, also known as ''Smart-san'' or ''Mademoiselle Anne'', is a Japanese
shōjo manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series by
Waki Yamato
is a Japanese manga artist. She debuted in 1966 with the short story ''Dorobō Tenshi''.「あさきゆめみし PerfectBook」 p.181 Special Interview
Since her debut, Yamato steadily created and published a variety of works in the genre of s ...
. It was serialized by
Kodansha
is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...
in the magazine ''
Shōjo Friend
was a shōjo manga magazine formerly published by Kodansha, beginning in 1962. Kodansha used the knowledge gained from publishing magazines aimed at young girls, including ''Nakayoshi'' and '' Shōjo Club'', as well as the experience from publi ...
'' from 1975 to 1977. The title can be literally translated into English as ''Here Comes Miss Modern'', ''Here Comes Miss High-Collar'' ("haikara" being the
Japanese version of "high collar"), or ''Fashionable Girl Passing By''. In 1977, it was awarded the 1st
Kodansha Manga Award
is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, the event is sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in three categories: '' shōnen'', '' shōjo'', and general. The awards began in 1977, initially w ...
for shojo.
The series was later adapted as a 42-episode
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 ...
television series produced by
Nippon Animation, which aired in Japan on
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 Tokyo and other local stations across the country from June 3, 1978, to March 31, 1979. The anime was later rebroadcast across Japan on the anime
satellite television
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...
network
Animax and on
NHK satellite channel
BS2. The manga was also adapted into three
television drama specials and theatrical
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
. Two new anime films have been released, with the first film on 2017, and the
second film in 2018.
In 2017, the story was also adapted for the
musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
of the
Takarazuka Revue
The is a Japanese all-female musical theatre troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions of Western-style musicals and stories adapted from films, novels, manga, and Japane ...
.
Plot
One day, Benio has a series of embarrassing encounters with the handsome army lieutenant Shinobu Ijuin (voiced by:
Katsuji Mori
is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Tokyo. He is most known for the roles of Go Mifune (''Mach GoGoGo''), Joe Shimamura/009 (''Cyborg 009'' 960s, Ken the Eagle (''Science Ninja Team Gatchaman''), Jouji Minami ('' Tekkaman: The Space ...
).
Benio encounters Shinobu again when she arrives home that day, and promptly attacks him with her kendo stick, only to receive a shock when her father (voiced by:
Ichiro Nagai) tells her that Shinobu is to be her husband, due to a pact made between the Hanamura and Ijuin families before Benio's birth.
Since Benio's friend Tamaki is in love with Shinobu, Benio also wants out of the engagement to avoid hurting Tamaki.
Moved by this unexpected show of kindness, Benio decides to forget Shinobu and accept Tosei's proposal of marriage.
Lalissa is fatally injured in the quake trying to save Shinobu, and as she lies dying, she tells Shinobu to marry Benio and be happy.
Tosei tries to save Benio, but Benio refuses, preferring to die alongside her beloved rather than face life without him; thus, Tosei rescues both Benio and Shinobu.
In the end, Tosei comes to terms with his feelings about his mother and rededicates himself to his business; Onijima returns to Manchuria, and Tamaki decides to obey her heart and follow him; and Benio and Shinobu are wed at last.
Distribution
The manga was serialized in Kodansha's ''Shōjo Friend'' magazine in Japan from 1975 to 1977. It remains a popular nostalgia item in Japan to this day, considered a classic work from the same 1970s ''shōjo manga'' boom that gave birth to such popular titles as ''Candy Candy'', and copies are still in print. The anime adaptation of the story, which aired across Japan on the terrestrial TV Asahi network from June 1978 to March 1979, spanned 42 episodes, was directed by Kazuyoshi Yokota (''Spaceship Sagittarius'', ''Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics'', ''My Daddy-Long-Legs''), and featured character designs by future ''Ranma 1/2'' director Tsutomu Shibayama.
Due to disappointing ratings, Nippon Animation was forced to end the series early and craft an ending to the anime that was different from that of the manga, cutting the story off after the arrival of Shinobu and Lalissa in Japan. In the final episode, Benio is told that the mysterious Russian count is ''not'' Shinobu (Lalissa has a photograph of their wedding day to prove it). However, an epilogue narration reveals that Lalissa found Shinobu in Siberia. He was severely hurt, and was the spitting image of her late husband. The final episode concludes with Benio finally being reunited with Shinobu. Up until this point, the anime had been a very faithful adaptation of the manga, even incorporating redrawn stills from Yamato's original work (although the anime portrayed Benio with reddish-brown hair, and Yamato's colorized drawings often showed her as blonde).
The anime has been discovered by new audiences in the years since thanks to the enduring popularity of the original manga (as well as a live-action movie version of the story released in Japan in 1987). In 2005, ''Haikara-san ga Tooru'' was listed at #95 in a TV Asahi poll of the top 100 animation series of all time, based on a nationwide survey of Japanese of all age groups. The anime has also been aired across Japan by the anime
satellite television
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...
network,
Animax, and the
NHK satellite channel
BS2.
