Nadia Episode 3 – The Riddle of the Giant Sea Monsters

After barely escaping from Jean’s home in Le Havre our young adventures find themselves sitting in the aircraft in the ocean with a storm raging around them. They are sound found and rescued by the American Battleship the Abraham who brings them on board. There they are fed and well looked after by the crew however Nadia is not happy in these new surroundings.

The Grandis gang come across the battleship and try to attack it to get the Blue Water however they are defeated by the battleship. Jean & Nadia meet Ayerton who tell them he is a scientist looking for the sea monsters that the ship is hunting. Soon enough the sea monsters attack but all is not as it should be. During the attack the Abraham is badly damaged. Jean, Nadia & King are lost overboard and are once again floating in the ocean.

This wonderful retro anime series keeps getting more interesting with each passing episode. Firstly a mysterious girl and her blue pendant show up and now we have sea monsters which may be more than meets the eye. I can’t wait to see what Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water throws at me next.

Nadia Episode 2 – The Little Fugitives

At the end of episode one we see Jean successfully rescue Nadia from three bandits trying to capture her and The Blue Water which she wears around her neck. Jean decides to Nadia back to his home in Le Havre when he ask he Aunt for her help.

Episode two begins with Jean and Nadia sailing down a river after escaping the bandits or so they thought. A chase ensures on the water as once again Jean and Nadia try to escape. Jean’s inventions again save the day sort of… they are able to escape and arrive in Le Havre. They arrive at Jean’s aunts place but she refuses to help. So instead Jean takes Nadia to his home. However once again the Grandis gang show up they are once again forces to flee. Using the biggest flying machine Jean has built they manage to escape until yet again the engine blows up leaving them stranded on the ocean with a storm closing in.

Once again I find myself captivated by this historically setting anime series. The settings are so richly detailed (for example Jean’s house) that I find the world very immersive. There is a good level of action and light hearted moments so far which makes it an enjoyable watch even at this early stage. Despite the age of the series so far it has stood the test of time very well indeed and is a firm classic of the anime genre.

Nadia episode 1

Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water is an anime series developed from a concept by Hayao Miyazaki (of Studio Ghibli fame) and was the first television series made by Studio Gainax. Released in 1990 it was inspired by the works of French novelist, poet & playwright Jules Verne, specifically his works Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and the adventures of Captain Nemo.

In the first episode Jean and his uncle are in attendance the world fair in Paris where they are determined to prove their flying machine is the best one out there. While there he encounters Nadia who is working for a circus as an acrobat. Nadia is an orphan who is in possession of a blue jewel. A jewel which Grandis Granva and other thieves are after and try to capture Nadia to get it. Jean comes to her rescue and their adventures begin together.

This is beautiful anime series, which I first sat down to watch the first episode I noticed the richness of the world and the style of the anime. I thought this feels like a Studio Ghibli film from the same time period not knowing at the time Hayao Miyazaki was involved in it’s development.

The characters of Jean & Nadia are nicely introduced in this episode with Jean being an inventor who comes to Nadia’s aid. Nadia herself being mostly a mystery in her initial character outlay in episode 1. We find out just enough about her for the episode but not too much.

One could not but help getting swept up in the story as it progressed, feeling sorry for Nadia as she was captured and cheering Jean on as he works toward rescuing this girl he hardly knows.

Despite being 25 years old this anime has stood the test of time well and is still very enjoyable even to this day.