Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit

The last time I read and reviewed this book was back in 2010, when my posts included spoiler-filled synopses that were as long or longer than the reviews themselves. I figured that a new review was in order, especially since my opinion of this book has improved.

After Balsa, a female bodyguard, rescues young Prince Chagum from drowning, she finds herself being roped into being his protector. Chagum is believed to be possessed by the same creature that once caused a terrible drought. It's thought that the drought will be averted if Chagum is killed, so the Mikado himself has ordered several assassination attempts against him. Chagum's mother, the Second Queen, enlists Balsa's help to save him.

While Balsa attempts to hide Chagum and show more keep him safe from his pursuers, she also seeks out several friends in the hope of figuring out what's going on so that she can somehow both save Chagum's life and prevent the drought.

The first time I read this book was, I think, too soon after having seen the anime. They're both good, but the time I spent noting similarities and differences to the anime made it hard to judge the book on its own merits (yes, I know the book came first, but my first exposure to the story was the anime).

Balsa makes me wish more than the first two books in this series had been translated into English. She's a great character - an experienced and talented warrior with an intriguing past. In general, the book had some nice gender role reversal, with its female stoic warrior character and male healer interested in the spirit world. There was a hint of potential romance between Balsa and Tanda, the healer, but it was handled in a very low-drama way. Tanda was a little frustrated at Balsa's lack of desire to settle down, but it never got to the point of wrecking their friendship.

The "found family" aspect involving Balsa, Tanda, and Chagum was nice. I enjoyed that restful period of the story before everybody had to worry about Chagum's safety again, and it was nice to see Chagum becoming more comfortable and confident in his life as a commoner.

One of the things I really liked about this book was the way the setting and its history mattered. This was very much a story about how knowledge is lost or changed over time. Near the beginning of the book, readers get the history of how New Yogo was founded, but it's entirely from the perspective of the Yogoese, who are currently the area's dominant ethnic group. Later on, readers get more sides of the story - the secret history that only the Star Readers know (which is, again, Yogoese history) and Yakoo stories.

The Yakoo were the people who originally lived in the area where New Yogo was founded. (Supposedly they fled out of fear when the Yogoese peacefully tried to contact them, and I think the Yakoo side of the story agreed with this or at least didn't refute it, but I don't buy it.) They'd lost much of their culture and traditions, and what was left was sometimes mixed with Yogoese culture to an uncertain degree. It gave me shivers to think how close everyone came to not having the knowledge they needed during the chase at the end of the book.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed rereading this. I haven't read the next book in the series yet, but I'm now looking forward to it even more.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

Having seen and greatly enjoyed the Anime, I was delighted to find the book at a Library Book Sale. Often animes are taken from manga but this one was taken from a book – and faithfully rendered into film. The book brings alive in the mind this fantastic story. With a deft hand, the author gives us the world of real and spirit clashing and the people in our world that must fight to protect it.
While the language and vocabulary are of no particular difficulty, the subject is not simple. The author touches on the how different cultures mix, and in particular, who writes history – and why it might not always be true. This would be an excellent story to start a discussion with elementary age kids about critical analysis of historical show more reporting. Can you always believe the history books? How do you know what is and isn’t true? Why do people lie about history? It isn’t told in a heavy-handed moral sort of way either, but simply a presentation of the story that would lead to good thoughts and good discussion. This is also an excellent book about another culture from a non-western author. If you are looking to get kids reading non-western authors, this must be on your list! Happy Reading! show less

This book just feels effortless - effortless to read, effortlessly constructed. The swapped gender roles - a young boy who is rescued by a 30 year old woman warrior, a woman in her 70s who goes by a title of "Master" - are satisfying, and the prominence of elderly characters in the book is refreshing. There is also frank and thought provoking display of class issues and the displacement of indigenous people. But I didn't think about any of that while I was reading, because this world was so easy to live in that every part of it seemed like it could be no other way. Uehashi's narrative style introduces us to the inner lives of all the main characters, skipping around between them. Even the initial enemies of Balsa (the Hunters) are show more portrayed fairly.

I look forward to reading the sequel(s). show less

I first learned about Nahoko Uehashi's Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit while perusing a list of Batchelder Award winners and nominees looking for Japanese entrants. Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit won the award in 2009 and in 2010 it's sequel Moribito: Guardian of the Darkness was listed as an honor book. Moribito is actually the first book of a ten volume Japanese fantasy series aimed towards younger readers; only the first two books have been translated into English so far. The first novel was made into both a manga series (not currently licensed in English) and an anime series, which I'll definitely be watching. There is also a radio drama adaptation. Originally published in Japan in 1996, Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit was show more subsequently released by Arthur A. Levine books, an imprint of Scholastic, with an English translation by Cathy Hirano, who also translated the second book.

