Is 'Nadia: Secret of Blue Water' worth picking up? (no spoilers!)

[BrendaBat]

I’ve seen the ADV trailer for this series and I really liked it. I’ve also seen the boxsets on sale at a pretty good price. So I thought it would be a good idea to get some opinions here before I go out and spend $40 (I tried asking an otaku friend about it. But I just got treated to a rant about how Disney ripped it off). :p

Anyway, I’d really appreciate it if you guys could answer these questions for me (without spoilers, of coarse)

-How many DVD sets and/or movies are there and which one should I buy first?

-How is the dub?

-Would you personally recommend it?

[Mog]

For $40 total I'd pick it up. I picked up the entire series during an ADV sale and I liked it. I got 5 original DVD's and the 2nd boxset with the remaining 5 DVD's and movie.

The dub is actually pretty decent, even by todays standards, but I'm more forgiving than most unless I'm well in touch with the original voices like I am with Naruto/OP.

I haven't finished it because I keep getting off-track with school and other things, but I plan to finish it this summer.

[Lord Dalek]

It's very different from anything Gainax (or Anno for that matter) had done before or since. The show is generaly very good except for a notorious lengthy ark set on an island.

[Vallen Valiant]

It's very different from anything Gainax (or Anno for that matter) had done before or since. The show is generaly very good except for a notorious lengthy ark set on an island.
In Gainax's defense, that arc wasn't even suppose to exist. It was forced on them by the TV station organisers, and most of the animation of that arc was outsourced. The chief reason was to artificially extend the season; i.e. fillers.

You will soon realise that the island arc can be skipped all together without wrecking continuity.

(p.s. There was a lot of bad blood between the TV station and Anno+Co. Due to the first Region 2 DVD release of Nadia, there was a party which invited both Gainax and the original TV station crew. The party-organisers had no idea about the history, and was much surprised that the two groups don't enjoy each other's company...:sweat: )

[Mandi-chan]

To those who have seen it, did Disney's Atlantis really rip it off?

I saw Atlantis and loved it, but would like to know about this anime too.

[rubberchicken]

Well, they're both (loosely) based on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I have no idea how much influence Nadia may have had on the Disney writers, though.

[EscaflownePilot]

It is a terrific series and definitely worth getting, and it has an amazing dub (this coming from a full-out sub nazi) with the three main characters voiced by kids about the age of the characters in the show - a practice that I wish had caught on.

However, it's best to think of it as a terrific 27 episode series when you buy it, rather than as a 39 episode series, since episodes 23-34 are quite bad, and, like Vallen Valient said, are easily skipped without consequence. In fact, I'd almost say you're better off just skipping those episodes your first time through, and watching them later if you're curious.