Nadia: The secret of blue water (1990-1991) | Japan | Japanese animation

The anime

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Inspired by a story by Hayao Miyazaki, himself inspired by Jules Verne's novel "Twenty thousands leagues under the sea", Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (Fushigi No Umi No Nadia) is an anime realised by Hideaki Anno from Studio Gainax. Initially conveived to be 30 episodes, it was so successful that the production decided to extend it to 39 episodes. The additional episodes (23 to 34) were outsourced to other studios, which, some argue, is reflected on the lower quality of those.

At the Paris 1889 Universal Exposition, Nadia, a mysterious girl with no recollection of her past, meets Jean, a yound and brilliant inventor whom she will fall in love with. Forced to escape from thieves going after her blue-jeweled pendant, the two friends set on a journey to Africa to find Nadia's origin, a journey that will take them to Nemo, the Captain of the Nautilus submarine, who is fighting the Neo-Atlantean forces led by Gargoyle, a megalomaniac looking for world domination.

The anime offers a faithful retranscription of the Paris of the end of the 19th century, with its profusion of scientists seeking to change the world.