Line #17 Anime/AshitaNoNadja


1	[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/watch-ashita-no-nadja-episodes-online-english-sub-thumbnailpic_148.jpg]]
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3	''Ashita no Nadja'' (明日のナージャ, Ashita no Nāja, lit. "Tomorrow's Nadja") is an AnimeFirst series produced by Creator/ToeiAnimation in 2003, airing right after the [[Anime/OjamajoDoremi end of one]] CashCowFranchise, and before the [[Anime/PrettyCure beginning of another.]] It premiered in Japan on the anime satellite television network Animax and the terrestrial TV Asahi network, as well as several local cable channels. The series is available on DVD (in Japanese) containing two to three episodes each. Was aired once in a while in Latin America Creator/CartoonNetwork and is occasionally seen in local Latin American cable stations. It also had a manga adaptation, serialized by Kodansha in the manga magazine Nakayoshi and collected in two bound volumes.
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5	A long time ago in western Europe, a young twelve-year-old orphan named Nadja Applefield lived a peaceful and humble life under the care of [[OrphanageOfLove Applefield House, a British orphanage]]. She's the local CoolBigSis, a keen dancer, and is steeling herself for her thirteenth birthday, at which age she will be forced to leave her home and make her way in the world.
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7	However, one day her guardian Miss Applefield presents Nadja with a trunk filled with several luxurious things including a PimpedOutDress, a diary and a anonymous letter. The author of the letter reveals Nadja's [[MissingMom deceased mother]] is actually ''alive'', and that Nadja was (unwillingly) placed into the care of Applefield House when the mother's life was threatened by a serious illness.
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9	Before Nadja can process all of this, Applefield House is attacked in the night by two mysterious burglars looking to steal Nadja's [[OrphansPlotTrinket prized medallion]], which seems to be the key linking Nadja to her heritage. A MysteriousProtector saves Nadja's life, but [[DoomedHometown Applefield House is almost burned to the ground]].
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11	Stuffing all her belongings and newfound dress into her new trunk, Nadja sets off on a journey across Europe with the aid of a traveling circus to discover the secret of her medallion and hopefully reunite with her birth mother, while evading the sinister plots of her greedy EvilUncle, [[BigBad Hermann Preminger]].
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13	To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the anime, lotteries of new merch have been released in September and November of 2023, featuring new art consisting of Nadja, the twins, and Rosemary.
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15	!!This anime provides examples of:
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17	* TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: Nadja's music box is ''clearly'' CG. The anime also uses a lot of CGI ballroom dancers that clash very heavily with the [=2D=] backgrounds and characters.
18	* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Nadja loves Francis [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan because he helps her out]], but also is attracted to [[spoiler: his twin brother Keith]] because of this.
19	* %% AllLoveIsUnrequited: Poor Sylvie...
20	* AnachronisticClue: Played for laughs in one episode. Leader is in a tent about to buy many things from a wandering peddler, like the binoculars that Columbus used to see land, only to be told that binoculars didn't exist then. And a real engraved samurai sword, only to be pointed out as well that Japanese swords usually aren't engraved in the Latin alphabet. He ended chasing the peddler with his very sword.
21	* AnimationBump: Episode 26 is very noticeably different from the other episodes in the series. It is more serious in tone, contains higher quality animation and the gorgeous use of high-contrast backgrounds. This is due to the fact that it is directed by Creator/MamoruHosoda.
22	* ArcWords: "Open the door of fate".
23	* ArrangedMarriage: Leonardo and Julietta, which becomes a PerfectlyArrangedMarriage once Leonardo gets over himself. [[spoiler: Francis and Marianne ''were'' going to be betrothed, but Nadja appears and throws a huge wrench in the plans.]]
24	%% * BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler: Rosemary, post FreakOut]]
25	* BodyDouble: [[spoiler: Since both she and Nadja are sweet-faced, blue-eyed, blonde pre-teenage girls, Rosemary plays this role and impersonates Nadja ''real'' well.]]
26	* BondingOverMissingParents: Nadja and Francis hit it off in Episode 5 in the garden when they talk about each other's mothers.
