Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit facts for kids
| Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit | |
Hardback cover of the novel
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Quick facts for kids 精霊の守り人(Seirei no Moribito) |
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| Genre | Sword and sorcery |
| Novel | |
| Written by | Nahoko Uehashi |
| Published by | Kaiseisha (hardcover) Shinchosha (paperback) |
| English publisher | |
| Published | July 1996 |
| Audio drama | |
| Written by | Satoshi Maruo |
| Station | NHK FM Broadcast |
| Original run | August 7, 2006 – August 18, 2006 |
| Episodes | 10 |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Nahoko Uehashi |
| Illustrated by | Kamui Fujiwara |
| Published by | Square Enix |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Magazine | Monthly Shōnen Gangan |
| Original run | March 12, 2007 – August 22, 2008 |
| Volumes | 3 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Kenji Kamiyama |
| Written by | Kenji Kamiyama |
| Music by | Kenji Kawai |
| Studio | Production I.G |
| Licensed by | |
| Network | NHK-BS2 |
| English network | |
| Original run | April 7, 2007 – September 29, 2007 |
| Episodes | 26 |
| Television drama | |
| Directed by | Keiji Kataoka |
| Written by | Sumio Omori |
| Network | NHK |
| Original run | March 19, 2016 – January 27, 2018 |
| Episodes | 22 |
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (Japanese: 精霊の守り人, Seirei no Moribito) is a popular fantasy novel from Japan. It was written by Nahoko Uehashi and first published in 1996. This book is the first of 12 exciting stories in the Moribito series.
The novel won the Batchelder Award in 2009, which is a special prize for children's books. Because it was so popular, Moribito has been made into many different types of media. These include a radio show, a manga (Japanese comic), an anime (Japanese animation), and a live-action TV show called a taiga drama. The first novel was released in English in June 2008 by Scholastic.
Contents
Story of Moribito
The story of Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit follows a brave warrior named Balsa. She is a skilled spear-wielder and works as a bodyguard. Balsa has made a promise to herself: she will save eight lives to make up for eight deaths that happened in her past.
On her travels, Balsa meets and saves a young boy named Prince Chagum. His own father, the Mikado (the emperor), has ordered that Chagum be killed. Balsa agrees to become the prince's bodyguard. Together, they start a dangerous journey to keep the prince safe. As they travel, Balsa's own mysterious past starts to become clear. They also discover that Prince Chagum has a strange connection to a legendary water spirit. This spirit has the power to either protect or destroy their entire kingdom.
Different Versions of Moribito
The Moribito story has been told in many ways, from books to TV shows.
The Original Novel
The first Moribito book was published in 1996. It was first released as a hardback book for young readers. However, many adults also loved the story. Later, in 2007, it was re-released in a smaller, more common paperback format called bunkobon.
The novel was translated into English by Cathy Hirano. It was published by Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic in the summer of 2008.
Radio Drama
The Moribito series was also turned into a radio drama. This means the story was told using only voices, music, and sound effects. Satoshi Maruo wrote the script for the radio show. It was broadcast on NHK FM Broadcast in Japan from August 7 to August 18, 2006.
Anime Series
An anime TV series based on the novel was created by Production I.G. It was directed by Kenji Kamiyama. The anime first aired in Japan on NHK starting April 7, 2007.
The anime series has 26 episodes. It tells the entire story of the first Moribito novel. The creators expanded the middle part of the book to make the series longer and more detailed. In the United States, the anime first aired on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block on August 24, 2008. Later, Viz Media re-released the whole series on DVD and Blu-ray in 2014.
The anime has two main songs. The opening song is "Shine" by the band L'Arc-en-Ciel. The ending song is "Itoshii Hito e" performed by Sachi Tainaka.
Live-Action TV Drama
Moribito was also adapted into a live-action taiga fantasy drama series by NHK. A taiga drama is a long-running historical or fantasy TV series in Japan. This version was filmed in high-quality 4K resolution.
The famous actress Haruka Ayase plays Balsa in the live-action show. The series was split into three seasons:
- Season one had four episodes and aired in March and April 2016.
- Season two had nine episodes and aired from January to March 2017.
- The third and final season also had nine episodes and aired from November 2017 to January 2018.
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