Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit

After two years, Balsa has returned to Shin Yogo, but her plans to repair her spear are derailed when a procession for the royal family goes suspiciously awry.

Before they can escape the city, Balsa will need to make preparations for the upcoming journey with the help of some old friends.

Fight or flee? Balsa might not have a choice when she and Chagum are attacked by a quartet of assassins sent by the emperor.

As Tanda tends to Balsa’s wounds, the emperor’s star readers receive a letter from a magic weaver with news regarding the mysterious water spirit inside the second prince.

A funeral for the supposedly deceased prince disguises a manhunt for Balsa and Chagum. Balsa hatches an unorthodox plan to throw off their scent.

Now with a fresh (and common) new look, Chagum and Balsa set off for the mountains, but operatives of the emperor relentlessly dog their footsteps.

As they settle into their new home, life as a normal child presents Chagum with unexpected challenges.

At last, Balsa can have her spear repaired — but the blacksmith she contracts to perform the work will need some convincing before he mends the blade.

The drought sign has not faded, and Shuga fears the fate of the kingdom is at stake. In Shuga’s pursuit of the truth, will crown prince Sagum prove friend or foe?

Chagum has a lot to learn about life outside the palace. Luckily Balsa’s friend Toya knows exactly how to show him the ropes in the big city.

Saya unexpectedly collapses, but this is more than a simple case of fatigue. It will take every ounce of Tanda’s skill to bring her back to the world of the living.

It’s time for the Summer Solstice Festival, and a boy named Yarsam gets under Chagum’s skin — but to get his comeuppance, he’ll have to fight Yarsam in the lucha ring.

A figure from Balsa’s past lurks in the shadows, hungry for revenge and intent on disrupting her new life with Chagum.

Torogai’s perilous foray into the spirit world yields dire information about Chagum and the egg of the water spirit.

After unearthing important information regarding Chagum, Shuga must decide whether he can share that information with the crown prince, Sagum.

Shuga’s search for truth continues, but Zen and Mon are in pursuit with deadly orders from the head star reader.

Chagum encounters a figure from his old life, one who comes bearing important news, but Balsa won’t let Chagum go so easily.

Balsa escorts Chagum, Tanda and Torogai to Tomi Village to learn more about the egg of the water spirit, but what they learn provides more disquiet than comfort.

While Balsa, Tanda and Torogai discuss how to save him, Chagum runs away to seek protection from the palace.

An unexpected alliance emerges between Torogai and Shuga. Elsewhere, Balsa, Tonda and Chagum settle into a cave called Hunter’s Hole to wait out the winter.

To while away the winter hours, Balsa tells Chagum about her childhood in the kingdom of Kanbal and the spear-wielding man named Jiguro Musa, who saved her life.

Inspired by her savior, Balsa took an oath to balance the scales of life and death. Inspired by Balsa in turn, Chagum asks to be trained in the way of the spear.

Winter has thawed at last, spring flowers breaking through the frost. Balsa and Chagum leave Hunter’s Hole and travel toward Aoike Pond, but trouble lurks not far behind…

As the Egg Eater closes in on Chagum, a message from Gakai to Shuga provides some clarity regarding the Place of Celebration, but the information may have arrived too late.