Little Women (1981 TV series)

Little Women, also known as Little Women's Four Sisters (若草の四姉妹) or From "Little Women Story": Little Women's Four Sisters (「若草物語」より 若草の四姉妹), is a 1981 Japanese animated television series adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's 1868-69 two-volume novel 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 Eiga-sha (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 of 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 Tales of Little Women, 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, and Meg in the 1987 series.

Characters

 * Jo (ジョー)


 * Meg (メグ)


 * Beth (ベス)


 * Amy (エミー)


 * Father (父)


 * Mother (母)


 * Hannah (ハンナ)


 * Lawrence (ローレンス)


 * Laurie (ローリー)


 * Narrator (ナレーター)

Staff

 * Series director: Kazuya Miyazaki
 * Script: Eiichi Imado
 * Character designs: Joji Kikuchi
 * Animation directors: Joji Kikuchi, Takeshi Shirado
 * Backgrounds: Tadami Shimokawa

Music

 * Openings
 * 1) "Where There's Happiness" (しあわせさがして)
 * 2) *April 7, 1981 - September 29, 1981
 * 3) *Lyricist: Jun Takita / Composer: Takeo Watanabe / Arranger: Yushi Matsuyama / Singers: Mitsue Kondo
 * 4) *Episodes: 1-26


 * Endings
 * 1) "Jo's Dream" (ジョーの夢)
 * 2) *April 7, 1981 - September 29, 1981
 * 3) *Lyricist: Juzo Tsubota, Jun Takita / Composer: Takeo Watanabe / Arranger: Yushi Matsuyama / Singers: Mitsue Kondo
 * 4) *Episodes: 1-26

Broadcast
This TV series aired on Tokyo Channel 12 from April 7 to September 29, 1981, totaling 26 episodes. It aired from 18:00 to 18:30 on Tuesdays. While this series has been released on VHS, it has not been released on DVD in Japan due to the original film negatives being damaged.