The 1st episode aired on [AS] last night and there's no thread yet? Travesty, I tell you, travesty.
Anyhoo, I have watched the sub in its entirety and I love this show. The animation is gorgeous, the story is compelling, and it's got all the things that make a good anime. I'm really hoping that even if [AS] doesn't treat it well, it still gets at least part of the audience it deserves.
That said, shame on [AS] for butchering the OP and ED and throwing it into a downright awful timeslot.

Yeah, not like this is a new thing though, since they do that to pretty much every anime.

I saw it last night and enjoyed it, so I'll be sticking around. Having seen the sub, what did you think of the dubbing?

I was just getting into the closing song when it stopped. There must have been a whole 30 seconds of it.

I enjoyed this very much. The animation was beautiful. There was an early shot of rice paddies that looked like a photograph, and the action sequence with the oxcart falling off the bridge, and Balsa and the prince in the river, was really well-done. When they were in the river with the cart and ox rushing at them, I could almost feel them coming at me.

It was also refreshing to have a adult woman as the heroine. Not that I haven't been enjoying all the shonen anime showing now, but it makes for a nice change. I enjoyed her reaction to the luxury at the palace. I think it's going to be a tough adjustment for the prince, though, if he and Balsa have to take to the back roads. He's leaving behind a lot of creature comforts.

I have to admit this was my major fear coming into this. There is virtually nothing at AnimeInfo regarding the English cast. But I'm glad to say this is clearly going to be a superior dub. Balsa is right on target. Chagum (the prince) seems kind of grating, but there's plenty of time for that VA to grow into it, especially considering there's a great deal of character development for Chagum. Tohya (the buck-toothed kid) also needs to shape up a little, but overall I'm really pleased so far.

I watched this subtitled a few months ago and was quite taken with it. Good plot, interesting characters, visually quite impressive. And while there isn't an action scene every episode, when there is one it's phenomenal: not just well-choreographed and well-animated, but fast, furious and brutal.

I was really unimpressed with the dubbing, but I expected that going in.

I also thought some of the translation choices, and choices not to translated some things, were interesting: the folk song, "Mikado" instead of "Emperor", the name of the palace, etc.

It's a nice change of pace, and indicative of the fact that it's a very "grown-up" show. The lack of fan service, too, impresses me.

I like the show so far, but I have a complaint or two about the animation. For one thing some of the CG is too damn conspicuous, mainly the landscapes and the bridge. I don't like it when a show grabs me by the neck and starts beating me over the head while shouting "CG! I have CG!" Also, when Balsa turns her head you can see it jerking from keyframe to keyframe. Maybe I'm just too sensitized to that stuff from working with CG.

Was that Hyde doing the music for the opening credits? Sounded a lot like their intro for Blood+, and Wikipedia's entry for this show is rather lacking in details right now.

It's the dudes who did the second opening for Fullmetal Alchemist (French name, too lazy to look it up).

Show, if you get any prettier, you're going to hurt my eyes! Did Studio Ghibli have a hand in this? I got a real Ghibli vibe from the character designs, especially around the mouth.

I, too, am quite pleased with the lack of fanservice. Balsa's not showing any cleavage, and I hope it stays that way. Even the scene in the springs was tastefully done.

I'm really hoping Chagum doesn't act like a little snot until Balsa earns his trust. That would be typical.

So nice to have an adult as the protagonist instead of a teenager. The animation budget does seem much larger that a typical series. I was kind of mentally giggling everytime they said Mikado though, because that's my favorite Gilbert and Sullivan play.

I have a request in at the library for the book. Scholastic lists it as '12+', so is the violence ramped up for television? And the official translation is using Mikado which is probably why the dub does as well.

My girlfriend and I both liked the show a lot, especially the backgrounds - agree 110% on the lack of fanservice too!

I wanted to catch this last night, but kept missing it due to the obscure timeslot. Preliminary research makes it sound like a Japanese version of Xena; how accurate is that comparison?

L'Arc-en-Ciel?

I've never watched Xena, but Balsa is pretty good with her sword. I also got a MacGyver-ish vibe when she fished some kind of line out of her sleeve and used it to swing down to the river.

Since the Mikado wants to assassinate his son, maybe we'll see the Lord High Executioner. Defer! Defer!

Hey, I was sort of right. Turns out that Hyde is a member of L'Arc-en-Ciel, one of those pretentious twit musicians who thinks they're too cool for a last name, like Madonna or Bono, and does solo projects. Learn something every day.

