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  • The year was 1990. On the thirteenth of April, an all-new animated serial premiered on Japanese

  • television which would take viewers around the word, above the clouds, underwater, and

  • beyond. The serial was "Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water", a science-fiction action adventure

  • tale with a little bit of everything: mystery, intrigue, humor, romance, melodrama, techno

  • marvels, references to real life, and inspiration from Jules Verne's classic novel, "20,000

  • Leagues Under the Sea." The show became a favorite of millions of people around the

  • world. Like Nadia herself, however, the series has many secrets of its own. Hello, my name

  • is Jon Turner, and over the next half hour, we shall embark on a journey of a different

  • type. We're about to uncover the mysteries behind this classic show, from its production

  • phases to its creators, and a whole lot more besides. Allow me to be your tour guide on

  • this momentous occasion. So sit back, strap yourself in, put on your diving gear, and

  • get ready to delve into "The Secrets Behind the Scenes of Nadia and the Blue Water."

  • Secret #1: "The Title of Blue Water". Believe it or not, there is a surprise secret

  • behind "Nadia"'s title around the world. In Japanese, the show is called "Fushigi no Umi

  • no Nadia." In the land of the rising sun's native language, "fushigi" means "mysterious.

  • "Umi" means "ocean" or "sea," while "no" is a possessive article. Literally, the title

  • translates as "Nadia of the Mysterious Sea." However, during its initial television broadcast

  • in Japan, the English phrase "The Secret of Blue Water" was associated with it. Because

  • the phrases "mysterious sea" and "blue water" could technically be considered subtitles,

  • it was decided that "Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water" would be the final title. When

  • the show was broadcast internationally, the title had rather different translations. For

  • instance, in Italy, it was known as "Il Mistero Della Pietra Azzurra", or rather, "The Mystery

  • of the Blue Stone," with no mention of the title character's name. The same is true for

  • Spain's "El Misterio de la Piedra Azul." Germany, meanwhile, calls it "Die Macht des Zaubersteins"

  • ("The Power of the Magic Stone"). Oddly, in Taiwan, it's even called "20,000 Leagues Under

  • the Sea!" Arabia, meanwhile, rechristens the show as "Blue Diamond." Only in France is

  • Nadia's name referenced in its title: "Nadia et le Secret de L'eau Bleue." Russia's translation

  • also retains Nadia's name. Isn't it interesting how local translations can differ from nation

  • to nation? For a story that takes place around the world, that could arguably be another

  • flavor for Nadia's appeal.

  • Secret #2: "The Origins of Nadia". How was "Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water"

  • born? Its origins date back to the mid-1970's when Anime pioneer Hayao Miyazaki was hired

  • by Japanese movie giant Toho to develop ideas for televeions series. One of these concepts

  • was "Around the World Under the Sea," based on Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the

  • Sea," in which two orphan children pursued by villains team up with Captain Nemo and

  • the Nautilus. Although it was never produced, Toho kept the rights to the story outline.

  • This explains why Anime fans often liken "Nadia" to a Miyazaki production; the animator reused

  • elements from his original concept in later projects of his, notably the sci-fi series

  • "Future Boy Conan" and the action-adventure feature "Castle in the Sky."

  • Flash forward about ten years later. Animation studio GAINAX (formed by a group of animation

  • fans) was commissioned by Toho in 1989 to produce a TV series which would be broadcast

  • on the Japanese educational network NHK (the equivalent of PBS). Miyazaki's outline for

  • "Around the World Under the Sea" captivated GAINAX the most. Under the direction of Hideaki

  • Anno, the animation studio took the central story and concept Miyazaki had developed and

  • touched it up with their own creativity. Incidentally, Anno had previously worked for Miyazaki as

  • an animator on projects such as "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind." For Anno, "Nadia"

  • was an opportunity to produce his own interpretation of his former mentor's work.

