Line #13 Anime/ADogOfFlanders1975


1	[[quoteright:346:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dog_of_flanders_1975_tv_series_1.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:346:The anime that made Japanese children cry for generations]]
3	''A Dog of Flanders (フランダースの犬, Furandāsu no Inu)'' is a 1975 anime series produced by ''Anime/WorldMasterpieceTheater'' and directed by Masao Kuroda. It is based on the 1872 story ''Literature/ADogOfFlanders'' by [[Creator/{{Ouida}} Marie Louise de la Ramée]].
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5	Set in UsefulNotes/{{Belgium}}, it tells the tale of Nello, little Nello, an orphan boy who loses his mother. He is taken in by his kindly grandfather Jehan, and works as a milk deliverer as a living. One day, Nello finds a little dog and names him Patrasche. Very quickly, [[ABoyAndHisX the boy and the dog]] become best friends and Patrasche even helps Nello deliver milk, while joining him in his day to day activities, be it his love for drawing or hanging out with his best friend Alois. Together they try to adapt to their new life in the village and traversing the many losses that come their way.
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7	The anime began airing on January 5, 1975 and ended on December 28, 1975, after 52 episodes.
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9	Because the original ''Literature/ADogOfFlanders'' story is big, big, '''big''' in Japan, this was one of their most popular entries, with Japanese children crying over the story and begging WMT for a different ending. This anime's final scene is [[https://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/14224624/ said to be]] the most moving scene in all of Japanese television.
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11	This series is also stated by some to be the first ever ''Anime/WorldMasterpieceTheater'' series, because back when it released prior anime, it went by the name ''Calpis Children's Theater''.
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13	In 1997, the series was remade into a movie, which was actually released in the United States by Pioneer Entertainment, but cut out some footage. The film was released on March 15, 1997 in Japan and March 7, 2000 in the United States.
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15	Not to be confused with the 1992 anime "My Patrasche", created by TMS and directed by Kenji Kodama, which is also adapted from this book.
16	----
17	!!''A Dog Of Flanders'' (1975) has examples of:
18	* AdaptationalAlternateEnding: [[spoiler: Sort of. While Nello and Pastrache die, they are at least reunited with their loved ones in Heaven. In the original story, there's no mention of an afterlife.]]
19	* AdaptationDistillation:
20	** The drawing Nello submits in the competition was a picture of Jehan and Patrasche, but in the original story it was a picture of the woodcutter Michel.
21	** [[spoiler: All the villagers notice that Nello is missing and immediately try to find him, compared to the original story where they didn't notice he was gone until they found both the boy and dog's corpses in the snow]].
22	* AdaptationExpansion: There's more focus on Nello and Alois' friends across the village here, and they help define their social lives. Nello even gets a best friend in George who helps him communicate to Alois when her father forbids them from seeing each other.
23	* AdaptationalFriendship: In the original ''Literature/ADogOfFlanders'' story by [[Creator/{{Ouida}} Marie Louise de la Ramée]], Alois was a beautiful woman Nello fell in love with when out one day. Here Nello and Alois are already best friends, and all of Baas' DatingWhatDaddyHates traits are portrayed as a hatred towards their platonic relationship. That's not to say the romance doesn't exist (it absolutely does), but the anime focuses on their friendship aspect more than anything.
24	* AerithAndBob: One of the nods that George and Paul are {{Canon Foreigner}}s is that they don't have traditional Belgian-sounding names like "Nello", "Alois", "Jehan", "Ensor" and "Baas".
25	* ArtisticLicenseGeography: Even though this anime takes place in UsefulNotes/{{Belgium}}, with the tulips, windmills and architecture you'd be forgiven for thinking it takes place in the UsefulNotes/{{Netherlands}} instead.
26	* ArtisticLicenseHistory: The German version of the theme song has the lyric "You know Rembrandt and Rubens, and they all painted in Flanders"[[note]]''Euch sind Rembrandt und Rubens bekannt, und sie malten alle im Flandernland''[[/note]]. But Rembrandt was a Dutch painter who worked in Holland. This error isn't in the original Japanese OP.