Both the manga and anime have also enjoyed considerable success in the
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an market. The manga was released in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
in the late 1990s under the title ''Una ragazza alla moda'' (''A Fashionable Girl''). The anime was successful on Italian TV in 1986 under the title ''Mademoiselle Anne,'' and a
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
dub of the series, ''Marc et Marie,'' aired on French TV in 1995. The anime has also been dubbed into
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
, under the title ''Pino'' (the Arabic name for Benio). Nippon Animation's official
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
title for the anime is ''Smart-san''.
Two-part anime film adaptations have been announced with the first film being released in Japan on November 11, 2017, while the
second film on October 19, 2018 by covering latter story of the original manga series, which was not told in the 42-episode anime television series in 1978–1979.
Eleven Arts
Eleven Arts is a film production and distribution company based in Los Angeles, California. The company has Japanese executives and has "a largely Japanese lineup". It specializes in importing anime from Japan to the United States.
Company hist ...
has released the first film in theaters in the U.S. and Canada and on Blu-ray in partnership with
Right Stuf
Right Stuf Inc. (formerly known as The Right Stuf International Inc.) is an American video publisher and distributor of video programming that specializes in Asian entertainment (anime and live action films). The company since 2022 is owned by ...
.
The second film has also licensed by Eleven Arts.
1978–1979 anime television series
* Director: Kazuyoshi Yokota
* Script: Nizo Takahashi
* Storyboards: Hiroshi Yoshida, Teppei Matsuura
* Music: Masuhiro Yamaguchi
* Original Story: Waki Yamato
* Character Design: Tsutomu Shibayama
* Animation Directors: Eiji Kawakita, Eiji Tanaka, Takashi Saijo, Tatsuhiro Nagaki, Yoshiyuki Kishi
* Background Art: Kazu Setouchi, Takafumi Kase
* Executive Producer: Koichi Motohashi
* Theme Songs: OP - ''Haikara-san ga Tōru'', ED - ''Gokigen Ikaga? Benio desu'', performed by Shosuke Sekita
The theme song for the late 1980s movie was performed by
Yoko Minamino
, also known as Nanno (ナンノ), is a Japanese actress and singer. She graduated from Horikoshi High School. She played Saki Asamiya in the second season of the live action ''Sukeban Deka'' TV series replacing fellow idol star Yuki Saitō. She ...
; it is a different song from that used in the anime series.
2017–2018 anime films
Staff
* Director:
Kazuhiro Furuhashi
is a Japanese anime director and supervisor. He is amongst anime's most foremost directors, having directed and helmed the ''Rurouni Kenshin'' series (including the original television series, and its subsequent much-lauded OVA iterations), '' Z ...
(first film), Seimei Kidokoro (second film)
* Script: Kazuhiro Furuhashi
* Original Story: Waki Yamato
* Character Designer: Terumi Nishii
* Background Designer, Art Director: Kentaro Akiyama
*Color Designer: Kunio Tsujita
*Photography: Takeo Ogiwara (Graphinica)
*Sound Director: Kazuhiro Wakabayashi
*Music:
Michiru Oshima
Michiru (満, みちる, ミチル) is a Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include:
*, 1970s J-Pop artist
*, Japanese composer
*, Japanese pop singer and songwriter
*, Japanese voice actor
*, Japanese anime scriptwriter
*, Japane ...
*Animation Production:
Nippon Animation
Cast
Saori Hayami performed the theme song .
Mariya Takeuchi
is a Japanese singer and songwriter. Regarded as an influential figure in the city pop genre, she is one of the best-selling music artists in Japan, having sold over 16 million records, and has received several accolades. Her husband is Tatsu ...
composed the theme song and also wrote the lyrics, with arrangement by Takeshi Masuda. Hayami also performed the theme song for the second film, , also composed by Takeuchi.
Takarazuka Revue
Naoko Koyanagi adapted the story for
musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
for the all-female
Takarazuka Revue
The is a Japanese all-female musical theatre troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions of Western-style musicals and stories adapted from films, novels, manga, and Japane ...
. She directed the Flower Troupe in performances in October 2017 and July to November 2020. In both performances, Rei Yuzuka was cast as Shinobu Ijuin and Yuuki Hana was cast as the title role, Benio Hanamura. The 2020 performance was Rei Yuzuka's Grand Theater debut as top star of the Flower Troupe; while it was originally scheduled for March 2020, it was delayed and rescheduled due to government COVID-19 restrictions.
References
External links
Animax's official site for ''Haikara-san ga Tōru''
Anime film official site with a section for ''Smart-san (Haikara-san ga Tōru)''
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haikara-San Ga Toru
1975 manga
1978 anime television series debuts
1987 films
Anime series based on manga
Historical anime and manga
Japanese animated films
Japanese television dramas based on manga
1980s Japanese-language films
Kodansha manga
Live-action films based on manga
Manga adapted into films
Marriage in anime and manga
Nippon Animation
Romantic comedy anime and manga
Shōjo manga
Taishō period in fiction
TV Asahi original programming
Winner of Kodansha Manga Award (Shōjo)