Product Details

• Producers: Wataru Tanaka
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Studio: Anime Works
• Run Time: 650 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0035UKFNO
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #166,410 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

At a time when the balance of nature still held the civilizations of mankind in thrall, a single drought could spell the end of a society and doom its inhabitants to piteous deaths. Prince Chagum has been imbured with the power to stave off the drought and bring new life to him empire. However, this is a suspicious time, and he is accused of possession by evil spirits. Follow the adventure through to the exciting end with the complete collection. It includes all 26 episodes as seen on adult swim. Run time is 650 minutes!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great but..., March 8, 2010

By 

Anime Girl - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (Complete Collection) (DVD)

This is a fabulous series, well worth watching if you get a chance. While I am happy to own the complete collection, I hate the packaging of this set. While it does contain all 8 discs, they are just stacked on each other on a single spindle. It does make getting to the disc you want difficult. Might be worth waiting to see what sort of set the release next before getting this one and hope for better packaging.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid Story with Excellent Art, April 13, 2011

By 

RavenRing (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (Complete Collection) (DVD)

Balsa is a spearwomen from Kanbal, who has sworn to save the lives of nine people to atone for a past sin. While journeying to fulfill her oath, she finds her first opportunity in Prince Chagum. The young prince has had the misfortune to become possessed by a strange water spirit and his own father has ordered his assassination. While fleeing from the Emperor's assassins, Balsa and Chagum form a close bond, and soon Balsa protects him from affection rather than her oath. In order to save the prince, Balsa and her friends must unravel the mystery behind Chagum's possession and the changes affecting the land.

Based on the first book of the Moribito series, Seirei no Moribito (Guardian of the Spirit) is one of those series that reminds you that anime can sometimes move beyond stereotypes and clichéd story lines and have characters with depth and a story with layers. The anime closely follows the book, which works greatly to its advantage. The only times it deviates from the source material, is when it needs to expand the story to fill 26 episodes.
Balsa and Chagum are really likable characters. I thought for sure Chagum would be a spoiled brat, but he adapts quite well to his new life. Not that there aren't some bumps; he does go through a rather dramatic change in lifestyle and on top of it all, is possessed by a water spirit. But his character manages to overcome these challenges and grow. Balsa is one of the few female characters in anime that I like. She is strong, but not invincible, but that doesn't hold her back. The supporting characters are also complex and interesting, and there are enough of them to add diversity, but not so many that they can't have time to develop.

I believe I read at one point that the world in which Balsa and Co. live in is entirely fictional, thought it draws many elements from various Asian countries. I certainly felt the Asian influence, but I couldn't say it felt like any culture in particular, which made it feel all the more real. It was very well planned and the animation really brought it to life. I enjoyed the art style for this series - it was very easy on the eyes and enjoyable to watch. It was also nice to have something that felt unique, and not like every other anime out there.

That said, this release is TERRIBLE. It looks like someone just took all of the eight individual discs and stacked them on top of each other in a single DVD case. Content is ok, the extras include clean credits and previews, but the presentation is just so cheap. I shudder to think about the next time I watch this series and have to pull out all of the DVDs every time I swap to the next one. But I guess I got what I paid for. I wouldn't have minded paying a little more for a better box, but at least I have the anime.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent anime series!, April 10, 2010

By 

GoodEgg (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (Complete Collection) (DVD)

I came across this series through Netflix arbitrarily and I'm really glad I did! It's an interesting fantasy / historical drama. The characters are likeable and not one-dimensional. The animation itself is beautiful from the still scenes to the fight scenes. The soundtrack meshes well with the storyline. My only complaint is the same as one mentioned in the review above. The DVDs are stacked on a single spindle in a double DVD thick case. You have to take them all out to sort through to get the one you want if you keep them in chronological order. I'd only add that this is not the series for you if you prefer series that are pure eye candy, non-stop violence or action.