Emily and her friendsnote
Kaze no Shojo Emily (風の少女エミリー, "Emily, Girl of the Wind") is a 2007 anime adaptation of Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery produced by TMS Entertainment. It is faithful to the book in most aspects, but takes some liberties here and there. It was directed by Haruna Kosaka.Emily Byrd Starr is a young girl whose father suddenly dies of tuberculosis. Her mother's extended family, the Murrays, draw lots to see who will gain custody of little Emily and the winner ends up being her aunt, Elizabeth Murray. Thus, Emily is forced to move from her small valley house in Prince Edward Island and move to the New Moon Farm to live with her. Life with her new aunt isn't easy — she despised Emily's father, and also enforces a lot of rules that she doesn't like, punishing her harshly if she disobeys. In addition, all the other kids at her school bully her for being one of the Murrays.
Feeling isolated because of her school life and her aunt's indifference, Emily begins writing poems to cope. She writes them to her deceased father Douglas, and they charm many around her, being so popular they even start being printed in newspapers. Aunt Elizabeth finds out about this and isn't happy, telling Emily to stop. However, Emily perseveres through however she can, refusing to let her spirit be broken. Emily and her new friends have many fun adventures as they all try to fulfill their dreams together.
The anime ran from April 7, 2007 to September 29, 2007, ending at 26 episodes.
Has no relation to Akage No Anne, another anime series adapted from an LMM work (though both anime series are owned by the same production company).
Kaze No Shojo Emily has examples of:
- Adjective Noun Fred: "Kaze No Shojo Emily" can be read as "Emily of the Wind" or "Wind Girl Emily".
- Adapted Out: Emily had two cats in the original book, one of which she had to leave behind in her old house. In the anime, she only has Saucy Sal.
- Aerith and Bob: Emily, Teddy, Perry, John, Elizabeth, Juliet, Douglas, Nancy, Ilse and Rhoda.
- Alternative Foreign Theme Song:
- The Italian OP was sung by Cristina D'Avena.
- The Arab OP
was sung by Nour, Tariq and Mohommad Al-Arabi Tarqan.
- Ambiguously Christian: Emily and her classmates attend Sunday school, but they're more interested in hanging out with one another and playing rather than anything else.
- Ambiguous Time Period: The original novel was set in the 1920s, but the anime series is more ambiguous about it.
- Animated Adaptation: Of Emily of New Moon, a.k.a. the first L. M. Montgomery novel that comes to mind that isn't Anne of Green Gables.
- Babies Ever After: In the Grand Finale, this is Emily and Teddy's fate. They are Happily Married, live in New York, work their dream careers and are the parents of two children.
- Big Fancy House: The Murrays live in a wealthy district of Canada, hence many houses of this nature surrounding them. One of them even doubles as a Haunted House. Their own is very large and has multiple storeys.
- Birthday Episode: One of the later episodes centers around Rhoda's birthday party. She invites Emily to it, hoping she would recite one of her poems, but Emily freezes on the spot.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Ilse (blonde), Emily (brunette) and Rhoda (redhead). Rhoda is usually their Arch-Enemy, but times they hang out as friends.
- Cast of Snowflakes: Each character has a rather distinct face with features that stand out, provided by Keizō Shimizu.
- Cerebus Syndrome: The first leg of the anime is pretty Downer, as Emily's dad dies and she's left at the mercy of her abusive (but well meaning) aunt. However, the next half has Emily suffer heartbreak at Teddy's sudden departure from Canada with Francis Carpenter's death happening.
- Children Are Innocent: Oh god, yes. Be it Emily on the receiving end of her uncaring Aunt's abuse, Teddy being manipulated by his mother into or Ilse's anger about her father never telling her about her mother, the anime emphasizes many times that the children are often failed by the adults around them.
- Close-Knit Community: Everyone in Prince Edward Island knows each other, and Emily once stumbles upon a reporter who jnew her dead dad Douglas. This also leads to Childhood Friend Romances and Best Friends-in-Law being very common.
- Coming of Age Story: The story follows the growth and maturation of the protagonists, from childhood to adolescence up to adulthood, through their many adventures and scuffles.
- Compressed Adaptation: Most of the anime is about Emily and the children's adventures, leaving out many of the book's other sub-plots, most nostably Dean's romantic feelings for Emily. However, it does retain the Murray's family drama and their feud with the Starrs, the loss of Mr. Carpenter, Ilse, Teddy and Perry's family troubles and Emily's marriage to Teddy.
- Costume Porn: In one episode, Rhoda's rich dad buys her and her friends fancy outfits for their The Little Mermaid production. The results are very fancy and frilly.
- Culturally Sensitive Adaptation: The anime cuts out Dean marrying Emily, and ends with Emily marrying Teddy instead. This is because in the original book, he romanced her despite the fact that he was 24 years her senior, and pulled The Jailbait Wait.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance:
- Aunt Elizabeth doesn't like that Emily is a writer. She thinks that because Emily is a woman, she shouldn't write or play sports, and instead focus on being a homemaker.