Despite being a woman and an outsider, Balsa has gained quite a reputation as an exceptional body guard and a master of the spear. When she saves the life of Prince Chagum, Balsa is brought to the palace by his mother, the Second Queen. She suspects that multiple attempts have been made on her son's life and have been made to look like accidents. The boy appears to be possessed by some sort of spirit and is seen as a threat to the country's stability. Balsa agrees to act as the prince's protector and flees the city with him. The two are not only pursued by elite human agents, but by supernatural beings as well. The only chance Balsa has to save Chagum is to understand what exactly it is that's inhabiting his body--knowledge that has been lost over time and forgotten as myth.

Balsa is so awesome. Next time someone tells you a woman nearing middle-age can't kick ass, just point to her. She has been training for most of her life to be a proficient fighter and while she has some raw, natural talent, her skills are mostly the result of hard work and practice. Uehashi has written some great action and fight sequences that are easy to follow but are still very exciting. Realistically, people get hurt and have to deal with the consequences of their injuries and healing, something that is often forgotten in other fantasy novels I've read, especially those written for younger readers. Another thing that Uehashi has done very well is that none of the characters are inherently good or bad--they're simply people. They've all made mistakes and done stupid things, but they also all have redeeming qualities. Thrown into a situation where their actions are dictated by what society requires as opposed to what they truly want or desires as individuals, they are dealing as best as they can.

I absolutely loved Moribito. Levine's production values and presentation of the novel is simply gorgeous and includes beautiful illustrations by Yuko Shimizu (which I believe are unique to the English edition). Hirano's translation is also spot-on, using slightly formal and archaic sounding language that fits the story well. Although it is a contemporary novel, I felt as though I was being told a tale and legend much older. Moribito has a very definite ending so I have no idea where Uehashi plans to take things next. But I was so impressed by the first novel in the series that I immediately went out and bought the second volume. If any of the following books are even close to being as good as Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, I truly hope that Levine will publish the rest of the series.

Experiments in Manga show less

5Q, 5P
This is a fantastic novel! It is set in a fictionalized version of medieval Japan. Balsa, a commoner, bodyguard, and spear-wielding warrior is essentially roped in to protecting the second son of the Mikado, Prince Chagum, whom the Mikado is trying to kill because Chagum appears to have been possessed by a demon who, supposedly, was destroyed by the sacred ancestor of the royal line two hundred years prior to the beginning of the story. Balsa, a flawed, fascinating, utterly realistic character with her own tortured past eventually bonds with Chagum, teaching him to support and defend himself while they hide from and fight off a fantastical facsimile of a black ops squad, the mysterious and fierce Hunters of the Mikado. All the show more while, Balsa and Chagum, with the help of two unique and compelling magic weavers, Tanda and Torogai, are trying to figure out what has possessed Chagum and how they should best protect him, both from the Hunters and from the forces of the spirit world, Nayugu. Splendidly described and beautifully rendered, the world of New Yogo and its characters is full of depth and complexity not often found in YA fantasy novels! show less

To start off, I am not the target age demographic of this book for disclosure sake.

That out of the way, I really enjoyed this book. The book is set in a vague fantasy Asia setting. There is enough world building to that you feel like you could walk around believe it was real but not mired in a millenia spanning back catalogue of history. The main characters felt like real people, with humor, personal goals, internal obstacles to what they want to achieve and believable dialogue. It is packed full of action, humor, adventure and life lessons. You don't need to be a middle schooler to get an enjoyable afternoon out of this book.

5Q 5P
Wandering warrior woman and well-known bodyguard Balsa saves the second prince's life, and is hired by his mother to protect him. An unknown spirit lives within the prince, causing his father to order his death. Prince Chagum and Balsa barely escape the assassins as they head to the mountains in search of safe harbor and the wisdom of Torogai, the magic weaver. What follows is a dangerous quest to protect the egg within Chagum from both assassins and the terrible egg-eating monster Rurunga, or the life-giving rains will never return.

Translated from the original Japanese, Moribito is an amazingly written book, the setting of which is an alternate, historical, and magical Japan. The pages are seeped in the culture, and what few show more necessary cultural explanations a reader might require is skillfully worked into dialogue and description. The plot steadily drives the characters forward, as they struggle between duty and morality. show less