I fuggin' love this series, which is odd, because I despise GAINAX and everything else they touched. I wrote a loving rant about it way back on another forum, so I'll just do some copypasta from there and pout it in a spoiler thing.
! Okay, someone explain this to me: how can you take a series that is built from all the worst ingredients an anime can have, and make it so motherfucking great?! It's an anime by GAINAX… Hayao Miyazaki created the concept... Hideaki Anno directed it... So why the fuck is it balls-to-the-wall excellent?! I mean, hell, this is a GAINAX anime, and the fanservice is fucking MINIMAL! 3 or so episodes out of fuckin' 39 have any to speak of!
! Okay, it might have something to do with the fact that the series is old as hell.
! Back during the halcyon days before Anno snapped and turned all emo, and before GAINAX's sexual repression and batshit insanity took over their minds, they produced this gem. Set in the 1800's, and loosely based on the works of Jules Verne (mostly 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea), the series immediately evokes a Miyazaki idea by starring children. Specifically, Jean, a young french inventor, and Nadia, a mysterious dark-skinned girl possesing a gem known as the Blue Water. The series initially seems simple, as Jean quickly has eyes for Nadia, sees she's in a bad situation, and wants to help. Soon, she's pursued by Team Rocket-esque Grandis Granva and her two henchmen, Hanson and Sanson. Saving Nadia from them quickly leads Jean into further shinanegans, which quickly turn serious when they're rescued by the futuristic submarine, the Nautilus, and in their attempts to return to France, find themselves stumbling upon the Neo-Atlanteans, led by an uber-evil, badass mutha known as Gargoyle. These guys are fuckin' beautifully evil, and Gargoyle just oozes "dark suave," even with his Ku Klux Mime mask. Even Grandis and her boys find themselves entagled against these people, and old foes must join forces to escape Gargoyle and his apocalyptic super-weapon, the Tower of Babel.
! However, all does not go as expected. The Nautilus, whose crew has been pursuing Gargoyle, appears at the island as Granvis, her henchmen, and Jean mount a rescue for Nadia, and the young girl Marie. Gargoyle's attempt to finish off his old foe ends with the Tower being destroyed after its cracking power core explodes, wiping out the island. Gargoyle escapes, and after some events follow, Nadia, Jean, and even Grandis and her men join the Nautilus crew. And that's only the first few episodes!
! The storytelling in this is fabulous! Even characters that appear cliche in the beginning quickly develop rich personalities. For a trio that started out as Team Rocket wannabes, Grandis, Hanson, and Sanson quickly become deep and entertaining characters, while never straying from being the same three people we saw in the beginning (save their hatred for Jean and Nadia, which quickly goes away after the Gargoyle incident). Hanson and Sanson especially become fantastically developed. Never have henchmen been so entertaining and well-written! One of the best things about this series' storyline is that it takes things we've seen before, or could predict episodes in advance, and presents them in ways that still make us say "oh shit" when the bombs drop. Even if you called it from day one, you're still getting a rush when they say it.
! Even the kinds of characters I would normally hate are great simply because of how they fit in the cast, and how they play off each other. Marie is your typical playful child who giggles alot, and doesn't understand adult matters. Normally, I would pray daily for her death, but her interactions with Sanson, and how it develops him as a character, are irreplacable. Nadia quickly becomes grating with her super-hippie ways. Eating animals is bad, you should never kill NO MATTER WHAT, science is bad, you name it. However, probably the biggest reason I don't despise this chick is for four reasons: she clashes with Jean's beliefs in a way that adds a dynamic to their interaction; she begins to see how the world really works, and her gradual change in several aspects of her personality make for good character development; many of her outburst later on are clearly her trying to convince herself more than lecturing others, which, again is good character development…
! Probably the biggest thing that kept me from thuroughly hating this chick was something one of the characters said. Just as Nadia was becoming intolerable, Captain Nemo remarked that she "never had anyone to teach her how the world works." That one sentence put all her bullshit into perspective. Although she continued to irritate, I didn't hold it against her after that. The occasional slap to her face by a few characters during some of her more retarded moments didn't hurt, either.
! And Gargoyle... Oh, Gargoyle... For a villain to come along and reach such super-special-awesome status, well... Well... sniff... I mean, TEASING a super-pacifist with death... Killing people in front of her, forcing her to watch him annihilate an entire island... Oh god, and the brilliant traps and attacks against the Nautilus... Not since Naraku or Sir Crocodile has a villain set up schemes that were just like beautiful art to watch.
! Now, some people may be put off by the dub. It's old, and the acting is sketchy in the first few episodes. Jean's french accent is probably going to give some dorks on the internet a reason to bitch. However, it's not thick enough to be a problem, and becomes rapidly less cheesy as the series goes on. Grandis, Hanson, and Sanson may sound like 4Kids stereotypes at first, but as their VAs get to stretch their acting chops, those initially silly voices add worlds of character to them. Especially Sanson, who really makes that "pompous cartoon rich guy droll" voice really fuckin' endearing. The BGM also carries the series very well. It envokes the time period very well (I love the jazz number that acts as Grandis, Hanson, and Sanson's theme), and sets the mood very well. There's this acoustic guitar piece that plays during emotional moemnts that still sticks with me. Fantastic track!
! So, people, do what you can to see this series! Buy it, download it, rent it, but preferably buy it!