Characters / The Story of Perrine

Pandavoine family

As a whole

• Deceased Parents Are the Best: Edmond was by all accounts a kind and capable man, and Marie is also shown to be a Good Parent towards Perrine. Both of them are dead before the halfway point of the series.
• Good Parents: Both Edmond and Marie were doting and loving parents to Perrine, and their deaths heavily break her.
• His Story Repeats Itself: Both of Perrine's parents pass away from illness, with Perrine helpless to prevent their deaths despite her best efforts. When her grandfather nearly dies from grief, however, it's her care for him that saves him.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Perrine inherited Marie's features and Edmond's red hair and pale complexion. Grandmother Françoise immediately notices her resemblance to Edmond upon first seeing her, which ultimately leads to Vulfran suspecting and discovering Perrine's true identity. When Vulfran regains his eyesight, he comments that he would have instantly recognized Perrine as Edmond's daughter had he been able to see.

Perrine Pandavoine

Perrine Pandavoine (ペリーヌ・パンダボアヌ)

Voiced by: Hiromi Tsuru (Japanese), Laura Lenghi/Rita Baldini/Roberta Paladini (Italian), Janina Richter (German), Sissa Afonso (Portugeuse), Amal Al-Dabbas (Arabic)

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• Adaptation Dye-Job: Perrine is a blond in the novel, but a redhead in the anime.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Perrine is almost always kind and polite, but she does have her limits. When some rival photographers doubt Marie's photography skills in Episode 10, she pointedly identifies the flaws in their sample photo, and in Episode 15, she declares that she would have let some bullies have it if not for her injured foot. One of the very few times that she does anything remotely violent is in Episode 23, when she strikes Baron on the head because she thinks he has gone too far in begging for free food from a shopkeeper.
• Chekhov's Skill: Perrine can drive a carriage due to having traveled in one on her journey to France. This comes in handy several times in Maraucourt when other characters need a coach-driver at short notice.
• Cute Bookworm: Although she doesn't get the chance to do much of it during her travels, Perrine enjoys reading, and many of the other characters consider her cute.
• Extremely Protective Child: Perrine often has to provide emotional and physical support for her ailing mother. She later shows similar care towards her grandfather, especially when he is grief-stricken by the news about his son's death.
• Guile Hero: Perrine relies on her wits more than once. In Episode 4, she comes up with a convincing lie on the spot to prevent some Austrian soldiers from searching her family's carriage (where they are sheltering a Croatian rebel).
• Heartwarming Orphan: Perrine becoming an orphan garners sympathy from both the other characters in the story and the audience. It doesn't hurt that she works hard to earn her happy ending and that her presence ends up changing the community in Maraucourt for the better.
• Honor Before Reason: While traveling alone with minimal provisions, Perrine gives the owner of a flower shop nearly all of her money to partly compensate for Baron's destruction of his stock. When he realizes how poor she is, he actually tries to return her money, but Perrine insists that he keep it, even though she lacks any means of earning more. She is notably shown regretting this decision afterward.
• I Just Want to Be Loved: Independent and capable though she is, Perrine's deepest desire after reaching Maraucourt is to be loved and accepted by her grandfather. This is one of the reasons she resolves not to reveal her true identity to him—she fears that she will lose his affection if he finds out that she's his granddaughter.
• Just a Kid: Perrine tries to keep the photography business running in Episode 16 when Marie is bedridden, but fails to attract any customers because she's seen this way. Later on, some people doubt her skills for similar reasons when she becomes Vulfran's secretary.
• Limited Wardrobe: For more than half the series Perrine wears only the light yellow blouse/brown vest/red skirt/brown short boots combo seen above (and she adds the nice hat later). She switches to a dark blue dress while working as Vulfran's secretary, occasionally donning her original outfit when she has time off.
• Little Miss Snarker: She rarely shows it, but Perrine certainly has the wit to turn on the snark when she's feeling playful or especially annoyed.
• Nice Guy: Perrine is nice and respectful to almost everyone she meets. The main exception to this is when she taps into her Little Miss Snarker side towards the rival photographers in Episodes 9 and 10, but she is chastised by her mother for it afterward.
• Nice to the Waiter: Perrine is unfailingly polite to Vulfran's servants. She even insists on doing several chores herself, much to their consternation.
• Not So Above It All: Although she is Wise Beyond Her Years, Perrine is not entirely above childish behavior sometimes, like teasing Marcel about yelling for his mother in his sleep. She is shown joking and playing around much more as she becomes more comfortable living with Vulfran, especially after her true identity is revealed.
• Orphan's Ordeal: The hardest part of Perrine's journey and her Despair Event Horizon occurs after her mother passes away, and she also endures plenty of other hardships in Maraucourt as a result of losing her parents.
• Plucky Girl: Nothing short of collapsing from starvation and illness stops Perrine from reaching Maraucourt, surviving there on her own for some time on a meager wage, and eventually earning her grandfather's affection.
• Spirited Young Lady: Perrine is kind, courteous, and familiar enough with societal expectations to avoid making faux pas while dining with Vulfran (despite the worries of Vulfran's servants). At the same time, she is also highly independent and intelligent, and doesn't hesitate to voice her displeasure when she perceives injustice. When Perrine first arrives at Vulfran's mansion, it is noted that she feels more comfortable lying in a bale of hay than being in her fancy new bedroom. She additionally enjoys reading, has or develops multiple non-domestic skills (including coach-driving, fishing, whittling, and bilingual interpretation), and at one point expresses aspirations to become a doctor.
• Textile Work Is Feminine: Perrine knows how to sew and sometimes makes her own clothes.
• Thicker Than Water: Even though Perrine is given a couple of opportunities to live a potentially happy lifestyle and knows that her grandfather might not welcome her with open arms, she still presses onward to Maraucourt to honor her parents' wishes. When she gets there, she does everything she can to appeal to Vulfran without giving away her identity. Her devotion to him, along with Grandmother Françoise mentioning how much Perrine resembles Edmond, is what eventually leads Vulfran to suspect that Perrine is his granddaughter.
• Trauma Conga Line: Perrine has to sell nearly all of her family's possessions (including their beloved donkey), loses both of her parents, nearly dies a couple of times, adopts a fake identity out of fear of rejection, lives for some time in poverty during which she has to make most of her own provisions, is faced with her grandfather unknowingly insulting her mother in front of her, gets embroiled in adult politics and responsibilities, relives the grief of losing her father when her grandfather eventually learns of his death, and fears losing her dog and her grandfather as well (but fortunately does not) before she earns her happy ending.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Perrine is very mature and resourceful for her age, providing critical emotional and physical support for her mother and later her grandfather. This also serves her well during the period of time that she lives and travels alone.

