Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair (TV series)

Japanese anime television series

The Girl in the Wind: Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair (風の中の少女 金髪のジェニー) is a Japanese animated television series produced by Nippon Animation which ran for 52 episodes on TV Tokyo from October 1992 to September 1993. 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. 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.

Part 1 (ep. 1–28) released on May 28, 2020
Part 2 (ep. 29–52) released on October 22, 2020