The mind of Hideaki Anno works in mysterious ways. His uncanny ability to turn even the most basic of stories into something extraordinary has captured the attention of peers and the admiration of fans, time and time again. Fushigi no Umi no Nadia was an early experience for him, but it carries the same charm as his later works. Based on the 1871 Jules Verne novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and also drawing inspiration from previous animated works like Laputa, Nadia carries a rich literary history, but is not absorbed or drowned by it. Thanks to intelligent direction, great music, and lovable characters, it remains one of the most solid stories told in anime.

The time is near the end of the 19th century. Nadia is a teenage girl with no family and no past. She performs with a travelling circus, and her only companion is a baby lion named King, from their homeland in Africa. A chance encounter with an enthusiastic young boy named Jean in Paris, the city of romance, would change her future, and perhaps reveal her past as well. For Jean, she was just a pretty girl that he wanted to know. When he found himself and Nadia being chased by a trio of bandits who were after her precious jewel, he soon was in way over his head. That jewel is called the Blue Water, and Grandis and her lackeys, Sanson and Hanson, have been after it for some time. To escape their clutches, Nadia and Jean escape on his trusty flying machine (which isn't so trusty), and end up crashing into the ocean. An American ship rescued the duo from the ocean, but their journey was far from over.

The time surrounding them was one of turmoil and tension between world powers. Ship after ship was sunk all over the world's oceans. Though some blamed the mysterious happenings on sea monsters, others accused the world powers of attacks using new weapons. After the ship which rescued Nadia and Jean came under attack, part of the mystery was revealed to them. They were being attacked by submarines! The attack caused the two to be thrown from the ship, but they were rescued by the Nautilus, a submarine which showed up to fend off the attackers. The submarine is commanded by Captain Nemo (a name meaning "nobody"). Jean notices a few curious things about the submarine, amounting to the fact that its technology is far superior to anything he's seen. How could something like this exist in the world? Why were Grandis and her men after Nadia? There are so many questions to puzzle over in the beginning. Their adventure exposes them to one unimaginable sight after another, and in the end, they must decide what is most important in life.

The Nautilus crew fight the evil mastermind to save the princess. HA HA, just kidding! Or am I? ;)	An angry woman has the power to destroy all civilization. So guys, PLEASE don't tick them off.

The story of Nadia does not really take any risks. It puts a new spin on an old story but doesn't go very far with it. The story does, however, serve as a solid foundation for the truly charming element of Nadia: the characters. The exchanges between Nadia and Jean are endlessly entertaining. From her mood swings to his failed inventions, there is plenty of comedy in this series. Also entertaining are the bandit trio: Sanson, Hanson, and Grandis. Though they are after Nadia's precious jewel at the beginning, they become increasingly difficult to dislike. The adorable Marie (a little girl they meet during their journey) is another enjoyable addition to the cast. The story isn't all fun and games though. The crew of the Nautilus is a constant reminder of this. Nemo and his crew fight against the ambition of Gargoyle: the leader of an organization that calls itself Neo-Atlantis. It is Gargoyle who has deployed the Garfish submarines which attack trade ships and warships of the world. The depth of character displayed in this series is surprising, even for Anno. Nadia finds that there is more to her than she could have ever imagined. Being the central character, she goes through the trademarked Anno soul-searching, and must find resolve to face the future.

There's really only one problem with the story of Nadia: execution. The 39-episode series was plagued with many filler episodes that, while enjoyable, hurt the continuity of the story. For a period of about 8-12 episodes in the middle of the series, it seemed as though nobody at Gainax knew where they wanted to take the story. The beginning and ending are spectacular, however, and more than make up for the lull in the middle.

The character designs for Nadia were made by the talented and respected Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. His Nadia became one of the most popular girls in anime, along with his wildly popular Evangelion trio: Misato, Asuka, and Rei. One of the great things about Sakamoto is that he doesn't really have a signature style to his work. All his characters are unique to their respective series. The animation for the series is equally fascinating.

Nadia's music goes well with the light-hearted feel of the plot. The opening song, Blue Water and ending song, Yes I Will are good songs on their own as well. No substantial risk is taken with the music for this series, but it fits the story like a glove. The series has several other vocal songs to enjoy as well. In fact, one of the filler episodes is mostly a queue of music videos. Speaking of queues, fans of this series have been waiting for quite some time to see it in its entirety. The ADV Films release spans 10 volumes, each with neat cover art. Extras on the discs aren't very numerous, with a character bio here and a textless music sequence there. The show is the main feature though, of course, and ADV has done an exceptional job at delivering a quality product in both the audio and video departments.

In short, and in summary, Nadia is an excellent TV series that's very enjoyable to watch. It's soft on the violence and has no harsh language, so it's suitable for any audience. It does take a somewhat deep pocketbook to acquire the whole series, but for yours truly it has been worth the expense.

Distributor: ADV Films
Creator: Gainax
Released: 1989

Plot: B
Character Design: A
Animation Quality: A-
Music: A-
Overall: B+