History Anime / WorldMasterpieceTheater

* From 1979 to 1980, Tokyo 12 (Creator/TVTokyo) had a series of anime programs called "Kirin Masterpiece Romance Theater" (Kirin being the sponsor), produced by DAX International, with each program set in Europe (except ''Kinpatsu no Jeanie'', which takes place in America during the Civil War) and having characters dealing with numerous hardships. While they were obviously done to compete with WMT, they differed in that three out of four shows done for the lineup were original stories developed by the Japanese studio. The shows were ''Anime/NobaraNoJulie'' ("Julie the Wild Rose"), ''Paris no Isabelle'' ("Isabelle of Paris"), ''Kinpatsu no Jeanie'' ("Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair", very loosely inspired by the Stephen Foster song of the same name but the story is wholly original otherwise), and ''Sasurai no Shôjo Nell'' ("Nell the Wandering Girl", based on "The Old Curiosity Shop" by Creator/CharlesDickens). Each show lasted 13 episodes, with the exception of "Nell", which ran for 26.

* GhibliHills: Early entries into the series feature the talents of Creator/HayaoMiyazaki and Creator/IsaoTakahata, and it shows.
** Also, Yoshifumi Kondo, who would go on to direct Anime/WhisperOfTheHeart, was a character designer on ''Anne of Green Gables'' and ''Little Women'' and worked as an animator on some of the other series.
** Yoshiharu Sato, character designer for ''Anime/MyNeighborTotoro'', worked in the same capacity on several WMT series including ''Pollyanna'' and ''Little Women II: Jo's Boys.''
** Creator/OhProduction also provided animation assistance for works by both Nippon Animation and Ghibli, resulting in much cross-pollination between the two studios.

''World Masterpiece Theater'' (''Sekai Meisaku Gekijou'', 世界名作劇場) is a [[LongRunner long-running]] series of anime adaptations of classic western literature broadcast on Creator/FujiTelevision and largely produced by Creator/NipponAnimation, who were formerly known as Zuiyo Enterprise until 1975. During the franchise's peak, each year the company took a classic novel (mainly from the West) 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.

* '''1980''' ''Anime/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer'' (Tomu Sōyā no Bōken) after [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer the novel]] by American Creator/MarkTwain. An English dub made by Creator/SabanEntertainment aired on Creator/{{HBO}} in 1989 and was later rerun on other cable channels.

* '''2007''' ''Anime/LesMiserablesShojoCosette'' (Re Mizeraburu Shōjo Kozetto) after the 1862 novel ''Literature/LesMiserables'' by French author Victor Hugo.

* WeAllLiveInAmerica:
** If you pay attention to many WMT shows closely, you'll notice that there some Japanese quirks included, such as [[JapanesePoliteness bowing to somebody else in apology]], [[YouNoTakeCandle spelling errors]] and characters reading books from right to left. For a series set in foreign countries, it feels strange and out-of-place.
** In Japanese dub, hearing some characters speak in any foreign language caused criticisms among some native speakers. Go on, try listening to the main character speak {{Engrish}} in Episode 34 of ''Anime/TheStoryOfPerrine'' - or Sarah Crewe speak French in ''Anime/PrincessSarah'' - for proof.

* HeartwarmingOrphan: Many of the series feature endearing orphaned protagonist. Examples include [[Literature/AnneOfGreenGables Anne]], Heidi, Literature/{{Pollyanna}}, Jerusha 'Judy' Abbott from ''Daddy Long Legs'' and Remi.

* ParentalAbandonment: If the main protagonist isn't a HeartwarmingOrphan, 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.

** In Japanese dub, hearing some characters speak in any foreign language caused criticisms among some native speakers. Go on, try listening to the main character speak {{Engrish}} in Episode 34 of ''Anime/TheStoryOfPerrine'' - or Sara Crewe speak French in ''Anime/PrincessSarah'' - for proof.

