Dog of Flanders | |
Cover art for Kodansha English Library book version of the TV series | |
フランダースの犬 (Furandāsu no Inu) | |
---|---|
Genre | Drama, Historical |
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Yoshio Kuroda |
Produced by | Junzō Nakajima Shigehito Takahashi Takaji Matsudo |
Written by | Hideo Rokushika Isao Matsuki Ryūzō Nakanishi |
Music by | Takeo Watanabe |
Studio | Nippon Animation |
Original network | Fuji TV Longman Video (1984) |
Original run | January 5, 1975 – December 28, 1975 |
Episodes | 52 |
Anime film | |
The Dog of Flanders: The Movie | |
Directed by | Yoshio Kuroda |
Produced by | Junzō Nakajima |
Written by | Miho Maruo |
Music by | Tarō Iwashiro |
Studio | Nippon Animation |
Licensed by | Geneon USA |
Released |
|
Runtime | 103 minutes |
Dog of Flanders (フランダースの犬, Furandāsu no Inu) is a 1975 Japanese animated television series adaptation of Ouida's 1872 novel of the same name, produced by Nippon Animation. 52 episodes were produced.[1] A film version was released in 1997.
The series represents the bond between a boy and his ever so faithful dog living in 19th century north Holland. The emotional story shows the boy's struggles in life as his grandfather dies and leaves him with his dog. It shows how the hopes of becoming a great classical painter have been seemingly crushed by his grandfather's passing and the way he takes after that tragedy.
The anime series is also notable for being the first official entry in the World Masterpiece Theater series (Calpis Children's Theater at the time) after Zuiyo Eizo and Nippon Animation division, although some episodes in the series were still produced by Zuiyo.
The animators conducted extensive research on 19th century Flanders. Although it has to be said that a lot of features in the series are not Flemish but typically Dutch (the girl's hat and the tulips for example).[citation needed] The buildings depicted in the series were modeled after the Bokrijk open-air museum.[citation needed]. Although there have been some changes from the original story by Marie Louise de la Ramée, it has been faithful in keeping the storyline accurate.
Dog of Flanders aired on Fuji TV between January 5 and December 28, 1975. It was repeated daily in early mornings in 2012.
A film, titled The Dog of Flanders: The Movie (劇場版 フランダースの犬, Gekijōban Furandāsu no Inu) was released in March 1997. It was distributed by Shochiku. It grossed ¥243,543,645 at the box office. The film was released on VHS in 1999 and later released on DVD in March 2000.
Voices for orphan children provided by Jessica Evans, Dylan Hart, Sophie Lechken, Alex Mandelberg, Bryce Papenbrook.
The main opening theme song "Yoake-no Michi" (よあけのみち) has always been popular in Japan since the series' debut. It was featured in a daydream sequence in the live action adaptation of Nodame Cantabile, starring Juri Ueno and Hiroshi Tamaki, with the character of Nodame singing the song while taking a bath. It was also used in the anime adaptation of Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- as protagonist Subaru Natsuki's ringtone.[2]