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.

---

Plot Keywords:

sea | submarine | boy | acrobat | girl | 

---

Genres:

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

---

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

Development began in the 1970s with Hayao Miyazaki selected by Toho Company to develop a television series. The project didn't go through until 1988 when Toho appointed Gainax to produce the series based on Miyazaki's original outline.

---

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.

---

Connections

Edited into Nadia: The Secret of Fuzzy (1991)

---

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

One of the greatest anime series of all time.

This series, a creation of Studio Gainax, is a perfect example of why I love anime. It has everything: Adventure, romance, action, comedy, and drama. Oh, does it have drama. And all of these elements are brought together in such a way that "perfection" doesn't do it justice. Running for 39 episodes, this series starts out in Paris in the late 1800's. Jean (pronounced the French way), a young boy with an incredible knowledge for designing aircraft, meets a girl named Nadia. Nadia is a mysterious girl, and quite unusual. Her companion is a grey lion cub named King, and they are being chased by a band of jewel thieves (Graten, Samson, and Hanson, three of the coolest anime characters ever)because Nadia has a pendant around her neck, a diamond-shaped, blue crystal. But, that's just a small part of the story, for you see, that crystal holds a secret capable of destroying the world. Nadia and Jean meet other characters, including the enigmatic Captain Nemo, captain of a high-tech, almost futuristic submarine named the Nautilus (the series borrows some elements from the Jules Vernes novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, then adds it's own spin to them). They also encounter the series' true villain, the leader of a society called Neo Atlantis. This villain, named Gargoyle, is perhaps the single most evil villain I've ever seen, as well as one of the coolest. He's very proper, with a calm, smooth voice, not loud and over-the-top like most typical villains, and hides his face behind a mask (take Darth Vader's coolness and multiply it by about 10, and you've got Gargoyle). Eventually, the series explores the secrets of Nadia's past, her relationship with Nemo and Jean, and the awesome power her pendant, the Blue Water, unlocks. The series' finale, the final four episodes, are some of the best viewing you can get (why, oh why can't American animation be this good?), with heart-wrenching drama and glorious animation. The music, by the same composer as the Evangelion music, is heavenly, and the character designs by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto are as good as his Eva character designs (the man is an artistic genius). The opening and ending themes are fantastic, also. All in all, this series is the only anime I can think of that equals Neon Genesis Evangelion in every respect, and in some may actually surpass Eva. After all, Eva was great, but lacked a cool villain (and Gargoyle is one of the coolest). If A.D. Vision ever gets around to releasing this officially over here, buy it (and please buy the subtitled versions, the voices are just TOO GOOD to watch a dubbed version). An 11 out of 10.