Nadia [Dub] (LD 1)

Release date: 1994-05-11
Suggested retail price: $39.95

SKU: LVD-9350
UPC: 724117935061 724117935061

Description:
THE ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME AWAITS THOSE SEEKING THE SECRET OF THE MYSTERIOUS BLUE WATER!

 The Paris International Exposition of 1889 provides the opening backdrop for this intriguing, dramatically animated serial.
 Inspired by Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," Nadia introduces its viewers to a lively cast of characters and a terrific story of high adventure, excitement and pure entertainment.
 As the story begins, Jean-Coq Raltigue, a young inventor, is on his way to Paris to enter the first international Flying Competition with an aeroplane of his own design. On a whim, Jean meets up with Nadia, a young orphan girl who works as a circus acrobat. Jean soon discovers that Nadia is pursued by Grandis Granva and her two able-bodied henchmen, Hanson and Sanson, who will stop at nothing to get her mysterious amulet. With this, tthe stage is set for one of the most dynamic animated series to come from Japan in years.
 The 39-episode Nadia: the Secret of Blue Water, was produced in Japan by NHK (The Japanese equivalent of the BBC), SogoVision and Toho, Ltd. It was the most popular childrens' TV series of the 1990-1991 season. NHK commissioned the series from Gainax, Ltd, the animation studio which created the immensely prestigious theatrical feature The Wings of Honneamise, and the video animated series GunBuster. Gainax assigned its top creative talent to Nadia, including director Hideaki Anno and character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. The program was broadcast on NHK on Fridays in the prime-time slot of 7:30 p.m. between 13 April 1990 and 12 April 1991. Nadia herself consistently placed among the top five of the most popular anime characters in viewers' polls during that year, and continues to be a favorite among the fans. The TV series has led to a feature-length sequel in Japan, and the series has also regularly drawn high ratings in other countries in which it has been shown.
 The actual Japanese title, Fushigi no Umi no Nadia, literally means Nadia of the Mysterious Seas, but NHK itself has officially translated this into English as Secret of Blue Water, referring both to Nadia's enigmatic blue gem and to the world's oceans in which her adventures take place.
 It is interesting to note that most of the plot construction of Nadia has been crafted by screenwriter Hisao Ohkawa into story arcs of four episodes apiece, so that four episodes can form a "mini-feature." This disc presents episodes 1 through 4, in which Nadia and Jean are introduced to each other, they being their adventure, and conclude their first encounter with Captain Nemo. This practice of multi-episode storytelling is common in Japan, where audiences prefer complex story lines which are best suited to serialization. Many of these Japanese animated series are serialized - a practice frowned upon by American television programming executives for animation.

Notes:
This concatenates the first four episodes into a feature by removing the opening and end credits between episodes.
Release has audio in both English and Japanese, but does not contain subtitles for the Japanese track.

(added on 2021-12-11, modified on 2021-12-11)

• Encyclopedia information about Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water (TV)