Simulwatch - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water [final ep - 39]

Re: Simulwatch - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water [current ep - 16]

ep15

Nadia has remorse for her accident...

Jean is still amazed by the ship.

Nadia still has a "problem" with the ship and it's purpose.

Nadia can read weird writing...???

Garfish spotted!

Come on Jean.... Getting Nadia to witness the Nautilus carrying out a "Murder" isn't going to increase her fondness of it. Surely you can deduce this by now...?

Blue water flashes. I get it's a general "Danger" thing but would be interesting to know the precise criteria for activation...

Captain in the American fleet has a laughs like a maniac. Ah the American fleet were directed to the Nautilus by gargoyle...

Jean attempts to save some endangered men... That's got to score him points with Nadia. She's clearly distressed by the situation though.

Grandis delivers a slap and some choice words. Perhaps Nadia now will understand this type of thing is not easy for Nemo...

Screaming of dying crew member takes an already dark situation and makes it darker.

Sad funeral scene. Maybe Nadia is learning that Jean and team rocket do care...

ep16
Blue water does seem to have floaty powers...

Sunken Cathedral sounds like quite the location.

B+W scenes. Two person conversations but they almost seem like thoughts "In their head"...

Those look like underwater craters but surely such things would have been eroded (unless fairly recent)...

They arrive in "Atlantis"... Interesting...

So it looks like proper funerals will be held for the 3 deceased crew... Perhaps explains the rest of the crews behavious when team rocket and Nadia / Jean were throwing flowers into the sea in the previous episode...

That looks like a very big "Blue Water"...

Oooh... Sounds like Jean has learnt the fate of his father...

I wonder if that's alcohol they are all drinking...

Nadia and Jean seem to have sought out each others company in their emotional states... And their company seems to be helping them. Interesting to see their relationship develop like this.

Jean shows Nadia some real flowers. He supports a crying Nadia.

Quite the couple of episodes.
 
Re: Simulwatch - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water [current ep - 16]

I think one of the reasons Nadia works well as a character for me is that she's basically a particularly well written Tsundere. It's almost always understandable when she lashes out, even if it's not often fair or justified and she does take the time to think about what she's done and usually regret it. She has flaws but they're believable and human. I think the moments when Nadia is apologetic or does something nice are stronger for knowing that she's trying to improve herself.
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That's mainly because you're watching the canonical episodes. You know, the episodes which were actually written by Anno. There she's presented as a well written person who feels bad for anytime she mistreats Jean, who obviously is not even trying to do anything to set her off. The innocent mistake you're referring to is probably the one where he stumbles across her changing. Yeah, that was a bit of a goof-up on his part, but other moments like him not actively doing anything perverted to her even if he occasionally sneaks a look at her, uh, bra, feel unjust because his intentions are nothing but pure. Likewise when he tries to give her flowers and she rudely dismisses them.

IMO, the worst she gets in the Nautilus episodes is on ep 20 when she becomes jealous of Jeans' friendship with Electra, to the point that she blows Jean off when he tries (awkwardly) to compliment her (on Electra's suggestion). But even then, she talks with Electra about it and realizes her misunderstanding, to the point where she feels genuinely bad about how she's acted.

Unfortunately Nadia only gets worse in the filler episodes. Any trace of admiration you may have for her will go out of the window, trust me. She acts nothing like herself in those episodes. She abruptly decides to leave Jean and Marie's camp for no reason and live with nature. She comes back and steals their rations for herself, leaving the two with no choice but to get fish and/or meat. She's treats her friends hideously and denies eating a rotten can of spinach. She stupidly kisses Jean while he's stoned from magic mushrooms -- yes, MUSHROOMS --, gets angry all over again when she realizes he doesn't even know about it, calls him awful names, all while taking zero responsibility for her wrath and unfairly laying it on Jean. She even ditches him for some stranger she doesn't even know, treating him horribly throughout -- after admitting he's more important to her! -- and even when she finds out that said stranger is already engaged, all she says is that she dislikes him. Seriously, by that point I just really hated her. That said, keep in mind that all of these scenes are the product of corporate greed; they weren't supposed to exist in the timeline to begin with. They were simply thrown in to pad out the story and are quickly forgotten. And of those filler episodes (23-34), only two of them have any major connection to the plot, (30, 31), but the others in that arc, forget it. You're better off skipping them if you don't want to see a well-rounded character become a totally dislikable one. THe final five episodes are amazing, though.

