Lucy-May of the Southern Rainbow

Lucy-May of the Southern Rainbow
Cover art from the re-edited footage film DVD release
南の虹のルーシー
GenreHistorical drama, adventure
Written byAkira Miyazaki
Directed byHiroshi Saitô
Music byKōichi Sakata
Country of originJapan
Original languageJapanese
No. of episodes50
Production
Executive producerKōichi Motohashi
ProducerTakaji Matsudo
Production companiesNippon Animation
Fuji Television
Original release
NetworkFNS (Fuji TV)
Release10 January (1982-01-10) –
26 December 1982 (1982-12-26)

Lucy-May of the Southern Rainbow (南の虹のルーシー, Minami no Niji no Rūshī, "Lucy of the Southern Rainbow") is a Japanese anime series by Nippon Animation. This 1982 adaptation is part of the studio's World Masterpiece Theater franchise, based on the 1982 novel Southern Rainbow by Australian writer Phyllis Piddington.

Plot

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Set in the 1830s,[1][2] the series tells the story of a young girl named Lucy and the hardships and excitement she and her family encounter when they move from England to Adelaide in South Australia to start a farm.

Unusual elements

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Not only it is the first anime in the World Masterpiece Theater to have been broadcast while the author of the source material was still alive (followed by Story of the Alps: My Annette, The Bush Baby and Kon'nichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables), but it also is the only one to have aired when the original work wasn't finished yet. At the time of the broadcasting in Japan in 1982, Southern Rainbow was still in phase of serialization on an Australian family daily magazine, prior to be published as a book later that same year.[3] Another adaptation of the story, written by Ken Wakasaki as a tie-in to the anime, was also published in Japan in 1982.

Dubbing

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The anime has been dubbed into French, Italian, Arabic, Spanish, German, and Persian.

Characters

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Popple family

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  • Lucy-May Popple - the 7-year-old main character.
  • Kate Popple - Lucy-May's 10-year-old sister, she serves as narrator of the series.
  • Clara Popple - Lucy-May's 16-year-old sister and eldest sibling.
  • Ben Popple - Lucy-May's 12-year-old brother.
  • Tob Popple - Lucy-May's 2-year-old brother and youngest sibling.
  • Arthur Popple - Lucy-May's father.
  • Annie Popple - Lucy-May's mother.
  • Marsh - Lucy's pet hamster.

Others

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  • Billy Yumbling - a 10-year-old boy who's friends with Kate and Lucy-May.
  • Mr. Pettywell - a wealthy businessman who came on the same ship as the Popples.
  • Happy - Mr. Pettywell's dog.
  • Mr. Parker - a friend of Popple family.
  • John - a young sailor with a crush on Clara.
  • Mary and Fred - aunt and uncle of Lucy-May's who live with their Arthur's mother who live in Yorkshire, England.

Cast

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Episodes

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  1. To a New land
  2. Cute Fellow
  3. The Replacement
  4. First Exploration
  5. After the Rain
  6. A Town Named Adelaide
  7. Ben's Misfortune
  8. Night Before Departure
  9. Road to Adelaide
  10. Green Town
  11. My Small House
  12. Night at Adelaide
  13. Ben Has Arrived
  14. A Stout Man
  15. Two Homes
  16. Drenched Doctor
  17. Unfortunate Accident
  18. Tree Climbing
  19. Shopping Tine
  20. Water in the Well
  21. Adelaide's Designer
  22. Children of Brick and Dingo
  23. Your Name is Little
  24. The Day Which Marks The End Of Summer
  25. When I'm Not Brought Along
  26. I Got Sick!
  27. Ride on the Wind
  28. Land Opposite the River
  29. Little's Training
  30. Birthday Present
  31. Little and Black Dog
  32. Bridge over the Rainbow
  33. Lost Dream
  34. Little and School
  35. Duel
  36. Five Shillings in the Nest
  37. Bandits of the Grassland
  38. Detective Lucy
  39. Two Farewells
  40. Who Am I?
  41. A Town I Do Not Know, A Person I Do Not Recognize
  42. A Child Called Emily
  43. Missing Each Other
  44. Little! Little!
  45. Tob's Vanished
  46. A Wombat In The Hole
  47. Father's Decision
  48. Rich Child
  49. Clara's Marriage
  50. Toward's the Rainbow

Music

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  • Opening theme: "Niji ni Naritai" by Sumiko Yamagata
  • Ending theme: "Mori ni Oide" by Sumiko Yamagata

References

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  1. ^ "Phyllis Piddington". AustLit. 10 March 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  2. ^ Barbara Wall (1995). "A landscape of writing for children". In Butterss, Philip (ed.). Southwords. p. 14. ISBN 9781862543546. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  3. ^ "原作「南の虹」１". katri.world.coocan.jp. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
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