Watashi no Ashinaga Ojisan

This is a part of Nippon Animation's World Masterpiece Theatre, and I believe it to a masterpiece indeed. The story chronicles the life of an orphan girl named Jerusha 'Judy' Abbot through her teen-aged years up to her young adulthood.
The many characters in this series truly have depth and are far from being one-dimensional - It is amazing that the writers can introduce such characters and without giving them hours upon hours of screen time are able to define their persona. The feelings and opinions of Judy that is conveyed through her actions, interactions ... with other characters, narrations, and letters (she writes them a lot - like a journal) are very sincere but most of all original and this makes a very interesting main character and a very interesting series.
The animation itself is very good, showing a very early late eighties to early nineties style with beautiful frame-by-frame hand-drawn characters and watercolour backgrounds - none of that cheap cg you get nowadays.
This anime is not a kiddy anime, it is suitable for all ages and not only children but adults will enjoy it as well, and are sure to appreciate the more complex storyline. This anime also slips in some nice americana and historical references in once in a while that is absent from the book (e.g. the first solo transatlantic flight by Charles Lindbergh on the Spirit of St. Louis in 1927). This is truly a classic anime that is not to be missed, especially if you are as big an anime fan as I am!
Once you have seen the first episode, you are sure to continue on and follow Judy throughout her adventures from a child yearning to break free from the shackles of an orphanage and attend school; to her coming of age years when she discovers love and has her first crush; and in high-school where she develops ambitions of becoming a writer and a fully independent woman!

This series can be summed up as endearing and absolutely charming.

While the plot differs some from the classic book ("Daddy Long Legs" by Jean Webster) on which it was based, "My Daddy Long Legs" is still a tender coming-of-age tale centered around the plucky orphan Judy Abbott, who is sent to a prestigious all-girls high school by a mysterious benefactor she dubs 'Daddy Long Legs'.

The story is set in early 20th century America--and I have to say I was impressed by how accurately this anime depicted the fashions, architecture, technology and experiences of this setting and time period. If you like historical fiction, this ... is a great show to pick. This series is full of fun and (in the second half) romance. Judy and her friends Sallie and Julia get into many scrapes during their three years of high school, but if you don't mind watching some awkward experiences natural to the growing-up process, you'll enjoy all the episodes, not just the romantic ones near the end.

All-in-all, this is a fantastic, accurate depiction of the educated female experience in 1910s-1920s America. I plan on watching it again and again.

Guys if your reading this, your probably wondering "Should I watch this or not"? Is this really worthy of my time, is it good enough for my liking? If this is what's going around your head, then all I have to say is "Just do it". This is my first time writing a review here in MAL and this show has amazed me. This show has influenced me in ways I have never imagined. This show without a doubt is the best anime up to date. The first thing that got me interested about this show was the plot since it seems unique ... and was adapted from a novel by Jean Webster. I love the characters development even tho it has 40 episodes long, it make me feel like I have growth along with the characters which makes me sad and happy at the same time. One thing to do while watching this show is grab a tissue box and enjoy the show. I will never forget this show, as it's one of my most memorable anime I have ever seen. I want to thank the producers and ofcourse the author Jean Webster for an amazing job on this series. Much love :)

This is an anime based off of a book, Daddy Long Legs, by Jean Webster. I'm a really big fan of the book, and when I found out that someone made an anime of the book, of course I had to see it!
All-in-all, it's a pretty decent anime... if you're a big fan of the book. Judy is a little obnoxious at the beginning of the series and the actual story doesn't get really good until right about episode... 25 or so, I guess.
But, if you can sit through all of Judy's obnoxious, embarrassing situations, then it's completely worth it. Especially for the ending! ...
Also, having read the book, there were parts of the show that almost made it a comedy, because I knew already what was going on... but! Ah! Spoilers!

To sum up... It's a decent enough older anime if you're a fan of the book. If you haven't read the book, go read it! Right now! And then come back and watch this anime!