27	* BreakTheCutie: Colette was ''very'' broken at some point. Nadja gets broken later, as well. And Rosemary gets so broken that she [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope jumped off the slippery slope.]]
28	* BrokenBird: Sylvie, to a degree. Rosemary as well by the end, even admitting it to [[spoiler: Nadja]] during a talk, [[spoiler: though her final scene shows her [[PluckyGirl still moving forward]]]].
29	* BroodingBoyGentleGirl:
30	** As Nadja and Black Rose [[spoiler: aka Keith]] get more ShipTease and Nadja learns that he's more of a StepfordSnarker than a simple HandsomeDevil, they evolve into this.
31	** Nadja also turns out to have such a relationship with [[spoiler: Keith's brother Francis]], after [[spoiler: Francis is revealed to have ''severe'' emotional/mental problems.]]
32	%% * BunnyEarsLawyer: Christian "Mummy Professor" Strand. Harvey Livingston.
33	* CainAndAbel: [[spoiler: Colette and Hermann (siblings), Keith and Francis (twins), Nadja and Rosemary (childhood friends). The two latter get better.]]
34	* CallingTheOldManOut: [[spoiler: Colette]] gives this to her dad, when [[spoiler: she finds out about the whole deception.]]
35	-->[[spoiler: Colette]]: [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome I don't care about royalty or honor, Father!]] I just want [[spoiler: to see my true daughter]]!"
36	* ChangelingFantasy: Subverted: Rosemary loved to dream she was a lost princess who would someday find her true noble family, [[spoiler: but the "princess" was Nadja and not her...]]
37	%% * CharacterDevelopment: One of the reasons why the series is so enjoyable.
38	* ChekhovsGunman: Rosemary is just a face in the crowd in the first two episodes, then starts getting some more scenes by the second part... and by the end is one of the most important characters.
39	%% * ChildhoodFriendRomance: Of the Unlucky kind: Oliver, for Nadja. Marianne, for Francis. [[spoiler: Count Waltmuller (Nadja's stepfather) used to be this, but he became Colette's kind second husband, SecondLove, and Victorious Childhood Friend.]]
40	%% * CircusBrat: Rita, Nadja, Kennosuke.
41	* ComingOfAgeStory: It starts when Nadja has to leave the only home she has known, travelling with the Dandelion Troupe to find her origins and grow up...
42	* CompressedAdaptation: The manga. They shortened it, thus taking away many characters (which means loss of CharacterDevelopment), including but not limited to: [[spoiler: Keith, Rosemary, Marianne, Jose, and Carmen.]]
43	%% * CoolBigSis: Sylvie "the Songbird" Arte, Julietta. And actually, Nadja ''used'' to be one in Applefield House, and sorta has these dynamics with little Rita.
44	%% * CuteMute: Rita. [[spoiler:She gets better.]]
45	* DancesAndBalls: Six of them, where Nadja is always in [[SheCleansUpNicely a nice dress]]. [[spoiler: Except, in a subversion, at the last one, intended for her.]]
46	* DeconstructedTrope: For such an idealistic series it examines several tropes such as GreaterNeedThanMine, ShelteredAristocrat, PrincelyYoungMan and WideEyedIdealist through Nadja's love interest Francis Harcourt. [[spoiler: Because when he sees that his philanthropy is ''not'' enough to make the world better, his hidden problems come to the surface, and not only he gets called out for his naivete and lack of self-worth by some of the people that he's attempting to help, but at the end of the series he crosses the DespairEventHorizon, and both Keith and Nadja have to work hard to bring Francis back to stability.]]
47	* DeathFakedForYou: When Harvey tells Nadja about how [[spoiler: Keith]] disappeared from the family for 6 years before the start of the series, [[spoiler: Keith's]] disappearance was covered up with news to high society of his "death".
48	%% * DiscussedTrope: Several RichPeople and PrincessTropes, but specially {{Ojou}}.
49	%% * DoggedNiceGuy: To a degree, both Oliver and Kennosuke.
