Alternative Titles
English: Moribito - Guardian of the Spirit
Synonyms: Guardian of the Sacred Spirit
Japanese: 精霊の守り人

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 26
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Apr 7, 2007 to Sep 29, 2007
Producers: Production I.G, Media Blasters
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy
Duration: 25 min. per episode
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Review


Story - 10
Seirei no Moribito is fantasy down to the core. You'll find warriors and assasins, shamans and herbalists, emperors and diviners, two worlds overlaping themselves, is there anything more you need? Even if, you'll find it here.
The story is very well paced. It starts slowly, but comes unstoppable to the point where these slow episodes disappears in blink of an eye. It's well thought, and I didn't find even one unnesesary filler episode.

Art
You definitely need to get used to it. I mean, after the first episode my eyes hurt from the number of details and amazing backgrounds. For heaven's sake, this anime has real grass, not green smudges, and skies i would spent my life looking for, mountains and forests, all brought to perfection. Even if heroes are in a cave, walls behind them looks the best it possibly could. If you still don't get what I mean, just watch the opening, and imagine that it's not only for show, that this art style continues and is getting better. The animation is smooth, and the CG that appears rarely is well-rounded.

Sound
The opening and ending themes are fitting the story and the overall feel of this series. Not too fast and not too slow, just like they should be in this case. In fact, they alone would not make me give a ten, but together with background music they plays up the mood in outstanding way. It's well matched, can calm you down or make you sit on the edge of the chair, I found myself completly mesmerized by it.

Character
And here comes the biggest suprise, at least for me. I was expecting nothing much, especially after seeing some of the newest fantasy series in which you can tell when the hero level-up. Characters in Seirei no Moribito are almost alive, they speak and act according to their own character that slightly changes along the way, but it absolutely don't mean that they turn predictible. They develops in their own way, especially Shuga and Chagum, but the rest of them are not left behind. The seiyuu are matching the characters and doing amazingly well.

Enjoyment
Why did I enjoyed it so much? This question seemed absurd to me, but after giving it some consideration I just don't know what to say. I don't know if I should talk about the feast for your eyes, the feast for your ears or the feast for your mind. I just know that it was pure joy for me, and I belive it's the effect of combining all this parts together.

Overall
You know, I'm not good at maths, but this one is evident even for me.
So, what more can I say? If you enjoy fantasy, or if you enjoy beautiful art, or if you just enjoy well-made series in both visuals and the story, try it out. I hope you won't be dissapointed with this one, and find it as enjoyable as I did.