the story is lacking, but here? I couldn’t care less. Just watching those beautiful backgrounds would make downloading SnM damn worth it. If only to play it as a screensaver ;)
So the more reason to praise the producers that the plot in fact does not suck. After getting tired of constantly facepalming while watching anime-silliness, I was astounded that this show didn’t provoke such reaction even once. It’s based on a popular series of fantasy novels set in a world very similar to feudal Japan. Balsa, a female spear wielder with a bit of a Hitokiri Batousai complex, takes a job of protecting the crown prince who, because of being possessed by some water spirit, was ordered to be killed by the emperor. Not really innovatory but rather then “clichéd” I prefer to call it “classical”. And though if you look at it that way, it can be abridged to shota mpreg, it appears to be a solid and well thought out story and has kept me gripped so far.
The last few episodes the plot progression kind of slowed down, and I think the animators are doing some fillers, but hopefully it’ll be back on track in the next episode.
The characters also seem to be a well written bunch and gradually grew on me. By episode 13 I can’t think of anyone whom I dislike on this show.
First of all Balsa isn’t your average moe-chara. 30 years old, with more scars then Tanda can keep track of and manlier then many men.
Yeah, she can get a bit butch sometimes, but is generally a kind hearted person and the motherly way she looks after Chagum is really adorable to watch. Together with Tanda - Balsa’s childhood friend and self-proclaimed wife they form a surprisingly functional substitute family.
I was surprised by how much I fell in love with the Balsa/Tanda couple. SnM should be served as some sort of het-therapy for the slashers, because the amount of fuzzy UST those two generate makes it almost impossible not to ship them.
Not that it fully cures old reflexes - Shuuga, don’t think I didn’t see that smile, you sly beast ;)
The only bad thing about this series is the opening. It pains me a lot to say it, since I have a lot of sentiment for Hyde’s voice, but the song is awful. It neither fits the atmosphere of the series, not is pleasant to listen to. So if by any chance my advertising worked, and you plan to watch the series *nudge nudge* - skip the OP or put it on mute. If the advertising didn't work - why? ;_;
If I was to describe Moribito in just one word it would be QUALITY.
It took only the opening sequence of Balsa’s return to make me realize that I’m dealing with something special here. Wind that looks like wind!
(static screencaps don’t do this scene justice - you just have to see this in motion)
Normally you can see animation of this caliber (with an almost Ghibili-esque attention to detail and landscapes) only in high budget movies. And SnM keeps up this level more or less in every episode!
Yes, I know that gorgeous animation alone doesn’t make a good anime if the story is lacking, but here? I couldn’t care less. Just watching those beautiful backgrounds would make downloading SnM damn worth it. If only to play it as a screensaver ;)
So the more reason to praise the producers that the plot in fact does not suck. After getting tired of constantly facepalming while watching anime-silliness, I was astounded that this show didn’t provoke such reaction even once. It’s based on a popular series of fantasy novels set in a world very similar to feudal Japan. Balsa, a female spear wielder with a bit of a Hitokiri Batousai complex, takes a job of protecting the crown prince who, because of being possessed by some water spirit, was ordered to be killed by the emperor. Not really innovatory but rather then “clichéd” I prefer to call it “classical”. And though if you look at it that way, it can be abridged to shota mpreg, it appears to be a solid and well thought out story and has kept me gripped so far.
The last few episodes the plot progression kind of slowed down, and I think the animators are doing some fillers, but hopefully it’ll be back on track in the next episode.
The characters also seem to be a well written bunch and gradually grew on me. By episode 13 I can’t think of anyone whom I dislike on this show.
First of all Balsa isn’t your average moe-chara. 30 years old, with more scars then Tanda can keep track of and manlier then many men.
Yeah, she can get a bit butch sometimes, but is generally a kind hearted person and the motherly way she looks after Chagum is really adorable to watch. Together with Tanda - Balsa’s childhood friend and self-proclaimed wife they form a surprisingly functional substitute family.
I was surprised by how much I fell in love with the Balsa/Tanda couple. SnM should be served as some sort of het-therapy for the slashers, because the amount of fuzzy UST those two generate makes it almost impossible not to ship them.
Not that it fully cures old reflexes - Shuuga, don’t think I didn’t see that smile, you sly beast ;)
The only bad thing about this series is the opening. It pains me a lot to say it, since I have a lot of sentiment for Hyde’s voice, but the song is awful. It neither fits the atmosphere of the series, not is pleasant to listen to. So if by any chance my advertising worked, and you plan to watch the series *nudge nudge* - skip the OP or put it on mute. If the advertising didn't work - why? ;_;