50	%% * DomesticAbuse: Just another reason to hate Hermann Preminger: his treatment of his wife Hilda.
51	* DroppedABridgeOnHim:
52	** [[spoiler: Miss Applefield got a shelf dropped on her. It happened pretty much off-screen, save a flashback, and only to have the OrphanageOfLove disbanded and give Nadja ''yet another'' reason to angst.]]
53	** [[spoiler: Jose gets hit by a carriage ''right'' after he and Carmen have resolved to separate but stay in friendly terms until they truly reach their dreams.]]
54	* DudeMagnet: Nadja gets a lot of romantic attention from many male characters.
55	* TheEdwardianEra: As the series first aired in 2003, the opening narration states the story took place 100 years ago, setting the anime in the year 1903.
56	* EvilPlan: [[spoiler: Hermann's plan to steal Nadja's brooch, ruin her chance to claim the Preminger fortune (though she doesn't care about money and only wants to meet up with Colette) and become heir.]]
57	%% * EvilUncle: If what he does to get his niece's inheritance doesn't qualify Hermann as such...
58	%% * EyesAlwaysShut: Thomas O'Brian, Anna Petrova.
59	* ForgottenFriendNewFoe: Rosemary is in the background during the first two episodes, but is only introduced as a close friend of Nadja's from the orphanage much later, and that same episode sets her up as a future nemesis for Nadja.
60	* FreudianExcuse: Hermann never had a chance to make friends during his childhood because his father kept him too busy with the training to succeed him and now resents Nadja for being chosen over him despite this.
61	%% * FryingPanOfDoom: Grandma Anna has one
62	%% * GentleGiant: George "Leader" Haskill
63	* GentlemanThief: Black Rose [[spoiler:aka Keith Harcourt]]. Also [[spoiler:Francis is the Black Rose Thief in the manga.]]
64	%% * GenerationXerox: [[spoiler: Nadja and Colette once meet before they learn about their bond.]] They're practically the same, personality wise.
65	%% * HeartwarmingOrphan: Kennosuke, Nadja and Rita. Rosemary too before she became an EvilOrphan.
66	%% * HeroicSelfDeprecation: Francis is a male example.
67	* HotForStudent: [[spoiler: Nadja's father Raymond Colbert was Colette's piano tutor. They fell in love and eloped. Much misfortune followed.]]
68	* IdiotBall: Nadja's attitude towards the brooch is nearly incomprehensible. She had it for ''thirteen years'', it being the only memento of her family, obviously incredibly expensive, and she had never ''tried to open it''. Then, once she learns it ''is'' important and that it has a ring inside, she not only never inspects the ring or brooch, she also ''keeps using both in plain sight''. She should have locked it away the moment she found out someone was trying to steal it or, at least, separated ring and brooch to keep at least one safe. Not to mention [[spoiler:she almost lost it twice, and she still never took precautions to keep it safe. No wonder it got stolen.]] The only excuses for this behavior would be that Nadja doesn't want the others to be at risk for it (which is pretty in character considering how she left the Applefield home when it was almost burned down) and/or that she had been ''ridiculously'' sheltered in her OrphanageOfLove (not that unbelievable, Miss Applefield never said anything either ''and'' the orphanage itself is located in the countryside, rather far from London itself), and even '''those''' run thin soon.
69	* IfIWereARichMan: One episode revolves around Nadja, Kennosuke, and Leader searching for a treasure supposedly buried by Joan of Arc. Kennosuke imagines himself being able to invent a revolutionary automobile (and to conquer Najda's heart), while Nadja imagines being able to rebuild her old orphanage (and get the admiration of her old friends). As the treasure is implied to be more and more valuable, we see each of their fantasies get more preposterous, but it's revealed to [[WorthlessTreasureTwist not be that kind of treasure]] (flowers, representing Joan's wish for the war to end). At the end, the kids ask Leader what he would have done if they had actually found a treasure. He explains that he would have spend it [[ItsTheJourneyThatCounts in search for a bigger one.]]
