Little Women: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy

若草の四姉妹
(Wakakusa no Yon Shimai)

TV anime

Director
Kazuya Miyazaki

Studio
Toei Animation

Original run
January 1981 – December 1981

Little Women: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy (若草の四姉妹, Wakakusa no Yon Shimai?, lit. Four Sisters of the Young Grass) is a 1981 Japanese anime series produced by Toei Animation for Kokusai Eiga, based upon Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel Little Women. The series was directed by anime industry veteran Kazuya Miyazaki and was a follow-up to a 1980 anime TV special produced by Toei (Wakakusa Monogatari, directed by Yugo Serikawa).

Little Women: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy is one of several anime adaptions of Alcott’s novel. However, not this series, but Ai no Wakakusa Monogatari, the 1987 Nippon Animation World Masterpiece Theater production, is the most famous and most critically acclaimed version. The 1981 and 1987 series are sometimes confused by American viewers, since both series were shown on television in the U.S. (the 1987 series on HBO).

Contents

• 1 Distribution
• 2 Episode list
• 3 Anime staff
• 4 Themes
• 5 External links

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Distribution

Wakakusa Monagatari Yori Wakakusa no Yon Shimai premiered in Japan on the 7th April 1981 and ran until the 29th September, broadcast on TV Tokyo. The series was dubbed in English and shown on CBN cable in the United States, and also released on VHS; it was also shown on French and Italian television.

Episode list

1. 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”

Anime staff

• Series Director: Kazuya Miyazaki
• Script: Eiichi Imado
• Character Designs: Joji Kikuchi
• Animation Directors: Joji Kikuchi, Takeshi Shirado
• Backgrounds: Tadami Shimokawa
• Music: Takeo Watanabe
• Voice cast: Mami Koyama (Jo), Yuko Takagi (Meg), Chiyoko Kawashima (Amy), Keiko Han (Beth), Shoko Tsuboi (Mrs. March)

Themes

• Opening Theme

1. “Shiawase ga ite (When there’s happiness)” by Takida Jun

• Ending Theme

1. “Joo no yume (Jo’s dream)” by Tsubota Shigezo assisted by Takida Jun

External links

• Information site
• Second information site

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Women:_Meg%2C_Jo%2C_Beth_and_Amy_%28anime%29”
Categories: Anime series | Historical anime and manga | Romance anime and manga | School anime and manga | Anime of 1981 | Japanese television series