- Perry's aunt has never enrolled him in school (she gets angry when he suggests it) and he had to learn how to read and write from Emily. Nowadays, she would be arrested for child abuse as Canada has compulsory attendance laws.
- Distant Finale: Emily and Teddy are an Official Couple, with Aunt Elizabeth having changed her ways and encouraging everyone to hear Emily's latest story.
- Downer Beginning: The anime begins with Emily's parents dying. She's then sent to live with her horrible aunt in New Moon.
- Death of a Child: Discussed in-universe. At Lofty John's, Emily eats an apple, and he tells her he filled it with poison to kill rats. Worrying that she will die, Emily instantly begins writing her final note. Perry sees this, and asks what's happening. When Emily tells him, he tells Aunt Elizabeth, who confronts John, and he admits he was lying because he's a jerk.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Near the Grand Finale, Ilse asks Emily what she wants to do when she grows up. Emily has no idea, but decides she wants to be a writer. Hoever, every manuscript she sends is always rejected by the publishers, and she starts to lose hope. She is urged by Mr. Carpenter and Teddy to keep her head high and keep trying. She eventually keeps trying and eventually, finally gets published. In the Distant Finale, we see a married Emily and Teddy, with Aunt Elizabeth expressing support for Emily's writing career. The moral is to have a clear vision if your dream and never give up no matter what.
- Everyone Went to School Together:
- Emily, Ilse, Rhoda, Teddy and even Perry after he convinced his aunt to let him attend. In the Distant Finale, it's shown that even as adults, Emily, Ilse, and their husbands are still good friends.
- Douglas Starr and Dean Priest both went to Queen's Academy. They were best friends until Douglas' death.
- Flowers of Nature: The Murray's garden has all sorts of pretty flowers, leaves, wreaths...
- Food Porn: If you like looking at fruits and other foods that grow on farms, this anime feeds you well. Apples in particular get a lot of focus.
- Foreshadowing: Remember when the Alpha Bitch had a birthday party and Teddy and Emily danced together? It's a hint to their eventual marriage in the Distant Finale.
- Gorgeous Period Dress: In one episode, the school hosts a talent contest. Amongst the crowd are many women dressing in atypical 1920's fashion.
- Gratuitous English: It's a Japanese production, but the newspapers and some dialogue is in English.
- Gray And White Morality: Despite the fact that many characters are extremely unlikable, they're still humanized and shown to have hidden, tender sides. Even Aunt Ruth, who loved to mock Emily for her name, tells Aunt Elizabeth that she deserves to pursue a higher education and follow her dreams. Rhoda also has a few redeeming moments despite spending most of the series messing with Emily and her friends.
- Haunted House: Episode 15 has Emily and Ilse mess around in an old house near the Murray mansion after they hear rumours about it. They play treasure hunt in it, but their fun is quickly stopped by a very angry Aunt Elizabeth.
- Kids Are Cruel: Emily is bullied horribly at her first day of school. One girl even throws a book at her and yells "you don't belong here".
- Lighter and Softer:
- In the book, Dr. Burnley believed that his wife ran off with another man, only to find out she actually fell down a well. In the anime this is changed to her dying in a storm.
- In the book, Dean had a romance with Emily, and was waiting for her to come of age so he could marry her. In the anime their relationship is strictly platonic and Dean is already married to Nancy.
- Lost Wedding Ring: Miriam Murray lost her wedding ring 50 years before the events of the story, leading to Emily and Ilse searching for it in the Haunted House.
- Phenotype Stereotype: Since this is set in olden Canada, a lot of characters have brown, red, or reddish-brown hair, and blue eyes.
- Public Domain Character: Everyone. The original novel was written sometime in the 1920s.
- Scenery Porn: The anime vividly depicts Canada's landscapes with crisp animation and a wide range of colours. Leaves, flowers and gardens are given a lot of detail.
- Stylish Sunhats: Many characters, such as Aunt Ruth, Rhoda and various background characters don these.
- Tender Tomboyishness, Foul Femininity: Ilse Burnley is a scrappy Wild Child who brawls with Emily in the schoolyard in her first day of school, but later turns out to have a sweet side and befriends Emily, encouraging her to do what she wants despite what her aunt says and playing various games with her. In contrast, Emily initially views Rhoda as humble and friendly, until she finds out that she's an Alpha Bitch.
- Textile Work Is Feminine: Aunt Elizabeth insists that Emily take up sewing instead of writing poems, saying that reading is a "waste of time".
- Wealthy Ever After: In the end of the anime, Teddy becomes an internationally renowned artist, and Emily pursues her dream of becoming a published author, with many books under her name. They move to New York and have children together.
- Woodland Creatures: The farm managed by Lofty John has many, but they also have their fair share of vermin like rats.