27	* AllAbusersAreMale: Alois' father is strict and treats her harshly in the name of discipline, even barring her from seeing Nello because of their class difference, but her mother is sweet and caring and supports him and Alois' friendship. Patrasche's old owner was also an abusive alcoholic man.
28	* AllJustADream: [[spoiler: One possible interpretation of the ending since it has angels carry Nello and Patrasche. Nello was simply passed out, and dreamed of them since he's an artist, and many classical paintings depict angels. [[BlatantLies This totally isn't because we're upset about his death and are trying to make ourselves feel better!]]]]
29	* AlternativeForeignThemeSong:
30	** In Germany, the series was called ''Niklaas, ein Junge aus Flandern'' and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vsrzr-BmNLU theme song]] was sung by Katja Ebstein.
31	** In Korea, the series was called ''프란다스의 개 (Flanders Dog)'' and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2mpeWjw5Xs theme song]] was sung by an unknown female singer.
32	* AnyoneCanDie: [[spoiler: Including children and dogs - and yes, Nello and Patrasche do die]].
33	* BigFancyHouse: Alois Cogez, the daughter of the wealthiest man in town, lives in a large mansion, and has a personal butler who tends to her.
34	* BirthdayEpisode: Episode 23 is Alois' birthday, and she invites almost the whole neighbourhood. Nello gifts Alois her favourite flowers, remembering she mentioned them a while back. When Alois thanks him, he explains Patrasche found them, so Alois rewards the dog with a huge meal.
35	* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Nello (blonde), George (brunette), Paul (redhead). George and Paul are brothers, while Nello became their friend after saving Paul from drowning.
36	* {{Bowdlerise}}:
37	** Downplayed, but the Italian dub removed two episodes because they were too disturbing for their child audiences.
38	** The English version of the 1997 movie cut some scenes, such as Ensor abusing Patrasche and downplaying Nello's romance with Alois, but still kept the DownerEnding.
39	* CapitalismIsBad:
40	** Nello and his grandfather live in excruciating poverty and their attempts to climb out of it define a good part of the story. [[spoiler: Hans is also a cruel, greedy landlord who desires the Cogez family's wealth, and frames Nello for a fire because he'd rather save money than spend it. He had always been threatening to kick out Nello and his grandfather before that by raising the rent. Nello and Patrasche eventually die because they can't find access to safe housing and food.]]
41	** Alois' abusive father uses his wealth to control his daughter and threatens to have her punished for interacting with a "poor" boy. Ironically, he himself was born poor, but once he became rich he began looking down on them despite the fact that their origins were no different from his.
42	* ChildrenAreInnocent: [[spoiler: Nello remains smiling and at peace even as he dies and is taken to Heaven. His last words are asking Patrasche if he's cold.]]
43	* CloseKnitCommunity: Nello was raised in one, and after his parents die, many pay their condolences to him and Jehan and help care for him.
44	* ComingOfAgeStory: It's a story of a little boy and his dog trying to keep their home running because the other adults in their lives are either dead or unable to. [[spoiler: And unfortunately, they [[KillTheCutie never grow up]]]].
45	* CompilationMovie: The 1977 English dub that was made for US audiences cuts up the anime into this.
46	* CreatorsCultureCarryover: Possibly why Patrasche looks like an Akita/Shiba Inu rather than a Bouviers des Flanders, though to be fair in the book he's mentioned to have "wolf-like ears", "a big head" and "sturdy legs".
47	* CreatorProvincialism: Averted, and that's why the setting seems so unusual. The story is set in Belgium, but since the showrunners are Japanese and have no idea how Belgium is supposed to look like, the end results come out looking like the Netherlands, with Alois wearing traditional Dutch clothing and a white sling, and Nello wearing clogs.