My Daddy Long Legs is a World Masterpiece Theatre adaptation of the 1912 novel by Jean Webster. I first read the book when I was 18, at a friend's recommendation, then watched the anime adaptation afterwards. Just like many Nippon Animation adaptations that came before and after this one, it faithfully adapts all the good, the bad and the ugly from the source material, for better or for worse.

I will begin with "the good", as there truly is a lot of greatness in this story. The anime perfectly adapted everything that is so lovable and charming about the protagonist, Judy Abbott. She brightens up the ... lives of everyone around her and is a girl with a hidden talent for writing. An orphan thrown into the world of the upper class, we watch her grow as she navigates this alien world with wit and dignity. And though her friends and classmates seem stuck up and unlikable at first, they too change and grow as they learn to be more humble and kind like Judy.

The world that Judy is surrounded by truly feels alive. This is also helped by the stunning art direction and strong sound direction. We watch the seasons change and the students of Lincoln Memorial School slowly physically age over the course of their education. The anime is filled with subtle and quiet moments where Judy will self reflect on her current situation with breathtaking background art and establishing shots of nature or the New York cityscape. As I watched these characters change I grew very attached to them all over again, only wishing for their happiness. However, as I knew the entire story already before starting the anime, the feeling of dread loomed over me knowing that under this easygoing slice-of-life, the problems that plagued the original novel were just as poignant here in it's on-screen adaptation. As they are problems rooted in the premise itself, there is very little even an excellent adaptation could fix.

Now let's explore the elements which may be "the bad" to some. There are a lot of aspects of this anime and story with which many people will simply not resonate with. If you do not find Judy an enjoyable protagonist, the likelihood of you enjoying 40 episodes of her journey to adulthood is unlikely. The character design is very simplified; they don't appear very realistic and at times even resemble caricatures. The plots and twists were easy to follow even in the novel, since the source material was relatively short - this is even more so in the anime adaptation. It makes the plot easy to follow, but simultaneously it makes it predictable and many might find it boring or slow.

By far the biggest change in this anime adaptation worth noting was the setting - while the novel begins with Judy Abott completing her university education with the assistance of her benefactor, in the anime this was changed to her entering high school. This was likely done to make the story more palatable to a younger and broader audience, as many anime under the World Masterpiece Theatre umbrella were produced in a similar manner.

Finally, I would like to explore "the ugly". In the case of Daddy Long Legs, the new high school setting has become a growing problem as the already complicated relationship between Judy and her guardian only grows worse when viewed through the lens of an adolescent girl. And though this was what always plagued the original novel, all these issues become significantly magnified the moment that Judy's age was changed and thus had a very negative effect on my enjoyment of this adaptation. The scenes that made me uncomfortable in the novel become borderline unbearable in the anime adaptation because of this one simple change.

There is no way of putting this lightly - at its worst, the core of the plot revolves around a glorification of grooming. And as these issues were always there in the source material, perhaps it shows that this anime should have never been adapted as a shoujo story. A seinen or jousei direction and with the original university setting would make this a more faithful and slightly more palatable adaptation of the source material. As I continue to watch the anime it becomes more difficult to ignore its problems, despite the charming characters and anime production. By all means do watch it for yourself if you are intrigued but discretion is heavily advised.

My Daddy Long Legs is the 1990 advent of the World Masterpiece Theatre based on the book of the same name written by Jean Webster. I haven't read the book but from what I've gathered it does adapt it quite faithfully but differs in some areas. It tells the story of an orphan named Judy Abbott whose granted the opportunity of a lifetime to go to a prestigious all-girls academy by way of the mysterious benefactor John Smith. Judy knows nothing of his character or his identity other than having distinctively long legs and wearing a top hat. It leads her to penning him the ... name Daddy Long Legs and sporting a fitting attire matching her colourful imagination of his appearance.

