Moribito series

Setting

Moribito is set in a fantasy analog of historical Asia. The setting includes several nations, such as Kanbal, a rugged, Himalayan-like kingdom, and New Yogo, a fertile kingdom that combines elements of feudal Japan and Southwest China. The supernatural plays very prominently into the world of the series, with the physical world being referred to as Sagu and a parallel spirit world being referred to as Nayug.

Characters

Protagonists

Balsa (バルサ, Barusa)

Voiced by: Jun Karasawa (radio), Mabuki Andou (anime) (Japanese); Cindy Robinson (English)

Played by: Haruka Ayase

A skilled warrior from the faraway land of Kanbal. She is 30 years old. Balsa claims to be a simple bodyguard-for-hire; in reality, she wields her spear in order to save lives in atonement for the eight lives that were taken to protect her when she was a child. Balsa is pragmatic and intelligent and she does not hold much regard for class distinction customs. Despite her deadly skill with a spear, Balsa tries not to kill in combat. As a result, her body is covered with scars. At one point it is revealed that she is the daughter of the former Kanbal King's physician who had discovered that the new King had poisoned his predecessor. Worried that his crime would be revealed, the new King ordered the physician and his daughter, Balsa, executed for treason. To protect his daughter, the physician asked the one warrior he could trust, Jiguro, who was the first of the King's 9 Spears, to take her and run while he stayed behind. Unfortunately, the King sent the other 8 Spears (while holding their families hostage) after them. Her guardian was able to protect her but had to kill all 8 of his former comrades to do so. Later he taught Balsa how to use a spear responsibly after seeing her perfectly re-enact the moves she'd seen him use. During their journey, Balsa becomes attached to Chagum and even teaches him some important lessons in life. At the end of the series, she is seen returning to Kanbal for reasons unspecified but is hinted to be putting Jiguro's soul to rest.

Chagum (チャグム, Chagumu)

Voiced by: Shōtarō Ōkubo (radio), Naoto Adachi (anime) (Japanese); Mona Marshall (English)

Played by: Kai Kobayashi (season 1), Mizuki Itagaki (season 2–3)

The second prince of the New Yogo Imperial Family. He bears the egg of the water spirit, making him the "guardian of the spirit". At first, it is believed to be the reincarnation of the legendary water demon defeated by his ancestor, the first Mikado. Convinced that it would bring misfortune and destruction to the country, Chagum's father secretly orders his death. However, before they can assassinate him, his mother, the Second Queen, hires Balsa to hide and protect him. Later, it was revealed that the egg is a water-bestowing spirit that revives the land once every hundred years upon successfully hatching. The real demon that his ancestors defeated was a creature that seeks to consume the egg before it can hatch resulting in the land suffering an extreme drought for a long time. By accepting the job to protect him, Chagum becomes the eighth and final soul Balsa vows to save to complete her atonement. During their journey together, he becomes emotionally attached to Balsa. At the end of the series, he is appointed the crown prince and hailed as a hero for helping the spirit be born. He bids a tearful farewell to Balsa, Tanda, and Madam Torogai as they leave the palace, thanking them for everything they did for him.

Kingdom of New Yogo

The Mikado (帝, Mikado)

Voiced by: Atsushi Ono (Japanese); Chris Kent (English)

Played by: Tatsuya Fujiwara

Due to the belief that Chagum was possessed and that the possession was the reason for the Drought Sign being seen, he ordered Chagum to be killed. The Mikado is the only one able to kill Chagum due to the legend that was how his ancestor ascended the throne by killing an evil water spirit and the belief that only the Mikado could successfully kill it.

The First Queen (一ノ妃, Ichi no Kisaki)

Voiced by: Sayuri (Japanese); Barbara Goodson (English)

Played by: Kae Okumura

The mother of Sagum.

The Second Queen (二ノ妃, Ni no Kisaki)

Voiced by: Emi Shinohara (Japanese); Tara Platt (English)

Played by: Fumino Kimura

Mother to Chagum, she was the one who requested Balsa to become Chagum's bodyguard. While he is on the run she is held under 'house arrest' for helping him escape.