Oh, also on a note, I rather like the dub on this, a lot. Sure, the accents are a bit iffy at times, but the acting on the part of the cast involved is really good, especially the children and the Grandis gang. I tried watching this in Japanese one time, and honestly, I just couldn't connect with it.
 
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Re: Simulwatch - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water [current ep - 16]

I do think it'll be interesting to see what people think when/if we watch the "filler" episodes but I guess there's still a way to go before then anyway.

msgeek said:
Blue water flashes. I get it's a general "Danger" thing but would be interesting to know the precise criteria for activation...
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That's a good point actually, it doesn't seem like there's really any "magic" in the world so the Blue Water would itself presumably be technology of some sort. I guess it may be "indistinguishable from magic" or maybe it is magical and all the technology is an attempt to replicate what it does without being able to replicate the magic. That might also explain the apparent disasters with the tower, I suppose.

msgeek said:
So it looks like proper funerals will be held for the 3 deceased crew... Perhaps explains the rest of the crews behavious when team rocket and Nadia / Jean were throwing flowers into the sea in the previous episode...
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I quite liked the bit where the crew get on with things immediately after the death of their crewmates. It'd be easy to think they're being heartless by setting their emotions aside but it'd put everyone at risk to take time out for an elaborate ceremony when the Nautilus is so badly damaged. I do like the moments where the emotional and rational perspectives conflict, especially when it's not really taking sides. I also like the point that as much as we might try to get on with things in a rational way we can't easily dismiss our emotions (which was essentially what Grandis was telling Nadia in episode 15).
 
Re: Simulwatch - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water [current ep - 16]

You won't need to worry about those filler episodes until episode 23. Episode 22 is the last great episode in the show, at least until episode 35. Episodes 30 and 31 are the only fillers that are worth sitting through, because they're the only ones at least valuable to the plot. Even Anno admitted he would have saved those episodes, too.

Interestingly, Anno also made a director's cut of Nadia called "The Nautilus Story." This is an abridged version of the show which cuts it down to six hours. It's on YouTube, but it might be worth checking out.
 
Re: Simulwatch - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water [current ep - 16]

To add to episode 16, yes, it's one of the best episodes in the show. The use of color is really creative and the sad, melancholy tone provides an interesting contrast. What's also really striking about this episode is the imagination that exudes in the idea of Atlantis realized as an underwater kingdom/graveyard and done so in a way that exudes genuine sci-fi interest.

Oh, just a little FYI, episode 17 is another sweet heartwarming episode between Jean and Nadia. You'll know when you see it.

Episodes 18 and 19 are just as imaginative as the Atlantis one; you'll get to see quite a bit of creative stuff in it: glaciers, penguins, dinosaurs, whales, etc., and even a nod to the Jules Verne story involving a squid fight.
 
Re: Simulwatch - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water [current ep - 17]

I am (just about) managing to keep up with the simulwatch and am enjoying reading other people's posts, but I think my posts will have to come in chunks of five for a week or two.
 
Re: Simulwatch - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water [current ep - 17]

I'm going to be doing a chunk of 5 this week as I'm currently on my way to a festival and won't be home until the weekend.
 
Re: Simulwatch - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water [current ep - 17]

Episode 17
Pretty good episode this one. I liked the comments on what it means to be an "adult" (even if they weren't always helpful to Jean).

Nemo's reason for not letting Jean join the crew was quite good too, even if Jean didn't get it. I'm quite fond of characters who do "bad" things so that good people don't have to. It can be an interesting topic as to how necessary these things actually are and how far it's okay for them to go.

Missed opportunity to have Nemo sneeze when Electra was talking about his love of flowers. It could also have tied into the joke about everyone needing to go to sick bay what with all the sneezing going on.

