Princess Sarah: Difference between revisions

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After numerous [[Hope Spot|glimmers of hope]] that all end up miserably, she is finally delivered through the agency of fate and a kindly neighbour, and reclaims her former position as the school's beloved "Diamond Princess".

This series was the 1985 (11th) installment of Nippon Animation's ''[[World Masterpiece Theater]]'' series, whose specialty was the adaptation of various well- and not-so-well-known classics of children's literature into [[Anime]] series. Though relatively unknown in English-speaking countries, it was wildly popular in France and several other European countries, as well as in the Philippines and Saudi Arabia. According to [~~http://en.~~wikipedia~~.org/wiki/Princess_Sara~~ The Other Wiki], one poll of Japanese viewers places it among the 100 best Japanese animated series.

This series was the 1985 (11th) installment of Nippon Animation's ''[[World Masterpiece Theater]]'' series, whose specialty was the adaptation of various well- and not-so-well-known classics of children's literature into [[Anime]] series. Though relatively unknown in English-speaking countries, it was wildly popular in France and several other European countries, as well as in the Philippines and Saudi Arabia. According to [[wikipedia:Princess Sara|The Other Wiki]], one poll of Japanese viewers places it among the 100 best Japanese animated series.

In 2009, a drama of 10 episodes was made, starring Shida Mirai as Seira, Tanabe Seiichi as a French teacher and Higuchi Kanako as the Japanese counterpart to Miss Minchin, Mimura Chieko. This version took more liberties with the original material than the anime, making Sara/Seira an adolescent, and giving her a love interest.

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* [[Adult Fear]]: The series deals with several. For a parent, the most relevant would be "What will become of my beloved child if I die suddenly, or fail to provide for them?" and "What if the seemingly ideal school I put my child into turned out to be nothing of the sort?" A number of other adolescent and adult fears - bullying, loss of social status, ostracism, homelessness, unemployment, poverty, alcoholism and child labour - are also woven seamlessly into the main arc of the story.

* [[A Friend in Need]]: This is one of the defining themes of this entire series. Where do I begin? Sara saves Ermengarde from bullying, gives the browbeaten Becky a reason to hope, helps Peter find a job after his father is injured, and acts as a mother to Lottie - and they all return the favour, in spades, after Sara has lost her fortune.

* [[After School Cleaning Duty]]: One of Becky and Sara's many duties as scullery maids.

* [[After-School Cleaning Duty]]: One of Becky and Sara's many duties as scullery maids.

* [[Adaptation Expansion]]: The series adds period colour, fleshes out several key characters (Miss Minchin, Ermengarde, Lavinia), expands on some who were only mentioned in passing in the novel (Monsieur Dufarge, Aunt Eliza, Molly the cook). It also adds an important character, Sara's carriage driver [[Plucky Comic Relief|Peter]], who quite understandably has a [[Puppy Love|crush]] on her, played mostly for laughs.

* [[All Is Well That Ends Well]]: Sara {{spoiler|recovers her fortune and is adopted by her father's best friend}} and Becky {{spoiler|is saved from drudgery and becomes Sara's companion}}. But what of the villains? Not only do they [[Easily Forgiven|get off scot-free]], but they undergo a last-minute change of heart, and everyone is friends at the end.

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* [[Amoral Attorney]]: Solicitor Barrow, who is portrayed as even more unpleasant than in the novel, and ill-mannered to boot - for example, he puffs away at his cigar in front of Miss Minchin.

* [[Asleep in Class]]: A particularly tragic example. Exhausted by her hard work and the cold weather, Sara falls asleep in front of the fire when she's supposed to be cleaning the classroom. She is rudely awakened and berated by Lavinia and her friends, and after a small accident with Caesar the cat, she is sent out in the rain, falls prey to a [[Wounded Gazelle Gambit]], and falls seriously ill.

* [[Back Alley Doctor]]: Dr. Wilde, who is not only incompetent, but a {{spoiler|hopeless alcoholic who drinks openly in front of Miss Minchin, and can be found in seedy bars.}}

* [[Back-Alley Doctor]]: Dr. Wilde, who is not only incompetent, but a {{spoiler|hopeless alcoholic who drinks openly in front of Miss Minchin, and can be found in seedy bars.}}

* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: Throughout the series, Amelia Minchin is portrayed as sympathetic to Sara, but too much under her sister's thumb to do anything about it. But once {{spoiler|she realizes just what Miss Minchin's behaviour may have cost them near the end of the series}}, she gives her a verbal lashing that will have every viewer cheering wildly. This continues in the finale, where she actually is portrayed as more dominant and self-assured.

* [[Blondes Are Evil]]: Lavinia embodies this trope with every inch of her unbelievable bitchiness.

