Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit Volume 2

Chagum, the young second prince of New Yogo, is in hiding, living with spear-wielding bodyguard, Balsa and learning from her and her friends about life as an ordinary boy in his father’s kingdom. Yet Shuga, the young Star Reader who was the prince’s tutor, begins to suspect from his divinations that Chagum may still be alive. And when an unexpected tragedy strikes the royal family, the eight members of emperor’s elite Hunters are sent out again to hunt Chagum and Balsa. At the same time, the elderly shamaness Torogai makes a startling – and ominous – discovery about the Water Spirit’s egg that Chagum is carrying inside him.

Soon, Balsa and Chagum are forced to flee again; accompanied by Tanda and Torogai, they make their way to Toumi village in the hope that the ancient tales told in there will help them understand what to do about the nascent spirit growing in Chagum’s body. But the half-remembered tales bring nothing but terror to Chagum as he hears that the last Guardian of the Spirit, a hundred years ago, died, cut in half by Rarunga, a terrifying creature from the ‘other’ world of Nayug.

Now Shuga and the emperor’s Hunters are once again on Chagum’s trail. Balsa’s only aim is to protect Chagum – and, as they shelter for the winter high up in remote Hunter’s Hole, she tells the prince about her childhood with Jiguro Musa, the friend of her father’s who saved her life and raised her. Meanwhile, at the palace, Shuga and the other Star Readers search desperately through the ancient archives for clues as to what fate awaits the young prince.

But spring comes and, with it, the time for the Water Spirit to be born. Will Chagum’s friends be able to protect him from the terrifying Rarunga – or will he face the same fate as the last Guardian of the Spirit?

These days, I find that I tend to approach the final episodes of a promising and involving anime series with a certain sense of trepidation. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been disappointed so many times in the past (Last Exile, Samurai 7, even the wonderful Noein, to name but a few that left me thinking, ‘Meh!’ or even ‘What just happened there? Was that really the end?’)

However, with Moribito, I needn’t have worried. Not only do the final episodes deliver a riveting, yet satisfying conclusion (in which nothing is certain) but the high standard of animation is sustained right until the end (when so often waning production budgets necessitate cutting corners and a certain skimping of quality.) I’ve seen some comments that complain about the (relatively) leisurely – no, slow – pacing. If you come to Moribito fresh from watching, let’s say, an episode or two of Code Geass, you’ll notice that yes, the story unfolds at a much slower pace – but the characters are given time to develop. Watching the relationship between Chagum and Balsa grow and deepen, I found that by this second set, I had come to care about them. The episodes in which Balsa tells Chagum about her own childhood, her protector the spear wielder Jiguro, and the tragic reason that she has vowed to save eight lives, not only give greater insight into Balsa’s personality but also foreshadow significant events that are to come in the final confrontation.

There are two wordless sequences portraying the passing of time, where the atmospheric score by Kenji Kawai is given pride of place and, interestingly, one of these is an ‘ethnic’ song about the Nahji bird that plays a vital role in the legend of the Water Spirit http://www.coucoucircus.org/ost/generique.php?id=1481 (echoes, perhaps, of the ethnic influences to be found in Yoko Kanno’s scores for Arjuna, Wolf’s Rain, and Aquarion?). These sequences could be dismissed as merely fillers but, with the natural sound of children’s voices, they offer a rather charming snapshot of the little ‘family’ of Balsa, Chagum and Tanda and a peaceful lull in their lives before the inevitable coming of spring and the deadly Rarunga.

The landscapes are just as breathtaking to look at as in the earlier episodes; the scenes portraying the mountains in autumn and winter are ravishingly beautiful. But it’s not just pretty scenery; if you’re looking for action, the final confrontation and the desperate battle to try to save Chagum’s life and the Water Spirit’s egg are thrillingly animated. Then there are little touches of humour to lighten the drama, such as the antics of the strange little rabbit-type familiar that travels in shamaness Torogai’s hat. All that’s lacking in these generous thirteen episodes is extras. And some may say that’s no great loss! (Although a director’s commentary could have been revealing.)

In Summary
If you prefer your anime fast-moving, in the Code Geass style, then you may well find Moribito too slow. But if you’re looking for a series that offers an epic fantasy adventure set in a fully imagined alternate world peopled with involving and sympathetic characters, then look no further: Seirei no Moribito comes highly recommended.