Sagum (サグム, Sagumu)

Voiced by: Ryouya Kobayashi (Japanese); Johnny Yong Bosch (English)

Played by: Kaisei Nakano

Chagum's older brother and the heir to the throne, who cares deeply for Chagum. When Chagum's belongings were ordered burned after Chagum was presumed dead, Sagum took over the task to protect Chagum's things. He dies from overwork in his responsibilities as Crown Prince before being able to see Chagum alive again. In the book, there was no mention of him being close to Chagum, and he dies of illness.

Kingdom of Kanbal

Radalle (ラダール, Radāru)

Son of the deceased Rogsam; the King of Kanbal.

Jiguro Musa (ジグロ・ムサ, Jiguro Musa)

Voiced by: Yoshi Sakō (radio), Rintarō Nishi (anime) (Japanese); Kyle Hebert (English)

Played by: Kōji Kikkawa

Balsa's mentor, caretaker, and bodyguard. Originally the leader and strongest member of the king of Kanbal's 'Nine Spears'; he 'betrayed' his country to save Balsa's life. After fleeing Kanbal, they were pursued by the other eight 'Spears'. In a series of pitched battles, Jiguro was forced to kill the men he considered his best friends. He also trained Balsa to wield a spear honorably and with wisdom, and she later inherited his spear after he died. When Balsa's father asked Jiguro to protect her, he at first refused, but later appeared to save Balsa from two of the King’s assassins. Balsa believes that Jiguro helped her because he could not live with the guilt of not helping his friend, as he believed that not helping someone when you are in a position to do so is the equivalent of harming them yourself.

Kassa (カッサ, Kassa)

Son of Tonno and Leena, brother of Gina. Part of the Musa Clan.

Gina (ジナ, Jina)

Sister of Kassa; saved by Balsa at the beginning of Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness.

Yuguro Musa (ユグロ・ムサ, Yuguro Musa)

Younger brother of Jiguro Musa; a hero and the most respected of the King's Spears.

Kaguro Musa (カグロ・ムサ, Kaguro Musa)

Elder brother of Jiguro and Yuguro, uncle of Kassa and Gina. Chief of the Musa Clan.

Publication history

The novel series was published in hardback by Kaiseisha as children's literature, though the series has garnered many adult fans. Shinchosha began its publication in of the series in bunko size in March 2007. The Moribito and Tabibito strands of the series split after the first book, Guardian of the Spirit, and merge again in the chronologically final book, Ten to Chi no Moribito.

The series also includes Balsa's Table (バルサの食卓, Barusa no Shokutaku) (ISBN 978-4-10-130278-2), a non-fiction volume that includes cooking recipes with photos of the cuisines described in the series; and Complete Guide to Guardian of the Spirit (「守り人」のすべて, Moribito no Subete) (ISBN 978-4-03-750140-2), an extensive guidebook with background information on the setting and characters and a new short story, "Haru no Hikari" (春の光) by Nahoko Uehashi, about Balsa and Tanda's relationship.

As of 2010, the series sold over 1.5 million copies in Japan and won "a series of literary awards in Japan".

China

Sharp Point Press and China Children's Publishing House respectively distribute the novels in Taiwan and mainland China.

U.S. release

The English translation of the first book, published by Arthur A. Levine Books, appeared in the summer of 2008; the second book's translation appeared in April 2009.

Both books won the Mildred L. Batchelder Award from the American Library Association, the first volume in 2009, and the second, in 2010.

Due to unsatisfactory sales, publishing of the series in the U.S. has since been indefinitely suspended by Scholastic.

Other

Some volumes of the series have also been translated to Italian, Korean, Vietnamese, Macedonian, Portuguese and Spanish.

Media

Moribito has since been adapted into numerous media, including radio, manga and anime adaptations.

Radio drama

Satoshi Maruo adapted Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit and Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness into radio drama series, which aired in NHK-FM Broadcast's program Youth Adventure. The first series and second series aired from August 7, 2006, to August 18 of the same year and from April 16, 2007, to April 27 of the same year respectively.

