Dog of Flanders

Dog of Flanders (フランダースの犬, Furandāsu no Inu) is a 1975 Japanese animated television series adaptation of Ouida's 1872 novel of the same name, produced by Nippon Animation. 52 episodes were produced. A film version was released in 1997. Isao Takahata briefly worked on the series.

The series represents the bond between a boy and his ever so faithful dog living in 19th century Belgium. The emotional story shows the boys struggles in life as his grandfather dies and leaves him with his dog. It shows how the hopes of becoming a great classical painter have been seemingly crushed by his grandfather's passing and the way he takes after that tragedy.

Production
The animators conducted extensive research on 19th century Flanders. Although it has to be said that a lot of features in the series are not Flemish but typically Dutch (the girl's hat and the tulips for example).[citation needed] The buildings depicted in the series were modeled after the Bokrijk open-air museum.[citation needed]. Although there have been some changes from the original story by Marie Louise de la Ramée, it has been faithful in keeping the storyline accurate.

Dog of Flanders aired on Fuji TV between January 5, 1975, and December 28, 1975. It was repeated daily in early mornings in 2012.