* '''1979''' ''Red-haired Anne'' (Akage no An) after the 1908 Novel ''Literature/AnneOfGreenGables'' by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. This was the last in the series to feature contributions by Creator/HayaoMiyazaki and Creator/IsaoTakahata. An English dub titled after the original novel was produced in South Africa.
* '''1980''' ''Anime/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer'' (Tomu Sōyā no Bōken) after [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer the novel]] by American Creator/MarkTwain. An English dub made by Creator/SabanEntertainment aired on U.S. cable television in the late 1980s.
* '''1981''' ''Anime/TheSwissFamilyRobinsonFloneOfTheMysteriousIsland'' (Kazoku Robinson Hyōryūki: Fushigi na Shima no Furōne) after the [[Literature/SwissFamilyRobinson 1812 novel]] by Swiss Johann David Wyss. An English dub titled after the original novel was made in 1989 in Los Angeles by Intersound, featuring many of the same voice actors who worked on ''Tom Sawyer'' and ''Little Women'' (although ''Robinson'' was not licensed by Saban).

* '''1987''' ''[[Anime/AiNoWakakusaMonogatari Love Story of the Young Grass]]'' (Ai No Wakakusa Monogatari) after the 1868 novel ''Literature/LittleWomen'' by American author Louisa May Alcott. Known as "Tales of Little Women" in its English dub version (made by Saban).

* '''1992''' ''Anime/TheBushBaby'' (Daisōgen no Chiisana Tenshi Busshu Beibī) after the 1965 novel ''The Bushbabies'' by Canadian author William Stevenson. Received an English dub recorded in Canada that aired on local TV stations in Ontario and Alberta.

** ''Anime/GrimmsFairyTaleClassics'' (aired on TV Asahi)

A similar series is ''Anime/GrimmsFairyTaleClassics'', also produced by Creator/NipponAnimation (and just one of many other anime adaptations of Western children's literature produced by that studio). Compare also to ''Animated Classics of Japanese Literature'', also by Nippon Animation, which presented [[AdaptationDistillation heavily condensed versions]] (generally one half-hour episode per story) of classic Japanese novels. Both of those shows aired on rival networks (Creator/TVAsahi and Creator/NipponTelevision, respectively).

** ''Anime/MayaTheBee'' (aired on NET (now TV Asahi))

** Nippon Animation adapted Paul Gallico's ''The Legend of Manxmouse'' into a TV special in 1979, followed by Boy Lornzen's ''Jakobus Nimmersatt'' (''Back to the Forest'') the following year. Both were broadcast on Fuji TV as part of a block of mostly-anime feature films called ''Nissei Family Special'' (sponsored by Nippon Life Insurance Company), which ran intermittently between 1979 and 1986 and included a number of other literary adaptations by other studios. These were the only two films in the series done by Nippon Animation, but they were both dubbed in English, as were several other titles by other studios, including Toei's takes on ''Literature/LesMiserables'' (1979) and ''Little Women'' (1980) and Tatsunoko's ''Daddy-Long-Legs'' (1979).[[note]] Almost all of the specials aired in the block were anime with the exception of a Japanese dub of ''WesternAnimation/MrBugGoesToTown''.[[/note]]

** Nippon Animation adapted Paul Gallico's ''The Legend of Manxmouse'' into a TV special in 1979, followed by Boy Lornzen's ''Jakobus Nimmersatt'' (''Back to the Forest'') the following year. Both were broadcast on Fuji TV as part of a block of mostly-anime feature films called ''Nissei Family Special'' (sponsored by Nippon Life Insurance Company), which ran intermittently between 1979 and 1986 and included a number of other literary adaptations by other studios. Both of the Nippon Animation products were dubbed into English, as were several other titles by other studios, including Toei's takes on ''Literature/LesMiserables'' (1979) and ''Little Women'' (1980) and Tatsunoko's ''Daddy-Long-Legs'' (1979).[[note]] Almost all of the specials aired in the block were anime with the exception of a Japanese dub of ''WesternAnimation/MrBugGoesToTown''.[[/note]]

** Nippon Animation adapted Paul Gallico's ''The Legend of Manxmouse'' into a TV special in 1979, followed by Boy Lornzen's ''Jakobus Nimmersatt'' (''Back to the Forest'') the following year. Both aired on the ''WMT'' main channel, Fuji TV, but neither was connected with the franchise. However, both were dubbed into English and got a U.S. release.

* Several other works featured in the WMT series have been adapted to anime by other studios on other occasions. For example, ''Little Women'' had had a TV special on Fuji TV in 1980 (produced by Creator/ToeiAnimation) and a 26-episode TV series on Tokyo 12 (now TV Tokyo) in 1981, and ''Les Miserables'' and ''Daddy-Long-Legs'' had both had TV-special adaptations in 1979 (by Toei and Creator/TatsunokoProduction respectively). To compound the confusion, the 1980 and 1981 ''Little Women'' adaptations, like the WMT version, both were dubbed in English and released in the United States.

