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The Secret Garden (NHK)
(aka: The Secret Garden 1991)

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Characters from The Secret Garden (NHK).

See here for characters from the original novel.


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Lennox family

    As a whole 

Tropes that apply to all three

  • The Beautiful Elite: Mary's parents were wealthy and her mother would often wear Gorgeous Period Dresses. Their hobbies were throwing parties to socialize with their fellow elite.
  • Color Motif: Purple. While in India, Mary mainly wore a frilly purple dress, and when we see Mr. and Mrs. Lennox for the first time, they're also wearing fancy purple garments. It could be a nod to how in Real Life, purple was a colour associated with the aristocrats and the wealthy.
  • Foreign Culture Fetish: The Lennoxes are British, but had a fascination with India and moved there. Mary was born some time later.
  • Happily Married: Mary's parents were this, for all their flaws. They truly loved each other, and died together.
  • Parental Abandonment: Mary's parents viewed her as a burden and refused to properly interact with her. Instead, they would often attend fancy parties and hang out with other rich people.
  • Parental Neglect: Mr. and Mrs. Lennox were barely present in Mary's life, if at all. Though at the start, Mary is seen singing a song and then thinking of both her mother and her nanny but not about her dad, so make of that what you will.
  • Plot-Triggering Death: After Mr. and Mrs. Lennox die of cholera, Mary is left orphaned and has to move to Yorkshire, England, to live with her uncle.
  • Rich Bitch:
    • Mary was often grumpy, rude and entitled towards her servants. After she has a Jerkass Realization, she feels awful about her actions.
    • Mr. and Mrs. Lennox had no concern about Mary's upbringing and welfare, refusing to raise and care for their daughter because they thought their leisure time was more important. Their solution was to instead have the servants do it for them.
  • Strong Family Resemblance: Mary inherited Mrs. Lennox's blonde locks.
  • We Hardly Knew Ye: When they die, Mary doesn't feel anything because they never interacted with her.
    Mary Lennox 

Mary Lennox (メアリー・レノックス)