  • "Nadia"'s first episode premiered on Japanese television networks in April of 1990, concluding

  • the following year. Reaction to show was nothing short of overwhelming. Anime viewers in Japan,

  • who are normally separated by age and gender lines, were won over by the show's eclectic

  • of action, adventure, romance, comedy, melodrama, and sci-fi techno marvels. Since then, it

  • has been shown to millions of fans on TV in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Taiwan, South

  • Korea and the Philippines. Adding to the show's success, Nadia showed up on the Japanese Animage

  • polls as favorite Anime heroine, dethroning Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä, who had been the

  • top champion at the time.

  • Behind the scenes, however, production on "Nadia" proved to be anything but smooth sailing.

  • In the words of (then) GAINAX president Toshio Okada, "'Nadia' was true chaos... good and

  • bad chaos."

  • According to now lost sources dating from the 1990s (or at least fan speculation), it

  • seemed as though Anno's direction for "Nadia" wasn't what NHK had in mind. Often the network

  • would send feedback to the studio on how to "improve" the series. GAINAX's response, however,

  • was to disregard such suggestions (without even reading them) and continuing production

  • their own way. Considering the tight deadlines for producing episodes, the studio could get

  • away with this practice, but it also resulted with a major clash of disagreements between

  • the two companies. In fact, GAINAX never again worked with NHK on another show, perhaps because

  • of this.

  • Differing views weren't the only obstacles GAINAX had to overcome, though. Starting with

  • Episode 11, Anno was working overtime — 18 hours a day. Eighteen hours! As such, many

  • new episodes running late and/or missing their deadlines. Then there were financial issues;

  • in the words of GAINAX co-founder Yasuhiro Takeda (author of "The Notenki Memoirs: Studio

  • Gainax & The Men Who Created Evangelion") the studio "was left facing an impossibly

  • large budget" while working on the show. "[T]he company ended 80 million yen (roughly $800,000)

  • in the red, and was denied any of the rights associated with the project." (It should also

  • be known that GAINAX has a history for mismanaging budgets, as evidenced from the varying animation

  • quality of its later shows, particularly the ever-popular "Neon Genesis Evangelion.") Because

  • of budget restrictions, "Nadia" was temporarily put on hold after episode 20 was broadcast

  • on September 21, 1990. The 21st episode would air the following October. It also led to

  • a drastic drop of quality when the show received an unexpected extension from its initial episode

  • count (as will be discussed in another secret). There were numerous other mishaps that occurred

  • during the making of "Nadia", but Takeda chooses to neglect talking about them to this day,

  • "[B]ehind each of these events," he says, "several other events were simultaneously

  • taking place." Even GAINAX founder Hiroyuki Yamaga admits that they felt "regret... that

  • [we] didn't do the best job possible."

  • Even if GAINAX neglects to mention "Nadia" among their finest achievements, however,

  • the show still had a major impact on the company. Earlier, few knew of GAINAX's work. The studio's

  • first production, 1987's expensive sci-fi epic "Wings of Honneamise," although widely

  • acclaimed, was a commercial failure in its theatrical release. While their subsequent

  • 1988 direct-to-video series "Gunbuster" fared much better, it was "Nadia" that truly brought

  • mainstream attention to the fledging Japanese animation studio. Since then, GAINAX would

  • achieve even greater success with "Evangelion", which would share many similarities with this

  • adventure serial, but that's another story.

  • Secret #3: "Nadia Comes to America".

  • If Nadia's quest to find her birthplace was stormy, her own show's journey to find an

  • audience in America was even more turbulent. Shortly after its first Japanese broadcast

  • in 1991, the late Carl Macek and his company, Streamline Pictures, purchased the license

  • for "Nadia" in the hopes of dubbing it for broadcast on U.S. television. Although the

  • first eight episodes were dubbed, financial problems and difficult conditions prevented

  • the company from completing the series. At the end of 1996, Streamline's license expired.

  • It was not until the summer of 1997 that Texas-based ADV Films acquired the rights to the show.

  • The first volume of the subtitled series was not released on videotape until March of 2000.

