About Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water
Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water is a 1990 Japanese adventure anime produced by Gainax and directed by Hideaki Anno, with the planning loosely inspired by the novels of Jules Verne, especially Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Set during the 1889 World's Fair in Paris, it introduces Nadia, a teenage circus acrobat who guards a mysterious blue gemstone, and Jean Roque Raltique, an optimistic young French inventor who befriends her. When a band of jewel thieves led by the flamboyant Grandis tries to steal Nadia's gem, the two children are thrown together and set off on a journey across the globe.
Pursued across land, sea, and sky, Nadia and Jean soon find themselves caught between the thieves and a far more dangerous enemy: a shadowy organization known as Neo-Atlantis, led by the masked villain Gargoyle, who seeks the power hidden within the blue water. Their escape leads them to the Nautilus, the legendary submarine commanded by the stern and enigmatic Captain Nemo, whose own history is bound up with the secret of Nadia's stone. Aboard the Nautilus and alongside its crew, the group is drawn into a struggle that reaches back to a lost ancient civilization.
Blending Verne-style nineteenth-century adventure with science fiction, lost-world mystery, and steampunk machinery, the series follows Nadia as she slowly uncovers the truth about her origins and the meaning of the blue water she carries. Across thirty-nine episodes the story moves from globe-trotting chases to quieter character drama, balancing action and humor with themes of identity, prejudice, and growing up. Nadia helped establish Gainax's reputation and is widely regarded as a formative work in director Hideaki Anno's career.