Continuing my theme of older series, I picked up Moribito mainly on the basis of its complete status (26 episodes), and its promise of a kick-butt female lead. I wasn’t disappointed.

Balsa, spear wielder and bodyguard, is a wandering warrior who has vowed to atone for eight deaths in her past by saving an equivalent number of lives. On her journey, she saves Prince Chagum, and is tasked with becoming his bodyguard. His own father, the emperor, has ordered his assassination. The two begin a perilous journey to ensure the survival of the prince while they uncover Chagum’s mysterious connection to a legendary water spirit with the power to destroy the kingdom.

I don’t usually have a lot of high hopes for older series, and I was happily surprised at virtually every point as this turned out not just to be a good action show, but full of characters with depth.

The main character, Balsa—spear wielder and bodyguard—ends up taking care of sheltered Prince Chagum, whom the royals believe harbors a spirit that will cause the destruction of their country, and thus must be killed for the greater good. Other characters are good too, but a highlight is grumpy Madame Torogai, one of those crochety old wmen who can do anything (and also carries her pet rabbit on her head).

Much of the series is a mental game where Balsa and co. try to stay one step ahead of the palace guards tasked with finding and killing them (while also working on that whole water-spirit possession thing), but there’s plenty of action.

Verdict

Is there an English dub? Yes, and it’s great! Most characters sound pretty natural, no high-and-squeaky voices here. Chagum has a more mature voice than I would expect for a young boy, but it actually works well conveying his more formal speech patterns from being raised in a palace.

How are the visuals? Nice, and there’s a nice variety of skin tones among the characters. TBH I am kinda in love with Balsa’s elegant design (and those lips), and Madame Torogai’s crotchety-old-lady look. The show does a good job differentiating between ethnic groups in the designs, and doesn’t imply one is better than the others.

Is it worth watching? Absolutely. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this–it’s not just a straight hero’s journey with the characters pursued by a bad guy, and all the characters are given depth. It’s stated early on that although the palace is officially trying to kill Chagum, it’s because they fear not doing so will bring drought and disaster to the land, and no one enjoys the task.

You’ve got a strong–physically and emotionally–female character who is also caring and thoughtful. You have a male potential love interest who respects her wishes and doesn’t force himself; the same guy is shown as gentle and the apprentice to a woman shaman, but isn’t shown as weak. There’s a lot of respect between characters. Moribito takes what could have been a basic hero’s journey filled with fighting and cliches, and instead produced something with depth.

(Also also also can I just mention that Balsa is 30? It was so refreshing to watch a fun cartoon that didn’t focus on a teenage protagonist.)