Little Women (1981 TV series)

This article is about the 1981 anime adaptation by Toei Animation. For the 1987 anime adaptation by Nippon Animation see Little Women (1987 TV series). For all other uses see Little Women (disambiguation)

Little Women: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy
The March sisters, clockwise from lower right: Jo, Amy, Beth, and Meg.
若草の四姉妹 (Wakakusa no Yon Shimai)
Anime television series
Directed by	Kazuya Miyazaki
Produced by	Juzo Tsubota
Written by	Eiichi Imado
Music by	Takeo Watanabe
Studio	Toei Animation (studio),
Licensed by	Enoki Films
Network	Fuji TV
Original run	7 April 1981 – 29 September 1981

Little Women, also known as Wakakusa no Yon Shimai (若草の四姉妹, "Four Sisters of the Young Grass"), is a 1981 Japanese animated television series adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. The series is directed by Kazuya Miyazaki (a veteran Toei director whose credits included Cutie Honey and UFO Robo Grendizer among others) and produced by Toei Animation for the Kokusai Eigasha (Movie International) company.

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's 1987 World Masterpiece Theater TV series based on Little Women, Ai no Wakakusa Monogatari, as both series were dubbed in English and broadcast on U.S. cable TV in the 1980s (the 1981 series on CBN, and the 1987 series on HBO). In addition, both TV series share a voice actress: Keiko Han, who plays Beth in this TV series, was cast as Meg in the 1987 series.

Characters

• Mami Koyama as Jo. Voiced by Morgan Fairchild in the English version.
• Yuko Takagi as Meg. Voiced by Sydney Penny in the English version.
• Chiyoko Kawashima as Amy. Voiced by Natalie Gregory in the English version.
• Keiko Han as Beth. Voiced by Maggie Roswell in the English version.
• Akiko Tsuboi as Mrs. March. Voiced by Jessica Calvello in the English version.

Production

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. The opening theme ("Shiawase ga ite", "Where There's Happiness") is performed by Takida Jun; the ending theme ("Joo no yume", "Jo's Dream")) is performed by Tsubota Shigezo and Takida Jun.

Broadcast

Little Women aired on TV Tokyo 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

• Little Women (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Enoki Films' Wakakusa no Yon Shimai (Little Women) page