World Masterpiece Theater

Not to be confused with Masterpiece Theatre, the long-running primetime program on PBS that showcases BBC productions.

World Masterpiece Theater is a long-running series of anime adaptations of classic western literature by Nippon Animation most of the time, who were formerly known as Zuiyo Enterprise. Each year from 1975 to 1997, and again from 2007 to 2009, the company took a classic western novel and adapted it into a series of about 50 episodes. The different masterpiece series are, with the exceptions of the occasional sequels or Prequel, not connected with each other. Early installments in the series feature contributions by future superstars of the anime industry such as Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and even Yoshiyuki Tomino (yes, THAT Yoshiyuki Tomino). While all left by the end of the 1970s, the tradition they helped establish would continue for years.

While the series in general is aimed at children and many of the originals that got adapted were children's books, its themes and plots can be surprisingly mature - not to mention, surprisingly (or perhaps not) Japanese. Especially in the early years, when anime was little known in North America and Europe, the series stood in stark contrast to the traditional western animation. This may be part of the reason why most of these works are less known in English (for the most part, the series that did make it to the U.S. aired only on cable or pay TV or on religious stations), although many of them were big successes in Europe.

Established Nippon Animation as the go-to studio for anime adaptations of Western literary works, a tradition that extended into Laura, Girl of the Prairies, Future Boy Conan, Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds, Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics, Maya the Bee, and many more.

The entries into the series were:

• 1969 "Dororo" (Mushi Productions) (no, not that one) after the manga by Osamu Tezuka (not only the first entry in the series, but also the only one based on a Japanese manga)
  • The same year, "Moomin" (Tokyo Movie Shinsha for episodes 1 to 26, Mushi for the rest, also the only part of the World Masterpiece Theater to be done by TMS) premiered, after the book series by Finnish auther Tove Jansson; Jansson disowned the series due to its great divergence from the original works.
• 1971 "Andersen Stories" (Anderusen Monogatari) (Mushi); self-explanatory.
• 1972 "New Moomin" (Mushi) (closer to the original books than the previous series)
• 1973 "Rocky Chuck The Mountain Rat" (Yama Nezumi Rokki Chakku) (Last of the World Masterpiece Theater to be done by Mushi) after the "Johnny Chuck" series of books by American author Thornton Burgess. Dubbed into English by ZIV International as "Fables of the Green Forest"; the English and French dubs were popular on Canadian educational television.
• 1974 "Heidi, Girl of the Alps" (Arupusu no Shōjo Haiji) (Zuiyo Enterprise) after the Heidi series of 1880s novels by the Swiss author Johanna Spyri.
  • A clarification on the production of this series: The entirety of Heidi was done by Zuiyo Eizo. Zuiyo filed for bankruptcy in 1975 and their animation studio then became Nippon Animation, founded by producer Koichi Motohashi (while Dog of Flanders, as well as Maya the Bee and Vic the Viking, were already on the air). Zuiyo continued on as a separate entity from Nippon Animation, and has continued to hold the copyright of the Heidi anime ever since.
• 1975 "A Dog of Flanders" (Furandāsu no Inu) (Zuiyo Enterprise/Nippon Animation, and from there out, all of World Masterpiece Theater productions have been done by Nippon Animation) after the novel by the English novelist Marie Louise De la Ramée.
• 1976 "3000 Leagues in Search of Mother" (Haha o Tazunete Sanzen Ri) after the children's novel Heart by Italian author Edmondo De Amicis. Nippon Animation would later adapt another part of the same novel into a second (non-WMT) series, Ai no Gakko Cuore Monogatari (School of Love: Heart Stories), in 1981.
• 1977 "Rascal The Raccoon" (Araiguma Rasukaru) after the 1963 novel Rascal, A Memoir of a Better Era by Sterling North. The character of Rascal proved so popular he became an official mascot of Nippon Animation and has been prominently featured in lots of merchandise through the years.
• 1978 "The Story Of Perrine" (Perīnu Monogatari) based on the French novel Nobody's Girl by Hector Malot.
• 1979 "Red-haired Anne" (Akage no An) after the 1908 Novel Anne of Green Gables by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. This was the last in the series to feature contributions by Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata and Yoshiyuki Tomino, who all left the production partway through. An English dub was produced in South Africa in the early 1980s but did not air in North America; the Quebec-produced French dub, however, aired on Radio-Canada.
• 1980 "The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer" (Tomu Sōyā no Bōken) after the novel by American Mark Twain. Saban Entertainment dubbed the show into English and it began airing on HBO in 1988.
• 1981 "The Swiss Family Robinson Flone Of The Mysterious Island" (Kazoku Robinson Hyōryūki: Fushigi na Shima no Furōne) after the 1812 novel by Swiss Johann David Wyss. An English dub produced by the Intersound studio aired on The Family Channel (now Freeform) in 1989.
• 1982 "Lucy Of The Southern Rainbow" (Minami no Niji no Rūshī) based on Southern Rainbow by Australian writer Phyllis Piddington.
• 1983 "Alps Story: My Annette" (Watashi no Annetto) based on the children's book Treasures Of The Snow by Patricia St. John.
• 1984 "Katri Girl Of The Meadows" (Makiba no Shōjo Katori) based on the Finnish novel Paimen Piika Ja Emanta by Auni Nuolivaara.
• 1985 "Princess Sarah" (Shōkōjo Sēra) after the 1905 novel A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
• 1986 "The Story Of Pollyanna Girl Of Love" (Ai Shōjo Porianna Monogatari) after the 1913 novel Pollyanna by American novelist Eleanor H. Porter.
• 1987 "Love Story Of The Young Grass" (Ai no Wakakusa Monogatari) after the 1868 Novel Little Women by American author Louisa May Alcott. Saban Entertainment dubbed the show into English as Tales of Little Women, airing on HBO starting in 1988 alongside the WMT Tom Sawyer.
• 1988 "Little Prince Cedie" (Shōkōshi Sedi) after the 1886 Novel Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
• 1989 "Adventures of Peter Pan" (Pītā Pan no Bōken) after the novel by the Scottish writer J. M. Barrie. There are two separate English dubs of the series, one American and one Canadian; the Canadian dub was made by Saban.
• 1990 "My Daddy Long Legs" (Watashi no Ashinaga Ojisan) after the 1912 novel Daddy Long Legs by American writer Jean Webster.
• 1991 "Trapp Family Story" (Torappu Ikka Monogatari) based on The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, a memoir written by Maria Augusta von Trapp in 1949.
• 1992 "The Bush Baby" (Daisōgen no Chiisana Tenshi Busshu Beibī) after the 1965 novel The Bushbabies by Canadian author William Stevenson.
• 1993 Tale of Young Grass: Nan and Miss Jo (Wakakusa Monogatari: Nan to Jōsensei) after Louisa May Alcott's 1871 sequel Little Men to her novel Little Women.
• 1994 "Tico Of The Seven Seas" (Nanatsu no Umi no Tiko)an extremely loose adaptation of Moby Dick
• 1995 "Romeo's Blue Skies" (Romio no Aoi Sora) after a 1940 novel by Swiss writer Lisa Tetzner.
• 1996 "Famous Dog Lassie" (Meiken Rasshī) after the 1940 novel Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight.
• 1997 "Remi Nobody's Girl" (Ie Naki Ko Remi) after the novel Sans Famille by French writer Hector Malot.
• 2007 "Les Miserables: Girl Cosette" (Re Mizeraburu Shōjo Kozetto) after the 1862 Novel Les Misérables by French Author Victor Hugo.
• 2008 "The Long Journey Of Porphy" (Porufi no Nagai Tabi) after the novel The Orphans Of Simitra by French writer Paul-Jacques Bonzon.
• 2009 "Kon'nichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables" after the Anne of Green Gables prequel Before Green Gables written by Budge Wilson and published only the year before.

