Western-themed Anime: something for the kids

A few weeks ago, I listed anime that was inspired by Western themes or stories. Someone commented about a few noteworthy series that were missing from this list. And so, I decided to look around and put together a more expansive list of anime that were derived from Western stories. Given the number of interesting series that I found, I decided to extend this list and include series that were derived from a number of famous as well as little known stories.

And thus, here is the list of Western-themed anime series aimed at little children.

Heidi, the Girl of the Alps

This was of course dedicated to that well-known novel by Johanna Spyri. Also known as Alps no Sh?jo Heidi, this series was first broadcast in 1974. It tells the heart-warming tale of a little orphan who grows up with her grandfather in the Swiss Alps. It is quite a fun little story where Heidi wins over her sour old grandpa and runs around having adventures on her own.

Laura, a Little Girl on the Praire

Another anime dedicated to a classic! The original story was written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and depicts the way of life of a cozy little family in America in the later half of the 19th century. The Japanese version came out in 1975 and was a production undertaken by Nippon Animation.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Tom SawyerWhile the other two stories might be a bit dated for younger members of the audience, this one's bound to sound familiar. Who hasn't heard of this classic story by Mark Twain? Now, fans of the novel can check out the anime version of it. First released in 1980, this series was directed by Hiroshi Saitô. I've heard a lot of good reviews about this series. However, given that Mark Twain did touch upon topical issues, I am wondering how these themes were adapted to the Japanese version.

Apennines to the Andes

From what I have read about this, this one's probably going to be a tear-jerker. Well, it is tweaked to suit younger audiences so maybe the harsh realities have been toned down. The anime, which was released in 1976, was apparently based on an Italian novel for younger audiences. The book was called Heart and written by Edmondo De Amicis.

Here's what is somewhat disconcerting about the actual storyline: it seems that the writer was not impartial to weaving his own political beliefs into the plot. And if the Wiki description is anything to go by, the book had more than its share of nationalist themes within it. Fair enough, it was about a school boy but apparently the whole social situation of the era followed by social commentary might have crept into the book.

I am not sure how the anime was adapted. All reviews describe it as somewhat harmless and chances are, the messages specific to Italian society might have been lost in the adaptation process.

Pollyanna

Happy go lucky taleThe series is also known as Ai Shoujo Pollyanna Monogatari. It was originally broadcast in 1986. And yes, as you probably guessed, it is based on that rather popular story by Eleanor H. Porter. It was actually a wonderfully upbeat tale, especially when you are a kid. Life was always sunny and no matter what happened, it was the way you faced the world that mattered. I quite liked it when I was a kid but grew out of it as I grew older. Once again, it will be interesting to see the Asian version of a somewhat region-specific tale.