I remembered Guardian of the Spirit for its intense action scenes. Although on my re-watch I find them far and few between, they are certainly welcome when they happen. The fight scenes are fast and well-choreographed. While I wouldn't call them over-the-top, they have a surprising flare you might not expect in an otherwise mellow anime. I should probably comment on the spear as well: I adore the implementation of the spear as a primary weapon in this anime. As a trope, it is not the conventional weapon you would expect of a lone warrior. However, Balsa brings a level of expertise to her profession that far exceed most of the cast, giving the spear something of a status symbol for any character who wields it.
Art is not my forte, but I will say this series looks good. I can't recall any particularly awkward animation, and I've already gone over the action. The backdrops and the architecture are gorgeous. The character models are very well done too. For the most part the wardrobe never feels out of the place, with the arguable the exception of Shuga, who would look at home in the Final Fantasy franchise.
The characters that take up most the screen time are well written. I think their motivations and behaviors are believable. While I can't say most of the characters have a proper character arc, aside from the prince, it is clear they all have a history. This gives the impression that the characters are capable of growth, and just overall makes them more fleshed out. I.e. when Balsa acts a certain way it is clear how it ties to her backstory.
My complaints start when we talk about the characters that do not see much focus, despite having a significant impact on the plot. While I can maybe forgive the Emperor for being out of the loop, it seems ridiculous to me how eager the sages were to shut down their subordinate in an almost conspiratorial fashion. It was so ridiculous I was almost expecting an imperial conspiracy to eventually be revealed, but no. Experts in their field are just incompetent apparently and can't follow up on history that isn't even that old. I think this would be fine if there were an overarching theme of complacency, but I don't see any of that here. I think this is apparent in the fact that the character who so mismanaged the crisis saw no consequences, or at least show any sign of remorse. This is where you would put in the subversion of the old-sage archetype, but no. The story takes the most boring route. I think this is where a lot of the complaints towards this series can be found. The series suffers largely from poorly defined stakes. Most of the characters themselves have no idea what's going on. That is excusable. They are not omnipotent, after all. However, when the audience has no idea what's going on, how can you expect them to be engaged when the character's actions are entirely detached from any foreseeable consequences for most of the series? Remember how I said Balsa's actions are clearly tied to her backstory? Is that ever going to be a problem? If you have an imagination, you would think so, but it's amazing how far the series will go to avoid any character growing moments for her. I swear, there is a episode in this series where Balsa is forced to tear down her core worldview, but this moment was completely reversed in the next episode (technically by the end of the same episode).
What is my overall evaluation of this series? Good production value. Good animation. The characters themselves are likeable enough, at least the ones you care about, but the lackluster story drags them down a bit. I rate the series; 5/7.
