Moribito, Guardian of the Spirit

of a Anime show I saw well before this book came here. It's great to see the differences btw the two and I loved the smooth translated wordage within.

Bodyguard-for-hire Balsa is going about her business when she witnesses an accident on the Yamakage Bridge: an ox panics and topples its cart, sending one of its passengers plunging into the river below. Balsa acts instinctively, and ends up saving the life of the Second Prince of New Yogo. After being invited to the palace, she learns that the `accident' was no such thing. Under the cover of night, the Second Queen brings her son Prince Chagum to Balsa and reveals that the Mikado - the prince's own father - is behind the assassination attempts on the boy, believing him to be the vessel of a malevolent spirit. The queen beseeches Balsa to take Chagum under her protection and lead him away to safety. Balsa agrees, partly because she has sworn an oath to save eight lives (for reasons that are revealed later in the novel) and partly because she has no choice: she would never be allowed to leave the palace alive with this information. Taking the somewhat spoilt Chagum under her wing, she flees into the night with him, pursued by the Mikado's Hunters and with only her spear and wits to protect the two of them. Things grow even more complicated when it becomes apparent that Chagum is indeed possessed by some sort of spirit, though whether for good or ill is a mystery that is hidden in the kingdom's own history. The water spirit is believed to be linked to a monster that the dynasty's founder was said to have defeated thousands of years ago, but the indigenous people of the land have quite a different version of the same tale; and it is only in understanding the truth of the history behind the propaganda that Balsa and her friends Tanda (a free-spirited healer) and Torogai (a feisty old mystic) can choose the correct course of action. This is a great book, with a fast-paced, riveting story, a host of interesting and sympathetic characters, and a rich and beautiful imaginary world. There are intriguing themes at work here that explore the changefulness of legends and their various meanings, of understanding one's elders by walking in their footsteps, and gaining personal identity through difficult experiences. The plot is incredibly smooth and swift without feeling rushed; possibly one of the best examples of clear and uncluttered storytelling I can think of. Nothing here is superfluous: everything adds to the characters and plot, things are told in their proper place and time, and the little details that do sneak in serve to enrich the created world that the characters inhabit, one that bears more than a passing resemblance to medieval Japan. Balsa makes for a wonderful heroine: a woman of a slightly more mature age than one would expect; one who has no time for emotions or relationships, but who is still a friendly and compassionate woman. She's a tough, self-reliant figure with a dark past that adds depth to her relationship with her princely charge, who himself goes through his own journey of discovery when he's forced to deal with the dual prob

I have not read for pleasure in about 8 years (excluding manga), but I picked this book up on a whim at the library. Wow, I was blown away! It took me three days to read it from cover to cover (248 pages). This is coming from a person who gets easily distracted and frequently gets bored to sleep just from the act of reading. This heartwarming tale is about loyalty and how cruel fates can affect commoners and royalty alike. However, a strong will on all accounts can overcome these fates. I like how they juggled the various perspectives of the characters. You get a very thorough insight into what everyone is thinking and feeling. It all leads up to a very satifying ending. I hope my library can get the second book in the series because I would like to see what happens next. P.S., don't get discouraged by all the terminology and various names in this world; they provide a handy glossary in the back.

Nahoko Uehashi's MORIBITO: GUARDIAN OF THE SPIRIT tells of one Balsa, a fighter who protects kids and adults in the course of her quest to redeem eight lives lost for her. She's a martial arts expert and guardian of the Second Prince Chagum, who has been chosen to journey across the seas to deliver a spirit to its home or face a drought. A fast-paced fantasy will appeal to readers attracted to complex plots and many changes.

No one can look you in the eye and tell you that kids today don't read Japanese literature. A simple stroll by the manga section of any well-stocked bookstore will put your mind to rest on that particular matter. But what the kids aren't reading these days is Japanese prose. How many novels for kids, translated from Japanese, can you come up with off the top of your head? Living as we do at a time when children's literature is profitable and all encompassing, you would think that publishers would be scrambling to fill the sudden need kids have for all things Japanese. I get ten-year-olds at my Reference Desk asking for information about Japan all the time and manga made it cool. Now it's time to expand their little craniums with some quality literature. Quality literature that involves egg-eating monsters, glorious fight sequences, strong female characters, and a clear-headed view of how politicians warp history to serve their own ends. Looking for a new kind of fantasy for the kiddies? Talk up something with a little more oomph. Talk up "Moribito". I'm sure you've heard of soldiers for hire, but bodyguards for hire? That's the job Balsa has had for years, and anyone who has ever met her will tell you that she's good at what she does. In fact, saving people is so ingrained in her that when she sees a prince thrown off a high bridge into the raging waters below she immediately saves his life. No good deed goes unpunished, however, and soon enough Balsa is roped into guarding the prince full time. It seems that the boy is carrying some kind of spirit within himself, and his father the Mikado is determined to kill his boy for the sake of the empire. To save him, Balsa will need to find out the truth behind long-forgotten ancient legends and fight off the Mikado's secret fighting force in order to save not just a prince, but an entire country as well. I'm an adult reviewer of children's books. As such I'm supposed to carry around with me this lofty air, deigning me to be the guardian of great children's literature, and so on, and so on, and so forth. There's always that feeling that while I can judge a book from a critical standpoint, I'm not actually supposed to enjoy the book, per say. But I really loved reading "Moribito". I did! From start to finish I found it fun, intelligent, and really well put together. Some authors never really establish a firm grasp on the world in which their characters inhabit. Others, like Ms. Uehashi, flesh it out so well that you're half convinced that you could buy a plane ticket there, should the fancy strike you. Uehashi also tackles several aspects of this book particularly well. She writes remarkable fight scenes, knows how to create three-dimensional characters (so that you're trying to determine if a villain is bad or just misinformed), and manages to tell kids a little something about powerful people and their weaknesses that in a lesser writer's hands might have turned didactic, or