Heidi, Girl of the Alps English Fansub Translation

Heidi, Girl of the Alps is the landmark 1974 anime television series created by Isao Takahata, Hayao Miyazaki and Yoichi Kotabe. It was a tremendous success in Japan and helped to spawn an entire genre of literary-based cartoon dramas, sparking the World Masterpiece Theater to prominence for years and inspiring generations. Outside of Japan, Heidi also became a beloved childhood favorite, as the series was exported to nearly every corner of the globe.

That is, of course, every place on the globe except the United States. For reasons that remain unknown, Heidi was never brought to our shores, meaning that we missed out on what all the other kids were enjoying these past 45 years.

Thankfully, after many years of dedication and hard work, an English fan translation, or "fansub", was completed by Silver Zero Subs. Using the Japanese Blu-Ray box set as a video source, Heidi has never looked or sounded better, offering crisp picture displays that burst with color and detail. And finally being able to enjoy this series in English is a genuine thrill.

You can find a copy of the Heidi English fansub at the Silver Zero Subs download page. This series has also been posted onto YouTube, but we should probably expect the copyright robots to take those videos down, sooner or later.

As always, I would be thrilled to see Heidi given a commercial release here in the States. GKIDS would be my best choice, and their biggest challenge would be to find a television or streaming network to broadcast all 52 episodes. As we are now entering the next stage of the "streaming wars," perhaps this is the opportunity to strike. Oh, well, it likely won't ever happen, but it's good to dream.

In any case, download Heidi while you can and enjoy this all-time classic.

Heidi, Girl of the Alps - Silver Zero Subs English Fansub