Wakakusa no Charlotte (若草のシャルロット, lit. Charlotte of the Young Grass) is an anime series produced by Nippon Animation Co. Ltd. It was first aired in Japan between October 29, 1977, and May 27, 1978, and is based on an original story by screenwriter Shun'ichi Yukimuro (as opposed to an existing manga).[1]
| Wakakusa no Charlotte | |
|---|---|
 Screenshot of the main characters | |
| 若草のシャルロット | |
| Genre | Historical drama, romance |
| Written by | Shun-ichi Yukimoro |
| Directed by | Eiji Okabe |
| Music by | Hiromasa Suzuki |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Original language | Japanese |
| No. of episodes | 30 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Akira Negoro |
| Production companies | Nippon Animation Asahi Broadcasting Corporation |
| Original release | |
| Network | ANN (ABC, TV Asahi) |
| Release | 29 October 1977 – 27 May 1978 |
While this series - Nippon Animation's first to target the shōjo audience, followed by Haikara-san ga Tōru - was taken off the air in Japan early due to mediocre ratings, it is a much-loved and well-known series in some European countries, particularly in Italy.
In the Philippines, it was aired by ABS-CBN in 1990s, Yey! in June 2017 and GMA Network in 2000s with some rebroadcasts since then and A2Z Channel, an ABS-CBN blocktime channel in 2021, every weekdays 4 pm (Philippine Standard Time, GMT+8), replacing My Patrasche. It also aired on MBC in South Korea, France on Mangas (TV channel) and La Cinq, Cable Kin in Mexico, America Television in Peru, Super3 in Catalonia and syndication in Italy.
Plot
editCharlotte was raised by her father, a former French nobleman, who is now living on a ranch in Quebec, Canada.
Although motherless, Charlotte was a happy girl until her 12th birthday, surrounded by a loving father and many friendly animals. On that day, however, a package arrives from her "mother", who was supposedly dead.
After Charlotte's father dies, this mother comes to live with her. At the same time, Charlotte meets a strange boy. This is only the beginning of many heartbreaking incidents in the little girl's life.[2]
Cast
edit- Ichirô Murakoshi as André Montburn, father of Charlotte who is the founder of ranch in Quebec, Canada. He died in an accident due to inclement weather while traveling to harbor to meet Charlotte's mother.
- Ichirô Nagai as Grampa
- Kaoru Kurosu as Cassie
- Kazue Komiya as Sammy
- Keiko Yokozawa as Charlotte
- Kôhei Miyauchi as Count
- Osamu Kato as Garcon
- Reiko Suzuki as Bella
- Rokuro Naya as Knight
- Toshiko Shimaki as Becky
- Toshiya Ueda as Jean
- Yasuo Muramatsu as Gordon
- Yoshito Yasuhara as Sandy
- Youko Matsuoka as Jim
- Yūko Mita as Katie
Also in the cast are Simone, mother of Charlotte; Milan, Knight's wicked sister who also hated Charlotte; Albert, Charlotte's wicked uncle; Marie, an adopted daughter of a French nobleman who has a deep hatred to Charlotte; Uncle Melville, an elder companion of Sandy who is fond of watching stars and was elected as a new captain in Charlotte's hometown; and Louis, a sick nobleman who is Marie's fiancée.
Episode list
edit| Episode | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | It happened one birthday | October 29, 1977 |
| 2 | I don't need a mother | November 5, 1977 |
| 3 | Go away, bad dreams! | November 12, 1977 |
| 4 | Spica, the star shining in my heart | November 19, 1977 |
| 5 | Papa's alive | November 26, 1977 |
| 6 | Dream carriage from heaven | December 3, 1977 |
| 7 | Queen of the farm | December 10, 1977 |
| 8 | Knight in the snow | December 17, 1977 |
| 9 | A Christmas letter | December 24, 1977 |
| 10 | Snow festival to usher in spring | January 7, 1978 |
| 11 | Messenger from Paris | January 14, 1978 |
| 12 | Little wings on the Atlantic | January 21, 1978 |
| 13 | The day I'll meet mother | January 28, 1978 |
| 14 | I hate aristocrats | February 4, 1978 |
| 15 | The morning I met mother | February 11, 1978 |
| 16 | Reunion | February 18, 1978 |
| 17 | 75% happiness | February 25, 1978 |
| 18 | A little fountain in the blaze | March 4, 1978 |
| 19 | Goodbye to Paris | March 11, 1978 |
| 20 | Little farm in the middle of the ocean | March 18, 1978 |
| 21 | Dear old Andre farm | March 25, 1978 |
| 22 | The light of papa's farm goes out | April 1, 1978 |
| 23 | My first camping | April 8, 1978 |
| 24 | Two battles | April 15, 1978 |
| 25 | News from Flock | April 22, 1978 |
| 26 | Marie in the sunset | April 29, 1978 |
| 27 | Papa's ghost | May 6, 1978 |
| 28 | Mama becomes mayor | May 13, 1978 |
| 29 | Parting in the flowered woods | May 20, 1978 |
| 30 | Beautiful May!!! | May 27, 1978 |
Music
edit| Title | English title | Performer | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wakakusa no Charlotte | Charlotte of the Young Grass | Kumiko Kaori | Opening theme |
| Mei Furawaa[3] | Mayflower | Kumiko Kaori | Ending theme |
References
edit- ^ Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 44. ISBN 9781476672939.
- ^ Nippon Animation: Catalogue
- ^ Anime Lyrics dot Com – Anime – Wakakusa no Charlotte
External links
edit- Charlotte @ Nippon Animation
- Charlotte (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Wakakusa no Charlotte at IMDb
- Charlotte @ Animated Divots