Lots of good stuff with Nadia and Jean. I particularly liked the look that Jean got when he noted that he already had a girl he was interested in (bonus points for his matter of fact admission too).

It was also interesting to see the differences in the way that Nadia and Jean view adults and adulthood in general. Hanson's observations on Jean's life were also quite relevant, he and Nadia have certainly had quite different experiences in the past and that has clearly affected their outlook on things.

I wonder if Jean should maybe have considered selling his invention and using the money to be able to take Nadia wherever she wants to go. I guess he dislikes Gargoyle and Neo-Atlantis and wants to learn more on the Nautilus but it seems that he probably could take Nadia away from it all if he really wanted to (or he could at least give it a try).
 
Re: Simulwatch - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water [current ep - 17]

Yeah, this is a very fine episode because the chemistry between Jean and Nadia here is very sweet, and it's refreshing to see Jean undergo a bit of a dilemma, and even act a bit angry at times. This is refreshing considering he's otherwise portrayed as a cheerful, happy, easygoing person. What's also interesting is that it is NADIA who suggests him to build a plane. Earlier she had been very skeptical of his inventions and of technology's use in general, a point that struck Jean home the hard way in the events of episode 15, which compels him to discard his wrench. He is considering quitting inventing. By Nadia inspiring him to build a gyrocopter, she is reminding him of why he likes to invent to begin with, and how he can use it to do good. By the end, Jean is himself again, which naturally, makes Nadia quite happy. For all the moments where she acts grumpy at times, seeing Jean so crushed and brokenhearted is surprising to her, she doesn't like seeing him that way. I also found it amusing how she flatly denies having any feelings toward Jean when Grandis and Marie both tease her on it. Well, the subsequent scene where she approaches Jean in the engine room after flushing with embarrassment shows otherwise.
 
Re: Simulwatch - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water [current ep - 16]

JTurner said:
This is my first post on the site, but I personally want to add my personal thoughts on the show.
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Welcome to the forum and thanks for the input – I was aware of the filler episodes and had heard the story behind them, but I wasn't sure what the actual numbers were.

Ep16

Couldn't remember the previous one, but I do remember this episode. As JTurner already noted, the design for the ruined Atlantis is utterly haunting – presumably intended to recall Hiroshima or Nagasaki, post atomic bomb, but somehow even more eerie for the withering orange light and still, silent atmosphere.

I really like the utter lack of melodrama surrounding Jean learning his father's fate. I feel like many other series would have cranked this up to 11, with strings blaring while Jean collapses in on himself, but this series seems confident enough in itself to make it a tragic, yet quiet revelation, something that maybe deep down Jean already knew.

Perhaps I'm trying too hard to see what I want to see, but I think we're starting to get some of the type of imagery that would feed into Evangelion as well. In particular, those expressionistic shots of Nadia talking to the other crew members in the 'void' immediately made think of Eva.

Smeelia said:
Also kind of related, I thought it was a bit harsh of the Chief Engineer to imply that Nemo having to put up with Nadia was a punishment. Sure, she can be moody but she's not that bad (though I guess Nemo is usually just a target of Nadia's anger rather than getting to see the better sides of her).
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I don't think that was necessarily his intent. It seems like Nemo (and presumably Electra) know considerably more about 'Princess' Nadia than they're letting on, and I took it to imply that for Nemo to see Nadia again in these circumstances was painful for him.

Ep17

My box set arrived today, so this is the first episode I've seen with the English dub, and oh boy, you could cut those accents with a knife. I think it's a decent effort though. Not sure I prefer it over the original audio, but the voices fit fairly well and I did feel Jean sounded more like the age he's supposed to be (to me he sounds too young in the Japanese).

It was Sanson and Hanson who really made this episode for me though, the latter especially. While Hanson delivering the bouquet, only for Electra to not even realise his obvious intent was clearly played for laughs, Hanson's subsequent admission about resigning himself to his fate again felt nicely understated, helping give him a little depth of character. Something that has consistently impressed me with this series is, forthcoming filler notwithstanding, just how little time is wasted. All the characters genuinely seem to add something to the story.