70	* InadequateInheritor: Hermann being perceived as such by his father is what started the plot. If not for this, Nadja and Colette would probably never learn about each other being alive.
71	%% * IntrepidReporter: Harvey Livingston. Chasing stories is how he justifies running into Nadja all over Europe.
72	%% * {{Jerkass}}: Fernando Gonzales, Hermann Preminger, Duke Preminger, Antonio and [[spoiler: Rosemary]].
73	%% * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: [[spoiler: Keith]], Marianne, Antonio, John Whittard.
74	%% * KidAnova: Nadja. Oh God, Nadja.
75	* LadykillerInLove [[spoiler: According to Julietta, Leonardo stopped flirting with other girls when Antonio became his rival in love, paying more attention to her]].
76	* LonelyRichKid: Back when Hermann was a kid, his father made him spend so much time training to inherit the Preminger Dukedom he never had a chance to make friends back then.
77	* LoveDodecahedron: Nadja has several guys pining for her romantic attention (Oliver, Kennosuke, Francis, Black Rose [[spoiler: aka Keith]] and Christian). She herself loves Francis, but is strongly attracted to Black Rose [[spoiler: alias Keith (making this a SiblingTriangle)]]. Marianne loves Francis and [[spoiler: tells Nadja that she should hook up with Keith at some point]]).
78	%% * LoveHurts: Holy shit, it does.
79	%% * MadLove: Rosemary has a crush on Fernando, who treats her like crap, purely because of [[LovingAShadow his noble status]].
80	%% * ManipulativeBastard: Antonio, Hermann, to a degree Oscar. [[spoiler: Rosemary takes it to new extremes.]] Duke Preminger also counts for what he did to Colette and Nadja just because the latter was born from a marriage he didn't approve.
81	* MarilynManeuver: Nadja in the first episode, "Nadja, Door of Destiny". Seen from the side, a gust suddenly blows up her dress forwardly and her hat off her head.
82	%% * MartyrWithoutACause: [[spoiler: Francis, as time goes on.]]
83	%% * TheMasochismTango: Jose and Carmen.
84	* MeaningfulName: "Nadja" means "hope" in Russian and is the title of a novel by Andre Breton.
85	%% * MiniatureSeniorCitizens: Grandma Anna
86	%% * MissingMom: Nadja's mother, [[spoiler: Colette]] Also, Francis's mother. [[spoiler: Who is also Keith's MissingMom, of course]].
87	* MoralMyopia:
88	** [[spoiler: When Keith finds out about Nadja choosing Francis, he berates brother his twin for "wanting to keep a free spirit like Nadja in a GildedCage" in his opinion. Well, who does '''''Keith''''' think he is to single-handedly decide that Nadja will undoubtedly be unhappy with the guy she has chosen - ''[[GreenEyedMonster a guy who is not him]]''? At least he should '''ask''' Nadja about it instead of [[EntitledToHaveYou treating her like his property]].]]
89	** [[spoiler:Rosemary's whole world revolves around her [[ChangelingFantasy dream of being lost royalty]], and will not tolerate any threat to it. While she was already slipping into mental instability at the time, when Rosemary sees Nadja dolled up at a ball instead of playing the role of an ultimately insignificant side character, (as if Nadja would have control over such a thing,) she deems this a betrayal so heartless that it drives her over the edge and into villainy, but Rosemary still thinks she's in the right because she "deserves" to be a real princess.]]
90	%% * MouthyKid: TJ Livingston, Fernando Gonzalez
91	%% * NaiveEverygirl: Nadja. Rosemary starts as one.
92	* NoRomanticResolution: [[spoiler:Nadja keeps wavering between Francis and Keith. By the end of the series, the three meet up and reach a common agreement so they leave it there for a while, until they're more mature. Still, it's hinted that Keith is more than willing to pull an IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy if needed...]]
93	* NostalgicMusicBox: Nadja buys one in episode 10 that plays the waltz she danced to with Francis. At the time, she has no idea it was her mother's.
94	* NotAfraidToDie: How Jose Rodriguez became the best matador in Barcelona. After Carmen dumped him for a wealthier man, he no longer cared if he lived or died, which made him completely fearless in the bullfighting arena.
