Despite being one of the most overlooked series of the early 90s,Nadia: The Secret of Blue Wateris an incredibly impressive and stylish anime. A somewhat niche series among anime fans outside of Japan, Nadia was little-known for a long while despite being a major work of two legends of anime—Hayao Miyazaki and Hideaki Anno.
Years later and with anime more popular than it’s ever been, a sense of renewed interest in the series afforded independent animation distributor GKIDS to release a quality 4K digital transfer and restoration of the series in 2022. Now, the new series remaster is going to be making its way tovintage anime hub RetroCrush.
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As first reported byAnime News Network, the announcement of the new licensing was publicly announced by GKIDS and RetroCrush-parent company Cinedigm late last week. The full 39-episode series will be available to stream in 4K on the platform, and that transfer is sure to bring out the best of the anime’s hand-drawn craftsmanship.
The director of GKIDS’s physical media division, Alison Kozberg, has stated of the new licensing that “GKIDS is delighted to continue to expand access to this beloved and seminal program from Hideaki Anno. We are thrilled to bring this iconic series to RetroCrush especially, where we are sure it will continue to resonate with a new generation of fans.” An exact date on when the series will come to RetroCrush is expected soon.
Released in 1990 as one of the first TV projects from the legendary anime studio Gainax,Nadia: The Secret of Blue Waterwas the result of both the original story prompts of Hayao Miyazaki together with the series direction from Hideaki Anno, who a few short years later would go on to createNeon Genesis Evangelionat Gainax as well.Inspired by the science-fictionof French author Jules Verne, the series takes place in a retrofuturist nineteenth century and follows the adventures of a young girl, Nadia, and her French inventor friend, Jean.
Although Miyazaki himself had little direct involvement with the animating and directing of the series, much of Nadia bears a strong sense of the mechanical, fantastical aesthetic found across Miyazaki’s oeuvre fromNausicaa of the Valley of the WindtoPorco Rosso—an aesthetic itself indebted to French sci-fi like the comics of Moebius and, in turn, Jules Verne again. As for Hideaki Anno, it’s hard not to think of how his skill in directing the ships and machinery ofNadiawould go on to influence the mecha designs and action that would soon make anime history inNeon Genesis Evangelion.
In advance of the series’ premiere on RetroCrush, Cinedigm executive David Chu has described Nadia as “a series ahead of its time. The animation and story are as relevant today as they were 30 years ago. This series is an incredible acquisition for RetroCrush, and we can’t wait for the anime community to laugh, cry and fall in love with this series all over again.”
