History YMMV / PrincessSarah

* {{Adorkable}}: Becky. Her CuteClumsyGirl tendencies and her genuine excitability over Miss Amelia giving her one of her old hats endeared her to those that don't find her a BaseBreakingCharacter.
** Peter can be this as well. On top of providing some of the series' lighter moments, he is also quite a loyal friend to Sara, doing what he can to help her out. He also blushes profusely when he takes Sara's hands in episode 19.

** Becky is this for some viewers. Mostly due to the fact that she's often seen crying and being passive whenever Sarah is in trouble. On the other hand, she tries to intercede on Sarah's behalf whenever she can.
** Peter. Many viewers consider him a great addition to the show for being a comic-relief and helping Sarah in many episodes but some felt he just merely exist to be Sarah's love interest and DeusExMachina.

* DeathOfTheAuthor: Kurokawa admitting on his interview that Sarah is passive and considered Miss Minchin as a main heroine caused irk to some viewers. Some of them lamented that the show would be better if it was directed by a woman instead of him.

** In the early episodes, before the story started putting Sarah through hell, Becky was the main woobie: a NiceGirl who works as a maid to support her poor family and is often mistreated by the staff (though it's nothing compared to the abuse Sarah will suffer later on).

* MemeticMutation: Owing to GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff above, in mid-September 2014, Filipino fans started making {{Image Macro}}s using screencaps from the series (with occasional cameos from other ''Anime/WorldMasterpieceTheater'' characters), with the text typically making up a random context for the screencap. As of October 1, 2014, [[https://www.facebook.com/pages/Princess-Sarah-Memes/693917080699661 the meme's Facebook page]] has over 116,000 likes. A particular recurring one involves a screen of everybody standing around Sarah as she reads a letter. Said letter typically reads like a text message, answering machine, or anything that can be done by a modern phone. Sarah is turned into someone who has an obsession with PeelingPotatoes, frequently being shopped into photos of [=McDonald's=] fries, or of Potato Corner, a popular kiosk franchise that sells fries. Else, the text just has her somehow talking about potatoes (or peeling them). The meme has brought the series back into the Filipino public consciousness and daytime variety shows have started doing skits parodying the series. Additionally, ABS-CBN, the network that first aired it in the 1990's, has begun to show reruns.

** Saudis and Filipino fans love ''Princess Sarah'' and re-runs of them are not uncommon. The Filipinos even made a live-action movie back in 1997 based on the anime, and a children's ''teleserye'' in 2007, which took even more creative liberties with fantasy elements thrown in.

* WinBackTheCrowd: After the poor reception of ''Lucy of the Southern Rainbow'', ''Anime/AlpsStoriesMyAnnette'' and ''Anime/KatriGirlOfTheMeadows'' in Japan, ''Princess Sarah'' was made more dramatic and over-the-top in order to win back the audiences.

** Most fans of this show clearly identify with Sarah and see her as a strong character. However, according to [[http://www.pelleas.net/int/int1.shtml an interview with Fumio Kurokawa]], the director, she wasn't really meant to be a role model (in fact, he views her as rather passive), and both Miss Minchin and Lavinia have admirable qualities and are not meant to be one-dimensional villains. This is partly supported by the little that we see of the two characters' backstory -- Miss Minchin's difficult childhood, and Lavinia's parents.

** Sarah. While there many people who praised her for her kindness and endurance, some of them dislike her for being [[ExtremeDoormat too sweet and passive]], as opposed to the good-hearted but assertive figure she is in the book (or other adaptations such as the 1995 film, which has Sara being an outspoken MouthyKid towards her antagonists). The fact that her personality seems to be more inclined towards [[YamatoNadeshiko Japanese sensibilities]] than Western sensibilities and her decision [[spoiler: to [[EasilyForgiven forgive her abusers]] in the final episode]] lead her to this.

** Becky is this for some viewers. Mostly due to the fact that she's often seen crying and passive whenever Sarah is in trouble. On the other hand, she tries to intercede on Sarah's behalf whenever she can.

