AnimeSuki Forum - Licensed Seirei no Moribito (Guardian of the Sacred Spirit)

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Seirei no Moribito (Guardian of the Sacred Spirit)

Official website NHK Moribito site

Why isn't there a thread about this? Well, I searched for one and couldn't find it, so shoot me if there's one.

Anyway, this anime, Seirei no Moribito 精霊の守り人 (Guardian of the Spirits?) was annoucned some time back but today I just checked it up and it's got a helluva lot more info than the last time I checked (which was, admittedly, months ago).

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Airing: It is slated to air for 26 episodes starting next spring, according to the site.

It's based off a series of fantasy novels by Shihoko Uehashi (Uehashi not Kamihashi right?), set in an Asian sort of background. I think it's Korean-inspired or is set in ancient Korea or something (you can tell I haven't read up much about this anime).

It'll be produced by the famous Production I.G., under Kenji Kamiyama, the director of the Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex TV series, and will air on what is probably Japan's most watched network (?), NHK.

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Spoiler for me squeeing over production values:

I'm really really excited to see if I.G. will flex its production muscle here. After all I think this is going to be a nationwide broadcast, and I heard some things about it possibly being broadcast overseas, too... From what it seems, getting to be broadcast on NHK is a relatively big thing.
Of course, it's not NHK's public broadcast channel or education channel (in which case that's just gobsmacking) but its Broadcast Satellite 2 channel (NHK BS-2), but still! NHK! BS-2 airs a lot of other stuff too and I think it would receive a higher viewership than many other broadcast-satellite channels out there...
Currently, Saiunkoku Monogatari is airing on it.
My faith in I.G. was restored when watching Chevalier D'Eon - despite it seeming low-key it's amazing how stable they've kept most ofthe show in terms of production, and that was for a show on a paid cable channel (WOWOW scramble, iirc?).

Now if you take that effort and multiply it by the fact that they're going to be on something more widely known than WOWOW, one could assume that they would put in more effort. And frankly speaking I'm rather excited to see if that would really happen.

When I watched the trailer on the old site, the music was actually really quite nice (Kenji Kawai in a good mood?), and the animation was genuinely good too (I will die happily if they call in their l33t animators like Kazuchika Kise and Tetsuya Nishio and will die on the spot if they get Norio Matsumoto or HIROYUKI OKIURA)
But more than anything else, you will realise when you go to that site is that the BACKGROUNDS ARE !@#$ING AMAZING.
Yes, it warrants all-caps, seriously: I'm totally awed by them. In my opinion, it's movie-level quality.
Now that is the power of a good art director (Yusuke Takeda, art director for GITS:SAC, Blood (not Blood+), Gankutsuou), a top-class background art company (I believe it'll be Studio Biho?); and Kenji Kamiyama, having come from that background (he used to be an art director), would know how to use them very well and get exactly what he asks for.

And furthermore, the story seems quite interesting. I like fantasy sort of things and a Korean-inspired kind of background would be quite intriguing, and I have faith they will do a beautiful rendition of it both visually and conceptually. I am quite interested by the premise of a female bodyguard (Parza?) protecting a royal heir (Chagum), who is burdened with the role of "Seirei no Moribito" (which comes about every 100 years?). Seems like Chagum's father wants to get rid of him but his mother recognizes Parza's abilities and asks her to become Chagum's bodyguard.

Anyway, let's hope my expectations for this series are at least partially justified. I'll definitely be checking this out!

(Oh, and strangely, if you google the name of the character designer 麻生我等 you get some ero-kind of manga o_O)

Thanks for starting up a thread Wao! Even after I saw all the shows for the season that is now showing, I was still looking forward to this show a heap more then anything. Oh! and I'd agree the it really does look like movie-like quality, Animation is wonderfull and the Background!!! are as good as I've ever seen.

Still.. I'm suprize to see that there are going to be 24! episodes, and I wonder how the animation will go along. I dont think it really needs to be said that pre-views can dissapoint.. but I dont think there is really a need to worry to much.. for a show like this. Cant wait till it airs =)

Spoiler for off-topic rant of a sad SaiMono fanboy:

Now that I've got that out of my system...

I'm highly interested in this one. I wouldn't say my expectations are high, (( These kind of premises as perfect as they are for quality visual direction and background layouts and art are also the easiest to botch, for over-conventionalism and generic style )), but at the very least, the cast featured are a group who clearly knows their visual art direction.

Being as a fan of Production I.G. and Kenji Kamiyama, I'm looking forward to this next year :) .