* From 1979 to 1980, Tokyo 12 Channel (now known today as TV Tokyo) had a series of anime programs called "Kirin Masterpiece Romance Theater" (Kirin being the sponsor), produced by DAX International, with each program set in Europe (except ''Kinpatsu no Jeanie'', which takes place in America during the Civil War) and having characters dealing with numerous hardships. While they were obviously done to compete with WMT, they differed in that three out of four shows done for the lineup were original stories developed by the Japanese studio. The shows were ''Anime/NobaraNoJulie'' ("Julie the Wild Rose"), ''Paris no Isabelle'' ("Isabelle of Paris"), ''Kinpatsu no Jeanie'' ("Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair", very loosely inspired by the Stephen Foster song of the same name but the story is wholly original otherwise), and ''Sasurai no Shôjo Nell'' ("Nell the Wandering Girl", based on "The Old Curiosity Shop" by Creator/CharlesDickens). Each show lasted 13 episodes, with the exception of "Nell", which ran for 26.

* SeriesMascot: Rascal, who represents as a mascot of this franchise and the company [[Creator/NipponAnimation Nippon Animation.]]

** Nello, Marco, Sterling, Perrine, Anne, Sarah and Romeo are also prominently displayed in merchandises and exhibits in Japan. Sometimes, Flone, Tom and Alfredo receive this favorable treatment as well.

** ''Anime/AliceInWonderlandJP'' (aired on TV Tokyo)

* '''1973''' ''Anime/RockyChuckTheMountainRat'' (Yama Nezumi Rokki Chakku) (Zuiyo Enterprise) after the ''Literature/BurgessBedtimeStories'' by American author Thornton Burgess. Dubbed into English by ZIV International as "Fables of the Green Forest". Its Canadian broadcast (in both English and French) on TVO (Ontario's provincial public broadcaster) made it another of the few WMT series aired in English in North America.

* '''1980''' ''Anime/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer'' (Tomu Sōyā no Bōken) after [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer the novel]] by American Creator/MarkTwain.
* '''1981''' ''Anime/TheSwissFamilyRobinsonFloneOfTheMysteriousIsland'' (Kazoku Robinson Hyōryūki: Fushigi na Shima no Furōne) after the [[Literature/SwissFamilyRobinson 1812 novel]] by Swiss Johann David Wyss. An English dub titled after the original novel was made by the Los Angeles-based dubbing studio Intersound in 1989.

* '''1987''' ''[[Anime/AiNoWakakusaMonogatari Love Story of the Young Grass]]'' (Ai No Wakakusa Monogatari) after the 1868 novel ''Literature/LittleWomen'' by American author Louisa May Alcott. Known as "Tales of Little Women" in its English dub version (made by Creator/SabanEntertainment).

** ''Anime/MayaTheBee'' (aired on TV Asahi)

* Shuichi Seki also worked on shows for other studios, namely ''Anime/BelleAndSebastian'' and ''Literature/TheYearling'' (''Kojika Monogatari'') for Toho and Visual '80 (both aired on NHK) and ''Anime/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz" for Panmedia (aired on TV Tokyo). These all fit many of the ''WMT'' criteria but were not part of it.

''World Masterpiece Theater'' (''Sekai Meisaku Gekijou'', 世界名作劇場) is a [[LongRunner long-running]] series of anime adaptations of classic western literature broadcast on Creator/FujiTelevision and largely produced by Creator/NipponAnimation, who were formerly known as Zuiyo Enterprise until 1975. Each year the company takes a classic western novel and adapts 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.

* ''Kojika Monogatari'', an animated adaptation of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings's novel ''Literature/TheYearling'', released in 1983. Again, it fits in the WMT criteria but wasn't a part of it.
* ''Anime/BelleAndSebastian'', made in 1981. Character designer Shuichi Seki and many other WMT staff worked on this series, but it was made instead by Toho with the animation studio Visual 80.[[note]]Who, according to Anime News Network also made Kojika Monogatari.[[/note]]
* ''Anime/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'', made by the animation studio Panmedia in 1986 and known in the U.S. through its broadcasts on Creator/{{HBO}}. And again, featuring Shuichi Seki as the character designer.