Also Marie's 'devious' face is bloody terrifying.
 
Re: Simulwatch - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water [current ep - 16]

Sorry I fell behind, I should catch up either tomorrow or Friday.

Smeelia said:
Professor Irony said:
I actually wondered if the Garfish crew had already abandoned their sub and just set it on a collision course, rather than willingly going to their doom, but I dunno.
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I wondered about that too, it doesn't look like there are any bodies in the wreckage when the Garfish breaks up. I guess that's not conclusive since it could just be the way it's drawn/framed but it'd make more sense.
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I doubt it. If they evacuated they would likely be picked up by the American fleet, and Neo-Atlantis won't want knowledge of their existence or their technology getting into the hands of any government.

Ep 15
Jean's glasses get crushed, so he immediately piles on the guilt by explaining how much they mean to him. Nice.
Nadia can read Atlantian. Another mention of space, Nemo also mentioned space flight when telling Jean about the Nautilus' power core. Could Nautilus be a modified spaceship design?
Sure, just drag the most anti-war person on the ship to the bridge to witness people dying. Good going Jean.
Why would a combat submarine have windows? Further proof that the tech is not that well thought out. Not that that will stop me picking holes in it :wink:
Space Titanium is really tough. Clearly the Garfish was made of more traditional materials.
Here come the Americans, blundering about the planet as usual. I didn't quite buy it when the Admiral/Captain/Whatever claimed this was vengeance for the sailor's killed previously, I suspect he's more concerned with his pride and reputation. Why else would he accept intel from a mystery man without questioning it.
A more personal brush with death this time. Fait lost his composure at the end, there's no shame in that but it was devestating emotionally for everyone who heard it. I got some distinct Evangelion vibes from that scene. It also seems to have pushed Jean closer to Nadia's viewpoint on death and killing.

Ep 16
Starts out with some introspection from Nadia, reminds me of that infamous last NGE episode.
Atlantis looks like it was lifted straight from Evangelion, the Nautilus did just sail straight through what looked like an Angel corpse after all. And you could easily fit a geofront in that underground cavern. I'm starting to understand why this series is so often referred to as a kind of 'proto-Evangelion'.
Those glass pebbles would suggest a nuclear-style explosion occurred at some point.
Who is Nadia to Nemo? That question is raised again by the chief engineer's comments. She is clearly bringing back some painful and personal memories for him in any case.
Jean and Nadia seem to have switched viewpoints now. Jean doesn't seem interested in vengeance following confirmation of his father's death, which sets him apart from the Nautilus crew which seem to be motivated primarily be revenge. Alternately Nadia is beginning to accept that you must sometimes kill to survive yourself, with the flower being her first concession to that train of thought.
Did Nadia accidentally activate the Tower of Babel at the end?
 
Re: Simulwatch - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water [current ep - 18]

Jean's glasses get crushed, so he immediately piles on the guilt by explaining how much they mean to him. Nice.
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I don't think Jean was really trying to make Nadia feel bad about stepping on his glasses. He sounded genuinely sad about them being stepped on, and it's also notable that Jean forgives Nadia by saying afterward "Don't get too upset about it, Nadia. It was bound to happen. It's just God's way of telling me not to get too attached to earthly objects." It really shows you what a sweet person he really is at heart.

My box set arrived today, so this is the first episode I've seen with the English dub, and oh boy, you could cut those accents with a knife. I think it's a decent effort though. Not sure I prefer it over the original audio, but the voices fit fairly well and I did feel Jean sounded more like the age he's supposed to be (to me he sounds too young in the Japanese).
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The accents ARE less than perfect, yes, but frankly, the affection these actors show for their roles is obvious, and yes, they did cast a boy the correct age to play Jean in the dub, a then 12-year-old known as Nathan Parsons, who had to work on the French accent (incidentally, Captain Nemo's voice actor coached him in real life). Also interesting: both he and Megan Bauman (Nadia's voice actress, 14 at the time) were good friends in real life. To me it's why the chemistry between them in the dub is so genuine.