I'm amused at all of the "No fanservice, yay!" comments, especially for a show that's on this late. Buncha prudes. :)

Can you blame him? The kid's only had two lines and I want to do the same. The whole "spoiled brat learning lessons on an adventure" thing was tiresome back in Red Sonja, and hasn't improved with age.

Something about the pacing of the dialogue seemed a little off, kinda slow and wooden. It made me think of Ghost in the Shell for some reason (for all I know Balsa's VA could be the same as Motoko). Hopefully it picks up.

Was she in Tibet at the beginning? Not sure where in Japan people had prayer flags (again, likely my ignorance).

From the weird force field in the water, I'm guessing the prince can protect himself. It's no coincidence that the geyser didn't quite kill him.

I was trying to decide if the hot springs attire was a U.S. airing addition.

I'm thinking that whatever has possessed him protects him (it doesn't want its host to die). I don't think the prince has any idea that the force is protecting him, and it probably makes him lose consciousness when his life is in danger.

How much do I love this show, that I've only caught one episode of? (BTW-Thanks for advertising it, Adult Swim!) I happened to catch the last two minutes when it aired at 1:30am. Based on that, I stayed up until 4:30am to catch the second airing (I don't have a TIVO, alas).

Things I love about this show...

1. The mature female lead. When Balsa (is that how you spell the name?) mentioned she was getting up there in age, I half-expected her to say 18. I cheered when she said almost 30.

2. The stillness and pacing of the Anime. It reminds me a lot of Samurai Jack in some way, where the animators took time out to show you the world they've created. As the fresh maker noted, this also felt a lot like something Studio Ghibli would do. The world seems fully realized, and the show isn't afraid to have its quiet moments.

3. What I love most, and I say this as a fan of Bleach, is the lack of episode-long exposition. You're thrown into the world and have to figure things out on your own. I didn't know Mikado = Emperor, but I knew he was someone wery wery powerful. I'm also guessing he has more than one wife and more than one kid (Second Queen...where's the first? Or is this Mikado guy like Henry VIII?). My guess is that the queen may have been lying to Balsa (or the starreader lying to the queen) and that the son isn't possessed, but rather has his own power the Mikado is afraid of.

I bought the book on Amazon and actually just finished it earlier today. Maybe it's just because I saw the series first, but I think the animated adaptation surpasses the original book.

Uh... not really. I didn't watch Xena, but I was under the impression that it was very tounge-in-cheek fun fantasy action. Moribito is pretty serious and serialized.

Hey, I like looking at attractive women. A lot. ;-) But now that we have the internet I can do that any time I want to. I don't need gratuitous T&A distracting from a good story and making the whole thing look stupid and juvenile with its cheap attempts at titillation. Not to mention that the constant objectification of female characters gets tiring.

It's a fantasy world, so there aren't any real countries involved, just countries that kind of resemble real countries the same way Middle-Earth and other Western fantasy settings resemble medieval Europe. So the New Yogo Empire is a lot like Japan, but not quite the same. Not sure what real life country is most like Balsa's homeland of Kanbal....

It wasn't.

Well, it was done by Production I.G, the same studio that did Ghost in the Shell, so it could be that.

The voices are rather similar, but it's not her. She's played by Cindy Robinson.

The titles are oddly similar too. GitS and GotS: Three more vowels to go, and sometimes "y."

I saw a trailer of this show at Otakon, and instantly was intrigued by it. I couldn't wait until [as] would put it in it's lineup!

But then it began airing...on Sunday nights...at 1:30 am...with NO episodes to be had on the AdultSwim website!!! Why, [as], why??!!!

What's a girl with no TV to do??? *crying dramatically*

I wanna watch the dub, too. Legally, you [as] bastards!!! Come on! Show us internet streamers some love!!!

*end rant*

Anyone know when the DVDs will be out?

I wasn't blown away. Bare in mind, I'm used to notebooks that bring death, substitute reapers, magic eyes that bend people's wills, etc., and there was only the protective orb that saved Spear Lady's life. Given time, it should grow on me.

It's barely gotten going, really. The first episode is essentially set-up. The fantasy aspects of the setting haven't really made themselves known yet. And they haven't gotten to do a proper fight scene yet either, but rest assured that when they do it will be extremely impressive.

I stumbled across this last night. I like the way that the screenshots they used make the dialogue look suggestive.

As someone who didn't even know this was playing - thanks for all the promos, [as]! - I was intrigued. Since no reruns of Ep1 seemed scheduled other than the same-night second showing, I *ahem* used other methods to acquire something to view.

*eyes wide* Brings the pretty. No, not just her, but certainly including.

Nice set-up. I'm confident this will be miles better than Code Geass. It's amazing what real writers can do - too bad CG doesn't have any.