95	%% * {{Ojou}}: Marianne, Julietta, Colette. The trope itself is discussed and explored.
96	* OnTheNextEpisodeOfCatchPhrase: "Finally, the door of fate has opened!" or some variation (Nadja).
97	%% * OrphanageOfLove: Applefield house.
98	* OrphansPlotTrinket: Nadja's medallion is the biggest proof of her identity. To a degree, also her PimpedOutDress.
99	* ParasolOfPain: Sylvie uses her ParasolOfPrettiness rather efficiently when she needs a weapon.
100	%% * ParentalAbandonment: Nadja and all the Applefield kids, Francis [[spoiler: and Keith]], Antonio (DisappearedDad, distanced from his mom), Harvey and TJ, Kennosuke and Hanako, Rita...
101	* ParentalSubstitute: Emma Queensbury cared for her nephews when they lost their mother.
102	* PetTheDog: [[spoiler: Rosemary in her final scene makes sure to tell Nadja that she wishes her good luck ''and'' that she should take care of her mother.]]
103	%% * PluckyGirl: Nadja, in the best tradition of young shoujo heroines.
104	%% * PrincelyYoungMan: with poor Francis.
105	* PromotionToParent: Kennosuke and Harvey had to take care of their little siblings (Hanako and TJ) once their parents died.
106	%% * ProperLady: Julietta, Emma, Hilda, Marianne, the deceased Countess Harcourt.
107	* PublicDomainSoundtrack: A rendition of Offenbach's ''Galop Infernal'' aka the Can-Can is played in episode 3, when Kennosuke is stuck on the out-of-control Dandelion Troupe's car, with Rita trying and failing to help him. The same music plays again in episodes 20, 23, and 40.
108	* RagsToRoyalty: Nadja is [[spoiler:the direct heiress to an Austrian clan]]. [[spoiler:In the very end, she's revealed as RebelliousPrincess because she refuses to fully take over the clan per her grandpa's orders and, with Collette's approval, returns with the Dandelion Troupe.]]
109	%% * RidiculouslyCuteCritter: The tiny little lions Cream and Chocolate
110	%% * RichBitch: Fernando's aunt, oh so much. Subverted with Marianne, who is [[BrutalHonesty blunt and selfish]] but doesn't use her riches to make herself look better than she is; she's more of a LovableAlphaBitch.
111	* SacredFirstKiss. Subverted. [[spoiler: Nadja is mad as Hell at the Black Rose Thief for kissing her... but this isn't her first kiss. That one was given to her by Francis... who happens to be Black Rose's twin younger brother, but nobody knows that]]. Though she seems to be more mad because [[spoiler: Black Rose's kiss was a borderline ForcefulKiss.]]
112	* SadClown: Abel Geiger is a more or less normal one with great wisdom and knowledge, but his backstory is maybe the saddest in the whole series.
113	* SceneryPorn: Some episodes are really good at showing off Europe. Special mention for episode 26, set in Granada, Spain.
114	%%* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Of ''course'' this one would happen.
115	* SearchingForTheLostRelative: The entire series is all about Nadja trying to reunite with her birth mother.
116	* SheCleansUpNicely: Nadja often dresses up elegantly for special occasions, some of them being VERY plot-important. [[spoiler:When Rosemary sees Nadja like this, her already frail self-esteem crashes and she had a huge FreakOut, which leads directly to her FaceHeelTurn.]]
117	%% * {{Shorttank}}: Nadja, again
118	%% * {{Shoujo}}: To the core.
119	* ShoutOut:
120	** In episode 20, Nadja and Christian enact the Mouth of Truth scene from ''Film/RomanHoliday''.
121	** Cream and Chocolate's color scheme are similar to that of two other cats from [[Anime/SailorMoon a certain other Toei anime]].
122	** In episode 27, when Kennosuke tells Nadja his dream, there's a scene that explicitly parodies the early silent film ''[[Film/ATripToTheMoon A Trip To The Moon]]'', complete with replicating the iconic shot of a rocket going into the moon's eye.