I may be in the minority, but I actually prefer the dub of Nadia to the Japanese version overall. While I recognize the latter has its points, the dub just gets a nudge over it due to the children sounding more authentic in the dub. No offense to Noriko Hidaka or Yoshino Takamori, but I think Nathan and Meg just edge them out. I also had trouble with Yuko Mizutani's Marie; she sounded too shrill to my tastes. Thankfully Margaret Cassidy (11 years old) is less harsh on the ears.
 
Re: Simulwatch - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water [current ep - 18]

Professor Irony said:
I don't think that was necessarily his intent. It seems like Nemo (and presumably Electra) know considerably more about 'Princess' Nadia than they're letting on, and I took it to imply that for Nemo to see Nadia again in these circumstances was painful for him.
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I wasn't really being serious, your interpretation is more likely to be correct. Still, you never know and he could have just been being mean/sarcastic (though I think that'd be out of character for him based on what we've seen).

Professor Irony said:
It was Sanson and Hanson who really made this episode for me though, the latter especially. While Hanson delivering the bouquet, only for Electra to not even realise his obvious intent was clearly played for laughs, Hanson's subsequent admission about resigning himself to his fate again felt nicely understated, helping give him a little depth of character. Something that has consistently impressed me with this series is, forthcoming filler notwithstanding, just how little time is wasted. All the characters genuinely seem to add something to the story.
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Absolutely. Hanson and Sanson could easily have been simple comic relief characters but they're treated more as genuine people and I think it pays off.

BanzaiJedi said:
I doubt it. If they evacuated they would likely be picked up by the American fleet, and Neo-Atlantis won't want knowledge of their existence or their technology getting into the hands of any government.
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I've just been assuming there's more than one Garfish since there was one in the base when it exploded and it does seem they're still concerned about it even after the ramming incident. They could have transferred to another Garfish and had one ready on some kind of autopilot/remote control. Still, even if they did have to get picked up by the Americans they could claim to be survivors of a ship attacked by the sea monster so it wouldn't be a huge risk.

BanzaiJedi said:
Why would a combat submarine have windows? Further proof that the tech is not that well thought out. Not that that will stop me picking holes in it :wink:
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They do have those armoured shutters, at least. I think Nemo implied that the Nautilus wasn't built purely for war (though it does have a lot of weapons) so maybe it's at least partly an exploration thing. I don't know if they mentioned it before Episode 18 but at least the windows seem to be made of the same material that Gargoyle was using (reinforced, no less).

BanzaiJedi said:
Did Nadia accidentally activate the Tower of Babel at the end?
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I wondered about that too. Electra mentions that it wasn't originally built as a weapon and I think she says it wouldn't work/fire again. It maybe still has some sort of remaining function that Nadia activates (or maybe the glowing is part of their funeral ceremony) but isn't "armed" as a potential weapon anymore. No one seemed too worried about it anyway.

Episode 18
Off to the South Pole, which turns out to be a pretty weird place.

I did like the moments with Nadia and Grandis having no idea what's going on outside the ship, I guess that's pretty standard for people working on submarines. It must be kind of dangerous being in the Kitchen with big open pots of something cooking that could tip over if the ship is attacked or needs to make a sudden sharp turn.

I wondered if Nemo was deliberately trying to avoid killing the "monster" or if they just didn't feel they had an opportunity. It seemed that they could have fired when it was coming around to attack them the second time if they'd wanted to (though I guess it maybe wouldn't have worked anyway).

It's a shame we didn't actually get to see the base yet but I guess they maybe wanted to make a big deal out of it. It's interesting that they've been to Atlantis but it wasn't where the main base was. I guess maybe that's relevant, with Atlantis representing the ruin that came from all this technology and the main base presumably having some technology intact. It should be interesting, anyway.
 
Re: Simulwatch - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water [current ep - 18]

Seemed more to me like they didn't want to waste ammo on what was just a creature of nature when Gargoyle and his Neo Atlanteans were the bigger problem. Unlike the latter, the squid/shellfish whatever was neutral and although dangerous, not maliciously so. Still I loved that scene because it was an exciting nod to Mr. Verne's book.
 