** Monsieur Dufarge. Being one of the few truly good supportive adults in the show definitely helps. Some viewers lamented why [[spoiler:he doesn't show up in the last episode.]]
** Lavinia's father only appears in one episode but he's highly praised by the viewers. At first he seems like the typical DotingParent who does nothing but spoil his bratty daughter, but then it becomes clear that he [[spoiler:doesn't approve his daughter bullying Sarah, to the point that he slaps her, finally giving Lavinia some comeuppance for her actions and averting AdultsAreUseless.]]. His actions are recognized to the point that he was given a cameo in Japanese WMT and Kraft Parmesan cheese collaboration commercial.
* EsotericHappyEnding: The series ends with an uplifting ending but in some viewer's eyes, it looks rather disappointing. [[spoiler: While it could be acceptable to forgive, the fact that Sarah rewarded Ms. Minchin a lot of money and then befriends Lavinia who bullied her in most episodes made viewers cringe. Sarah also seems to ignore that her friends were also victims of those people. The add insult to injury, WordOfGod admits that Sarah's efforts to change them are likely to end up futile and doesn't tell when will they do so.]]

** The director mentioned that there was suppose an episode where Sarah has to search for Emily who is missing, but decided against it thinking it could make Sarah look egoistic. Cue Filipino live-action movie version, said scene was actually included.

** Miss Minchin. Her character is forever have known as someone who has obsession in money and good luck finding anyone who understands her. Her [[spoiler:sudden change when she received a lot of money from Sarah]] in the last episode didn't help.

* SignatureScene: Sarah [[spoiler: leaving the Seminary]] after being physically and verbally abused by Miss Minchin. That scene is used as a source material in some fan arts and official Japanese home video covers.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: There are portion of fans who read the novel don't like how Sarah is portrayed in this version. Some of them also dislike how the ending in the anime is different compare to the original.
* ToughActToFollow: Thr reason why the next few entries in ''World Masterpiece Theater'' received decent or mixed reception is that ''Princess Sarah'' is fondly remembered for its heavy drama and over-the-top moments.
* ToyShip: It's made pretty obvious to the viewer that Peter (clearly a pre-teen) has a schoolboy crush on Sarah (aged 11), and he often helps her out of tight spots, including [[spoiler:aiding her in sending a letter to the Bombay police to inquire about her father's death]]; the scenes of the pair talking together on the bridge exemplify this trope. Towards the end, he actually takes her into his home when she is cast out of the Seminary.

* ValuesDissonance: Many viewers were put off by how Sarah chose to [[spoiler:give £100,000 to Miss Minchin and make friends with Lavinia as [[EasilyForgiven a part of her forgiveness]] despite that she was tormented by them in many episodes.]] None of this ever happened in the book and this was probably changed to appease Japanese audiences.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
** Literally every piece of music in this anime.
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDsJhdhTEMA original opening]].

* WinBackTheCrowd: After the poor reception of ''Lucy of the Southern Rainbow'', ''My Annette'' and ''Katri, Girl of the Meadows'' in Japan, ''Princess Sarah'' was made more dramatic and over-the-top in order to win back the audiences.

* CriticalResearchFailure: In Episode 31, Sarah tells Becky that the only way to greet Ram Dass is to talk in Hindu. Any Indians should know that you shouldn't call their language as Hindu, as it's actually a religion in India but rather Hindi.

* WhatAnIdiot: In Episode 22, Sarah received some baked treats from Ermengarde and decides to throw a party with her friends at night. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, they are caught by Miss Minchin and Sarah is punished by starving for the next day. For someone being starved for days, Sarah wasted her time in using her imagination instead of simply eating the treats right away.]]

* TastesLikeDiabetes:
** The ending, to some. [[spoiler: The whole "all the bad guys turn good, everyone is EasilyForgiven, and all the characters love each other" thing doesn't fit the atmosphere of such a tragic and cruel story, is not realistic, and is completely different from the novel's ending.]]
** Sarah's personality. In the novel Sarah is reasonably nice but not completely devoid of negative thoughts, as she can be understandably critical towards other people and not above showing annoyance occasionally. In this version she ''never'' has a bad word for anyone, and is always so virtuous, tolerant, and sweet, that it comes off as cheesy at times.
** The Italian/French opening, especially because of the annoyingly sappy melody[[note]]the singer Cristina D'Avena is mostly known for her energetic and catchy theme songs, very different from this one[[/note]]. More so the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC-Bg8QwsJw French one]] which uses only happy scenes, while [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUDY0ZPzWFU the Italian opening]] is darker (especially in the beginning) and alternates between happy and sad scenes.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: There are portion of fans who read the novel don't like how Sarah is portrayed in this version (see BaseBreakingCharacter and TastesLikeDiabetes above for reasons). Some of them also dislike how the ending in the anime is different compare to the original.