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The Series provides examples of:

• Bittersweet Ending: Many of the books adapted did not feature a happy end and the creators of the series generally saw no need to change that.
  • A Dog of Flanders is probably the worst offender, though the producers actually tried to make the original's heart-rending Downer Ending less painful after outcries from Japanese viewers pleaded for Nello and Patrasche to not die.
• Canon Foreigner: Some WMT serials introduce original characters, often to make the series more relatable to its young viewing audience, or (i.e. the slave John in Little Women) to clarify the historical context of the series. Flone (or Becca in the U.S. dub) of Swiss Family Robinson is one such character, introduced to appeal to girls, though she's unusual in that she's the series' main character.
  • Meanwhile, other major characters are sometimes Adapted Out. An example is Rascal the Raccoon, which added Canon Foreigners such as Alice Stevenson while adapting out Sterling's older brother Herschel.
• The Cast Showoff: If Mitsuko Horie was cast as the lead character (i.e. Judy Abbott or Remi), you can expect there to be some singing. Not only the theme songs, but Insert Songs as well.
• Ghibli Hills: Early entries into the series feature the talents of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, and it shows. Yoshifumi Kondo also worked as a character designer and/or animator on several of series, notably Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. Ghibli and Nippon Animation both often collaborated with Oh! Production.
• Gratuitous English: In some of the theme songs. The entire chorus of Rascal the Raccoon's opening song is even sung in English (by a children's choir who appear to be native speakers, no less).
• Heartwarming Orphan: Many of the series feature endearing orphaned protagonist. Examples include Anne, Heidi, Pollyanna, Jerusha 'Judy' Abbott from Daddy Long Legs and Remi.
• Merchandise Driven: As most installments in the franchise are aimed at kids (girls in particular), most were accompanied by lots of merch, especially storybooks, coloring books and paper dolls. Up to Eleven with Rascal the Raccoon, who, being a mascot of Nippon Animation, has even had his own video game.
• Parental Abandonment: if the main protagonist isn't a Heartwarming Orphan they are likely to be abandoned by their parents. Either the parents go missing, are forced to go away (i.e. the March sisters' father going off to fight in the Civil War in "Little Women," although their mother remains), or even actively sell their poor offspring into slavery.
  • Occurs at the end of Araiguma Rasukaru, when Sterling is forced to release Rascal back into the wild.
• Trauma Conga Line: Almost every title listed above is an example of this trope in action, with Shokojo Sera being the single most heartwrenching and painful.
• Uncanceled: In 2007, a decade after the first run of the franchise came to an end, although the franchise's broadcaster, Fuji TV, relegated the reboot to its BS Fuji satellite channel. No further installments have been made since 2009, though there was never an official second cancelation.

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Entries into this series provide examples of:

• Heroic Pet Story: Lassie pretty much is the Trope Maker for this so it can't be missing from the anime adapation.
• Robinsonade: The Swiss Family Robinson is not just based upon this trope it even admits it in the title.
• Yodel Land: Heidi is not just set there, the novels it and its approximately several thousand other adaptions helped to create the idyllic countryside of Yodel Land as we know it today. The Trapp Family Story which is based on the same source as The Sound of Music also has shades of this.