Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.5

Moribito Guardian Of The Spirit: Part 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

A heroine's journey makes for a beautiful anime experience.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 28, 2011

Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit might be thought of almost as as a “Zen anime,” for at times, nothing much seems to be happening. This is a langorous, character driven piece that is at least as much about the journey as it is about actually arriving. As such, the series takes a certain amount of relaxation and patience to fully let its slower rhythms slowly pulse over the viewer, and those who require slam bang action pummeling them at every turn will probably not have the requisite amount of tolerance for Moribito’s calmer approach. This is not to say that Moribito is completely devoid of action elements, for it most certainly isn’t, but this is a series that really doesn’t depend on its battle elements for its spark of creativity. If you’re the type of person who can sit back in a huge field and simply revel in the trance inducing sounds of the summer breeze rustling through the wheat, you’ll probably find yourself completely in tune with Moribito’s slow trek with female bodyguard Balsa and her royal charge Chagum. The slow, deliberate dance between the spiritually troubled Balsa and her (initially anyway) naïve temporary ward provided a lot of the interest in the first release of Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, which I reviewed here. While that duo is still obviously the focal element of this second part of Moribito, a sort of endgame slowly comes into view, one where Chagum finds out the truth about his own guardianship of a sacred water spirit, while Balsa herself comes to term with her guardianship of Chagum and her eventual hoped for atonement for lost lives which she (fairly or unfairly) blames on herself. Those twin, mirrored plotlines provide a lot of emotional heft in this second outing, even while a coterie of supporting characters and something akin to “guest stars” flit by for an episode or two along the way.

One thing that may work against Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, at least for some viewers, is the fact that for the most part this is a rather emotionally tamped down series that rarely if ever gets to the hyperbolic extremes which seem to be a lot of animes’ stock in trade. That dissociative quality is built into Balsa, who in the English language version, speaks in a kind of detached monotone (somewhat differently from her Japanese voiced version, interestingly enough), which supposedly indicates the character’s wounded past and inability to really connect with people. But the young Chagum, while at least a bit more emotionally accessible, also is part of a long royal tradition of stoicism, and so also doesn’t exactly chew the scenery, anime style. That leaves the bulk of the actual emotional content up to two supporting characters, Tanda, the man who has been waiting patiently for Balsa for several years and wants to settle down with the wandering spear-bearer, and Torogai, the kind of Miyazaki-esque sprite like shaman woman who provides a lot of the series’ subtle comedy relief.

The Miyazaki analogy is especially useful for those who might not be fluent with either the Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit universe generally or the works of Kenji Kamiyama, who brought the franchise to anime. Kamiyami is an unusually thoughtful writer-director, as he proved inimitably with his Ghost in the Shell reboot (Stand Alone Complex), but in some ways, Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit is even more introspective, especially since it really doesn’t feature the labyrinthine conspiracy angle that Ghost in the Shell does, nor does it depend so much on nonstop action elements to spice up the proceedings. Even a casual viewer will notice the absolutely languid pace of Moribito, where the calm rippling of water can be heard for several seconds in between two lines of dialogue as two characters walk by a stream. It gives Moribito a really distinctive natural ambience that makes the series quite unique in the annals of anime.

As with the many iconic works of Miyazaki, Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit abounds with fanciful characters that seem culled from Japanese folklore, myth and legend, and the entire series has a slightly surreal take on quasi- historical “facts”. Some Westerners may remember the N. Richard Nash play The Rainmaker, which was later adapted into a well regarded film with Katharine Hepburn (and even later than that musicalized rather gloriously as 110 in the Shade), and there’s a subplot in Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit which is somewhat reminiscent of the property. What’s interesting in this regard is that there’s no charlatan, a la The Rainmaker’s faux precipitation bringer Starbuck, but instead a very real magical entity that Chagum is shepherding, first without his knowledge and then at least somewhat against his will. Chagum becomes a character who is not completely at ease with his own destiny, as becomes crystal clear in the series’ denouement, when the child is returned to the royal habitation to assume his duties as Crown Prince. The Eastern penchant toward stoicism is firmly on display as Chagum realizes that duty calls, and Balsa similarly comes to understand that her debt to society is paid and she must decide what to do next with her life. It’s all handled with barely a raised voice, as befits this really beautifully subtle and understated piece of anime art.

Moribito Guardian Of The Spirit: Part 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

My comments about the first volume of Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit hold true for this release as well, though I'll also add a bit below with regard to a couple of differences in this second outing. You'd probably never guess Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit is an interlaced presentation considering the beauty of its AVC encoded (1080i) transfer in 1.78:1, and the good news is there is nary a combing artifact to be found in this extremely fluid and filmic presentation. Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit contains some of the finest animation in recent anime, with extremely well detailed character designs and exceptionally rendered backgrounds, and they all look splendid on this Blu-ray. Line detail is exceptional throughout, and the minimal digital elements blend perfectly with the traditionally animated fare. While the storytelling in this series can be langorous, there's always a wealth of splendor to take in in virtually every episode, and the best thing about the series is the impeccable attention to the very smallest details, like dust mites glinting in the sun or gradations of light as sun streams through thatched huts. This is one extremely nice looking anime series and its Blu-ray debut sparkles appropriately.

This second outing features perhaps a tad more in the CGI realm, including some really nice renderings of some of the supernatural phenomena that burst in around Chagum and Balsa at various moments. The quasi-3D look of these elements is very nicely handled and extremely well woven into the overall look of the series, and these elements also offer scintillating color, with excellent saturation and a really nicely varied palette.

Moribito Guardian Of The Spirit: Part 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with the first volume of Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, there are four lossless audio options included on this second release, two each for the original Japanese language track and the English dub, in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. This is not an overly bombastic series generally, and so it must be approached with the right frame of reference to really enjoy its subtle, yet incredibly effective, sonic mix. The series is literally awash in ambient environmental sounds which gently filter in through the surrounds and quietly but firmly build a very effective sense of immersion. What this does is set a baseline as it were from which the action elements suddenly erupt, making them all the more effective. Dialogue is almost always placed in the front channels, but as with the first volume, occasional discrete elements will be placed in the side or rear channels to create some nice directionality. The series' score and effects are also noteworthy, and while this series isn't a nonstop array of awesome LFE, there are occasional low frequency elements that are nicely handled and ably supported by the DTS HD-Master Audio mixes.

Moribito Guardian Of The Spirit: Part 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• HD Textless Opening (1080i; 1:31)
• HD Textless Closing (HD; 1:34)

(This is the first time in my reviewing experience where the SD versions of the textless opening and closing themes are presented as supplements on one volume and HD versions of the same content are presented on the next volume).

• Pilot Film (1080i; 2:53) is a brief promo piece featuring original novel author Nahoko Uehashi and anime director Kenji Kamiyama.

Moribito Guardian Of The Spirit: Part 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It might just be partially because of how different it is, in terms of general amplitude and its laid back ethos, but I really fell in love with Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit. As with the most affecting works of Miyazaki, this is a generally quiet, thoughtful enterprise that centers on character rather than (brainless) action, and if you relax and give the series time to work its magic, it provides a really worthwhile experience that offers gorgeous animation, lovely music and some fine interactions between interesting characters. Highly recommended.