The story following this summary is of a coming-of-age involving Judy Abbott's growth as a teen into young adulthood as she progresses through school, makes new friends, gains new responsibilities and increases her worldview as a formerly sheltered orphan. It's a simple premise backed up by very simple strengths - Its setting and its characters. It comes down to personal preference but early 20th century is an intoxicating period of time to peer into for me. It has this distinct sense of wonder and romance in an era of uncertainty but assured optimism. A beginning of a new quality of life to be brought to a larger spread of the populace. It's before skyscrapers and other tall buildings tower over neighbourhoods and towns, where the mainstream availability of locomotives was still a new way of traveling.

This brings me to the visuals. From their humble beginnings of Heidi to Anne and eventually to the famous 1999 version of Hunter x Hunter, Nippon Animation are highly respected for consistency in their shows and a unique distinction from most other anime studios. If you've seen Anne of Green Gables this show will make you feel right at home with backgrounds that are breathtaking and with quality coming at a rate that's nigh unmatched for shows of similar length during its era. Not many anime have layout as considered and accurate to the era as World Masterpiece Theatre shows do and My Daddy Long Legs stands at the pinnacle of the year it came out in for TV anime. It seems like you can't watch an episode without pausing it at least once to just take in a shot. The colours and accuracy really go a long way to make the show have this romantic atmosphere representative of the promising new era these characters live in.

And that's not to say it lives and dies by the layout, the animation is quite consistent and even stellar at times. Because it's the kind of show that doesn't need a lot of movement there was time to make most character animation detailed and smooth. Judy being a very energetic character lends to some very expressive character animation and she gets that chance to shine on multiple occasions. Some scenes involving the girls playing basketball have animation that is so absurdly smooth it could pass for a movie of its era.

The character designs are a personal favourite of mine across the board. It has this distinctive slightly western influenced style blended in with traditional anime art of the late 80's. It feels wholly unique of its peers but anyone with a little knowledge of older anime could instantly pick up the country it was made in. It's a nice differentiation of the more Ghibli styled WMT shows like Anne and Heidi that indicated they weren't doomed to follow in the shadow of Takahata and Miyazaki's massive influence on Nippon Animation. Rather they were able to reiterate and build in other directions. My Daddy Long Legs is often considered quite similar to Anne but if you put the two next to each other they're significantly different shows only sharing familiar ideas and settings. Judy is less eccentric than Anne for instance and the drama is a lot more romantic. The central cast is older so it deals more closely with the prospect of growing up into young adulthood and acquiring the desire of seeking love. And while Judy is an orphan the setting is that of a suburban America rather than rural Canadian farmlands; as such locomotives, upper class parties, dances and the smell of industrialism is prevalent. Essentially what makes My Daddy Long Legs such an impressive work is that it can take a different source material that could not only stand alongside Anne but also be compared to it despite its obvious differences.

On the topic of character designs I'll touch upon the characters themselves. This is My Daddy Long Legs' greatest strength. Judy is an amazing main character who would initially remind one of Anne, but her more uncouth and wild nature shows you that she's someone who's a little more bombastic albeit a little more predictable. Her struggles and story are endearing, being a girl who wants to fit in with a class of students dissimiliar to her upbringing. The other two main characters Sally and Julia are perfect at complimenting Judy's character. Sally being a little more shy but considerate while Julia on the other hand is more outspoken and snobby who initially considers Judy an outsider. Watching their dynamic transform throughout the show is both entertaining and heartwarming as they slowly turn into close friends looking out for each other and sharing hard times together.

And in addition to the main cast is has a very strong side cast. Jervis, Jimmie, Bob, Mr and Mrs Semple and Miss Sloan just to name a few all offer something different while never feeling remotely out of place. And they maintain a lot of agency, they don't exist to make the story work at certain points. Mr and Mrs Semple are great at offering a setting that isn't represented much in this show as well as allowing Judy to find solace in a world that makes her feel alone sometimes. Jimme, Jervis and Bob are the designated good boys. You feel for them even though Bob isn't as important as the other two and even when they make human errors it's believable enough that it never turns into genuine frustration over their character or personalities. I even left out a character among those mentioned who offers possibly the best episode in the show who's voiced by none other than Hiromi Tsuru, the voice of Meryl Stryfe and Bulma. It's a cast that feels alive and makes you want to see more of them.