Nice trailer on the official website. Definitely looks movie quality. The bodyguard is a kickass too. :D

I wonder who else is bankrolling this. Major money looks like it's being pumped into it. Not a pre-licensed title?

The English name is Guardian of the Sacred Spirit and will air in April 2007.
Theres an ANN info page: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/ency...me.php?id=6634

So this is a potentially pre-licensed title then? Yeah Geneon!

I thought you were talking about an NHK ni Youkoso cross. Darn it, and I wished something about GOTH was mentioned, too. :D

Trailer looks pretty awesome http://youtube.com/watch?v=fmUAk_yh2lM

Oh! That's the exact same trailer they had on the site way back which I think they took down when they revamped it.

I was so impressed by it and I still am. I mean it's not fantastically refreshing but hey, it's really well-made and it totally makes you go "oooh, cool!!" at the end. Nice music, excellent backgrounds - and truly good moving animation, not just tons of effects and all pretty still frames (when's the last time I saw a truly satisfying fight scene in anime after Noein and Bakeneko?).
I would love to see Tetsuya Nishio and the other I.G. powerhouses turn up for this anime :love: Maybe they can hone the newbies' skills. I was so impressed by Naoyoshi Shiotani's 3rd OP for BLood+.... while this sort of show might not let him express that kidn of creativity though, I would like to see more real animation from him.

...But of course they always do that with the trailers and first episodes, I remember being so disappointed with a certain show called Otogizoushi... at least a good trailer never hurts, though. I hope it means they really are bringing in their serious side.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wao (Post 759211)

good moving animation, not just tons of effects and all pretty still frames (when's the last time I saw a truly satisfying fight scene in anime after Noein and Bakeneko?).

Seconded! It's the exact reason why the action elements of most of these shounen fighting anime don't appeal to me. It's usually in the non-constant-fighting anime (i.e. Noein, Fullmetal Alchemist, Utawarerumono to a lesser extent, and Haruhi) where I find fighting scenes which are actually SATISFYING. Like, you see both parties attacking each other and dodging each other at the SAME TIME, in the fluid style you can usually find in a beat em up.

Looking forward to this!

Quote:

Originally Posted by wao (Post 759211)

...
I would love to see Tetsuya Nishio and the other I.G. powerhouses turn up for this anime :love: Maybe they can hone the newbies' skills. I was so impressed by Naoyoshi Shiotani's 3rd OP for BLood+.... while this sort of show might not let him express that kidn of creativity though, I would like to see more real animation from him.
...

I read a fascinating article about that OP few days back. I hope he's involved somewhere, if only for OP or ED animations.

Moribito certainly looks like one of the highlights from next years offerings. Another busy year for Production I.G.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scribble (Post 759254)

Going way off-topic but I didn't find the Utawarerumono fights that satisfying. Particularly the earlier ones which IMO lacked a little oomph, I guess is how I would put it.

Anyway it looks very nice, definitely one to keep an eye on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zappster (Post 759409)

I remember the animations being repetitive sometimes, but there was that one particular episode which had a new animation team or something. I thought that had good fighting.

The trailer looks awesome. The action during the fight looks very smooth. I am really looking forward to this.

Yeah, trailer #1 is my favorite trailer so far. There's a second trailer up now too on the main website.

The second trailer is made of AMAZING SKY as well as SAYA WITH HALBERD.

Kitakubo would be so proud of his student Kamiyama! And the production team is basically the Who's Who of Production I.G, so I am hopeful for thrilling ride next spring.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrProphet (Post 766959)

The second trailer is made of AMAZING SKY as well as SAYA WITH HALBERD...

I was thinking the same: that's original Saya, lips and all.

Anyway, gosh that's a pretty awesome trailer. I was compelled to grab some screens...

Spoiler:

Cast was announced a few days ago, Barusa is played by Mabuki Andou (Menori in Uninhabited Planet Survive) and Chagum is played by Naoto Adachi (bit part in Mushishi). The rest of the cast are either relative unknowns or reliable veterans. No A-list crowd pleasers it seems. Maybe this is a good sign that the director is seeking out unique voices over hot stars. I recall Mabuki Andou had a particularly masculine voice in UPS, which seems to suit Barusa's persona (what we've seen of it from the trailers).

Character designs for Barusa and Chagum on Production I.G's website. Oh and Kenji Kawai is doing the music.

ohoh......god........OMFGWTF!!!!!!!!!!!!

I saw the trailer,it looks amazing.And if the director was behing Gits:SAC,nothing can go wrong.

Another great anime this year.So the main character is a female.good, most of the time I like it.