Re: Simulwatch - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water [current ep - 18]

ep17
Grandis is chilling with a drink. She's got the right idea.

Nadia and King entertain with some circus skills...

Does Sanson believe his lecture to Hanson or is he doing it for laughs..? (I guess he does after seeing the later scene).

Oooh "I'm a fan of Nadia"

First time we've had a bit of an insight into Nemo's intentions/reasoning?

Nadia wants to fly again. Even after both flights have crashed...? Maybe she is just trying to be nice?

Grandis giving Nadia relationship advice...

The helicopter gets off the ground...

Sounds like the Africa plan is pretty low on his list... Nadia has been wanting to go all her life and suddenly it's "When I'm an adult" which to Jean and Nadia would surely seem like a lifetime away...

Some good pro's + cons to being a child/adult discussed in this ep. Refreshing to see a more even-handed approach that the typical "You are children you will enjoy yourselves because being an adult is horrible" crap that is often force-fed to kids.

ep18
"Return to base"... Less grand words than the time they headed "To the Sunken Cathedral"... Ah they'll be heading to "Antarctica" Guess it was a delayed build to the suspense / intrigue...

Penguins...

Jean can't seem to get any info on the South Pole... Ooooh a "Suprise" is in store?

The Antarctic Shoreline was "already in" the ships computer...

A "Heading" at 80 meters... Isn't 80 meters a distance rather than a heading...? Maybe they're doing a kessel run...

Looks almost like the squid thing is trying to mate with the Nautilus...

Good thing Nadia's not on the bridge to hear the squid cooking plan.

Squiddy swims off. Quite a suspense-full scene.

Jean is amazed again.
 
Re: Simulwatch - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water [current ep - 18]

"Nadia wants to fly again. Even after both flights have crashed...? Maybe she is just trying to be nice?"
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She's trying to cheer him up. She knows that Jean has recently been traumatized by learning about the death of his father and saw him discard his wrench. In a way, she's trying to inspire him to remember that he can indeed use inventions to bring people happiness.

Sounds like the Africa plan is pretty low on his list... Nadia has been wanting to go all her life and suddenly it's "When I'm an adult" which to Jean and Nadia would surely seem like a lifetime away...
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No, he really DOES want to do it. The thing is he feels that he's not yet capable enough of doing so and feels he has to learn more in order to make her wish come true. Nadia doesn't seem to mind though; it's obvious she's falling for him.
 
Re: Simulwatch - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water [current ep - 18]

Ep18

Thinking from here on in, I'll probably do what I've been doing with Slayers, and alternate between the Japanese and English audio with each passing episode, so back to the Japanese this time.

This was actually a much funnier episode than I'd expected somehow. Jean being moe for the South Pole amuses me, but probably not half as much as Sanson envisioning himself walking around Antarctica in his gangster suit and shades. If you're going to freeze, you may as well look sharp, I guess.

It's just a throwaway detail, but I liked that Jean would compare the computer screen to a magic lantern slideshow. Given how loose the series can be with historical accuracy, even a small reference to a massively popular, but not always well remembered 19th century pastime seemed rather pleasing.

I also liked the little bit of animation with Grandis and Nadia being bounced around inside the cabin during the squid attack. It had a good sense of movement to it that I feel wasn't strictly necessary for them to spend time on, so it's nice to see that they cared enough to put the effort in.
 
Re: Simulwatch - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water [current ep - 19]

The Behind the Voice Actors website has some comparisons for the ADV dub of Nadia and the long forgotten Streamline version (which was only about eight episodes long). Poll wise, the ADV voice actors for Nadia, Jean, Marie, Grandis, Sanson, Hanson, and Ayerton all rate favorably way over their Streamline counterparts. Electra's is ROUGHLY almost tied, Gargoyle is tied 50/50 at the moment, while Nemo's is the only Streamline voice to win over Ev Lunning.