** ''Anime/FutureBoyConan'' (aired on NHK), based on ''The Incredible Tide'' by Alexander Key

** In Japanese dub, hearing some characters speak in any foreign language caused criticisms among some native speakers. Go on, try listening to the main character speak {{Engrish}} in Episode 34 of ''Anime/TheStoryOfPerrine'' for proof.

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. Especially in the early years, when anime was little known in North America, the series stood in stark contrast to the traditional western animation. This may be part of the reason why relatively few entries in the series made it to the airwaves in the United States (despite many of the books being by American authors), and "Anne of Green Gables," despite being from a Canadian author, has never been on Canadian TV in English. Some of the series (including ''Anne'' and ''Princess Sarah'') do have English dubs that aired in Asia, South Africa or other territories and never in North America. Nevertheless, many of the installments in the series are well-known and loved in Europe and Latin America as well as in Japan.

* '''1992''' ''Anime/TheBushBaby'' (Daisōgen no Chiisana Tenshi Busshu Beibī) after the 1965 novel ''The Bushbabies'' by Canadian author William Stevenson.

* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ie_Naki_Ko Ie Naki Ko]]'': The first anime take on Hector Malot's ''Literature/SansFamille'', made by [[Creator/TMSEntertainment TMS]], and released through 1977 and 1978. It follows several of the traits and tropes that made the WMT popular, starting with being based on already famous non-Japanese media, but it never was a part of it.
* ''Anime/MischievousTwinsTheTalesOfStClares'' and ''[[Literature/LottieAndLisa The Two Lottes]]'', both made in the early '90s by TMS. Shuichi Seki, who worked on many WMT and other Nippon Animation series as a character designer, also did the designs for these series, giving them a very WMT look although they were made by a different studio. Both aired on Creator/NipponTV, suggesting that network was trying to create its own version of WMT with TMS as the participating studio.

* ''Anime/MischievousTwinsTheTalesOfStClares'' and ''[[Literature/LottieAndLisa The Two Lottes]]'', both made in the early '90s by TMS. Shuichi Seki, who worked on many WMT and other Nippon Animation series as a character designer, also did the designs for these series, giving them a very WMT look although they were made by a different studio.

* ''Anime/BelleAndSebastian'', made in 1981. Many WMT staff worked on this series - including a character designer whose work gives the series a very WMT feel - but it wasn't a Nippon Animation production, made instead by Toho with the animation studio Visual 80.[[note]]Who, according to Anime News Network also made Kojika Monogatari.[[/note]]

* '''1987''' ''[[Anime/AiNoWakakusaMonogatari Love Story of the Young Grass]]'' (Ai No Wakakusa Monogatari) after the 1868 Novel ''Literature/LittleWomen'' by American author Louisa May Alcott. Known as "Tales of Little Women" in its English dub version (made by Creator/SabanEntertainment).
* '''1988''' ''Anime/LittlePrinceCedie'' (Shōkōshi Sedi) after the 1886 Novel ''Literature/LittleLordFauntleroy'' by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

* Several other works featured in the WMT series have been adapted to anime by other studios on other occasions. For example, ''Little Women'' had had a TV special on Fuji TV in 1980 (produced by Creator/ToeiAnimation) and a 26-episode TV series on TV Tokyo in 1981, and ''Les Miserables'' and ''Daddy-Long-Legs'' had both had TV-special adaptations in 1979 (by Toei and Creator/TatsunokoProduction respectively). To compound the confusion, the 1980 and 1981 ''Little Women'' adaptations, like the WMT version, both were dubbed in English and released in the United States.

* '''1979''' ''Red-haired Anne'' (Akage no An) after the 1908 Novel ''Literature/AnneOfGreenGables'' by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. This was the last in the series to feature contributions by Creator/HayaoMiyazaki and Creator/IsaoTakahata.

* '''1981''' ''Anime/TheSwissFamilyRobinsonFloneOfTheMysteriousIsland'' (Kazoku Robinson Hyōryūki: Fushigi na Shima no Furōne) after the [[Literature/SwissFamilyRobinson 1812 novel]] by Swiss Johann David Wyss.

* '''1987''' ''[[Anime/AiNoWakakusaMonogatari Love Story of the Young Grass]]'' (Ai No Wakakusa Monogatari) after the 1868 Novel ''Literature/LittleWomen'' by American author Louisa May Alcott. Known as "Tales of Little Women" in its English dub version.