Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water Produced by Gainax, released in 1990		Atlantis: The Lost Empire Produced by Disney, released in 2001
Our hero, Jean, a nerdy yet sweet inventor who gets caught up in a quest to find Atlantis. Along the way he falls in love with a girl unlike anyone he's ever met before. Accessories: big round glasses, red bow tie, assorted charts and scientific equipment.		Our hero, Milo, a nerdy yet sweet scholar who gets caught up in a quest to find Atlantis. Along the way he falls in love with a girl unlike anyone he's ever met before. Accessories: big round glasses, red bow tie, assorted charts and scientific equipment.
The heroine, Nadia, an exotic young woman who turns out to be a princess of the lost empire of Atlantis. To save her empire from invaders, she must unleash her hidden power. Accessories: blue crystal pendant, skimpy bikini 'n' sarong costume, gold armband and hoop earings.		The heroine, Kida, an exotic young woman who turns out to be a princess of the lost empire of Atlantis. To save her empire from invaders, she must unleash her hidden power. Accessories: blue crystal pendant, skimpy bikini 'n' sarong costume, gold armband and hoop earings.
Nadia’s pendant		Kida’s pendant
The Nautilus, a high-tech submarine with an international crew		The Ulysses, a high-tech submarine with an international crew
The first officer		The first officer
The ship’s doctor		The ship’s doctor
The gunnery sergeant / helmsman		The gunnery sergeant / helmsman
An underwater battle!		An underwater battle!
A mysterious crystal power source		A mysterious crystal power source
To save Atlantis, the heroine activates her pendant…		To save Atlantis, the heroine activates her pendant…
…and merges with the power source!		…and merges with the power source!

Some images taken from another Nadia versus Atlantis page. Hey, fair’s fair — he took some of my images and most of my text!

But what about the plot? Surely the plot is different, and that’s what counts, right? Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water Atlantis: The Lost Empire The story begins in… France, 1889 America, 1914 Where our hero, who is… A sandy-haired boy with round, oversized eyeglasses and a red bow tie A sandy-haired man with round, oversized eyeglasses and a red bow tie Runs into… A beautiful, hot-blooded mercenary named Grandis A beautiful, cold-blooded mercenary named Helga They wind up together… On board a high-tech submarine with an international crew On board a high-tech submarine with an international crew Engaged in battle with… Scary, otherworldly villains A scary, otherworldly giant lobster After many adventures1 they find… An underwater crevasse An underwater crevasse Which leads to… A chamber filled with strange bones A chamber filled with strange carvings From which the crew… Heads for open space, then holds a memorial for those who died along the way Holds a memorial for those who died along the way, then heads for open space They end up in… Atlantis Atlantis Which is… A dead civilization A living civilization At the center of which lies… A massive crystalline structure A massive crystalline structure Which is linked to… A small blue jewel worn as a pendant A small blue jewel worn as a pendant Around the neck of… The heroine, who doesn’t fully understand what it’s for The heroine, who doesn’t fully understand what it’s for Because as a child, she… Lost her family Lost her mother But she discovers that… These crystals are the power source for Atlantis These crystals are the power source for Atlantis Which explains why… The bad guys are so interested in Atlantis The bad guys are so interested in Atlantis So they can… Capture and use the power source Capture and sell the power source While the rest of the world… Plunges headlong into war with a secret society Plunges headlong into war with Germany But the heroine stops them by… Using her pendant to merge with and control the power source Using her pendant to merge with and control the power source And when it’s all over… They fall in love and live happily ever after They fall in love and live happily ever after 1 Keep in mind that we’re comparing a 39-episode television series with a 90-minute movie. Adapted from the Anime News Network. Check out the accompanying article. Well, they draw from the same sources… …so a few similarities are inevitable! Indeed, both productions are a hybrid of the “steampunk” adventure fiction written by Jules Verne (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) and the modern Atlantis mythology popularized by Edgar Cayce (On Atlantis). As such, similarities are inevitable – similar sources, similar plots, similar scenes, similar characters, similar designs. Uh-huh. You want equal time? Go read Disney’s Atlantis and Nadia by Marc Hairston. But before you go, please take with you this parting thought… Send comments and suggestions to mhayden@silverhammer.org. In particular, I could use a good pic of Milo and Kida together… 2001.05.29 Mirrors / More Recently Updated Material: http://www.oldcrows.net/Atlantis/ http://www.zero-city.com/nadia/nadia_vs_atlantis.html