Remi, Nobody's Girl

Remi, Nobody's Girl
家なき子レミ; (Ie Naki Ko Remi)
Genre	Adventure, historical, slice of life story
Anime television series
Directed by	Kōzō Kuzuha
Written by	Man Shimada
Studio	Nippon Animation
Original network	Fuji TV, Animax
English network	SEA: Animax Asia;
Original run	September 1, 1996 – March 23, 1997
Episodes	26

Remi, Nobody's Girl (Japanese: 家なき子レミ, Hepburn: Ie Naki Ko Remi) is a 26-episode Japanese anime television series by Nippon Animation, broadcast from 1996 to 1997 across Japan on the Fuji Television network as an installment to Nippon Animation's famed World Masterpiece Theater series. The show was directed by Kusaba Kouzo, written by Man Shimada with character design by Ooshiro Katsu. The story is adapted from Sans famille, an 1878 French novel, written by Hector Malot (adapted previously to anime in 1977, titled Nobody's Boy: Remi). This version made major changes from the book, including changing the gender of the main character or the "Swan" chapter, along with many other main events.

The show began airing on September 1, 1996, but was canceled by Fuji TV on account of low ratings. It ended on March 23, 1997, with a total episode count of 26 episodes. The series was later aired by the anime satellite television network, Animax, who translated and dubbed the series into English for broadcast across its respective English-language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia, under the title Remi, Nobody's Girl, as well as other languages.

Story

Remi, Nobody's Girl tells the story of Remi, a cheerful and tender-hearted young girl, who is a singer and lives in a French country town of Chavanon with her mother. One day her father returns to the town after a long period working away from home in a city. She discovers that she is a "foundling" or an abandoned child and was adopted by Mother Barberin. Her foster father, Jerome leaves to work in Paris and expects Mother Barberin to send Remi to the workhouse. He returns 10 years later and finds that Remi is still there, and becomes furious and Remi is almost sold to an evil slave trader.

It is Vitalis, a strolling entertainer, who helps Remi. Vitalis discovers her talent for singing and decides to take her in with his troupe. Remi starts her journey with Vitalis and his troupe of animals such as the monkey Georicoule and the dogs Capi, Dolce, and Zelbino. On her journeys with Vitalis and his company, she must endure and overcome many difficulties while looking for her real family.

Characters

Remi Barberin (レミ・バルブラン, Remi Baruburan): Voiced by: Mitsuko Horie (Japanese); Andrea Kwan (English); A bright and energetic 10-year-old girl, she was raised in a French village called Chavanon, but she does not know where she was born. She is also a singer.

Anne Barberin (アンヌ・バルブラン, Annu Baruburan): Voiced by: Kumiko Hironaka; Her husband, Jerome, found Remi as an abandoned baby on a street corner of Paris. Afterwards, Jerome leaves to work in Paris, and Anne raises Remi in secret.

Nana Barberin (ナナ・バルブラン, Nana Baruburan): Voiced by: Junko Shimakata; Remi's foster little sister, she is the real child of Anne Barberin.

Jerome Barberin (ジェローム・バルブラン, Jerōmu Baruburan): Voiced by: Masahiko Tanaka; Remi's foster father, Jerome found Remi as an abandoned baby. He goes away to Paris to work and expects his wife to get rid of Remi and send her to the workhouse. He returns ten years later because of a work injury and sells Remi to Pollinel for money.

Rosette (ルーセット, Rūsetto): The family cow, which is sold as a payment.

Vitalis (ヴィタリス, Vitarisu): Voiced by: Fubito Yamano (Japanese); Rik Thomas (English); The owner of three dogs and a monkey, Vitalis is a performer who travels throughout France. He is skilled at playing the violin. At first glance, he appears frightful, but he is very kind. He taught Remi to read and write because she doesn't go to school.

Milligan (ミリガン婦人): Voiced by: Eiko Yamada; An English lady who in Toulouse meets Remi and believes that Vitalis is innocent. She searches for her own daughter who was stolen not long after birth. Actually, it turned out that Remi is her real daughter.

