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

[herongale]

I have to admit, Alice fits a lot of those hero stereotypes you mentioned, and she's not got the kind of layered, complex personality I usually like in characters. But in this case, I ended up liking it because she seemed to have a real sense that her actions could fail and that she could die because of some of her recklessness. This is not obvious in the earlier episodes, but I think it become clearer somewhere in the middle of the series.

I am kind of reminded of Harry Potter: he was rather simplistically characterized as well, and given many stock heroic traits. It was in how thoughtfully these stereotypes were worked out that made him a good lead. My expectations when it comes to children's media are not lowered, but they ARE altered: I expect a clarity/purity to the characterization that is sometimes Jungian, and almost obsessively folklorish adherence to archetype. What is old hat to adults like us needs to be introduced freshly to new generations of viewers.

Now, I wouldn't say that this means that I am obligated to give children's media a pass. I often find it difficult to get into shows that are targeted towards children/teens for this very reason. But there are exceptions, and I think for me the thing that grabbed me about Mahou Shoujo Tai was that it was a truly fresh take on some very classic, familiar ideas.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I feel where you're coming from in having altered expectations for children's media; you put that very nicely.

I think part of what colors my opinion on that type of protagonist is the fact that it's so pervasive in anime, but not as pervasive in Western cartoons or children's lit. Not this incessantly positive, almost perfectly fearless attitude, and unflinching in convictions past the point of any kind of gray area... taken often to the point where a gray area doesn't exist because there is always a "moral" choice that usually comes down to the simplest and most immediate need. Western media has its own cliches, ones which I was raised on to the point that I'm completely numb or blind to them, but the one that Alice reminds me of is one I've only come across in anime, and I've probably just seen too much of it so that it's turned me off.

I know what you mean by purity of character, in terms of children's stories. But most of the time purity on its own isn't enough for me. Take one of my favorite kids movies: The Iron Giant. (If you haven't seen this movie, watch it!) Hogarth is a character who is essentially "pure": he is good at heart and he never gives up in his belief that the Giant has a soul, and thus has the capacity to be a good person. But along with the purity and conviction, we see him struggling to also explain moral issues like death, responsibility, guilt, and honor. His character is pure in one sense, but that doesn't make him feel unrealistically "true of heart", able to win at the end of the day because good always wins at the end.

I guess that's one of my biggest issues with this kind of anime protagonist... there's a conflict and the hero/heroine takes a moral stance, and no matter what happens they have to win because they're right. Even to the point of ignoring plenty of logical problems or flaws in their reasoning. (yeah, I'm the person who sits there thinking up the flaws while they speechify about truth and justice and love). Again, this "everything will end okay" thing is in most children's media, but for some reason it bugs me in how it's often presented in anime. I like characters that are pure of heart, but I don't like watching that taken to an almost ridiculous level, at the expense of deeper story or character development. If I feel like I can adlib the speeches for them then I know I'm bored because I'm watching a stock character.

Aah... I feel like I'm over-explaining this. It's just sometimes anime does things that are more subtle and dramatic than American cartoons, but other times I feel like anime does things that are far, far less sophisticated, and tend to be based on an ideal instead of on how people actually behave. Is this making sense? It's all jumbled in my head, but I have noticed all this stuff after watching anime for several years, and patterns start to come out.

I think I loved that Ahiru was pure of purpose but lacked most of the annoying traits that "pure-hearted" anime kid heroes tend to have. She was a little clumsy, but that's about the worst of it, and most of her clumsiness was associated with dance practice anyway.


But in this case, I ended up liking it because she seemed to have a real sense that her actions could fail and that she could die because of some of her recklessness. This is not obvious in the earlier episodes, but I think it become clearer somewhere in the middle of the series.

That sounds promising, and I will look forward to it. :D