is an

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series made by

Toei Animation () is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' ''GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' ''Mazinger Z'', ''Galaxy Express 999'', ''Cutie Honey'', ''Dr. Slump'', ' ...

in 1981. It was aired in Japan by

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...

. In the original title when it was first made in Japan, an "E" was added to the title; "Sandybelle". Similarly to ''

Silver Fang is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Takahashi. It was published by Shueisha in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1983 to 1987, and collected in 18 bound volumes. It received the 1987 Shogakukan Manga Award for best s ...

'', the show is relatively unknown in the U.S. but was quite popular in Asia,

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

Arab countries The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western As ...

and Europe, particularly Scandinavia. It first aired in France in

La Cinq La Cinq () was France's first privately owned free-to-air television network. Created by politician Jérôme Seydoux and Italian media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, the network broadcast from 1985 to 1992. The contract for France's fifth terrest ...

in the late 1980s, starting on 15 April 1988.

Plot

''Hello! Sandybell'' is the story of a girl who lives in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

with her father. She spends her time playing with her faithful dog (Oliver) and her friends. One day she meets the

Countess Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility.L. G. Pine, Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty'' ...

of Wellington, a kind-hearted woman living in the castle near their village. She also meets Kitty, an arrogant young lady who lives in the large

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

outside their village. Kitty hates Sandybell and constantly visits the Countess in the hope of winning the love and interest of her son, Marc, who falls in love with Sandybell. The Countess gives Sandybell a

white lily ''Lilium candidum'', the Madonna lily or white lily, is a plant in the true lily family. It is native to the Balkans and Middle East, and naturalized in other parts of Europe, including France, Italy, and Ukraine, and in North Africa, the Canary ...

and she plants it outside the village. She also brings other flowers and plants them around the lily, making a small

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

of flowers around it. Sandybell treasures the lily because it reminds her of her deceased mother. Sandybell's goal throughout the series is to find her mother someday. In the final episodes, they finally reunite. However, upon their meeting Sandybell finds that her mother suffers from amnesia, and Sandybell fails to convince her that she was her daughter. Later, when a young child falls into the water and Sandy saves his life, flashbacks strike her mother and she remembers the past.

Staff

* Series director: Hiroshi Shitara * Episode Director: Kazumi Fukushima *Original story: Shiroh Jinbo *Script:Hiroshisa Soda, Makoto Sakurai, Noboru Shiroyama *Music:

Takeo Watanabe Takeo Watanabe' Animeland Retrieved November 11, 2009. was a Japanese musician and composer. In addition to composing the well known theme song for ''Cutie Honey'' he has also composed music for multiple anime television series and films includ ...

*Character Design: Makoto Sakurai *Background Art: Eiji Itô *Planning: Yasuo Yamaguchi *Production manager: Akira Sasaki *Theme Song Arrangement:

Joe Hisaishi , known professionally as , is a Japanese composer, musical director, conductor and pianist, known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981. He is also known for his piano scores. Hisaishi's music has been known to explore ...

*Theme Song Lyrics: Noriko Miura *Theme sung by

Mitsuko Horie is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer. She was born in Yamato, Kanagawa. She has voiced several characters throughout her career, such as Sailor Galaxia in '' Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars'' and Remi in the Nippon Animation World Master ...

*Production:

, Asatsu Shinsha, Toei

References

External links

* *
''Hello! Sandybell''
at Toei Animation 1981 anime television series debuts 1982 Japanese television series endings Adventure anime and manga Drama anime and manga Slice of life anime and manga Television shows set in Scotland Television shows set in London Television shows set in Paris Television shows set in Greece Toei Animation television TV Asahi original programming 1980s children's television series {{Anime-television-series-stub