Cheap Nadia, Secret of Blue Water - Aboard the Nautilus (Vol. 3) (DVD) (Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi) Price

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Customer Reviews of Nadia, Secret of Blue Water - Aboard the Nautilus (Vol. 3)

Picking up from where Volume 2 left off, Nadia and company, having escaped Gargoyle's island, are brought aboard by the Nautilus, and from here on the relationships between the characters begin to get a little more complicated.

Grandis falls madly in love with Captain Nemo, and desperately wants to impress him, much to the dismay of Sanson and Hanson. And to the jealousy of Electra, Nemo's second-in-command! Sanson and Hanson know all too well that Grandis can get herself into trouble whenever she becomes lovestruck, and Electra, although very controlled on the outside, is rather overprotective of Captain Nemo, even though she is unable to express her emotions for him. (This is for reasons deeper than what we are given here, although it takes a while before the secrets are coughed up.) Nemo, meanwhile, is rather aloof initially, but he, too, is tormented by a deep secret. He is shocked upon discovering that Nadia is on board the ship... for he possesses a Blue Water similar to hers, only larger. Yet he refuses to allow himself to become attached to anyone. It is Jean's enthusiasm, interests, and super-sweet personality that begin to puncture his shell in the same way that it did Nadia's. I'll admit for not caring much about Nemo, but seeing Jean win him over in the same way he makes friends with everyone aboard the Nautilus is one of the most delightful moments of the show. (In fact, it is his optimism that keeps our interests afloat whenever the show begins to get on our nerves.)

Nadia, meanwhile, is dealing with a lot more tangible issues occurring within her. She is frightened of the Nautilus, and is especially suspicious of Captain Nemo. It also becomes a bit of a challenge for her to trust Grandis, Sanson, and Hanson (for understandable reasons; they were, after all, chasing after her Blue Water in the beginning), and begins to become a little more self-centered.

She also starts to get on our nerves a little bit with her impulsive temper tantrums. For example, in one episode, when Electra are informs Jean and Nadia that they are to separate to different cabins (because they aren't "grown-up" enough yet), Nadia yells at Jean, telling him to go away when he accidentally glances at her bosom. (She later on apologizes for that.) She does the same later on when Jean is too busy reading at the dinner table to notice a dress she puts on to impress him (he doesn't know that she is jealous of his friendship with Electra). These mood swings from Nadia begin to make us feel a little bit uneasy about her, although her tantrums do not last entirely throughout the show. (They do, however, get much worse as the story goes on.)

Fans who were spoiled by the action sequences in Volume 2 may be dismayed that there are little in this volume, save for a sequence where the Nautilus falls into Gargoyle's minefield trap, and Sanson, Hanson, and Jean literally dive into action, via the Gratan, to clear the mines before they explode. As exciting as this sequence is, its probably just about as close as you're going to get with action scenes.

There's also plenty to laugh at, from the doings of Grandis, Sanson, Hanson, Marie, and King (especially in Episode 11-there is a hilarious chase sequence involving him.), the rivalry between Grandis and Electra, and the over-the-top performances by the actors portraying them (on both the dub -- which I listened to on my primary viewing session -- and on the subtitled track, which I spot checked).

Oddly, it also includes another sexual situation scene; something in common to the first NADIA DVDs. In the first NADIA DVD, for example, Jean almost glances at Nadia as she takes a shower, only to get whacked on the head by a brush she flings. In Volume 2, Nadia shakes her, uhhhh, bathing-suit top thingy to cool off in a fiery area, and Jean sneaks in close, getting a slap for that. Here, Jean stumbles across Sanson spying on Grandis changing her bikini; when Jean tries to find out what the heck he's looking at, he sees Nadia, partially undressed, much to her shock (and ours, too!). (Several other sequences like this occur throughout the story.)

The DVD ends on a very uneasy note when Nadia runs away from the camp after a dead baby deer is brought back. The problem is not that there is little action and more character development, but because the producers chose to end the DVD with that episode. It leaves one anticipating the next volume and feeling a little bit queasy, wondering what will happen next.

The upbeat moments give this volume some oomph, but its overall less engaging than the first two installments. This is probably because it focuses primarily on character development and less on the plot. Don't let it discourage you, though, because it still has enough to offer.