* EndingAversion: Many viewers like the show but its ending received quite negative reaction in the recent years, with complaints about it being [[EsotericHappyEnding idealistic even when it's not]]. The ending has also hurts people's opinions about the show overall.

** The show in general. While it is considered as one of the best entries in ''World Masterpiece Theater'' series, there are some peole who dislike it since there are some characters that tend to be unlikable. How Sarah's personality handled and the show's controversial finale are the major point of contention.

* BrokenAesop: The morals in the final episode makes it clear about the importance of forgiveness, anyone is bad has [[FreudianExcuse reasons]] that makes them who they are, and its better to offer friendship to people like them. Unfortunately, [[spoiler:such antagonists like Miss Minchin, Lavinia, Molly and James really get no excuse at all for anything they do, yet in the end, they suddenly became nice after they received rewards from Sarah for ''obvious'' reasons and didn't express their apology to the latter.]]

** The last episode is explicitly stated to forgive your enemies, but to many modern viewers it is often interpreted [[spoiler:that [[FairWeatherFriend some people will only nice to you]] when you have a lot of money and in high status. Some have also interpret that you can only solve huge problems and gain friendship by [[EveryManHasHisPrice giving them money.]]]]

** Saudis and Filipino fans love ''Princess Sarah'' and re-runs of them are not uncommon. The Filipinos even made a live-action movie back in 1997 based on the anime!

** Miss Minchin crosses the line when she forces Sarah to sleep in the horse stable. In winter.

** Miss Minching crosses the line when she forces Sarah to sleep in the horse stable. In winter.

* MoralEventHorizon: Lavinia crossed this line when [[spoiler: she [[{{Sadist}} gleefully tells Lottie that Sarah is ill and dying.]]]] Her friends Jessie and Gertrude [[EvenEvilHasStandards could never agree for what she said]].

** The last episode is explicitly stated to forgive your enemies, but to many modern viewers it is often interpreted [[spoiler:that [[FairWeatherFriend some people will only nice to you]] when you have a lot of money and in high status]].

** Sarah. While there many people who praised her for her kindness and endurance, some of them dislike her for being [[PuritySue too sweet]] and [[ExtremeDoormat passive]], as opposed to the good-hearted but assertive figure she is in the book (or other adaptations such as the 1995 film, which has Sara being an outspoken MouthyKid towards her antagonists).The fact that her personality seems to be more inclined towards [[YamatoNadeshiko Japanese sensibilities]] than Western sensibilities and her decision [[spoiler: to [[EasilyForgiven forgive her abusers]] in thr final episode]] lead her to this.

** Sarah. While there many people who praised her for her kindness and endurance, some of them dislike her for being [[ExtremeDoormat too sweet and passive]], as opposed to the good-hearted but assertive figure she is in the book (or other adaptations such as the 1995 film, which has Sara being an outspoken MouthyKid towards her antagonists).The fact that her personality seems to be more inclined towards [[YamatoNadeshiko Japanese sensibilities]] than Western sensibilities lead her to this.

* BrokenAesop: The morals in the final episode makes it clear about the importance of forgiveness, anyone is bad has [[FreudianExcuse reasons]] that makes them who they are, and its better to offer friendship to people like them. Unfortunately, [[spoiler:such antagonists like Miss Minchin, Lavinia, Molly and James really get no excuse at all for anything they do, yet in the end, they suddenly became nice after they received rewards from Sarah for '''obvious''' reasons and didn't express their apology to the latter.]]

** Miss Minchin, James, and Molly in the final episode. [[spoiler: Did they actually have a change of heart, or were they just trying to keep up appearances yet again and salvage whatever dignity that they lost in an attempt to spare themselves further embarrassment?]]

* EndingAversion: Many viewers like the show but its ending received quite negative reaction in the recent years, with complaints about it being idealistic even when it's not. The ending has also hurts people's opinions about the show overall.

** Lavinia's father only appears in one episode but he's highly praised by the viewers. At first he seems like the typical DotingParent who does nothing but spoil his bratty daughter, but then it becomes clear that he [[spoiler:doesn't approve his daughter bullying Sarah, to the point that he slaps her, finally giving Lavinia some comeuppance for her actions and averting AdultsAreUseless.]]. His actions are recognized to the point that he was given a cameo in WMT and Kraft Parmesan cheese collaboration commercial.