Marie Pandavoine

Marie Pandavoine (マリ・パンダボアヌ)

Voiced by: Masako Ikeda (Japanese), Franca De Stradis (Italian), Janina Richter (German), Ângela Marques (Portugeuse), Amal Al-Dabbas (Arabic)

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• Child of Two Worlds: Marie is half-British and half-Indian.
• Nice Guy: Marie is unwaveringly kind even to those who antagonize her, and is the one who imparts to Perrine that "If you wish to be loved, you must first love others", a lesson that stays with Perrine throughout the series.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The normally kind and patient Marie bluntly rejects Perrine's idea to write to Vulfran and have him send someone to pick them up in Paris. It's only on her deathbed that she reveals that Vulfran and Edmond are estranged, and that Perrine should not expect a warm welcome from her grandfather.
• Silk Hiding Steel: Marie is a gentle, frail woman who hardly ever raises her voice, but she also firmly refuses to acquiesce to the demands of rival photographers, and her kindness is ultimately what gets the other photographers to leave her and her family alone.
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Despite her poor health, Marie is a kind, intelligent, and loving parent towards Perrine... so she naturally passes away before they reach Maraucourt.

Edmond Pandavoine

Edmond Pandavoine (エドモン・パンダボアヌ)

Voiced by: Daisaku Shinohara (Japanese), Unknown (Italian), Unknown (German), Unknown (Portugeuse), Unknown (Arabic)

• Dating What Daddy Hates: Vulfran didn't approve of Edmond marrying Marie and accused him of "seducing" her. They never talked after this incident.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: He died almost instantly, with his wife and child burying him after. And from there it got worse for them.

