Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1990– )
"Fushigi no umi no Nadia" (original title)

Nadia is a teenaged circus acrobat, an orphan searching for her father at the turn of the 20th century. While in France, she meets up with Jean-Coq Raltique, a brilliant inventor her own ... See full summary »

Stars:

Noriko Hidaka, Carl Domaski, Judson Jones

Cast

Series cast summary:
Noriko Hidaka	...	Jean (39 episodes, 1990-1991)
Carl Domaski	...	Additional Voices (39 episodes, 1990-1991)
Judson Jones	...	Additional Voices (39 episodes, 1990-1991)
Craig Kanne	...	Red Noah (39 episodes, 1990-1991)
Talbot McKitt	...	New Nautilus Radio (39 episodes, 1990-1991)
Nathan Parsons	...	Jean (39 episodes, 1990-1991)
Nanker Phelge	...	Additional Voices (39 episodes, 1990-1991)
Guy Roberts	...	Additional Voices (39 episodes, 1990-1991)
Douglas Taylor	...	Gargoyle's Cabinet (39 episodes, 1990-1991)
James Arnold Taylor	...	Additional Voices (39 episodes, 1990-1991)
Clay Towery	...	Gargoyle's Cabinet (39 episodes, 1990-1991)
Meg Bauman	...	Nadia (38 episodes, 1990-1991)
Toshiharu Sakurai	...	King (37 episodes, 1990-1991)
Shawn Sides	...	King (37 episodes, 1990-1991)
Yoshino Takamori	...	Nadia (36 episodes, 1990-1991)
Karen Kuykendall	...	Narrator (35 episodes, 1990-1991)
Kumiko Takizawa	...	Grandis (33 episodes, 1990-1991)
Martin Blacker	...	Sanson (33 episodes, 1990-1991)
Margaret Cassidy	...	Marie (33 episodes, 1990-1991)
Corey Gagne	...	Hanson (33 episodes, 1990-1991)
Sarah Richardson	...	Grandis (33 episodes, 1990-1991)
Ken'yû Horiuchi	...	Sanson (32 episodes, 1990-1991)
Yûko Mizutani	...	Marie (31 episodes, 1990-1991)
Ev Lunning	...	Captain Nemo (25 episodes, 1990-1991)
Akio Ôtsuka	...	Captain Nemo (23 episodes, 1990-1991)
Jennifer Stuart	...	Electra (23 episodes, 1990-1991)
Kikuko Inoue	...	Electra (22 episodes, 1990-1991)
Billy F. Harden	...	Nautilus Chief Engineer (21 episodes, 1990-1991)
Richard Smith	...	Nautilus Co-Pilot (21 episodes, 1990-1991)
Greg Gondek	...	Nautilus Sonar Officer (20 episodes, 1990-1991)
Dan Bisbee	...	Nautilus Pilot (17 episodes, 1990)

Storyline

Nadia is a teenaged circus acrobat, an orphan searching for her father at the turn of the 20th century. While in France, she meets up with Jean-Coq Raltique, a brilliant inventor her own age. After being rescued at sea by a mysterious submarine, they discover high adventure, and an ancient conspiracy that threatens the very existence of the human race.

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Plot Keywords:

sea | submarine | boy | acrobat | girl | 

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

13 April 1990 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water

Company Credits

Production Co:

Corad, Gainax, NHK

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min 25 min (39 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shortly after the series ended, NHK Enterprises opted to produce a theatrical movie of Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, which was done without the participation of the original creative team who worked on the series. Approximately one third of the 90-minute feature consists of recycled clips from the show.

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Quotes

[at the beginning, we see a plaque with foreign writing]
Opening Voice: Do you seek adventure beyond the treacherous waterfalls? Do you seek the mythical being the dwells in this unreachable place? If you do, then you must first find me.

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Connections

Followed by Nadia: The Secret of Fuzzy (1991)

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Soundtracks

"Burû Wôtâ"
(Blue Water)
Opening theme
Performed by Miho Morikawa
Music by Yoshimasa Inôe
Lyrics by Etsuko Kisugi
Arrangement by Joe Rinoie

User Reviews

Exciting, beautifully drawn, wonderfully animated; a must see series.

Before anime characters started sporting gravity defying hair and using freaky psychic powers to subvert the laws of physics, we got a few gems like these. Nadia is one of the most popular series of the 80s and one of the best looking, especially over the first few episodes. The visuals are breathtaking and the action is edge-of-your-seat exciting. The action is driven by exciting stunts and the (then) cutting edge inventions from the age of steam make for wonderfully unpredictable getaway vehicles. The first episode alone has one of the best anime chase scenes of the period, as memorable as anything in Castle Cagliostro, and the excitement keeps up from there. The 'villainous' trio pursuing the main character are my only real complaint with the series; they are meant to be both threatening and comical, but they just come off as goofy and tend to get in the way. The pace also tends to slacken a bit after episode two, but the rest of the series is still worth watching for its likable characters and gorgeous visuals. The first couple of episodes are maybe the best in the series and start things off at a frenetic pace, making for memorable entertainment and good fun.