Little Women, also known as , is a 1981 Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese animated

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 television series adaptation of Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys. Little Women was set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, and published in 1868...

's Little Women

Little Women

Little Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott . The book was written and set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts. It was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869...

. The series is directed by Kazuya Miyazaki and produced by Toei Animation

Toei Animation

Toei Animation Co., Ltd. is a Japanese animation studio owned by Toei Co., Ltd. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films . In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name...

.

The series was produced as a follow-up to a TV special based on Alcott's novel the previous year by the same animation studio. The TV series character designs differ slightly from those of the TV special; Jo, for example, while she is blonde in both versions, has curled hair rather than straight hair in the TV series.

This series is sometimes confused with Nippon Animation

Nippon Animation

is a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with chief offices in the Ginza district of Chūō and production facilities in Tama City....

's 1987 World Masterpiece Theater

World Masterpiece Theater

is a Japanese TV anime staple that showcased an animated version of a different classical book or story each year on 7:30p.m. on Sunday. It originally aired from 1969 to 1997 then resumed in 2007....

 TV series based on Little Women, Ai no Wakakusa Monogatari

Ai no Wakakusa Monogatari

Little Women, also known as is a 1987 Japanese animated television series adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, produced by Nippon Animation.A sequel series, Little Women II: Jo's Boys, premiered in 1993.- Plot :...

, as both series were dubbed in English and broadcast on U.S. cable TV in the 1980s (the 1981 series on CBN

ABC Family

ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...

, and the 1987 series on HBO). In addition, both TV series share a seiyuu: Keiko Han, who plays Beth in this TV series, was cast as Meg in the 1987 series.

Characters

• Mami Koyama
  Mami Koyama
  Mami Koyama is a veteran seiyū and J-pop vocalist who was born in Nishio, Aichi. She was once married to fellow seiyū Tōru Furuya, her co-star in Mobile Suit Gundam, Urusei Yatsura, Dragon Ball, Saint Seiya, and Casshern Sins...
  
   as Jo
• Yuko Takagi as Meg
• Chiyoko Kawashima
  Chiyoko Kawashima
  is a former Japanese voice actress. She retired from voice-acting in 2001; her final role was that of Kusakabe Maron's mother in Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne.-Notable voice roles:*Candy Candy as Patricia O'Brien*Cat's Eye as Kazumi*Kaibutsu-kun as Utako...
  
   as Amy
• Keiko Han
  Keiko Han
  is a Japanese voice actress. She attended Tōyō Eiwa Jogakuin, going on to study theatre arts at Nihon University. She gained experience in theater while attending school by obtaining work through Aoni Production, singing the theme songs in productions such as Story of the Alps: My Annette and...
  
   as Beth
• Shoko Tsuboi as Mrs. March

Staff

• Series Director: Kazuya Miyazaki
• Script: Eiichi Imado
• Character Designs: Joji Kikuchi
• Animation Directors: Joji Kikuchi, Takeshi Shirado
• Backgrounds: Tadami Shimokawa

Music

The score was composed by Takeo Watanabe

Takeo Watanabe

was a Japanese musician and composer. In addition to composing the well known theme song for Cutie Honey he has also composed music for multiple television anime and films including Lone Wolf & Cub, Candy Candy, and Mobile Suit Gundam....

. The opening theme ("Shiawase ga ite") is performed by Takida Jun; the ending theme ("Joo no yume") is performed by Tsubota Shigezo and Takida Jun.

Broadcast

Little Women aired on TV Tokyo

TV Tokyo

is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...

 from 7 April 1981 to 29 September 1981, totaling 26 episodes.

Episode list

1. Christmas Eve in the March House
2. Angels in Boots
3. Jo's Boyfriend
4. Beth's Transformation
5. Stuck-up Amy's Expulsion Incident
6. Confrontation: Jo vs. Amy
7. Dance at the Lawrence Home
8. Meg Caught in a Trap
9. Editorial Meeting in the Attic
10. Jo's Cooking Duty
11. Picnic
12. Laurie's Troubles
13. A Group of Refugees
14. Beth and the Canary
15. Jo's Secret
16. Meg, Now an Adult
17. Mrs. March Chooses a Foster Daughter
18. The Field Hospital Raised in Town
19. Lawrence's Tales of Old Times
20. Jo's Fantasy
21. Jo's Fantasy 2
22. Ominous Telegram
23. Don't Die, Beth
24. Angel's Lullaby
25. Amy's Will
26. Spring in Concord

See also

• Little Women (1987 TV series), Nippon Animation's adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel.

External links

• Enoki Films' Wakakusa no Yon Shimai (Little Women) page