Anime

The series has been adapted into a 26 episode anime television series, produced by Production I.G and directed by Kenji Kamiyama, which premiered in Japan on NHK from April 7, 2007. The anime was based entirely on the first novel, Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, and greatly expands the midsection of the novel.

At the Tokyo International Anime Fair 2007 in March, Geneon announced that they have acquired the license to the anime and Scholastic announced they have US distribution rights to the novels. After Geneon discontinued its distribution division, the rights transferred to Media Blasters. The series premiered in the United States at 1:30 a.m. on August 24, 2008, on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block, but was dropped from the schedule without warning or explanation on January 15, 2009, after two runs of the first ten episodes.

On June 13, 2009, the series was back on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block in the United States at 1:30 a.m. Sundays, but was moved to 2:30 a.m. Eastern time, swapping it with Fullmetal Alchemist in November.

Manga

A manga adaptation of Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit by Kamui Fujiwara was published in Square Enix's magazine Monthly Shōnen Gangan from the April 2007 issue to the August 2008 issue. Its spin-off titled ジン ～アニメ精霊の守り人外伝～ (Jin ~Anime Seirei no Moribito Gaiden~) was published in the same company's another magazine Young Gangan from the 9th 2008 issue to the 17th 2008 issue.

A manga adaptation of Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness by Yū was published in Asahi Shimbun Publications' shōjo magazine Nemuki+ from August 12, 2014.

TV drama

Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit is a 2016 Japanese television drama series produced by Japan's NHK network, consisting of 22 episodes covering three of the novels in the Moribito series.

Four episodes adapting the material in the first novel, Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, were broadcast in 2016, and another nine adapted from the multi-volume novel Kami no Moribito aired in 2017. The remaining nine began in November 2017 and continue into 2018. It appears this third and final season will adapt Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness, which takes place in Balsa's home country of Kambal.

The series is licensed for Northern America by Digital Media Rights and available to watch in the region on AsianCrush and Hoopla.

Analysis

The series has been called "one of the high points of the genre of fantasy writing for YA and children in Japan". Its themes are relevant to contemporary global society, which also resulted in the series success abroad. Those themes include traditional YA themes such as family and friendship, but also more realistic ones such as romantic love, work, sex, gender, and war. Other themes discussed by scholars include "loyalty to promises made, protection of a child in danger, the commitment to restore balance in the world", as well as "society and borders, respect for living creatures, destiny, politics and power, and the influence of religion".

As Balsa, a female, is the spear wielder, and her romantic partner, Tanda, is a shaman, Yasuko Doi has noted this represents a reversal of "the typical sword hero and mage hero roles common in mid-twentieth-century western fantasy". Traditional gender roles are also challenged by themes such as Tanda's fondness of cooking and prince Chagum's story of "giving birth" to an otherworldly "egg". Similar observation has been made by Helen Kilpatrick who noted that Balsa's character and her relationships with others "casts light on the state of some of Japan's changing attitudes on gender, workforce and family roles".

Helen Kilpatrick and Orie Muta also analyzed the series as a study and critique of "ideologies of a homogenous Japan" and "challenging Nihonjinron", showing "the importance of diversity and collaboration" between different ethnic groups and nation states. Many characters, including Balsa herself, are effectively outsiders (foreigners) or ethnic minorities, and this relates to another serious and controversial theme of the novel - that of colonialism; in particular, Japanese relations with the Ainu people. The theme of deconstructing myths and legends and rediscovering real history, or witnessing how behind-the-scene power plays create false, propaganda-related narratives results in the series questioning "hegemonic power constructions". In the Japanese context, this can be seen as an "unconventional critique of many Japanese ideologies and national institutions", challenging the audience to consider their "dominant understandings of, for instance, Japan's emperor system". They attribute this partially to the author's background as an anthropologist.

The series has been described as popular, receiving an anime, a live action adaptation and numerous translations. The popularity of the Moribito series has resulted in a significant number of fan fiction works inspired by it. While initially marketed for younger audiences, the series has been described as popular among adults as well.