  • The final volume reached the stores in the summer of 2001. Around this time, ADV Films

  • commissioned its Austin-based dubbing studio, Monster Island, to produce an entirely new

  • dub for the show. In the fall of 2000, production on the English script began. The script was

  • penned by actor and playwrite Lowell Bartholomee. The actors chosen to lend their voices to

  • Nadia include some of Austin's most talented artists. Says Bartholomee, who also co-directed the dub...

  • "I can honestly say that I've seen every single adult member of this

  • cast give a brilliant performance on stage somewhere outside of the dubbing studio here,

  • and to see them bring all that talent into the dubbing studio for 'Nadia' is truly impressive."

  • Secret #4: "The Voices of Blue Water." Much of the appeal of "Nadia" is due to its

  • cast of compelling characters, notably the three children who propel the story. There

  • is an interesting difference between how our young heroes were portrayed in the original

  • Japanese version and the English dub. On its native language track, Nadia, Jean, and Marie

  • were voiced by three well-known Japanese voice actresses — Yoshino Takamori, Noriko Hidaka,

  • and Yuko Mizutani — who have performed in many other Anime titles. In the English

  • version, however, the three young protagonists were played by actual child performers. Nadia

  • was voiced by fourteen-year-old Meg Bauman, who had previously performed on stage as well

  • as commercials and videogames. Twelve-year-old Nathan Parsons, who played Jean, had acted

  • in several shows at the Austin Musical Theatre as well as the Austin Shakespeare Festival.

  • Parsons did not know how to do a French accent at the time of his audition for Jean, so he

  • turned to Ev Lunning, Jr., a professional accent coach who had not only been his director

  • in a stage production of "Julius Ceaser," but also plays Captain Nemo, to teach him

  • how to do an accent. Listening to exchanges between Jean and Nemo provides an interesting

  • allusion of hearing Nathan receiving similar lessons from his own teacher.

  • -NEMO: Do you know what the world map looks like? -JEAN: Yes.

  • NEMO: Then imagine in your mind's eye the coastlines of the Americas, Europe, and Africa.

  • -JEAN & NADIA: Uh huh. -NEMO: Do you see how those coastlines might possibly

  • fit together?

  • -NADIA: They do? -JEAN: I see... they're a perfect fit! Even so, it's kind of hard to believe they can move around like that.

  • NEMO: It is impossible for 19th century technology

  • to prove that these continental movements occur. But one day in the future, science

  • will find definitive proof that they do.

  • TURNER: Parsons and Bauman were good friends in real life, having worked together in productions

  • at the Austin Musical Theatre before and after "Nadia." It's perhaps because of this that

  • Jean and Nadia's interactions really come to life in the dub, even if neither Meg nor

  • Nathan recorded their lines together.

  • -NADIA: Did you and your uncle build this? -JEAN: Yes. And this aircraft will fly through the skies.

  • NADIA: But aren't all aircraft supposed to do that?

  • JEAN: Well, no one has invented one that really flies yet.

  • NADIA: Which is why all those iron crosses are out on the field, right?

  • JEAN: But no one in the world has designed a working aeroplane, until now.

  • NADIA: Is that so?

  • TURNER: Eleven-year-old Margaret Cassidy, the voice of Marie, had participated in productions

  • at St. Edward's University in Austin such as "Annie" and "The Music Man." Like Meg and Nathan,

  • Cassidy's lines were recorded separately, yet she still brought great charm to this

  • cheerful four-year-old girl. Like the other girls who were auditioning, Margaret tried

  • out for Nadia, but because her voice was so ideal for Marie, dub directors Charlie Campbell

  • and Lowell Bartholomee cast her in the role.

  • MARIE: You made Jean something to eat, didn't you? I guess Nadia really has eyes for Jean! It's natural for people in love to be together as MUCH as possible!

  • TURNER: Since "Nadia", all three child actors have participated in other Anime dubs, including

  • "Samurai X: Reflection", "Sakura Wars", "Getter Robo: Armageddon", and "The Devil Lady."

  • Campbell has been very complimentary of these young starlets: "I love the fact that 'Nadia'

  • appeals to children as well as adults!" he says, "It has been a real pleasure to use

  • kids as the main characters too....They are all amazing actors and a pleasure to work

  • with!"