Seriously if there's one thing that has to be said about the fantastic work put into this show, it's that it was done with a staff of nobodies. The most significant person who worked on this anime Kei Wakakusa, most well known for the soundtracks of Hikaru no Go and Kemonozume. And while the Storyboardist and Scriptwriter have been regulars for WMT for years it's just very impressive that a director who up to this point had only directed a handful of Anne episodes and to this day has directed barely anything else was able to put the visuals and writing to screen in such a captivating way.

One piece of criticism I do want to give which I believe is more contentious is I didn't initially like the way the story shifted into a romance focus which heavily sidelined the simpler episodes of growing and experiencing new things. All the characters involved are great but I think the drama was a little too melodramatic that served to be pretty jarring compared to the earlier more endearing episodes. Once it shifts into gear going full throttle with the romance however that issue begins to wear off. Really what point needs to be made is that the earlier content where everyone's still growing up is absolutely fantastic. Up until around episode 27 I was very confident in giving it a 10/10 which I very rarely do and have never done for a TV anime. The scattered focus allowed for more ideas to come to the table and make more varied and fun episodes which was lost when the romance started being the meat and potatoes. I don't want to detract from the romance plot because it is well done, it just suddenly shifted away from the stuff I truly loved a lot rather than intermingling the romance with the everyday activities and struggles.

I want to avoid going into spoilers as this is a fairly obscure show so I'll leave it here. I just wanted to express my love for this show that I did not expect to love as much as I did. It's without a doubt a staple in WMT anime and a very interesting peek into a style that acts somewhat as a predecessor to modern slice of life anime. It's a true slice of life with a female main cast hidden in the guise of an adaptation of classical literature. And granted while it does have an overtly sentimental execution with its plot points it gets so much right that it's hard to take away from its fantastic strengths. It's a brilliant anime. One with wonderful characters, a beautiful setting, visuals that maintain a detailed accuracy to the time period and an endearing story of growing up, discovering love and your place in the world.

MY DADDY LONG LEGS:


My Daddy Long Legs or Watashi no Ashinaga Ojisan as it is know is a 1990 anime based of the 1912 novel of the same name by Jean Webster. This is a part of Nippon Animation’s World Masterpiece Theatre which was a bunch of novels which were turned into anime by Nippon Animation.


Story

This anime follows Judy Abbott, a child from the John Grier orphanage. She was abandoned in the slums of New York as a baby and was taken in by the orphanage. She is forced to stay there for all of her pre-teen life. Until one day, Judy is selected ... out of a possible four to go to the prestigious Lincoln Memorial High School in New Jersey by a mystery man. Judy never sees the face of this man however she does the shadows of this man. Due to his freakily long legs in the shadows, Judy affectionalty calls him “Daddy Long Legs”. She also has to write to him every month which is referred to in almost every episode.


It is at this school where we meet her friends, Sallie McBride and Julia Pendleton. There is also another roommate who comes in around episode 20 called Leonora Fenton, however she only lasts a couple of episodes as she is forced into Florida. This series lasts throughout the girl’s high school life, up until its graduation. I like how this is done as the older they get and the more they learn, the more mature they get. This is different from the novel as the novel is based in college. Throughout their time, relationships start to form and more characters start to form, Jervis Pendleton, Julia’s cousin who Julia does not like at the beginning however Judy falls in love with him since he is not your “typical rich person”, Jimmie McBride, Sallie’s brother who is a Quarterback at Princeton University who falls in love with Judy however Julia also develops feelings for him (even going as far to learn American Football), and Bob, Jimmie’s friend and captain of the football team who Sallie also develops some feelings for (however since they are both awkward, this does not really end anywhere). There are also some minor characters introduced who really do not do much in order to me to really talk about them.