I can work with this, and look forward to Saturday night substitution for other less worthy shows. :-)

In last night's episode of Moribito: Balsa sent her friends out shopping, the prince glowed, and there was some talk. I hope something interesting interesting happens or somebody says something interesting soon.

Believe me, it's gonna happen.

In a nutshell, this is the setup, and the exposition in this episode really does figure in pretty big with the rest of the story.
The Holy Sage (or whatever he's being called) has informed Chagum's former teacher Suga *hee hee, "sugar" is right* that it has beed deemed best to let everyone think Chagum died in the fire. This will make killing him just a little easier--for his father. That's right, folks, Chagum is to be brought back so his daddy can lop off his head. We'll learn that does not sit well with certian critical people. Thankfully, the Mikado has another son, albeit one who's not so healthy.
Balsa still has not gotten her weapon fixed. I smell it malfunctioning at the worst possible time, don't you? Balsa has already discovered the prince's "issues" and plans to consult a shaman. The sooner, the better, it seems.

That being said, don't miss the next episode. Period.

I found it a very interesting episode. It was good to get the background that the Mikado doesn't want to kill Chagum, but feels he must because of the spirit. In the first episode, I thought it might be because he feared Chagum's power and wished to eliminate a potential rival, but that isn't the case. The Holy Sage and Chagum's teacher made things more complex, too, by seeing through his mother's ruse of burning the palace down. .

Another thing I liked was that the prince has been pretty stoic thus far. He's not whining at the difficulty of the journey or pitching a fit because he's not being treated as royally as he was before.

The fact he's not acting like a brat and throwing his "princeliness" around is very refreshing.

I found it unintentionally hilarious when the Holy Sage (star master?) told the other men in the room to stop listening, and all they did was cover their faces. Yeah, we know how that's going to end. Although I figure one of them is a spy on Chagum's side.

I'm shocked that the Second Queen didn't have Balsa's spear fixed. That would have been helpful.

The first time I saw this, I thought something about the veils was magic that stopped them from listening. Evidently that's not the case, but it still makes for a creepy visual.

I like the dub so far. Balsa's great, Chagum's decent, and Shuga actually sounds like an improvement on the Japanese version.

Was busy last night and didn't see the episode. I've seen it before, of course, but I was curious to hear the dub. Are they still not putting episodes of this show online?

Next episode is when the action hits, and it's going to be awesome.

Heh. Yeah, it's a cultural/caste thing. They're "Invisibles" (I think that's the term): they're sworn to secrecy and as far as the nobility are concerned, when they put those veils over their faces they don't exist.

Wasn't time. Swordsmithing is a slow process.

I have to say I was unimpressed by the English VA for Balsa, this being my first episode with her. Until the utter end of the episode in the rice paddies, her delivery was flatter than paper and about as deep. I hope she steps it up and brings a little more life to her voice and character when she's not about to kick ass or get hers kicked.

Beyond that, mostly shiny!

Wow, no posts yet.

I think the action scenes really lived up to their advanced billing. The fact that they didn't resort to slo-mo to emphasize what was going on, made it even more impressive.

Seems like the wolves probably weren't that hungry, since they left most of a moose carcass just lying around.

I hadn't figured out the "not Earth" part of the story, even after seeing two moons in the sky. Although I was wracking my brain trying to figure out a meteorological phenomena that would create a reflection of the moon in the sky a few degrees away....

Well, you're a step ahead of me, because I hadn't even noticed the two moons. It's a beautifully done show, though. Both the action scenes and the background drawings are gorgeous.

Even the one-shot characters are interesting. I was sorry to see Jin die, even after he was about to kill Chagum.

Balsa's hallucination was intriguing. I liked the way it was made to look as if it was happening around her.

I was glad to see the two kids show up again, too.

Agreed, agreed and agreed...I never noticed the two moons until last night, either. I like this show more and more with each week.

So far, I am truly impressed by this program. What caught my eye first is the detail to the animation. This is one of the loveliest animes I have watched in regard to how well drawn and naturalistic all the elements are: characters, backgrounds, timing and design of action sequences etc. Plus the lack of obvious fan-service. I enjoy the voice acting also. The writing is fantastic too. So far so good, if Moribito keeps on this path it will join my list of favorite anime.

Do we have to wait until next week? That was awesome...and beautiful. Beautifully awesome.

Did Jin really die? I thought he only got knocked out by Balsa. And am I correct in understanding that when Chagum went to find Tonda (sp?), he actually did exactly as he was told? Because that never happens. I really enjoy that the characters seem to act in logical and intelligent ways, and that when Balsa got hurt, that there wasn't a huge spurt of blood that sprayed everywhere.

