With Gainax officially shutting its doors as of December 10, 2025, amid scandals, bankruptcy, and mismanagement, I wanted to send it off by remembering the good times. Sure, for many out there, the first thing that comes to mind is Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995), the anime that took the trope of an emotionally unstable teen piloting a giant robot to the next level. Some of the more astute may remember their foray into anime romcom territory with Kare Kano (1998), or the acid trip that was 2000’s FLCL (Fooly Cooly). But enough about them; I want to share with you one of my favorites, 1990’s Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, a Gainax project produced for NHK.
Directed by Hideaki Anno, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water introduces us to Jean Roque Lartigue, a young teenage boy with a knack for invention and a dream of achieving flight. He journeys to Paris, France to enter his flying machine into a contest at the 1889 World’s Fair. There, he meets the titular character, Nadia, a dark‑skinned teenage girl who grew up as a circus performer and has only a hazy past, her blue pendant the sole link to her mother. Their fateful meeting at the Eiffel Tower is interrupted by a trio of well-equipped professional jewel thieves: Grandis and her two henchmen, Hanson and Sanson.
This leads to a grand chase where Jean rescues Nadia from the thieves, only to be chased out into sea in his prototype aircraft, boarding an American battleship hunting mysterious sea monsters that have been sinking ships in the trade lanes. They encounter the monster, but it turns out to be a submarine that attacks and sinks the battleship. Our heroes are rescued by another submarine, the Nautilus, captained by a man named Nemo and his crew.
Nemo’s first mate, Electra, reveals they are after the real villains: a technologically advanced secret society known as Neo Atlantis. They, too, want the Blue Water, Nadia’s mysterious gem, for their own nefarious purposes and their leader, Gargoyle, bent on world domination, will do anything to get Nadia and the jewel in his grasp. This is where the story takes off into some great rescues, globe trotting discovery and tragedy, as well as carrying themes of hope in hopeless situations. Evangelion even references these moments.
As with most anime of its time—heck, even now—the idea of filler episodes often makes any anime enjoyer cringe. Alas, this show has its own version during the infamous “Island Arc” storyline. Such was the price of the show’s popularity that NHK ordered more episodes, but due to budget/labor constraints, Gainax outsourced episodes 23–34 while director Hideaki Anno focused on the finale. The result was a troubled mash‑up of teenage hormones, Cast Away, and questionable animation quality, as Nadia and friends attempt to survive on a lore‑critical island in the aftermath of Gargoyle’s successful attack on the Nautilus. Yes, there are even characters tripping on mushrooms.
Yes, moving on from that shipwreck of an arc, the final five episodes are where we get a clearer glimpse into Hideaki Anno’s future Evangelion sensibilities, as Gargoyle reveals and executes his grand plan for world conquest, culminating in a spectacular battle over Paris. We see Anno’s spin on the origins of mankind, with characters philosophizing about humanity’s role in the past and how it should pave the way for the future. Of course, the fighters of the Nautilus believe in humanity’s potential and freedom, while the Neo‑Atlanteans insist mankind must be controlled because of its self‑destructive nature. It’s not a full psychological deep dive just yet, but Anno is definitely getting there. Everything is wrapped up neatly with the defeat of the villains, some genuinely heroic sacrifice, and a strong note of parental love. We see the fates of all the characters in a wonderful montage that ties perfectly into the show’s end credits—one of my all‑time favorites.
The show featured impressive mechanics that blended steampunk and anime mecha elements beautifully. The Nautilus had an exceptional design, as did its successor, the New Nautilus. The Neo Atlanteans’ designs were equally striking, though it was a shame to see their Garfish submarines turn into cannon fodder against Nemo and his crew.
The standout vehicle, however, was the versatile Grandis Tank of the Grandis gang—a fun nod to the classic 1975 anime Time Bokkan. As expected, the series was packed with intricately overdesigned consoles and meticulously animated missiles, torpedoes, and energy weapons.
And like all popular anime, they attempted a movie tie‑in—and boy, if I could lay on any more sarcasm and emphasize the word “attempted,” I would. The gist is that Nadia and Jean are now older teens working in the world, with Nadia going into journalism and Jean pursuing his love of invention. The Neo Atlantean remnants hatch a new plan for world domination by using clones to replace world leaders they can control from the shadows. Nadia and Jean get the old crew back together, sans the Nautilus—despite the original anime’s epilogue neatly closing everyone’s plots—to stop a discount Gargoyle and save the world. This troubled attempt even had a troubled name: The Secret of Fuzzy.
Well, smudges aside, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water remains one of my favorite series as it blended many of my favorites together, steampunk, Jules Verne, Macross, and Space Battleship Yamato all into one big adventure, where good does triumph over evil and that there’s always hope, despite adversity.
As of the writing of this article, you can watch the ADV English dub for free on Sling TV. As fine as the dub is, the original Japanese voices are far superior and you can find the episodes scattershot on YouTube with English subs. The Blu-ray collection is available on Amazon as well. Physical media is king.
I highly recommend this one and hope you will enjoy it if you partake!
******
English (US) · 