Voiced by: Mina Tominaga (Japanese) Dubbed in other languages by

A nine year old girl who's just become orphaned after her parents die of cholera. After their death, she is taken in to the custody of her uncle, Archibald Craven. She moves from India to England to live with him, and discovers a secret garden. Even though she's selfish and stubborn, spending time in the garden changes her for the better.
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maryeilgiardinodeimisteri3.jpg
Click hereto see her alternate outfit
  • Adaptational Intelligence: It's mentioned that Mary grew up reading books to pass the time as her parents never spent any time with her, and can recite whole poems by heart.
  • Adaptational Personality Change: Here Mary is a Composite Character of the original Mary Lennox and Martha Sowerby from the book, and has a penchant for pulling Zany Schemes with Dickon to make sure she gets her way.
  • Adaptational Nice Guy: In the book, Mary hit her servants and screamed insults at them, and when Martha spoke back to her, she was actually shocked. In the anime, she's still a Spoiled Brat, but doesn't harm her servants nor yell excessively, and is more mild-mannered. She's also more open to changing as a person, and has a Morality Pet in Paddy.
  • Age Lift: Mary here is 9 years old, but was older in the book.
  • Animal Lover: She was initially only close to her cat, Paddy, and was scared of other kinds of animals. However, Dickon, whose friends with all the Woodland Creatures and a Nature Lover to the core, helped her get over her fear of sheep, and she likewise befriended all the animals of the garden.
  • Babysitter's Nightmare: Medlock views Mary as this and treats her like a nuisance, which makes Mary angry enough to try getting back at the housekeeper.
  • Belated Child Discipline: Because her parents didn't want to raise her, Mary Lennox was pampered by servants all her life. When her parents died and she was sent to her uncle's manor in Yorkshire, she found that the servants there were less willing to put up with her spoiled attitude, and became more independent.
  • Better with Non-Human Company: Mary's Animal Companion, Paddy the cat, was her Only Friend when she lived in India and he's the only living creature Mary has patience for before her Character Development.
  • Blithe Spirit: Despite being moody at first, Mary's presence turns the whole Craven mansion upside down. She eventually finds out she has a love for animals as well as people, and wants to help Ben heal the garden. Spending time with Ben and Dickon inspires her to be more social, hence her willingness to befriend anyone she meets, be it social recluse Camila or the stoic tutor Helen. Camila in particular is touched by little Mary's optimism, and happily welcomes her as a friend.
  • Blush Sticker: A permanent part of her character design whether she's happy, excited or abashed.
  • Character Tic: Mary has a tendency to pull out her tongue whenever she's mad. Boy, does she have a long tongue.
  • Composite Character: Mary here is more of a Genki Girl and more playful, like Martha from the original novel. The anime's adaptation of Martha is also more serious than her book counterpart.
  • Commonality Connection: When Ben explains to Mary that the little robin has lost its mother, Mary realizes she understands it because she's alone too, and befriends it.
  • Determinator: She makes up her mind to restore Lilias' garden no matter what, even if she risks her uncle's rage and ignoring everyone else. Hell, when Max is about to buy the Craven estate, she goes all the way from Yorkshire to London, not to ask him to forgo the sale, but spare the garden that Lilias loved and make sure it is always cared for.
  • Dub Name Change: She was known as Raneem in the Arabic dub.
  • Friendless Background: For most of her life, Mary was a Lonely Rich Kid who lacked any proper friends apart from her servants and her cat.
  • Flowers of Femininity: Mary loves flowers and has a rose motif.
  • Friend to All Living Things: As Mary, Colin and Dickon spend more time in the garden, they become closer to its various flora and fauna. Helping matters is that Dickon is The Smart Guy when it comes to gardening.
  • Extremely Protective Child:
    • To Camila. Mary views her as a big sister, and though she's learned how to become a calmer and nicer person since moving to England, seeing the townspeople scream and insult her causes her fiery temper to rise again. She also stands in front of Camila's house when the Angry Mob try to burn it down, saying that she'll go down with her.
    • She also delivers an extremely impassioned rant to Dickon when she hears him badmouthing her.
    Mary: Have you ever heard her curse anyone? Have you ever seen her once do anything mean to others? Yet you're all angry with her because she's a foreigner. And you know, I'm one too. I was born in India, so....[wipes tears] it's not true that Camila is evil, it's you people who are bad. And I hate every single one of you!
  • Genki Girl: A light example. Mary is upbeat, always smiling, loves to play with animals and always ready to befriend anyone, no matter how aloof they are. Her kindness is what brings the staff of the Craven Mansion together at the garden.
  • Go Through Me: When the angry villagers attack Camila's house with stones and pitchforks, Mary stands in front of it and tells them that she'll go down with her unless they stop. The villagers are genuinely unnerved at her bravery.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: While Mary was intially a Rich Bitch who behaved horribly, post-Character Development she turns into this, as she becomes more kind and encouraging, and helps the people around her improve as well.
  • Hidden Heart of Gold: Mary wasn't a bad person, but years without proper love and care left her a cold and selfish person. If it weren't for Dickon reaching out to her and Camila's guidance, she would have remained that way.
  • Heartwarming Orphan: Despite being a Spoiled Brat, Mary was able to show empathy to people who also suffered tragedies, like Ben's loneliness after the death of Lilias and Camila's isolation from the other townspeople. She decides to help people to confront their demons and be a good friend to them, making her this trope.
  • How They Treat the Help: Despite her hot headed nature, Mary sees the reason in Martha's critiques of her behaviour and acts accordingly, on top of considering her a close friend.
  • I'm Standing Right Here: When she's on the ship, the other kids tease Mary for her aloof nature and make up an insulting rhyme based on her name. Mary scowls at them and eventually hollers at them to go away, which excites them even more.
  • Innocent Blue Eyes: Mary is an innocent Genki Girl with very bright, crystal-clear blue eyes.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While she's not a "jerk" per se, her loss of innocence as a child resulted in her being cynical to a degree, rejecting people's attempts at friendship and being emotional during quarrels with others. After she comes out of her shell, she becomes more Genki Girl-like while retaining her sensibleness, and also has a drive against the injustices her loved ones face.
  • Kid Hero: At nine years old, she aids Camila's medicinal practices, helps the villagers with their problems and protects the animals that belong to Dickon from bad-faith hunters.
  • Lonely Rich Kid: Mary's parents had a lot of friends and would frequently socialize with their fellow Beautiful Elite, but Mary had no one else apart from her servants and Paddy.
  • Mirror Character: Towards Colin. Both children were deprived of proper socialization due to their life circumstances, but Mary was able to break out of her mold, while Colin is more restrained by it.
  • Nature Lover: Mary was initially reserved about exploring her new environment of Yorkshire, but when Ben introduced her to the Craven's beautiful garden, it fascinated her and began caring for it.
  • Oblivious to Love: She misses Dickon's quite obvious crush on her (to be fair, that's not surprising when you consider her past - besides, 9 year olds don't often think about love). In fact, near the end of the anime Dickon and Martha both talk about his feelings for Mary, but he never confesses to her and she remains oblivious.
  • Parental Substitute: While she lived in British India, Mary had a personal maid-servant who looked after her. Although more of a mother to her than Mrs. Lennox, the class gap kept Mary from seeing her as a genuine parental figure.
  • Perpetual Frowner: Very much in the first arc. She had a permanent scowl on her face, especially towards Martha and Medlock, rebuffing all their attempts at getting close to her.
  • Pretty Butterflies: Mary uses butterfly clips as hair decorations.
  • Spirited Young Lady: She becomes this after arriving to the Craven manor. Mr. Craven himself demands that Mary be raised into a Proper Lady, hence Medlock and Miss McCoy being extremely strict and trying to dismantle anything "unladylike" of her (this includes getting rid of her pet cat; though Medlock allows her to keep it after it helps her out of a bind) and silencing her when she asks questions about the house and the garden. Mary refuses to be bound by their rules, using wit and defiance in response to their control, and unveils the truth through her own efforts.
  • Spoiled Brat: Years of being raised by servants has turned her into a selfish little snot. After she has a Jerkass Realization, she realizes that she needs to change and be a better person.
  • Strong Family Resemblance: She looks like the spitting image of her mother, down to the hair and eyes. Especially the eyes.
  • Sweet Tooth: In the ED, Mary holds a stick of pink cotton candy as she controls a group of puppets.
  • Tender Tears: During her temporary stay at the Sowerby house, after she's finished eating, she's offered more portions by all of Dickon's siblings as she's their guest. She then has to exit the table to cry because she's touched by how far they're willing to go to make her comfortable despite being much poorer.
  • Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: She has a pink bow wrapped around her head. In the book, it was mentioned that she had long, blonde hair but no hair ties.
  • True Blue Femininity: Her signature dress is a blue frock with a frilly collar.
    Mr. Lennox 

Mr. Lennox

Voiced by: Character doesn't speak

The neglectful father of Mary Lennox.
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marysdad.png
    Mrs. Lennox 

Mrs. Lennox

Voiced by: Character doesn't speak

The neglectful mother of Mary Lennox.
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mrs_lennox.png
  • Adaptational Nice Guy: While still being a neglectful mother to Mary, she gets more humanizing moments. For example when Mary is pondering about her parents, she thinks of her nanny and her mother, but not her father.
  • English Rose: Mrs. Lennox places great importance on her social image, and presents herself as this to her fellow socialites. It's to the point most of her friends don't even know she had a daughter.
  • Graceful Ladies Like Purple: In the anime, she's seen wearing a purple gown.
  • Hidden Heart of Gold: Implied. In the flashback, it's she's seen having many happy memories with Lilias and Camila. While a wordless sequence, the fact that she has no problem befriending Camila speaks volumes considering how others treated her.
  • Ojou: Mrs. Lennox is an English Rose variant. She was a wealthy Englishwoman who lived in a house full of servants.
  • Parents as People: Mrs. Lennox was a pleasant person and shared many positive memories with Mrs. Craven and Camila, but a terrible parent to Mary.
  • Pimped-Out Dress: As a rich lady, she had an Unlimited Wardrobe of fancy, exquisite dresses that had various frills and colours.
  • Stylish Sunhats: Her fancy outfits include a brown sunhat adorned with a feather and a rose.

Craven Family

    As a whole 
  • Adaptational Dye-Job: In the original book, Lilias and Colin were stated to have gray eyes. In the anime, they're blue.
  • Big Fancy House: The Craven mansion is a large, castle-like building with a beautiful garden. It's so spacious that Mary easily gets lost there when she's new.
  • Big, Screwed-Up Family: Archibald is a cruel man who's feared by his employees and abused Max. He also neglects his only child, Colin. His in-laws, the Lennoxes, are also self-centered and chose to hand their only daughter away to servants rather than raise her, which lead to her being haughty and spoiled. Mary eventually breaks out of it, and realizes that the family will fall apart if they don't stop being dysfunctional.
  • Happily Married: Archibald and Lilias were soulmates and after her death, Archibald continued to remember her with a photograph in his locket.
  • Parental Neglect: Colin reminds Archibald too much of his dead wife, so he ignored him for years instead to alleviate his grief. Though he does try to visit Colin once.
  • May–December Romance: Between Archibald and Lilias. Lilias was much younger than Archibald (she looked no older than 25 while the younger Archibald looked almost exactly like his present and older self save for his still not white hair), yet they still clearly adored each other. It would explain a lot about how hard he took her death.
  • Meaningful Name: At the time the original book was written, Craven was an informal word for "weakling", and Colin is an Ill Boy while Lilias died in childbirth.
  • Strong Family Resemblance: Colin has Lilias' face, hair and eyes.
  • Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Lilias is very pretty and gorgeous, while Archibald...isn't. In contrast Camila is hot, and Max is slightly above average looking.

    Colin Craven 

Colin Craven (コリン・クレイヴン)

Voiced by: Minami Takayama (Japanese) Dubbed in other languages by

A sickly boy who is Archibald Craven's son. Like Mary, he's spoiled and aloof, until his Character Development. Even though he clashes with Mary at first, he slowly comes to appreciate her and begins to help her and Dickon in the garden.
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/colincraven.png
  • Alliterative Name: Colin Craven.
  • Adaptational Jerkass: He gets extremely jealous of Dickon's friendship with Mary and has him fired from the Craven estate, and is repeatedly rude to him when he tries to apologize (even though he knows he's not in the wrong). It takes Dickon receiving a grave injury for him to wake up and stop being so self-centered.
  • Adaptational Nice Guy:
    • He's a calmer and more understanding person than his book counterpart. Though still not without his selfish moments, he tends to think of Mary more than himself.
    • In the book, there's an infamous scene where Colin throws a tantrum, leading Mary to declare that she doesn't want to see him anymore. In the anime, he throws the same tantrum, but only because he wanted to send Mrs. Medlock out of the house and save Mary from getting in trouble. He even admits to Mary later on that he might have over-acted a bit too far.
  • Calling the Old Man Out: In the Grand Finale, he finally stands up to his dad and tells him what he thinks of him.
  • Delicate and Sickly: Colin was born without the ability to walk, allergies, chronic pain and several other health issues. He's always under the eye of Mrs. Medlock and his personal nurse. Mary and Dickon decide to get around his illness by building a wheelchair and taking him to the secret garden so he can enjoy the world outside his bedroom.
  • Disability Aid Loss: Mary and Dickon accidentally break Colin's wheelchair when he asks them to push him faster down the hill, leading him to be catapulted into some hay. Mrs. Medlock is furious, and forces him back into the house by having the servants carry him. Colin desperately pleads for her not to deprive him of the outside world and begs Mary for help, but it's no use.
  • Gilded Cage: He confesses that he feels like a prisoner in his own home, and when he hears that his father is going to sell the castle, he says that he couldn't care less about it and the only thing he feels any connection to is the secret garden.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's sour, mean and a little hot-tempered on the outside. However, he also cares for Mary and is happy that she invites him to spend time with her at the garden, and also makes sure to thank Dickon for showing him all his animals in his letter to her when they're not allowed to talk.
  • Lonely Rich Kid: Like Mary, he was born into wealth and grew up restricted by it. Though in his case, it's more complicated as he has an illness - he couldn't go outside even if he wanted to.
  • Mirror Character: He's Mary if her selfish attitude went unchecked.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: When Dickon (after being pressured by Martha) climbs a tree to get honey for him, and ends up getting heavily stung, Colin is full of guilt and begs Dickon for forgiveness. He even accepts the good scolding Mary gives him over it.
  • Never Learned to Read: Because he was confined to his bed his entire life, he never learned how to read and write - he has to learn from Mary. This becomes an important plot point in an episode, as when Mrs. Medlock bars Mary from seeing Colin after blaming her for getting him hurt; they keep in touch by writing letters and having Dickon's squirrel deliver them.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In the Grand Finale, Colin, upon seeing Archibald, instantly steps out of the wheelchair to confront him. Mary expresses shock for him and tells him it's too dangerous, but Dickon stops her from intervening and says that it's something Colin has to do on his own. Seeing Colin walk for the first time shakes Archibald as he has a Jerkass Realization.
  • Parental Abandonment: His father neglects him because he's swamped by grief of losing his mother. While he does make sure Colin is cared for and has his needs met, he isn't there for him as a person. Mr. Craven actually does once try to visit Colin's room when he hears that he's getting better, but once he hears Colin having a coughing fit he backs away because he's scared of reliving Lilias' death.
  • Parental Substitute: Mrs. Medlock and his nurse play this role for him because Archibald refuses to see him.
  • Sour Outside, Sad Inside: He tells Mary he's been told he was going to die ever since he was little and feels like a prisoner in his own house because of his disability. It takes seeing all the effort Mary goes through for him to start having hope in himself.
  • When You Coming Home, Dad?: Colin desperately wants to see his father for once, even writing a letter to him after Mary teaches him how to be literate. He is broken beyond tears when he finally becomes healthy enough to go outside through his wheelchair and tries to greet his father...only for him to coldly ignore him.
    Archibald Craven 

Archibald Craven (アーチボルト・クレイヴン)

Voiced by: Oamu Saka (Japanese) Dubbed in other languages by

Mary's uncle and the owner of the Craven mansion.
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/craven.png
  • Adaptation Deviation: In the original anime, Archibald was the owner of Misselthwaite Manor. Here, it's a castle.
  • Adaptational Job Change:
    • In the original novel, his specific occupation isn't stated. Here, he's a wealthy landlord who makes a fortune by renting out parts of the castle to other elite, for hunting or for recreation.
    • He also had wealth tied to his investments in gold mines in Africa.
  • Adaptational Villainy: Here, he's a serial abuser who treats his servants badly and is feared for his violent outbursts.
  • Aristocrats Are Evil: He's haughty, selfish, neglects his own son, and subjected Max and Camila to extreme abuse when they were employed under him. Max nearly taking a hefty chunk of his wealth at the end of the anime seems almost karmic.
  • Bad Boss: Unlike his wife, he was a very cruel man. His abuse completely broke Max, and he unfairly blamed Camila for Lilias' death.
  • Benevolent Boss: Believe it or not, he's also this. Sure, the house staff don't ever want to disappoint him and work hard to be in his good graces, but he's not harsh to them. He was terrible to Max and Camila, but only out of a sense of misplaced anger. When he announces that he is going to leave the castle, he offers to write positive letters of recommendations to anyone who wants to seek employment elsewhere, but his servants are all driven to tears and some say that they'd rather live in poverty than work for Max. Hell, his carriage driver starts bawling like a baby.
  • Broken Tears: After he decides not to commit suicide and Max forgives him.
  • Driven to Suicide: When it seems Archibald is about to lose the manor to Hawkins and be economically ruined, he makes arrangements for Mary and Colin's caretaking and gets ready to blow his brains out with a gun while staring at a picture of his dear Lilias. He backs off at the last moment.
  • Hidden Heart of Gold: When he finds out that Mary, Colin, Dickon and Ben tended to Lilias' garden and helped it grow anew, he's flabbergasted, then thinks of Lilias, and then feels immensely happy. He then decides to help out.
  • Jerkass Realization: The Grand Finale is Archibald having one Jerkass Realization after another, from being confronted about his terrible behaviour by Camila and Max, to realizing how his grief over losing Lilias drove him to be a cold monster, to Colin forcing himself to step out of his wheelchair and walk just to show him how badly he's been neglected over the years. Archibald apologizes to Max and Camila, and Max chooses to forgive him and start a new path in the future.
  • Love Hurts: He crossed the Despair Event Horizon when his dear Lilias died.
  • Misplaced Retribution:
    • Max was accused of theft and fired by Archibald. He was actually innocent, but Archibald was too stubborn to listen.
    • He also blamed Camila for his wife's death and exiled her when she had nothing to do with it.
  • Riches to Rags: While not completely destitute, he loses a lot of his money to Max. He then loses his will to live and almost commits suicide, but has a vision of Lilias speaking to him and puts down the gun.
  • Sour Outside, Sad Inside: A broken heart over Lilias is the root of Archibald's cruelty and coldness.
    Lilias Craven 

Lilias Craven

Voiced by: Kayo Sanpei (Japanese) Dubbed in other languages by

Colin's mother who died in childbirth.
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lilias.png
In Archibald's vision
  • Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In the book, Lilias was related to Mary's father, and never met Mary's mother. In the anime, while there is still the implication that they are related, they never interact, and Lilias is shown to be closer to Mrs. Lennox.
  • Beauty Equals Goodness: One of the most beautiful characters and painted as pure and sweet.
  • Caring Gardener: Lilias loved plants, spending hours caring for her personal garden with Ben and Camila.
  • Death by Childbirth: Delivering Colin combined with the fall from a tree were too much for Lilias.
  • Deceased Parents Are the Best: While the Lennoxes were a pair of neglectful twits, Lilias was a kind and caring woman. She suffered an injury shortly before Colin was due and died later.
  • Gorgeous Period Dress: Lilias Craven often dressed lavishly, as expected of a rich lady.
  • How They Treat the Help: She took Camila in when no one else would and the two grew into best friends very quickly.
  • The Lost Lenore: After her death, Archibald went through a mental breakdown and shut himself off from everyone. He's so traumatized from her death he can't even look at their son, Colin, because he reminds him of her.
  • Missing Mom: Lilias was heavily injured after after climbing a tree to get Camila a flower as a birthday gift. This was despite Camila begging her to get down and saying it was too dangerous. After she died, Camila was blamed for her death and banned from the manor.
  • Pink Is Feminine: In Ben's flashback, she wore a pink dress with a rose at the collar and a pink bow in her hair.
  • Shipper on Deck: When Camila told her of her engagement to Max, Lilias wholeheartedly supported it and even promised to let them get married at the Craven manor.
  • Spoiled Sweet: Despite being a rich aristocrat, she treated everyone with respect and kindness regardless of social class.
  • Stylish Sunhats: In Archibald's vision, she wore a wide-brimmed sunhat with a lot of feathers.
  • Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Everyone who knew Lilias has nothing but good things to say about her. She was such a positive force that her loss turned the manor into the dark, cold place devoid of joy it is today.
  • Too Dumb to Live: It doesn't take a genius to figure out why climbing a tree while pregnant is a bad idea, especially when someone is yelling at you to get down.

Sowerby Family

    As a whole 
  • Adaptational Nice Guy:
    • Dickon doesn't tease Mary by singing "Mary, mary, quite contrary..." like in the book. Then again, Mary here is also a Nice Girl, removing the need for that.
    • Martha's racism towards Indian people (who she called "blacks") is cut out.
  • Age Lift: In the book, Martha and Dickon were teenagers. In the anime they're about Mary's age.
  • Ambiguously Brown: Martha, Dickon and the other Sowerbys have darker skin than most of the other characters.
  • Composite Character: Dickon takes on Martha's role of being Mary's closest friend, while she's relegated to a smaller role than her book counterpart.
  • Family Eye Resemblance: Most of the Sowerbys have Innocent Blue Eyes.
  • Hypocrite: Dickon and Martha criticize Mary for having being cold and unfriendly, even though they take part in the village's ostracizing of Camila just for being Romani.
  • Massive Numbered Siblings: The Sowerby family has twelve children, of which Dickon and Martha are the oldest.
  • Race Lift: Dickon and Martha were white in the book (Martha even expressed shock at the presence of dark skin) but in the anime, they both have tanned skin. It's likely because both of them regularly do hard work under the sun, as Camila (who is explicitly confirmed to be a person of colour) is subject to frequent racism and excluded by the village, while they aren't.
  • Single-Minded Twins: Dickon and Martha have three younger siblings who are triplets and speak and act in sync, to the point they even finish one another's sentences.
  • Strong Family Resemblance: Dickon and Martha have the same eyes and the same dark, black spiky hair. They get their eyes from their mother Susan, while the other Sowerby children have different hair textures.
    Dickon Sowerby 

Dickon (ディコン)

Voiced by: Mayumi Tanaka (Japanese) Dubbed in other languages by

A young boy who works at the Craven mansion and befriends Mary.
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dickon.png
  • Adaptational Jerkass: Slightly. Only in the anime does he buy into the negative rumors about Camila.
  • Animal Lover: Dickon loves animals and acts as an intermediary of sorts between them and Mary, helping her get over her fear of various Woodland Creatures. The animals love him so much that birds treat him like a perch and even frenzied animals calm down in his presence.
  • Bratty Half-Pint: He loves teasing Mary and the other staff with his penchant for jokes. Martha often admonishes him for it.
  • Caring Gardener: Dickon helps Mary tend to the garden and grow beautiful flowers.
  • Cheerful Child: He treats the outdoors like a second home, and happily befriends Mary. He's always eager to play with her and encourages her to ride horses and play with sheep, and see the good in everything.
  • Composite Character: While Anime!Mary inherited Literature!Martha's Genki Girl traits, Anime!Dickon inherited her Cool Big Sis traits and acts as a guiding force to Mary, helping her settle in England.
  • Dub Name Change: In the Italian dub, his name is changed to Dick.
  • Farmer's Daughter: A male example as he's close to nature, from a poor working-class background and a friend to all animals. His Cheerful Child nature rubs off on Mary.
  • Flowers of Femininity: Gender-inverted with Dickon, who's a boy but loves flowers and gardening.
  • Friend to All Living Things: He loves all sorts of animals, including cats, squirrels, dogs, rabbits, foxes, birds and mice, and also helps Mary tend to the garden. He even goes out in the drizzling storm to cover some roses with a bed-sheet so that they don't get damaged by the rain.
  • In Harmony with Nature: Like his book counterpart, Dickon is more in tune with flora and fauna than humans. Colin is shocked to hear that even in the windy rainstorm, he still goes out of his way to visit the garden.
    Colin: How come the rain and lightening doesn't bother him at all?
  • Nature Lover: Dickon is a Caring Gardener and a friend to all animals. He ropes Mary into becoming this too, starting by having her befriend sheep.
  • Nice Guy: His nice and genuine personality earns him the trust of both humans and animals alike.
  • Politically Incorrect Hero: He parrots the rumors he heard about Camila to Mary, causing her to angrily reprimand him and tell him he's a horrible person. He feels ashamed afterwards, realizing that he's a hypocrite. Future episodes have him treat Camila respectfully and stand up for her.
  • Promoted to Love Interest: Even though they weren't romantically inclined in the book, it's implied a few times that he feels more than friendship for Mary. For example, when Mary asked him about Easter, he told her it was an event where people give gifts to those they love - and blushes deeply at the thought of giving something to Mary. Episode 33 confirms that Dickon does have a crush on Mary, which he tells to Martha. However, Mary doesn't know it and only sees him as a best friend.
  • Secret-Keeper: Dickon is the first person who Mary tells about the secret garden. He quickly understands why Mary has to keep it hidden, and uses his knowledge of botany to help her maintain it.
  • Ship Tease: He takes over Martha's role as Mary's closest confidante, sometimes individually gifts her carnations, exchanges gifts with her on Easter and even though he tends to react with amusement and sarcasm to her at times, he's genuinely touched whenever she's kind to him.
  • The Smart Guy: Dickon is a walking encyclopedia on flora and fauna and passes his knowledge on to Mary and Colin.
  • Speaks Fluent Animal: He is capable of this and it is said all the animals tell him their hiding spots.
    Martha Sowerby 

Martha (マーサ)

Voiced by: Chika Sakamoto (Japanese) Dubbed in other languages by

The sister of Dickon. She initially had her reservations about Mary but like Dickon, grew to like her.
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/martha_sowerby.png
  • Adaptational Seriousness: Martha is a sterner older sister to Dickon and warns him to stay out of mischief. In the book, she was more of a Cool Big Sis that loved to Troll Mary.
  • Badly Battered Babysitter: On the very second day she meets Mary, Mary wanders off and goes missing. It's only thanks to Camila she makes it back. Poor Martha had been looking for Mary for hours.
  • Big Sister Instinct: She's very protective of Dickon and always keeps him in check.
  • Brutal Honesty: Ouch, one thing the anime kept from the book is that Martha will not beat around the bush and tell it to you straight. She tells Mary she's a Spoiled Brat for not knowing how to dress herself and makes her feel embarrassed about it, and also calls out Dickon for wanting to mess around instead of work.
  • Dub Name Change: In the Italian dub, her name is changed to Marta.
  • Good Is Not Nice: She'll openly criticize Mary and question her upbringing, but that doesn't mean she won't help her and support her when she needs it. Even Mary concedes Martha is right a few times.
  • Token Religious Teammate: Martha tends to start praying in extreme distress (like when she fears she'll lose her job or when she hears her siblings are sick).
    Susan Sowerby 

Susan (スーザン)

Voiced by: Kazuyo Aoki (Japanese)

The mother of the Sowerbys.
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/susan_4.png
  • Alliterative Name: Susan Sowerby.
  • Cool Old Lady: Mary and Colin admire her because she's a kindly mother figure to them as well as her children.
  • Only Friend: Mrs. Medlock is short with most of the Craven staff, but Susan is the sole exception.
  • Pink Is Feminine: She wears a bright pink shirt.

Craven Mansion staff

    Mrs. Medlock 

Medlock (メドロック)

Voiced by: Yoshiko Ohta (Japanese) Dubbed in other languages by


https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/medlock.jpg
  • Adaptational Personality Change: Mrs. Medlock hates her job, and is more overbearing and harsher than her book counterpart.
  • Hypocrite:
    • She despises Mary for always being stubborn, rude, and disrespectful to Miss McCoy (which is understandable), but she isn't any better, being extremely judgemental of Ben Weatherstaff having an affinity for animals (saying that people like him are only close to animals because they're "weirdos" who can't make human friends), and implying Mary is no different because of her attachment to her cat.
    • Also, Mary was only rude to Miss McCoy because she was rude to her first, calling her stupid for her Indian upbringing, only to be left in awe when Mary proves that she is quite book smart. Later, Mary would apologize to Miss McCoy and act more polite to her, while Medlock never changed her ways, and continues to backbite Mary even when she isn't doing anything.
  • Named In The Adaptation: Here, she has the first name Sarah Ann.
  • Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: To Mary, whom she volleys arguments with back and forth. She even states that ever since Mary arrived to the Craven house, her presence alone has made things worse for everyone.
    Ben Weatherstaff 

Ben Weatherstaff (ベン・ウェザースタフ)

Voiced by: Yoichi Miyagawa (Japanese) Dubbed in other languages by

The gardener of the Craven house. He helps Mary, Colin and Dickon care for it.
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ben_60.png
  • Adaptational Personality Change: Ben is more snarky here. Though, he has a more distant connection to Lilias (despite near-revering her), and he's also afraid of Mr. Craven (hence him refusing to go the same route as his book counterpart).
  • Ascended Extra: Inverted; he was one of the most important characters in the book, but here he's increasingly Out of Focus. He doesn't even realize that Mary's been constantly sneaking in the garden because they very rarely talk. Also, in the book, he would regularly tend to the garden even though he was forbidden to, but here he takes part in neglecting it and it's up to Mary and Dickon to bring back the garden on their own.
  • Aww Look They Really Do Love Each Other: Sure, Archibald Craven's always been aloof, but when Ben finds out that Max may potentially bankrupt him, him and the staff of the Craven house march to Max's house and demand to talk. They implore him to reconsider, telling him to think of the children. Max eventually agrees.
  • Caring Gardener: Ben adores animals as much as Dickon does, and gives Mary advice on how to care for the garden, not realizing that she's actually tending to the secret garden.
  • Cool Old Guy: To Mary. He wasn't very nice to her when she first arrived and believed the rumours of her horrid behaviour to be true, but slowly he began warming up to the inquisitive little girl eager to know about the outdoors and the garden.
  • Crusty Caretaker: Ever since Lilian's death, he's been sadder and distant, but Mary's arrival changes that.
  • Exact Eavesdropping: Ben knows that Max Hawkins is innocent of the embezzlement charges Mr. Craven has against him because he overheard a conversation between him and Lilias where she asked him to lie to protect the farmer's lives.
  • Old Retainer: He has fond memories of Lilias long after her death and is stunned to see her son with Mary, instantly noticing that they have the exact same eyes. He remains loyal to the Cravens even after they're on the edge of bankruptcy, for her and Colin's sake.
  • Team Dad: Despite his gruff exterior, he's very gentle when speaking to Mary, and continues this kindness towards Colin after meeting him.
    Helen McCoy  

Helen McCoy (ヘレン・マッコイ)

Voiced by: Masako Katsuki (Japanese)

A tutor Mr. Craven hires for Mary.
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mcoy.png
  • But Now I Must Go: Eventually, her fiance comes back from the United States of America and sends her a telegram asking her hand in marriage. She bids the Craven house farewell to be with him.
  • Canon Foreigner: She doesn't appear in the book, wherein Mary refused to have a governess.
  • Character Development: At first, she didn't like Mary for being disobedient and rude. However, she came to appreciate her after seeing her risk her life to save Tom from the roof, realizing that deep down Mary did have a Hidden Heart of Gold.
  • Fiery Redhead: Subverted. She's usually calm, but became agitated at Mary constantly disrespecting her and ditching class.
  • Jerkass: On her first day with Mary, after seeing the girl constantly act indifferent to her teachings, she called her stupid and made a catty remark about how Mary was less intelligent because she grew up in India. This causes Mary to become furious and shut her up by being able to recite the poem they were reading by heart, recalling how she entertained herself with books in her parents' absence, and she ends the lesson by running out of the room and telling McCoy she's not worth her time.
  • Private Tutor: She is hired to teach Mary about sewing, reading and art.
  • Quitting to Get Married: She quits her job at the Craven's manor to marry her fiance.

Other

    Camila 

Camila (カミーラ)

Voiced by: Fumi Hirano (Japanese) Dubbed in other languages by

A Romani woman who was friends with Lilias Craven before her death. She works as a doctor.
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/camila_1.png
  • Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She has black hair and doesn't interact with the villagers, to the point she's rumoured to be a phantom, because they spent years abusing her racially for being a Romani. She takes a liking to Mary because she's new, and the two become fast friends.
  • Beauty Equals Goodness: She is very beautiful and a practicing doctor.
  • Because You Were Nice to Me: She holds Mary in high regard because Mary was kind to her when no one else was, and proudly called her a friend in spite of the stigma attached to her name. She asks Max not to go through with his Revenge against Mr. Craven because she knows it'll affect Mary.
  • The Boo Radley: Camila was subject to this by the Close-Knit Community of Yorkshire for years. Blamed for the death of Lilias Craven and called a "witch", "evil woman", "murderer" and many other grisly things, she suffered endlessly from their beration and became a recluse out of shame. Of course, she never had a chance considering her race, but Archibald Craven himself accusing her of the murder ensured that she'd be a social pariah forever.
  • Broken Bird: Having given up on earning any respect from the villagers and broken over losing Max, Camila strictly kept to herself at the start of the series. Mary's presence, and Max reuniting with her, changes this.
  • Broken Tears: In the Grand Finale, most of the adult cast, including Camila, tears up when they look back on Lilias and the kindness she gave them.
  • Canon Foreigner: She is an anime-only character and wasn't in the original 1911 novel.
  • Cool Big Sis: She looks at Mary like a little sister and is touched by her openness and kindness. When she learns that Max might potentially bankrupt the Cravens, she feels worried about Mary, even though Archibald Craven was horrible to her.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Camila and her mother were discriminated against for being Romani and treated badly by the rest of the village. Lilias, however, refused to treat Camila badly and offered her a job at the Craven mansion after she became orphaned. One day, Lilias fell from a tree while attempting to bring Camila a flower, dying on the spot. Archibald blamed Camila for her death and kicked her out of the mansion.
  • Disappeared Dad: We see her mother in a flashback but not her father.
  • Grew a Spine: She's not one for conflict, but when the Craven ex-servants arrive to her house and one puts their hands on Max, she instantly shields him and tells him to back off.
  • Hot Gypsy Woman: She has very beautiful eyes and messy hair, amongst a smooth face, and is the show's Ms. Fanservice.
  • Friend to All Children: She meets Mary when she's lost and helps guide her home. When a sickness infects the village, Camila freaks out, starts working on a cure, and even risks being harassed publicly by going to the Craven mansion and treating the Sowerby triplets.
  • Icy Blue Eyes: She has eyes that are as blue as ice, and is a rather mysterious and aloof lady.
  • Intergenerational Friendship: Mary refuses to call her a "witch" like the other townsfolk do and introduced Camila as her friend.
  • Love Hurts: Camilla and Max Hawkins become Star-Crossed Lovers when they were kicked out of the Craven household with nowhere to go. Camila built her home in the wilderness while Max left her to build his fortune.
  • Magical Romani: As a Romani, Camila is frequently accused of being a "witch" who brings curses to people. In reality she's a doctor who knows how to cultivate herbs into medicine.
  • Ms. Fanservice: In the fourth episode, we see Camila bathing in a waterfall, bare beasts galore. Granted, her messy Godiva Hair covers her nipples when she turns around.
  • Not-So-Phony Psychic: While not an outright Magical Romani, she uses tarot cards and crystall balls to make predictions about future events. She correctly guesses that Mary is an orphan, and that a sickness is about to spread to the children of Yorkshire.
  • Shameless Fanservice Girl: When she's bathing, she's not at all concerned that her breasts are visible to the viewer.
  • Token Minority: She is the only confirmed non-white member of the main cast.
  • Tragic Keepsake: Lilias Craven gave her a butterfly clip, and she treasures it as it's her only physical reminder of her.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: She gives many to Max after reuniting with him.
    • She asks Max if he wants to marry her out of love, or if he wants to use her as an instrument for his revenge. She points out that ever since he's arrived from Yorkshire he's been obsessed with becoming Nouveau Riche, something he wasn't like when she knew him.
    • She calls him out for leaving her alone for years, promising to be back in 5 years but actually coming back after a decade. Max tells her that his plan was to become a man worthy of her, hence becoming a wealthy trader, but Camila tells him that she would rather have lived with him as a poor woman than lose him for 10 years, only for him to arrive again as a rich man.
    • While Mary isn't upset at him for confiscating the Craven's estate, she begs him to, at the very least, leave Lilias' garden intact because she wants to honour her memory. Max flatly tells her that he can't do that and plans to have the entire Craven turned into a hotel, because that's just how business works. Even Camila is disgusted to hear this and calls out Max for being so vindictive towards the woman who showed them nothing but kindness when she was alive.
    • In fact, she even tosses off the wedding ring Max gave her and tells him that he can choose being full of hate if he wants, but she doesn't want to be with the "new Max" and prefers the young man she met at the Manor years ago. This shakes Max as he realizes what he's become.

    Max Hawkins 

Max Hawkins

Voiced by: Akio Ōtsuka (Japanese) Dubbed in other languages by

An ex-employee of the Craven's. He used to work as his accountant.
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maxhawkins.png
  • Best Served Cold: He has been planning his revenge on Mr. Craven for a long, long time, and eventually gets a legal avenue to seize his wealth and assets. However, in the end, he settles for confronting Mr. Craven and clearing his and Camila's names in front of him, with the other housestaff as witnesses, and telling him how much he hurt them.
  • Break the Cutie: He suffered a lot of abuse under Mr. Craven while he was employed by him, and he harbours a deep grudge against him as a result. Not helping that his love Camila was also treated a similar way.
  • Canon Foreigner: He wasn't in the original Frances Hodgson Burnett novel, and was created for Archibald's backstory for the anime series.
  • Heel Realization: Max dedicated his life to humiliating Archibald and taking everything from him. When he finally has the power and money to do so, however, he realizes he has become what he hates: a man without patience and mercy who crushes people the way he was crushed as a boy. This makes Max change his mind and instead show Archibald the mercy he didn't years ago.
  • Hidden Heart of Gold: He made fun of Mr. Craven when he traveled all the way to London and begged for more time to repay the loan. However, he's seen crying to himself afterwards.
  • Love Hurts: He loves Camila with all his heart. Unfortunately, both were young and poor when they met. After they reunited after many years, Max wants to use his wealth to give her the life she'd always wanted, but she is wary that this Max is not the one she loves.
  • Kick Them While They Are Down: When Mr. Craven can't pay back Max Hawkins, he gleefully rubs it in his face, noting that in the past he treated him badly for being his employee. However, he takes it a step further when he rejects his plea to give him more time to pay it off and jumps to seizing his castle and wealth.
  • Pet the Dog: Mr. Craven took a loan from Max and was unable to pay it back due to his other debts. As a result, Max tried to take over his house and possessions, with the added caveat of getting Revenge from the years of maltreatment he suffered at Craven's hands. This makes Camila angry, because the old Max would never have tried something like that. After Archibald has multiple Jerkass Realizations, Max sees that he's changed and offers a new deal where Archibald can pay him back in the future.
  • The Power of Love: How he was able to overcome his need for revenge - his love for Camila superseded everything else.
    Max: If I went through with my revenge, Camila would not want to get married with me anymore. Thanks to the love I feel for her, I have rediscovered what true human emotion is.
  • Rags to Riches: After being fired by Mr. Craven, Max moved to the city and his business flourished, becoming even wealthier than Mr. Craven himself.
  • Shadow Archetype: To Mr. Craven. Mr. Craven was a just and good man who turned into a completely different person because he was full of grief after Lilias died. Similarly, Max was once a young and hopeful person until Mr. Craven treated him badly. He is able to stop himself because of Camila, refusing to repeat what happened with Archibald and Lilias.

Alternative Title(s): The Secret Garden 1991

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