The last 15 episodes or so changes the story up a bit since Judy wishes to become more independent. This leads to her arguing with “Daddy Long Legs” and disobeying things by taking jobs despite Daddy telling her not to. She also is taken to a Farm against her wishes (this is most likely set up by Daddy Long Legs since some story plots take place here which may ruin the entire series if I tell them here). Despite this, Judy finally makes up with Daddy. Judy is asked to deliver a speech for the graduating students, Daddy even promises to show up, however he gets very sick and eventually, Judy has to go out and find him. It is here where finally, Daddy Long Legs is revealed.


I rate this story an 8/10


Characters:

Judy: I actually like Judy quite a lot. I do find her to be quite a sympathetic character. I do think she should have listened to her father a lot more during the last arc however I do understand her position based on her lifestyle and the fact that she has never allowed to experience true freedom before. I was cheering for her all throughout this series. She does grow up in maturity as well the teachers at the school (mostly the English one), her friends and especially Daddy Long Legs teach her about the world around her and how to act in situations. She was definitely the best character in the show as a show based around her should be.


Sallie: She is the nice, kind and helpful friend to Judy. She has some quirks like her anxiety to public speaking however for me she was a little too bland. She really does not develop that much which is mostly due to the fact that there really is not many situations that you can develop her. Still, she is not a bad character by any means and won’t make you want to skip forward or anything.


Julia: She starts out as the snobby rich character who starts of as friends with Sallie however Judy doesn't like her. She does however get the 2nd most amount of development behind Judy (Around the time she meets Jimmie is where it really starts) and she does start to get friendlier with Judy. Furthermore, when you see her parents, it does become evident why Julia is not really happy with her life since her parents are absolute shitheads. I did really start to feel sorry for her at the end.


Jervis: I did like him, however he really didn't offer much in terms of personality. He is the friendly, goofy guy in the series. I also find it a bit weird how he straight up falls in love with a minor even though he is about 30 however it does make more sense at the end of the series (It is a pretty massive spoiler). Still a pretty good character though as you do really feel his love for Judy


Jimmie: Again likeable, however not given to much development other than his relationships with Judy and Julia. Does seem to be a nice guy, even though he blatantly ignores Julia’s feelings for him because of his feelings with Judy.


The other characters are really not given enough screen time or development for me to really comment on them too much.


I rate these characters a 7.5/10

Art

I love the art. Not because of the actual art style or quality since it is good for the time but not specular. What really gets me is the fact that they ACTUALLY manage to make the characters grow. Not from teenager to adult or kid to teenager but year to year, the 3 girls actually do grow in height. This is especially noticeable from flashbacks. I believe not enough anime that last years have this sort of continuous physical growth and that this should be more prevalent. I did have a few problems with the art/animation (especially those basketball scenes) however they are not really noticeable enough to ruin this series

I rate the art at an 8.5/10


Conclusion


I like this anime quite a bit. It is not the best series out there I’ll admit however if you are looking a good lengthy show or perhaps an older style show then this would be a good one to watch. Your views may be different in terms of how you feel of the characters or story however I do believe this is suitable for pretty much everyone.

I give the series an overall rating of 8/10

Hey folks looking for a recent review? here's one for 2020

First of all it has aged really well. For something that was made back in 1990 it looks pretty good. No complaints with art or animation.

As for the soundtrack the opening I like, the endings fine but I wouldn't want to listen to it too often. Music within the show I would say was was done pretty well nothing to be surprised about though.

The characters are well written and their personalities shine through. The way the characters think and act are very precise to the time they are in, as least to my ... belief. And as much as I might want to hate a character especially Julia I can't say they ever did something that was too out of character for them. Honestly there are times I get frustrated with the characters but I can appreciate that they have very realistic flaws that make them human.

The story itself well as for this "mysterious benefactor" I don't think anything has been easier to guess. I's not bad but just wasn't expecting it to be "that" easy.

I guess occasionally there is a little sexist comment about "being more ladylike" but it's understandable from that time.

Now this is the part I hated most of all. I can't believe on one has said this yet but Judys romance is the absolute worst and if anyone actually thinks about it it is seriously messed up on so many levels. If you want to know more read all of it.