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* [[Promotion to Parent]]: Sara becomes Lottie's "mamma" in Episode 5. At the very end, {{spoiler|Mr. Carrisford}} becomes Sara's new father in all but name.

* [[Redemption in The Rain]]: Brutally subverted. Sara goes out in pouring rain to try and get Lavinia's ruined dress cleaned, and succeeds thanks to a kindly dressmaker. However, on returning, Lavinia {{spoiler|[[Wounded Gazelle Gambit|falsely accuses her of having ruined the dress out of jealousy]]}}, and she is further ill-treated, leading to her falling {{spoiler|almost fatally}} ill.

* [[Shout Out]]: Two, to classic fairy tales. Early on in the series, Sara narrates the story of Cinderella to her classmates, and an obvious parallel is drawn between her and Becky, which [[Cinderella Circumstances|extends to Sara herself]] later on. "[[The Little Match Girl (Literature)|The Little Match Girl]]" is referenced by a character in the middle, and when Sara decides to {{spoiler|leave the Seminary after being falsely accused of arson}}, she becomes a match-seller herself. [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] by Donald Carmichael in episode 43: "Say, Mama... that girl really became the match girl!" In a lesser example, Sara names her pony Jump, which is the name of Dickon's pony in Burnett's other great work, [[The Secret Garden]].

* [[Shout-Out]]: Two, to classic fairy tales. Early on in the series, Sara narrates the story of Cinderella to her classmates, and an obvious parallel is drawn between her and Becky, which [[Cinderella Circumstances|extends to Sara herself]] later on. "[[The Little Match Girl (Literature)|The Little Match Girl]]" is referenced by a character in the middle, and when Sara decides to {{spoiler|leave the Seminary after being falsely accused of arson}}, she becomes a match-seller herself. [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] by Donald Carmichael in episode 43: "Say, Mama... that girl really became the match girl!" In a lesser example, Sara names her pony Jump, which is the name of Dickon's pony in Burnett's other great work, [[The Secret Garden]].

* [[Shown Their Work]]: This series does an excellent job of recreating London circa 1885, complete with realistic social, historical, and even geographical material.

* [[Sibling Yin-Yang]]: Maria and Amelia Minchin are a particularly elaborate example. Maria is thin, with an angular face, bad-tempered, sensitive to any perceived slight, enterprising, [[Kick the Dog|mean to the school cat]], spends her time studying, and is the school's authority figure. Amelia is plump, round-faced, good-humoured to the point of submissiveness, silently takes everything that her [[Onee-Sama|respected elder sister]] dishes out, is good at embroidery and playing the piano, is [[Pet the Dog|friendly to the cat]], is not above reading "women's novels", and is firmly under Maria's thumb. This makes their role reversal at the end all the more awesome.

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* [[Kick the Dog]]: More like slap the dog. Poor Seira.

** The chef and his wife treat Kaito and Seira quite cruelly, bullying and snapping at Seira on the first day of work, not even offer any condolences that she just found out her father was dead. And in their first appearance, when Kaito hopefully expresses the desire to go to high school to study, they merely laugh in his face and tell him that it's better if he gives up. They continue to do this for the rest of the series.

* [[Like Father Like Son]]: Seira is like her mother in so many ways, all of which annoy the school director very much, as she had went to school with her mother.

* [[Like Father, Like Son]]: Seira is like her mother in so many ways, all of which annoy the school director very much, as she had went to school with her mother.

* [[Love Triangle]]: Emiko likes Aran-sensei who's more interested in Chieko. And later, we get Kaito's old friend getting jealous of his and Seira's relationship.

* [[Meido]]: Seira is forced to wear this after she loses her fortune and has no money.

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* [[Promotion to Parent]]: After Romi decides that Seira will be her new mother after her real mother died.

* [[Rich Bitch]]: Maria, Maria, Maria. Even when her kind father wanted to visit her at school, she directly told him not to and also renamed herself, so she wouldn't have the name that her father had gave her.

* [[Shout Out]]: Like the anime, Seira reads "[[Cinderella (Literature)|Cinderella]]" to a few children in the first episode, foreshadowing the parallel between herself and Cinderella. She even tells the children listening that even if things look bad now, they willl turn out for the better.

* [[Shout-Out]]: Like the anime, Seira reads "[[Cinderella (Literature)|Cinderella]]" to a few children in the first episode, foreshadowing the parallel between herself and Cinderella. She even tells the children listening that even if things look bad now, they willl turn out for the better.

* [[Sibling Yin-Yang]]: Friendly, naive Emiko to strict, calculating Chieko.

* [[Slow Clap]]: Kaori mockingly does this to Maria, mentioning how the only reason why Aran-sensei left her the job to greet the French teacher who was coming to the school was because Seira wasn't there.