Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water Vol-2 (1989)
Animation Production: Gainax
Released by: ADV Films
Official Website: ADV's Nadia Vol -2 Page
Episodes: 4
By Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

The first time I saw Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water I knew I was witnessing something that was timeless and vastly different from the anime staples that I typically enjoy. Without a doubt, Nadia is not only one of the best anime series ever made, but one of the greatest stories ever told and a testament to Gainax's creativity and its great storytelling skills.

Story

"The last few days have been pretty hectic for young inventor Jean Ratlique. After rescuing Nadia and her pet lion King from the villainous Grandis, he’s been chased; shot at; rescued by an American battleship; swept overboard; menaced by a sea monster; and rescued again, this time by a futuristic submarine named the Nautilus. Now he and Nadia are aloft once more, and headed for Africa. But the nearby deserted island isn’t as deserted as it looks. And Grandis is still after Nadia’s Blue Water gem. The adventure is just beginning!"-- ADV's Nadia Webpage

Review

In the first set of episodes (vol-1 of ADV Film’s domestic release of Nadia) we were introduced to the main characters in this series and the world and time in which they live, thus setting the stage for what would become one of the greatest anime series of all time.
In vol-2 the story begins to get some traction by introducing us to several new story elements and characters.

We begin we’re we left off as Nadia and Jean take off from the Nautilus and into a small island that happens to be near their location. As they approach it in preparation for a landing, they are suddenly shot down by a mysterious group of masked men and crash land onto a wooded area. After recovering from the crash, both Jean and Nadia decide to explore their location so as to gather whatever information they can on their aggressors and the location they currently find themselves in.

Shortly after beginning their exploration they run into a family that seems to have been killed, however they are surprised when they find that the young child who was being held down by her mother’s protective arm is still alive. She is immediately taken in by our young heroes and eventually helps lead them into the heart of the enigmatic island and the secrets it holds.

Volume 2 of Nadia – The Secret of Blue Water contains four episodes that form a somewhat self-contained story-arch that begins with our heroes’ first foray into the strange island and culminates in their eventual escape from it with the help of Grandis, her assistants and the Nautilus crew. During these episodes we begin to get our first hints of the existance of Atlantis, its lost technology and their possible connections with Nadia and the Blue Water. To say the story gets a lot more interesting would be a major understatement, as we are left to wonder what secrets the Neo Atlans hold and how Nemo knows so much about them and their plans.

As with volume one the work that went into these episodes’ animation and musical scoring is nothing short of amazing and some of Gainax’s best work since the studio's inception, with some of the mechanical/character designs and animation effects that were used in episodes 7 & 8 being especially noteworthy.

This ADV DVD release contains the following episodes from Nadia - Secret of Blue Water:

Episode 5: Marie's Island
Episode 6: Infiltration of the Secret base
Episode 7: The Tower of Babel
Episode 8: Mission to Rescue Nadia

It also comes with a small insert that contains the same artwork found on the cover of the box, English dubbed & original Japanese soundtracks, textless opening & closing themes, and previews for other ADV Film releases.

Final Thoughts

Nadia Secret of Blue Water Vol-2 builds on the great start that was set by the first four episodes and begins to lead us in various directions with the story and its characters. At the end of episode eight I guarantee that you will be dying to go out and get the next DVD volume in the series just to find out what happens next! If you are a fan of anime or animation in general you owe it to yourself to check out this wonderful TV series!

Jeffrey Couto