Yes, exactly. When I was watching the action sequences, I was so hoping there was no slo-mo because the animation is just that good. It didn't disappoint.



None of the three kids so far are annoying. How refreshing is that? I'm so impressed at how this story is avoiding clichés. I thought, once we learned that Chagum had shown great kindness to Jin, that Jin would try to run away with him and save him. I also thought the water spirit would step in and protect Chagum once he fell in the pond. But, nope. Not this show.



I was wondering about that, too. We never got to see how bad that blow to the head was.

Balsa hinted that she was being punished for bragging that she could protect Chagum, the eighth life she'd save. Was that punishment for bragging when the mission hadn't been accomplished, or has she actually saved less than seven people?

I think that in Jin's mind, he was saving Chagum. Rather than have him be killed by his own father, Jin was willing to give up his own life by killing the prince first. I do agree that being killed by your own parent would be a lot worse than just being intentionally killed by someone with no real connection to you. But poor Jin. All that devotion and he's lost his only keepsake, too.

I love Saya and Tohya, but I adore Tanda. Adore. Since I've seen this before, I just wanted to get that off my chest so I'll shut up now :)

And the bad guys actually attacked en masse, instead of one by one in the usual shonen fight sequence. What does bother me is that she took Chagum all the way through the town with his crown still on, and she hasn't taken his hair out of his very distict arrangement which I'm betting is only for very high status individuals. I also cant help thinking that bag with the money is going to rot through in the water and drop everything to the bottom of the river.

I dunno. The show is watchable and they're avoiding obvious cliches, but it just doesn't grab me at all. It's like trying to listen to "Bolero"; I keep waiting for a hook. Just give me a character with some personality or something. I also get the feeling that I'm going to be royally sick of the phrase "go-to guy" really, really soon.

On the positive side they seem to have cleaned up the technical animation boogers that were bugging me, and it's still pretty. The fight sequences were both worthy of going back for frame by frame viewing.

I can't help thinking that poor people living on docks are going to scour the mud underneath on a regular basis looking for dropped stuff.

I thought that when his hand let go of the paper from the sweet Chagum gave him, that meant he was dead. It looked to me like that old visual device of the eyes sliding closed, or the hand dropping to the side of the bed. I wouldn't mind being wrong about that, though.



Word, word and word. I remember thinking all those things at some point in the episode. Chagum even thought about climbing down off the mountain to walk below, but he actually thought better of it!

Good, because I was already prepared to like him after this episode.

I keep thinking about how beautiful the rice paddies were. How weird is that?

I love the fight scenes in this show, especially the first one in this episode. I love how fast they are, how well-choreographed, and how brutally Balsa fights. Kneed one in the groin and stabbed his shoulder, slashed another across the face, and cracked two over the head, one with a rock while throwing her entire body into it.


I believe she said she'd bragged when she left (two years ago) that she was going to save eight lives.

No doubt he wished he could, but he was bound by his duty, even if it meant doing something he didn't want to do.

Seriously, they couldn't have translated that as "errand runner" the way the book and the fansubs did? That sounded... a lot less stupid.

So, what you're saying is, that when people fight with deadly weapons, the characters are actually fighting like their lives are at stake? No holds barred?

Wow, if only more shows did that, maybe we'd have less fighting IRL. :-)

Hope you guys like to stay up, the Saturday schedule has been revamped (again) and NEW episodes of Moribito....at 5:30am.

But at least there's Tim and Eric on the Saturday schedule!

Oh, for pete's sake! WTF is your problem, Adult Swim?

Oh well, I was taping them anyway.

Once again, I say

Bastards!

None of the library copies are in yet either :(.

The logic of scheduling this shiny new show in the Time Slot of Death escapes me. Did they get it for free or something?

At least I can watch the wonderful animation on my DVR. Being able to set it to record all new episodes is great since then hopefully it catches it whenever AS moves it.

Bastards. I always record them, but it was a treat to be able to watch a couple of hours of television that I enjoyed on a Saturday night. I really liked the freedom of being able to see it on the first or second run, too.

Son of a WHORE! I don't have a DVR, and I work nights, but 5:30am is LATE, even for me. I swear whoever at AS is doing this is the same person who cancelled my beloved Firefly. Fetch me my voodoo doll!

Pushing this to the 5 o'clock hour is pretty much a big "fuck you" to anime fans. Nevermind that it gets replaced with AS's ultimate crap, Tim & Eric and 12 Oz. Mouse. Ridiculous. I'll probably be up that late anyway, but I should set my VCR just in case.