Guardian of the Sacred Spirit (Seirei no Moribito), episdoe 1-8 [no spoilers]

[timepiececlock]

rasielle recommended this series, and I'm enjoying it immensely. It feels like Blade of the Immortal met Mushishi and had a child series, and that progeny then hooked up with The Twelve Kingdoms...resuling in Seirei no Moribito.

It's methodical and almost paced... but not slow. Simply more careful and thorough than a lot of anime series take the time to be. Like 12Kingdoms, this reminds me of the experience of reading a novel, although 12K was much too slow at points. Seirei no Moribito feels like an epic series in gradual advancement. My interest in the plot is high, the world of the characters is new but familiar enough not to be a big issue, and the characters are already strong and three-dimensional.

I'm most impressed by the choice of protagonist... a stoic, conservative female warrior on the brink of turning 30, repenting through past evils and seeking a higher way of life without needless killing. Not only is it unusual for anime to take what would normally be a stock "male" role and make the character female instead, but it's unusual for any anime to have a female protagonist whose older than 25. And now this woman, who has been a drifter for her whole life, is suddenly saddled with a child... a self-conscious, spoiled boy of about 10-11 years. He's not a bad kid-- in fact he seems to take it to heart how much other people have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice for him--but he's immature and unsure of himself, and has practically no useful skills.

The eclesiastical character--Shuga-- I also find him interesting, and I look forward to the future events that make his plotline overlap with Balsa's. I can't help but feel that the whole empire is going to go through some significant changes before the end of this show... we see little hints of conflict in the clergy, in the royal family, and in the spy network connecting everyone to everyone else. I just know the camera doesn't pause on the covered faces of the servants so often for nothing.

Comments

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I definitely appreciated the consistency of PT's animation... all soft, misty colors, and sometimes it looked a little rough and old-fashioned (in comparison to a show like Seirei no Moribito) but the designs were strong and it never jumped around in quality.

Trying not to spoil you, all I can say is that she really is willing to put everything on the line, and she really lives her idealistic philosophy in a way that is both believable and heroic.

I'm sure she's heroic-- when aren't they perpetually heroic and unfalteringly brave? Except 12 year old Edward Elric screaming while being chased through a meat locker by a psychopathic murderer, but that's why I loved FMA... It's the "believability" bit that I'll take your word for. That's what I find is usually lacking in that kind of stock shonen/shoujo "brave and good and faithful" protagonist type. But as I said, I do plan to finish it. I'll keep my eye out for character development with her.

You know, I've read several Terry Pratchett's Discworld books since I saw the beginning of Tweeny Witches, and now that I've read 4 of the books about the Lancre Witches, I can't help but think that the grumpy silver-haired one and the pleasant, cute blond one remind me of shrunken-to-child-sized versions of Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg. The personalities are a perfect parallel.

[rasielle.livejournal.com]

re: heroism in Seirei

What separates it from typical shounen Jesii (oh, camp, you and your heinous terminology), I think, is that in Seirei there are heroics that don't have to be explained - you know, sacrifices made by characters behind which there are no angsty backstories, no pallid attempts to justify with "He's just that amazing", just the assumption that humans in general are as kind as they are unkind. The nobility isn't exclusive to Balsa, I thought - it comes and it goes between all of the characters, kind of like how it is between real people.

Err, that was a bit of a spacey answer, but in other words - there was no "brave and good and faithful" protagonist type, just some characters that are stronger than others, noble in different ways, and misunderstandings. There is a lot of gray in this series, which is what makes it so valuable - definitely based on novels, as you could tell.

This is not to say that Balsa's brand of nobility isn't special. I am definitely seconding herongale when I say that her case is unlike anything else you'd find in anime - but you'd have to watch the rest of the series before I can say anymore.

Also! Hold out hope for Chagum - his development sort of blew my mind. Are there really children like that? I don't even know.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Eeeee...wrong anime! We had descended into a discussion of Tweeny Witches/Mahou Shoujo Tai Alice. Sorry for the confusion, but the hero stuff I was talking about wasn't to do with Serei at all.

in Seirei there are heroics that don't have to be explained - you know, sacrifices made by characters behind which there are no angsty backstories, no pallid attempts to justify with "He's just that amazing", just the assumption that humans in general are as kind as they are unkind.

That's an approach that I appreciate in anime, when I can find it.