Arthur (アーサー, Āsā): Voiced by: Yumi Touma; Mrs. Milligan's son who is paralyzed and in a wheelchair. He becomes good friends with Remi and is also the brother of Remi.

Nelly (ネリー, Nerī): Voiced by: Megumi Hayashibara

Mattia (マチア, Machia): Voiced by: Shinobu Adachi; One of the boys who has lived with Gaspard, he is the leader of the children. He is good at playing the violin. His parents passed away when he was young before being in a circus performer, and then later sold to Gaspard. He became attached to Remi because of her kindness and gentleness. They promised to be together forever and in the last episode he promised to work hard so that he can be in same social status and ask Remi to be with him forever.

Lise (リーズ, Rīzu): Voiced by: Mika Nakai; One of the Children who has lived with Gaspard, she is the Little Sister of Mattia.

Ricardo (リカルド, Rikarudo): Voiced by: Hiro Yuuki; One of the boys who has lived with Gaspard, he is a friend of Mattia.

Marcel (マルセル, Maruseru): Voiced by: Kyoko Tsuruno

Maria (マリア, Maria): Voiced by: Kae Araki; She is Remi's good friend.

Gaspard (ガスパール, Gasupāru): Voiced by: Nobuaki Fukuda; A cruel and greedy man, and the main antagonist in episodes 14 to 26, he forces homeless children to work for money and treats them like slaves. He collects money from them for his own purposes. He is based on Garofoli from the original story.

Capi (カピ, Capi): A dog of Vitalis' company, he has a sense of responsibility and has very strong and leadership qualities. His name comes from the Italian word "capitale".

Zerbino (ゼルビーノ, Zerubino): A dog of Vitalis' company, he is known as the cool one. Zerbino is the Italian word for "doormat".

Dolce (ドルチェ, Dorushi): A dog of Vitalis' company, she becomes attached to everyone. The name "dolce" is the Italian word for "sweet".

Joli-Coeur (ジョリクール, Jorikūru): Voiced by: Chie Sato; The monkey in Vitalis' company, he acts almost like a human and is a natural entertainer. He is also michievous.

Episodes

1. La gara di canto (The Singing Contest)
2. Il signor Vitali (Signor Vitali)
3. La compagnia teatrale del signor Vitali (Signor Vitali's Troop)
4. Un regalo favoloso (A Wonderful Gift)
5. Il miracolo di Maria (Mary's Miracle)
6. La piccola Sara (The Little Sara)
7. Il rapimento di Cai (The Kidnapping of Capi)
8. L'incedio (The Fire)
9. Incontro col destino (The Meeting With Fate)
10. L'incidente di Arthur (Arthur's Incident)
11. Un nuovo viaggio (A New Journey)
12. Il sentiero di montagna (The Mountain Path, a recap episode)
13. Addio sulla neve (Farewell In The Snow)
14. Il viaggio solitario (The Solitary Journey)
15. Nuovi amici (New Friends)
16. La gattina smarrita (The Lost Kitten)
17. Persi nel labirinto (Lost In The Labirint)
18. Madre e figlia vicine e lontane (Mother And daughter Close and Distant)
19. La famiglia girovaga (The Traveling Family)
20. L'amica del cuore (The Bosom Friend)
21. Il violino (The Violin)
22. Paura nella minera (Fear In The Mine)
23. Il desiderio (The Wish)
24. Amore diviso in duo (Shared Love)
25. La fuga (The Escape)
26. La mamma (The Mother)

Music

Opening theme

Ai ni Tsuite / "About Love" (愛について)

Lyrics: Masashi Sada; Composition and arrangement: Katsuhisa Hattori; Performance: Masashi Sada
Ending theme

Shiawase no Yokan / "Foreboding Happiness" (しあわせの予感)

Lyrics: Fumiko Okada

Composition and arrangement: Katsuhisa Hattori

Performance: Youca

References

External links

Nippon Animation's official website Archived 2008-12-04 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese)
Remi, Nobody's Girl (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia