The Girl in the Wind: Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair (風の中の少女 金髪のジェニー, Kaze no Naka no Shōjo: Kinpatsu no Jenī) is a Japanese animated television series produced by Nippon Animation which ran for 52 episodes on TV Tokyo from October 1992 to September 1993.[1] It is based on the 1854 song "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" by Stephen Foster.
This work depicts the childhood of the composer Stephen Foster and his wife Jane McDowell Foster Wiley. The original is the novel based the biography of Stephen Foster, written by Fumio Ishimori. Among music-themed anime, this work is an anime whose theme is not only music but also biography, and depicts the childhood of a noted composer. However, the anime itself has almost nothing to do with the real Foster or his wife. It is one of companion volumes of the "World Masterpiece Theater", broadcast on TV Tokyo from 19:30 to 20:00 on Thursday.
This work is the last anime based on Western literatures which was produced by Nippon Animation. In fact, there are no anime based on Western literatures in anime that were first broadcast since 1993, except for Fuji TV's "World Masterpiece Theater" series.[2] When this work was broadcast in Japan, Japan was in the midst of a J-League boom (opened on 15 May 1993). Contrary to the success of Brazilians who played in newly established J League, anime "seeing foreign countries from afar" like this work have fallen.
It can be said that this work "Jeanie with the light brown hair" heralded the end of "the era seeing foreign countries from afar", just as the predecessor "Moero! Top Striker" heralded the beginning of "the era when it is natural to play an active role overseas".
The story begins in a small town in Pennsylvania in 1838. Jeanie MacDowell is a cheerful and beautiful girl with light brown hair (although this could be perceived as being blonde hair). Jeanie enjoys playing the piano and loves taking piano lessons from her mother.
Steven, a good harmonica player, and Bill, a boy who is very good at playing the banjo, are great friends of Jeanie's. They enjoy playing music together like a small band.
However, Jeanie's happy life changes dramatically after her mother suddenly passes away. Experiencing many difficulties and learning the importance of life, she decides to devote her life to helping many people suffering from illness.
The music collection of this work is titled as "Mirror of Memories," which is also the title of the ending theme, and occasionally inserts narrations by Mitsuko Horie who acts the main character Jeanie McDowell.[3]
This series is almost completely different from its 1992 counterpart.
During the civil war a girl living in Virginia, named Jeanie, waits for her old boyfriend Robert to marry him, according to a childish promise, but the war makes the things complicated and, Robert comes back as northerner soldier. Only with the conflict's end, and many misadventures, their dream will become true.
Episode List
Arabic Title: ابنتي العزيزة... راوية ("My Dear Daughter") The series was broadcast in the Arab World on several Middle Eastern networks.
French Title: Le Rêve de Jeanie ("The Dream of Jeanie")
The series aired starting December 23, 1996, on French TV channel TF1, during the children's program Club Dorothée. Only 38 episodes out of the total 52 were aired on French television, leaving episodes 39–52 unreleased on television on France. The anime was never released on DVD in France, and only received a TV airing.
Italian Title: Fiocchi di Cotone per Jeanie ("Cotton Balls for Jeanie")
The series was broadcast in Italy on the private television channel Italia 1 in June 1994, where it was well received. It has since been released on DVD by Yamato Video with both the original Japanese audio and the Italian dub. The Italian version also had its own theme song, "Flakes of Cotton for Jeanie," performed by Cristina D'Avena. It has also been published on a streaming channel on YouTube under "Yamato Animation" by Italian anime distributor Yamato Video.
Spanish Title: Dulce Jana ("Sweet Jana")
The series was broadcast in Spain on the private television channel Telecinco in 1997, where it was well received. The Spanish version also had its Italian theme song, "Sweet Jana," performed by Sol Pilas.
Norwegian: Jeanie Med Det Lysebrune Håret.
The series was broadcast in Norway on NRK in September 1996.
Swedish: Jeanie Med Ljusbrunt Hår.
The series was broadcast in Sweden on SVT2 in August 1996
Danish: Jeanie Med Lysebrunt Hår.
The series was broadcast in Denmark on DR2 in May 1996
The anime was again being broadcast in all 3 countries in 1998 on the Scandinavian version of FOX Kids.
In Indonesia, it was broadcast on RCTI, Lativi, and Spacetoon in mid-2000s.
In the Philippines, it was aired on ABS-CBN in 2002, rerun in 2004, and was rebroadcast on QTV-11 in 2010.