SPOILERS JUST SKIP TO NEXT PARAGRAPH (it's really important though)
I'm going to ignore the big age crush Julia has and instead go on about Judys. Now at the start I didn't hate it so much because he wasn't making any moves on the girl and it was just a simple one side crush Judy had because she didn't know. But he knew and never told her, even worst he even made moves on Judy. Dude you should know better. Not even considering the age gap he knew he was a dad figure to her in the letters she wrote. Ordering her to not be allowed to hang out with her finds to the point where she now considers the letters to be a sad obligation and wants to get rid of you to the point she feels she has no control over her life and wants to be fully independent. Yet he still shows up not telling her a thing instead still trying to get her to fall you knowing she doesn't know you are the person in the letters. He is full on manipulative. With letters he's marrying someone he knew and was financially supporting when she was 12. Without letter he's marrying someone who is young enough to be his daughter. Daughter or could have been daughter you tell me what's worst both are incredibly bad.

If I had to pick something I really didn't like from the story it would be the part where Judy says "finally became a normal girl" and expresses how much she hates to go back to the orphanage. Now I get she isn't exactly proud of being an orphan but really during her time there you telling me there wasn't anyone she wanted to see, no bonds she made with anybody?? it just makes the first episode where they show how tough it was her to leave and how much she cared about the other children seemed useless. For good parts Judy letters do feel genuine and something I actually look forward to reading.

If there is anything that I like about this show is that you see how the characters grow up from children to adults. When they are young and basically everything before ep 25 the show is kind of lighthearted and focus on relationships with friends and ordinary student life. As they start to grow up you can start to see (literally) the characters mature and interactions with others and their how topic of conversations start to change. It really feels as if you grown alongside with them.

The show is enjoyable enough though (completely ignoring existence of the romance thing) and I do plan to finish all of it. If you can sit through 10 episodes that's basically the tone throughout the whole series.

One of my favorite childhood memories٫ I rewatched it again and it was just sweet as I remember, the characters and the connections between them is just great and the story about the main character how it started like when she was a kid and in the end she was a grown woman it is just like i lived with her, day by day and just felt her pain her happiness and her every thing and i just love it, in the end I just start to miss the little girl of her she was so joyful as an orphan girl her life changed so ... much and I felt that change, as a story it is just so sweet, about the drawing for an old anime like this is not bad at all, I really enjoyed watching it again it reminds me of the old sweet days it made me feel happy sad and everything.

I like how it is done in nippon anime adaptation ,the musical and portrayals of the main cast are awesome. I have read the original novel written by jean webster and it is quit different thought it is given to have variations.. everything on it is perfect for me.. the love story of judy and jervie at the end was great though am rooting for the sequel that my dear enemy ,. i hope nippon will give it a try.. which was also a best selling novel.


The chracters are well portrayed. The story telling in the story how judy communicate to DLL is achieved.

Hello. I recommend watching it but I didn't like it.

What I thought about Watashi no Ashinaga Ojisan-
1. The start was interesting.
2. There were many interesting and different characters that made the story very colorful and interesting.
3. Like many other people I watched it because of Daddy Long Legs, it was a truly good character that I had never seen before.
4. But, maybe it's my own option and many might disagree but it was really lacking.
First of all, the story was slightly getting boring and started to get hard to watch.
Most of the things were easy to predict and I ... didn't like them.
The main character in my opinion was slightly annoying and stupid, there were many times I wanted to drop it but continued because of my favorite character. (Daddy Long Legs.)
Secondly, I was disappointed. I don't want to spoil but what I can say there were many characters that were far from realistic and I really didn't like them.
5. As for the last point what I wanted to tell you, maybe it's once again only my option and maybe it's because of my for sure big expectations but the end was HORRIBLE. I absolutely hated it. It was one of the biggest disappointments in my life.
No spoilers again.
But what I wanted to tell is that if the ending was different I would have put it as one of my favorites but after watching it until the end I feel very sad and angry.
Thank you for reading and sorry if this wasn't helpful or misleading.