123	%% * ShrinkingViolet: Rosemary, [[spoiler:pre FreakOut. This series shows ''very'' clearly that, when a Shrinking Violet ''does'' snap... snap she does]]
124	%%* SmugSnake: Hermann Preminger.
125	* SomethingAboutARose: Francis is represented with white roses, [[spoiler: Keith]] with black roses and red and pale roses adorn the decorative borders on merchandise.
126	* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler: When Hermann betrays them, Rosso and Bianco ruin his plans as they let Nadja escape from the room they're locked in and tell her where to find their reports, which is ultimately Hermann's perdition.]] At the same time, [[spoiler: Hermann thought Rosemary would be his puppet, but she proved him brutally wrong by being more ruthless and smarter than he thought.]]
127	%% * StepfordSmiler: [[spoiler: Oh, Francis.]]
128	* StoryArc: The show is a somewhat episodic world tour up until the last 15 episodes, in which a more concrete storyline finally transpires.
129	%% * TallDarkAndSnarky: Again, Antonio and [[spoiler:Keith (despite him being blond)]]
130	%% * ThoseTwoGuys: Leonardo and Thierry
131	%% * TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Nadja and Rosemary
132	* TooDumbToLive: Colette. When she was about to elope with Raymond, one of the family's servants filled her music box with some gold coins and a note explaining it all. Colette eventually sold the box without even suspecting there was something valuable inside it.
133	%% * TroubledButCute: [[spoiler:Keith]], so much.
134	%% * TrueCompanions: The Dandelion Troupe.
135	* TwinSwitch: [[spoiler:When Francis is mistaken as Black Rose, he refuses to discard his identity and fully intends to pay for Keith's acts as a GentlemanThief. This is seen as a sign of Francis's increasing mental/emotional stability, however, and not to mention Keith himself is '''very''' distressed by the prospect as he immediately recognizes this attitude as a signs of an incredibly unhealthy behavior pattern ''that Francis has carried on from early childhood''.]]
136	* UnsettlingGenderReveal: Sabine is a 10-years-old {{Bifauxnen}} from Switzerland who unsettles Kennosuke, Nadja ''and'' Rita.
137	* UnstoppableRage: What happens when Thomas is given booze.
138	%% * UsedToBeASweetKid: Rosemary ''was'' a genuinely kind girl in the past. But good lord, did that change.
139	%% * VillainousBreakdown: Hermann has one at the end. In fact, all of episodes 48 and 49 cover his increasingly erratic and crazed behavior.
140	%% * WellDoneSonGuy: Hermann is the example of what happens when this trope becomes someone's Main/StartOfDarkness.
141	* WhamEpisode: Mainly [[spoiler: Episode 26]] but also [[spoiler: Episode 30]]. These two episodes form Part A and Part B of a revelation that completely changes what Nadja (and the ''audience'') had come to believe was true. Although the outcome of this reveal is more positive than negative, things aren't quite the same anymore after these two episodes.
142	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Thomas hates violence, George hates ghosts, Rita hates fire.
143	* WickedStepfather:
144	** While Hermann's stepson Oscar isn't the main victim of his wickedness (aside from how Hermann treats Oscar's mother Hilda), it doesn't change the fact Hermann ''is'' somebody's stepfather and a wicked person. While Hermann occasionally pressures Oscar [[GoldDigger into marrying some wealthy woman]], it's unlikely it'd be any different if they were related by blood. In fact, the only relevance Oscar not being Hermann's biological son has to the plot is that it's the main (or only) reason Duke Preminger doesn't consider making Oscar his heir.
145	* WoundedGazelleGambit: [[spoiler: When Nadja dolls up to find out the truth about her BodyDouble and her stolen medallion and sees Rosemary posing as her, Rosemary claims at first that she's been kidnapped and blackmailed by Hermann. Nadja falls for it and Rosemary destroys her GorgeousPeriodDress.]]
146	%% * WrenchWench: Kennosuke is a male example.

Context Anime / AshitaNoNadja