(Little Women) Anime some of you might have seen

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Hey all. Got a question.

Many years ago (about early 90s), there was a cartoon TV series that aired on HBO called Little Women. Yes, it is an anime adaptation of the famous book. Anyway, it lasted about 40-50 episodes (maybe) and it was generally faithful to the book--right down to one of the sisters dying of sickness, which occurred in the middle of the show (it was in the last half of the book, IIRC).

Was wondering if any of you perchance might have caught a few episodes of it. (Yes, it was dubbed)

According to some personal research, the anime also aired in a couple of Christian channels in the United States in 1999. Some of them may still be airing it.

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Okay, I don't expect anyone to have actually seen it, let alone remember seeing it, let alone be INTERESTED in seeing it (I went on 3 anime forums and rec.arts.anime.misc to ask about it. Replies: Zero. So it just goes to show that nobody wants to watch 'family' anime shows, even hardcore anime fans!), but maybe I can help jog a foggy memory. The show looked like this:


Little Women (http://www.xanth.de/alcott/pic_e.htm)

[Calhoun07]

Dude, I HAVE AN INTEREST!!!!!

I love family drama anime, and am troubled by how little of it there actually is. The only three titles I have been able to find so far is Dog of Flanders, Grave of the Firefiles, and Rail to the Stars. I WANT to see EVERY anime title you have talked about on these boards, but I don't have HBO so I could never have possibly seen Little Women. Or Princess Sara (was that the other title you mentioned??). And there are others, such as Anne of Green Gables. Most of these are available in region 2 on DVD. Actually, check out any given region two dvd site and search for anime and you will find more diverse titles than is available in America (don't get me started on the rant I have that while people are stereotyping Disneyesque animation, anime fans [most of whom hate Disney] are doing the SAME THING with their style, stereotyping anime and leaving little or no room for the kind of animation that you and I would love to see).

Anyway, I have been tempted at times to get a region two DVD player but just can't justify the expense of getting adapters to watch PAL on my American TV I just haven't had the energy or money to do it. It just upsets me at all the different kinds of anime available in region two but we get too much of the same kind of thing over and over again here in America.

Hey, Larry, if nobody else on this board is interested, contact me by PM if you find out anything more. I will do the same for you!

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Don't they have all-region DVD players? I know some stores carry something like them.

It just goes to show that anime companies only bring over things people are interested in. Obviously, there are people like you, me, and a small minority who want more family anime released on Region 1 DVD, but obviously not enough to ensure profit.

The Anne of Green Gables anime aired up here in Canada on the french CBC once, I think, and they also aired Mysterious Cities of Gold, which is an old Nickolodeon favourite. I also wish they'd air Rose of Versailles, which was also dubbed into french, I believe.

Heck, I just want someone to dub these family anime and put it on TV where people can see them. If PBS wants to actually get some kids' shows with *teeth* in them (sorry, Arthur is entertaining but hardly a show of significant educational or meaningful value and Teletubbies is anything but educational), they could air a bunch of World Masterpiece Theatre shows. They don't teach you ABC's (and PBS doesn't even air shows that do anymore), but they certainly touch upon more ambitious subjects children may wonder about such as death, poverty, and sadness rather than your typical "Who stole my blankie?" storyline.

I still believe Little Princess Sara was the apex of the World Masterpiece Theatre line, though. It aired at a time when Nippon animation had a lot of money, so they could get top notch talent and great-for-tv animation budgets. And for a kid's show, it was unusually grim and intense--without resorting to explosions or random acts of violence!

BTW--Little Women also airs or has aired in some Christian family channels in California, I think. It may also air in religious channels elsewhere. PAX TV should consider building a children's block around it.

Anyway, I'll let this thread sit for a while just in case anyone has anything to add or anything to ask. I'll contact you by PM if I have anything else to discuss.

[Calhoun07]

Originally posted by Leap Larry Jojo
Don't they have all-region DVD players? I know some stores carry something like them.

Yes, but unfortunately, many movie companies are releasing DVDs encoded to NOT play in region free DVD players. It sucks, let me tell you. For all the dumb class action suits being filed, why doesn't somebody sue over region coding? I can see it for new releases that haven't yet hit theaters in other countries, but for catalogue titles, and these anime titles...it makes no sense.

There are some region free DVDs of anime you might find on ebay but you would be hard pressed to find them with even English subtitles.

[killercroc]

Originally posted by Leap Larry Jojo
I think, and they also aired Mysterious Cities of Gold, which is an old Nickolodeon favourite.

Hey! I remember that. I didn't realize it was anime at the time. Now that I think about it, though, I guess it was. Personally, though, I didn't care for it much.

[LadyEboshiGozen]

I've seen a couple of episodes of Little Women on a local channel in my area, WTVE (Pennsylvanina). It was on as part of a Christian broadcasting lineup every Saturday at 8:30 until recently, when the timeslot was replaced by the anime version of "Swiss Family Robinson." It seems to be part of a cycle of shows, but I have no way to contact the station for any more information. Sorry :9 :( :(


Side note: if anybody is looking for a good source of fansubbed doramas, look up www.technogirls.org and sign up (distribution is limited to members only).

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Originally posted by LadyEboshiGozen
I've seen a couple of episodes of Little Women on a local channel in my area, WTVE (Pennsylvanina). It was on as part of a Christian broadcasting lineup every Saturday at 8:30 until recently, when the timeslot was replaced by the anime version of "Swiss Family Robinson." It seems to be part of a cycle of shows, but I have no way to contact the station for any more information. Sorry :9 :( :(


Did you by any chance see the episode where Beth (I think that's the one) died? Or any of them after?

A lot of Christian channels tend to air these three: Little Women, Swiss Family Robinson, and Tom Sawyer.

Wish somebody would go and dub Little Princess Sara, Pollyanna or Romeo's Blue Skies, but obviously someone has to have the incentive to go and do it...

[Vigo Sprax]

Originally posted by calhoun07
For all the dumb class action suits being filed, why doesn't somebody sue over region coding? I can see it for new releases that haven't yet hit theaters in other countries, but for catalogue titles, and these anime titles...it makes no sense.

Both Australia and Europe (Perhaps it was the European Union?) are looking into this, basing it on the fact that it allows the companies to fix prices and limit whats available.

Best deal is to get a cheap computer for this and install some software which turns off the limit on how many times you can change its region coding.

[LadyEboshiGozen]

http://www.pelleas.net/wmt/

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Originally posted by LadyEboshiGozen
http://www.pelleas.net/wmt/

Yeah, I have used the site. I want to find some people who have actually seen most of the series, though. The English version, that is.