48	* CrapsaccharineWorld: [[spoiler: Belgium looks like a lovely land, just make sure you don't piss off one of the rich fat cats that run the place or they'll make your life hell. Even the CloseKnitCommunity that initially stood by Nello turn against him because they don't want to incur Mr. Cogez's wrath.]]
49	* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Nello being a 10 year old and doing odd jobs for money, and the gratuitous child abuse that follows. Thankfully, in modern day UsefulNotes/{{Belgium}}, child labour under the age of 16 is criminalized.
50	* DownerBeginning: [[spoiler: The series begins with the death of Nello's mother and him having to live with his grandfather. Though his grandfather loves him so, he's a disabled man and can't work.]]
51	* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Nello and Patrasche die while Alois desperately searches for them, and by the time her father has swore to atone for how he treated them it's too late.]]
52	* DramaticIrony: When it's her birthday, Alois tells Andre she believes Nello will be the first to arrive. Nello in fact is the last to arrive and very late, because him and Patrasche were looking for her favourite flower amongst the wilderness.
53	* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler: [[AvertedTrope No]]. Nello and Patrasche died as they lived, in immense suffering. Though they do go to Heaven at the end and never suffer sadness and poverty again, so you could read it as this trope.]]
54	* FlowersOfNature: When Nello and Patrasche go to the forest, it's full of a variety of different flowers. However, they seek a specific one for Alois' birthday present. Alois later tells Nello that it's the best present she ever received.
55	* GorgeousPeriodDress: When the boat full of visitors arrives at Belgium, we see many poofy gowns and parasols.
56	* GrayAndWhiteMorality: [[spoiler: Ensor's abusive tendencies were because of his [[FreudianExcuse alcohol addiction]], while both Hans and Alois' father [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone both broke]] because of how they treated Nello. When he found out that he was innocent, Alois' father began crying and begging for his forgiveness, saying if he'll ever see Nello again, he'll adopt him as a son and have him study wherever he likes, and even Hans deeply regretted his actions and vowed he'll never be a bad person again.]]
57	* HeroesLoveDogs: Nello, Alois, George, Paul and Jehan love Patrasche and he adores them back. [[spoiler: Patrasche even manages to win over Baas by discovering the 2,000 francs he had lost, which kick-starts Baas' reformation and changing opinion of Nello.]]
58	* IdyllicEnglishVillage: Belgium is defined by gorgeous, old-timey houses and flowers. Subverted as it's a Crapsaccharine world.
59	* LighterAndSofter: [[spoiler: The original book was much darker, with Nello's grandfather losing his leg in a war and Ensor dying after getting into a brawl.]]
60	* PinkGirlBlueBoy: Subverted and inverted since both Nello and Aloius wear blue and pink; Nello with his blue cap and pink coat, and Alois with her pink skirt and blue shirt.
61	* ThePowerOfLove: Alois becomes drawn to an illness at one point, and she is so sick that she can't even bring herself to face Nello and her friends. Nello, however, refuses to leave her side and continues to draw for her and visit her, and Alois manages to heal.
62	* PhenotypeStereotype: This being UsefulNotes/{{Belgium}}, a good chunk of characters have blonde, dirty blonde or light blonde hair, and many (including Nello and Alois) have InnocentBlueEyes.
63	* SceneryPorn: The accidental Dutch-inspired setting leads to this anime being one of the most gorgeous looking WMT entries to date, with beautiful tulips, serene skies and pretty rural scenery. The accidental Dutch-inspired setting leads to this anime being one of the most gorgeous looking WMT entries to date, with beautiful tulips, serene skies and pretty rural scenery. Nello works as a milk delivery boy so we get to see the many gardens and natural beauty of Belgium, and it's also alleged that the architecture depicted in the series were modeled after the Bokrijk open-air museum.
64	* SnowMeansDeath: [[spoiler: Nello and Patrasche freeze to death, until angels carry them both to heaven, with Nello being pulled in a cart by Patrasche to join his mother and grandfather]].
65	* ThereAreNoTherapists: Because this is 1800s-something Belgium.

Context Anime / ADogOfFlanders1975