Which is interesting, because my opinions on the Streamline version of Nadia are nowhere nearly as favorable as one currently available. It's not a BAD dub per say, but I feel that something's lacking from it. As far as the voices of the children go, the ADV dub gets the upper hand. Both Jean and Nadia, voiced by Ardwright Chamberlain and Wendee Lee in the Streamline version are miscast and don't sound authentic at all. Plus, Nadia has a FRENCH accent in the Streamline version. On paper it could have worked, but it sounds too distracting. While neither were experienced at the time, I personally think both Nathan Parsons and Megan Bauman do a much better job as these two; both sound more natural and there is a genuine chemistry between them that really comes through in the recording. Marie is OK, but Margaret Cassidy in ADV's version just edges her out, she sounds more natural. As far as the Grandis gang, the Streamline version puts up a good fight, but ultimately, I like Sarah Richardson, Martin Blacker, and Corey Gagne better in their roles, respectively; to me they just give these guys more life and depth; the Streamline guys sound a bit too "cartoonish" by comparison. Electra ties in both versions; both are equally good and use British accents. I do have a preference for Jennifer Stuart, though, but that's mainly because she got to get to the end of the show, but both are solid. Gargoyle is a bit of an interesting case: at first I wasn't sold on David Jones' distinctively deadpan voice for the character, but he grew on me after awhile, and other than my initial discomfort I quite liked what he brought to the role. There's a subtle arrogance to his voice that I quite liked. Streamline's Steve Bulen isn't bad by any means in comparison, but while I could imagine Gargoyle having a voice like the one he uses, the problem is he plays him too much like a stereotypical run-of-the-mill villain. I don't think it works as effectively for the character. Captain Nemo only had three minor appearances in the Streamline version by the late Jeff Winkless. I haven't always liked this guy's voice work, but I gotta say he didn't sound TOO bad. The only difference is that Ev Lunning Jr in ADV's version gives the Captain a somewhat exotic Indian accent. This is intentional because the dub directors wanted to include a nod to Jules Verne's story. The first few episodes from Lunning are the weakest, as he was probably still trying to figure out where he wanted to go with the character. But he gradually gets better and better as he goes on, and by the middle of the show he sounds completely natural. I especially enjoyed his scenes with Jean because when I learned that Lunning coached Nathan Parsons for the accent, I found myself imagining Ev educating Nathan in a similar way for any moment these two characters are together onscreen.

All in all, the Streamline dub of Nadia is not bad, although many anime fans still trashed it at the time because it was customary to dislike anything Carl Macek put out. The ADV version has received mixed reviews, with some recent British reviews trashing it and calling it "unlistenable". I seriously wonder where those critics are coming from, because as far as I'm concerned, the ADV dub of Nadia is a very commendable achievement for everyone involved and, frankly, underrated.
 
Re: Simulwatch - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water [current ep - 19]

I've been watching the Japanese and occasionally sampling the dub, I don't think I'd have a problem watching the dub (I'm quite dub tolerant anyway, even bad ones) but I'm used to the Japanese so I'll probably stick with it.

Episode 19
Nemo's best friend is an ancient whale. Something seems kind of sad about that, although how many people can honestly claim to be friends with a whale.

Apparently the Blue Water has some sort of telepathic enhancer/universal translator function. I'm still not sure if it's magic or technology, it seems the Atlantean technology was extremely advanced and what we see is mostly the lower end of what they were capable of.

Jean seems impressed that Nadia can understand the Penguin and yet seems to understand perfectly well himself too. Quite amusing that bit.

I couldn't help feeling the Whale was trying to mess with Nadia a bit, basically just giving her riddles rather than actual information. Nadia thinks she has a brother though, I wonder if she had memories of having a brother and assumed he was dead or is just finding out about it. I wonder if it'll turn out that Jean was her brother all along...

Nadia is surprised that Nemo might have feelings, I thought she'd figured that out by now but I guess she still didn't quite believe it.

I wonder if it's just a weird coincidence that all the materials they need are handy in the area or if they were placed there.

Grandis trying to hunt down Nemo was quite fun, she's especially good at motivating others (I guess that's why she's the boss).

Quite a good episode, catching the spirit of adventure/exploration (I guess the last one was also along similar lines).
 
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