As I watch Nadia, I'm going to review it in thirds. The reason why is because I'm watching what is essentially the "Anno-cut" or "Nautilus Story" version of it that removes the stuff that Anno did not approve of when he was directing the series and that itself is split into three parts that I'll call 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0. Funnily enough Letterboxd has also split up the Nautilus Story into 3 seemingly shorter chunks than the version I am watching but it works nonetheless.
This is my first dive into Nadia that I've been waiting to do for when I got it on Blu-Ray. In the past, I have dipped my toes in and in researching Anno and his filmography, I have become acquainted with it, but until now, I hadn't sat down and watched more than an episode of it. Now that I've seen the first third of it, I'm so glad I did!
At first the series feels a lot like the old school early 80s anime I would catch on TV as a kid. Stuff like Heidi or Pinnochio that Miyazaki got his start on, and that makes sense considering this series' Ghibli roots. And that feeling was fun, if not a little quaint and cartoony, I was enjoying it as a fun Saturday Morning cartoon but not quite feeling the gravitas that Anno is known to bring, especially with the reputation of this series. It wasn't until the protagonists found their way onto the Island of Neo Atlanteans that the tone of this show really hit and started to resonate with me. Even upon the crew's first look unto the Nautilus that I realized how much Nadia really feels like Anno's take on Classic Gundam, at least from a world building and tonal sense.
The interweaving of mature themes and realistically depicted violence into this adventure series through the eyes of these children feels very natural while also hitting like a tonne of bricks. You can feel the seeds being sewn for what Anno would be contending with for years to come this early on in Nadia and his style that we all are now familiar with really spreads its wings during this story arc.
Overall, I enjoyed this first third of the series a lot and will be watching 2.0 right away!
As I watch Nadia, I'm going to review it in thirds. The reason why is because I'm watching what is essentially the "Anno-cut" or "Nautilus Story" version of it that removes the stuff that Anno did not approve of when he was directing the series and that itself is split into three parts that I'll call 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0. Funnily enough Letterboxd has also split up the Nautilus Story into 3 seemingly shorter chunks than the version I am watching but it works nonetheless.
This is my first dive into Nadia that I've been waiting to do for when I got it on Blu-Ray. In the past, I have dipped my toes in and in researching Anno and his filmography, I have become acquainted with it, but until now, I hadn't sat down and watched more than an episode of it. Now that I've seen the first third of it, I'm so glad I did!
At first the series feels a lot like the old school early 80s anime I would catch on TV as a kid. Stuff like Heidi or Pinnochio that Miyazaki got his start on, and that makes sense considering this series' Ghibli roots. And that feeling was fun, if not a little quaint and cartoony, I was enjoying it as a fun Saturday Morning cartoon but not quite feeling the gravitas that Anno is known to bring, especially with the reputation of this series. It wasn't until the protagonists found their way onto the Island of Neo Atlanteans that the tone of this show really hit and started to resonate with me. Even upon the crew's first look unto the Nautilus that I realized how much Nadia really feels like Anno's take on Classic Gundam, at least from a world building and tonal sense.
The interweaving of mature themes and realistically depicted violence into this adventure series through the eyes of these children feels very natural while also hitting like a tonne of bricks. You can feel the seeds being sewn for what Anno would be contending with for years to come this early on in Nadia and his style that we all are now familiar with really spreads its wings during this story arc.
Overall, I enjoyed this first third of the series a lot and will be watching 2.0 right away!
