Media Blasters has confirmed the acquisition of the 26-episode Seirei no Moribito (Guardian of the Spirit) anime series by including the series' opening animation on the recently released Kite Liberator DVD.  Based on the first book in a series of ten fantasy novels by Nahoko Uehashi, the Seirei no Moribito/Guardian of the Spirit anime was produced by Production I.G. and broadcast on Japanese TV from April to September of last year.  Kenji Kamiyama, director of the two Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series and the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex -Solid State Society movie, helmed the Guardian of the Spirit anime.

 

This action by Media Blasters represents the first "rescue" of a license originally held by Geneon, though a distinction should be made between properties such as Seirei no Moribito, which were just announced by Geneon and those that were actually released here on DVD.  Geneon did announce the acquisition of the license last year at Otakon, but Geneon did not have a chance to release any DVDs based on the series.

 

 

The Seirei no Moribito novels were originally published as children's literature, but because of the exciting fantasy storylines the books acquired many adult readers.  Arthur E. Levine/Scholastic Books is publishing a translated version of the first novel in the series in a hardcover edition that comes out June 1st under the title Morebito: Guardian of the Spirit (ISBN 978-0545005425).