Lucy-May of the Southern Rainbow

Lucy-May of the Southern Rainbow (南の虹のルーシー) is a Japanese anime series by Nippon Animation. This 1982 adaptation is part of the studio's popular World Masterpiece Theater franchise, based on the 1982 novel Southern Rainbow by Australian writer Phyllis Piddington (1910–2001), and tells the story of a young girl named Lucy and the hardships and excitement she and her family encounter when they move from England to Adelaide in Australia to start a farm.

Not only it is the first anime in the World Masterpiece Theater to have been broadcast while the author of the source material was still alive (followed by Story of the Alps: My Annette, The Bush Baby and Kon'nichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables), but it also is the only one to have aired when the original work wasn't finished yet. At the time of the broadcasting in Japan in 1982, Southern Rainbow was still in phase of serialization on an Australian family daily magazine, prior to be published as a book later that same year. Another adaptation of the story, written by Ken Wakasaki as a tie-in to the anime, was also published in Japan in 1982.

The anime has been dubbed into French, Italian, Arabic, Spanish, German, and Persian.

Popple family

 * Lucy-May Popple - the 7-year-old main character.
 * Kate Popple - Lucy-May's 10-year-old sister. She serves as narrator of the series.
 * Clara Popple - Lucy-May's 16-year-old sister and eldest sibling.
 * Ben Popple - Lucy-May's 12-year-old brother.
 * Tob Popple - Lucy-May's 2-year-old brother and youngest sibling.
 * Arthur Popple - Lucy-May's father.
 * Annie Popple - Lucy-May's mother.
 * Marsh - Lucy's pet hamster.

Others

 * Billy Yumbling - a 10-year-old boy who's friends with Kate and Lucy-May.
 * Mr. Pettywell - A wealthy businessman who came on the same ship as the Popples.
 * Happy - Mr. Pettywell's dog.
 * Mr. Parker - a friend of Popple family.
 * John - a young sailor with a crush on Clara.
 * Mary and Fred - aunt and uncle of Lucy-May's who live with their Arthur's mother who live in Yorkshire, England.

Cast

 * Minori Matsushima as ルーシー・メイ (Lucy-May)
 * Ikuko Tani as Annie
 * Katsunosuke Hori as Arthur
 * Rihoko Yoshida as Kate

Episodes

 * 1) To a New land
 * 2) Cute Fellow
 * 3) The Replacement
 * 4) First Exploration
 * 5) After the Rain
 * 6) A Town Named Adelaide
 * 7) Ben's Misfortune
 * 8) Night Before Departure
 * 9) Road to Adelaide
 * 10) Green Town
 * 11) My Small House
 * 12) Night at Adelaide
 * 13) Ben Has Arrived
 * 14) A Stout Man
 * 15) Two Homes
 * 16) Drenched Doctor
 * 17) Unfortunate Accident
 * 18) Tree Climbing
 * 19) Shopping Tine
 * 20) Water in the Well
 * 21) Adelaide's Designer
 * 22) Children of Brick and Dingo
 * 23) Your Name is Little
 * 24) The Day Which Marks The End Of Summer
 * 25) When I'm Not Brought Along
 * 26) I Got Sick!
 * 27) Ride on the Wind
 * 28) Land Opposite the River
 * 29) Little's Training
 * 30) Birthday Present
 * 31) Little and Black Dog
 * 32) Bridge over the Rainbow
 * 33) Lost Dream
 * 34) Little and School
 * 35) Duel
 * 36) Five Shillings in the Nest
 * 37) Bandits of the Grassland
 * 38) Detective Lucy
 * 39) Two Farewells
 * 40) Who Am I?
 * 41) A Town I Do Not Know, A Person I Do Not Recognize
 * 42) A Child Called Emily
 * 43) Missing Each Other
 * 44) Little! Little!
 * 45) Tob's Vanished
 * 46) A Wombat In The Hole
 * 47) Father's Decision
 * 48) Rich Child
 * 49) Clara's Marriage
 * 50) Toward's the Rainbow

Music

 * Opening Theme: "Niji ni Naritai" by Sumiko Yamagata
 * Ending Theme: "Mori ni Oide" by Sumiko Yamagata