Pets

Baron

• Action Pet: Baron is not always reliable, but he's undoubtedly protective of Perrine, growling at and sometimes even attacking those who might threaten her safety.
• Amplified Animal Aptitude: Baron shows signs of understanding human speech beyond basic commands, but whether he listens is another matter entirely. He's certainly smart enough to help collect firewood, and to hand a starving, heat-stressed Perrine a water bottle unprompted.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Perrine believes this is true of Baron, and tells Marcel that this is why Baron is difficult to train. Marcel does succeed to teaching the dog a few tricks eventually, which Baron remembers for the rest of the series.
• Canine Companion: Baron the dog is a Loyal Animal Companion who accompanies Perrine throughout her journey, and she considers him a close friend.
• Heroic Dog: Although he sometimes causes trouble, Baron is a loyal companion to Perrine and even saves her life when she falls unconscious from malnutrition.
• Non-Standard Character Design: Baron has a noticeably more cartoony design than the other characters in the show, including other dogs. In a possible case of Lampshade Hanging, many characters consider him strange-looking.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Baron's antics are a constant source of levity throughout the show.
• Precious Puppy: Baron is the cutest thing ever!

Palikare

• Stubborn Mule: Palikare usually averts this trope, being very cooperative throughout Perrine and Marie's journey. However, he steadfastly refuses to enter the horse market when Perrine tries to sell him.

Vulfran's estate

Vulfran Pandavoine

Vulfran Pandavoine (ビルフラン・パンダボアヌ)

Voiced by: Kinshirō Iwao (Japanese), Mario Milita/Manlio Guardabassi (Italian), Unknown (German), Unknown (Portugeuse), Joseph Nano (Arabic)

• Big Fancy House: Vulfran lives in a large mansion complete with servants and many rooms.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Vulfran is strict and unforgiving, and his employees all live in fear of him, but it is shown early on that he is not without sympathy for others. Perrine convinces him to be more considerate of his workers' welfare, and he initiates several construction projects to improve their quality of life.
• Jerkass: Cold, uncaring, and so terrible that even his son ran away from him, with Vulfran frequently badmouthing him afterwards.
• I Have No Son!: When Edmond married Marie against his wishes, he cut him off. Though as he aged, he regretted this and began to look for Edmond as he believed he was the only one capable of inheriting his mill.
• Rags to Riches: He was a relatively poor man until he built one of the largest silk mills in France, Pandavoine Factory.
• Right in Front of Me: While being unaware of Perrine's true identity, Vulfran declares right in front of her that he despises her mother and doesn't care for his grandchild.
• Unknown Relative: Perrine keeps her identity as Vulfran's granddaughter a secret from him and most of the other people in Maraucourt, even after she becomes his secretary and starts living with him at his mansion.

Marcel

Voiced by: Unknown (Japanese), Fabrizio Mazzotta (Italian), Timmo Niesner (German), Ângela Marques (Portugeuse), Nasr Anani (Arabic)

• Ascended Extra: Marcel is likely based on a Circus Brat character who tells Perrine where to stay in Paris at the beginning of the book and never appears again. Here, he is a Guest-Star Party Member and a supportive friend to Perrine.
• Canon Character All Along: Marcel seems to be a complete Canon Foreigner at first, like most of the other characters from the first 16 episodes. However, the original book did have a one-scene Circus Brat character who provides Perrine with some information about Paris when she first arrives there, a role that Marcel also ends up filling.
• Circus Brat: Marcel is a young man who lives and performs in a travelling circus.
• Guest-Star Party Member: Marcel joins Perrine and her mother on part of their journey, as they help him catch up with his family.
• Parental Substitute: Marcel starts seeing Marie this way as they travel together, and is honored when Marie refers to him as one of her children to some rival photographers. (She'd decided that explaining the full story to them would have been needlessly complicated.)

Fabry

Voiced by: Akira Murayama (Japanese), Luca Dal Fabbo/Paolo Turco (Italian), Uwe Paulsen (German), Unknown (Portugeuse), Nasr Anani (Arabic)

• Intergenerational Friendship: Fabry is an adult man, but is on friendly terms with the teenage Perrine and Rosalie. One episode even focuses on the three of them hanging out together on a Sunday.
• Nice Guy: Fabry is a Reasonable Authority Figure who soon becomes one of the most supportive and trusted adults in Perrine's life after she arrives in Maraucourt.
• Secret-Keeper: Fabry is the first person in Maraucourt to find out Perrine's real name and the fact that she's Vulfran's granddaughter. He agrees to keep this knowledge a secret, though Rosalie eventually suspects that he knows more than he lets on.