For Friday's screenshots, I wanted to share some images from Heidi, Girl of the Alps. I'm having a wonderful time watching the series, drinking in all the magnificent artwork, sumptous color, and remarkable naturalist detail. It easy to see why Heidi remains among the most beloved anime series in Japan.While the DVD box set doesn't include English subtitles, the story seems to be faithful to the Johanna Spyri's original novel, with a heady mix of romanticism and documentary realism. It's a landmark anime in many ways, and remains one of the great triumphs for Yasuji Mori (Animation Director), Yoichi Kotabe (Animation Director, Character Design), Hayao Miyazaki (layout, continuity), and Isao Takahata (director).
1 comment:
Heidi has a special place in my life. Television in South Africa was only launched in 1977, and we got a TV that same year, when I was 6. In 1978 the SABC aired all 52 episodes of Heidi (6 o' clock on Tuesday evenings), dubbed into Afrikaans. I was utterly hooked on it. It was rebroadcast in the early 80s. I didn't have an inkling it was made in Japan; in fact, it formed my first mental pictures of Europe. (Quite appropriately so, since Takahata and Miyazaki's outsiders' perspective of Europe mirrored my own.)
It was only around 2000, around the time of Princess Mononoke's release, that I realised it was a Miyazaki/Takahata production. (And therefore that their influence on me predates that of Disney.)
And only earlier this year, did I get my hands on the SABC's DVD releases of the Afrikaans show. Not a good transfer, but it didn't matter. It was the first I'd seen it in over 20 years, and I loved it just as much. Far from hating the Afrikaans dub, as I feared, it still sounded natural and I could appreciate the effort that went into it.
It's especially lucky that I got it, since I was mortified that the Japanese box set didn't contain English subtitles.
(Just remembered I wrote a timeline of my acquaintance with Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli here:
http://japan.fjordaan.net/03_ghibli.html )
Anyway, well done on your interesting and passionate website!
francois
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