  • Bartholomee has expressed similar sentiments concerning his efforts on "Nadia." "I didn't

  • know anything about the show when we first started," he says, "I BECAME a fan of 'Nadia'

  • as I worked on it. And I'm still a fan. It's definitely one of my favorite projects that

  • I've worked on here at ADV and I'm very proud of it."

  • The rest of the cast was filled out by other skilled actors who performed in either theater

  • or other voiceover projects. For instance, Shawn Sides and Sarah Richardson, co-founders

  • for the Austin theater company "Rude Mechs," were cast as Nadia's pet lion King... -[King Growls]

  • ...and the boisterously brassy Grandis Granva, respectively.

  • GRANDIS: YOU never were much of a playboy, so just shut up and scrub my dainties! Just pray that

  • you'll become a man like my Captain Nemo! -SANSON & HANSON: Arrrgh!

  • TURNER: For Ev Lunning, Jr., Captain Nemo was his first Anime role. His previous credits were

  • for computer games, such as "Wing Commander" and "Ultima." The actor was also a theater

  • professor at St. Edward's University in Austin. Even some of the more minor supporting roles

  • have impressive credits to their resumes. Ed Neal, who had been in memorable film roles

  • such as the Hitchhiker in "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and a Mercer interrogator in Oliver

  • Stone's JFK, played Jean's jolly, lovable uncle in the first episode.

  • -UNCLE: Once we get our hands on that kind of money, we will be able to make all kinds of wonderful

  • contraptions! And my mean old wife will finally stop complaining. But who cares if she does,

  • because before we go home, we're going to have some fun in Paris! [Laughing] Oooh la la!

  • -[Uncle Continues laughing] -[Jean Laughing]

  • TURNER: Maurice Moore, an extra from Steven Spielberg's "The Color Purple", portrayed the doomed sailor

  • Ensign Fait.

  • FAIT: There's nothing in the world that can't be repaired except for human life. If something

  • gets broken, then you just have to fix it.

  • To this day, everyone involved with the English dub of "Nadia" are still proud of their contributions

  • to the show.

  • Secret #5: "Atlantis VS Nadia".

  • On July of 2001, the first installment of "Nadia" premiered on DVD from ADV Films. Around

  • that same time, America's animation giant Disney unveiled its latest production, "Atlantis:

  • The Lost Empire." The release of the film sparked a series of controversial discussions

  • about how the Disney production and Nadia were alike. For example, the lead characters,

  • bespectacled hero, Milo Thatch and ancient Atlantean princess Kida bear striking visual

  • resemblances to their "Blue Water" counterparts. Kida, incidentally, also possesses a crystal

  • of untold power. There is even a submarine battle and a journey to Atlantis itself. In

  • fact, some fans claimed that Disney somehow stole ideas from "Nadia"! This argument partially

  • stems from a similar controversy involving Disney's 1994 megahit "The Lion King", which

  • Anime buffs claimed was a ripoff of Osamu Tezuka's "Jungle Emperor Leo"! Although the

  • creative staff involved denied it, some of Disney's own animators were reported to have

  • videos of the Japanese animated show on their shelves! By contrast, nobody involved with

  • Disney's "Atlantis" had ever heard of — or even seen — "Nadia"! In fact, directors

  • Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise were more familiar with the works of Hayao Miyazaki, who, in

  • 1986, churned out a similar themed work called "Castle in the Sky." Remember? Arguments aside,

  • the similarities between the two simply stem from the fact that they were both inspired

  • by the same source materialthe works of Jules Verne. According to longtime "Nadia"

  • fan Dr. Marc Hairston, "no story or creative work is ever completely, 100 percent original;

  • every author, artist, or animator must always draw from the conventions of the medium they're

  • working in and use the influences of everything else they've ever seen, heard or read."

The year was 1990. On the thirteenth of April, an all-new animated serial premiered on Japanese

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納迪亞與藍水》幕後的祕密--第一部分。 (The Secrets Behind the Scenes of Nadia and the Blue Water - Part 1)

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