Note: This show came out over 10 years ago. I generally try to avoid spoilers in my reviews of new shows, but I’m not going to worry about that for something this old. However, for the sake of readers who may not have discovered the show yet, I’ve placed all major spoilers after a break. The show is available on Hulu.
I first caught a few episodes of Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit a decade ago when it aired on Adult Swim. I have tried several times to watch the whole series on streaming platforms, but it wasn’t until I got an old DVD copy at a secondhand store that I finally say down and watched the whole thing.
Moribito is based on the first book of a Japanese fantasy series by Nahoko Uehashi. Produced by Production I.G., it aired on N.H.K. in 2007. It was distributed in America by Geneon, then Media Blasters and currently VIZ, and it aired on Adult Swim from 2008 to 2009.
Moribito follows Balsa a foreigner working as a bodyguard in the land of Yogo. Balsa is trying to save eight lives to payback for the eight lives that were taken to protect her as a child. She’s saved seven when she is asked by the Second Queen to protect her son, Prince Chagum. Chagum is believed to be possessed by a water spirit that causes drought, and the Mikado, ruler of Yogo, believes his son must die to save the kingdom. In the coming months, Balsa along with Tanda, a healer and her love interest, and Madam Torogai, a shaman, work together to protect Chagum, learn the truth about his possession, and save the kingdom.
Over 26 episodes, we see Chagum’s coming of age and, in a sense, Balsa’s coming of age as well. While Balsa is already quite intelligent, confident, capable and mature, there’s something to the maternal aspects her time with Chagum brings out that I can’t quite put my finger on.
I found myself far more enthralled with the series than I expected. I was always interested in the show because a woman warrior fighting with a spear was such a refreshing switch from the normal guy-with-a-gun-or-a-sword sort of thing. I didn’t realize just how good the world-building is until I’d given the show a few episodes to breath.
It’s not that Yogo and its neighbors are fully fleshed out or that we get a lot of exposition about the world. There are just tons of small details that pop up and start to tell us a little about the world Balsa and Chagum occupy. Yogo borrows from China and Japan, but we also see foreigners, Balsa among them, from very different cultures.
I also really appreciated that the series doesn’t really have any bad guys. The biggest threat in the story are Ra Runga, who are essentially just hungry, otherworldly beasts. The court and those who serve it loyally do appear to be bad guys for much of the early part of the story, but when a way to save the day without killing Chagum becomes apparent, the court is ready to try it.
There are people who do bad things, slavers, rival mercenaries, con men, and a dishonest matchmaker among them, but for the most part people just seem to be trying to get by. The only large scale full-on villain is in Balsa’s backstory and never receives any screen-time. The only character that might be considered a villain is the Mikado. Some summaries I read portray the Mikado as trying to increase the glory of his house, and this isn’t entirely wrong. However, everyone in the court, the Mikado included, believes that maintaining the reputation of the crown will protect the nation.
There are a lot of great characters and designs. I’m especially fond of the elite warriors sent to track down Balsa and Chagum. In another anime, they might just be the main characters.
I am, by no means, an expert on fight scenes, but there are several that I really enjoyed. Balsa’s use of a spear (and the use of unusual weapons by her opponents) freshens things up, I think.
There are a few dull or unnecessary moments in the story. The animation style also doesn’t always work from different angles, distorting faces and proportions in odd ways.
There’s also an arc wherein Balsa fights a former rival who is trying to bait her and wear her down before he kills her. This ties back into some earlier stuff about how Balsa has sworn never to kill again, lest she become a “tiger.” She gives in during their fight, goes for a killing blow and somehow miraculously doesn’t kill him. I loved parts of this arc, but it goes nowhere and does nothing. It’s like an excerpt from a different story.
On the whole, though, I really loved the story, setting and characters. There are even a few moments that might be worthy of The Lord of the Rings. I think of Madam Torogai’s travels through the spirit world and escape chased by a fire spirit as a sort of Japanese spin on Gandalf’s battle with the Balrog. The political machinations and sense of moral ambiguity toward the central story also gives me A Song of Ice and Fire vibes, but it’s a much less grim tale than that.
If you’re a fan of fantasy or action, I’d suggest giving Moribito a try. It’s available on Hulu. The associated novel series, which I’m very interested in, is unfortunately only partially available in the U.S. Scholastic published the first two volumes around the time of the show’s run on Adult Swim, but they stopped after that due to limited sales.
chasetriesagain.com 
1 Comment