World Masterpiece Theater

Country

Japan

How it feels

Each year, this television block adapts a different classic children's book from Europe or North America into an animated series. It was a long-running program in Japan on Sunday evenings.

educationalnostalgicgentlewholesomeclassicpacedadaptationalfamily-friendly

What happens

World Masterpiece Theater (世界名作劇場, Sekai Meisaku Gekijō), commonly abbreviated to Meigeki (名劇, Meigeki), was a Japanese prime time television programming block produced by Nippon Animation. The timeslot showcased a different classical book or story from European or North American children's literature each year. It aired at 19:30 to 20:00 on Sunday on Fuji Television and its affiliates. The series ran from 1975 to 1997 with a revival on BS Fuji from 2007 to 2009. Preceding World Masterpiece Theater was Calpis Comic Theater, which ran from 1969 to 1974. The programming block aired as Calpis Children's Theater from its official establishment in 1975 to 1977 and as Calpis Family Theater in 1978. The first series aired under the World Masterpiece Theater title was Anne of Green Gables in 1979. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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