Anime of the week (1)

It was quite difficult to choose one to start with, but because I like starting with the roots this is an anime I watched as a child and then re-watched again over the years :)

Anime: Trapp Family Story or as we Arabs know it "لحن الحياة"
Studio: Nippon Animation as a part of World Masterpiece Theater
Genre: Drama, family, musical
Release date: January, 1991
Episodes: 40

Plot: The anime is based on the memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers  by Maria Von Trapp. The anime captures the main story line but changes many details. Maria Kutschera is a young, very energetic music loving nun, which troubles the sisters in the Church. Baron Georg Van Trapp whose wife passed away several years before, sends to the Church asking for a governess to look after his seven children. So Maria is sent to the Von Trapp house with her guitar and high spirits :D 

At first the children were decided to be cold to Fraulein Maria due to their past experiences with tough governesses. Bit by bit Hedwig, Rupert, Maria, Werner, Johanna, Martina and Agatha fall in love with her and with music they started to enjoy their time. Maria teaches the children about life and music as well as school subjects. 

Princess Yvonne was introduced as a wife candidate for the Baron, but the children refuse her because they already think of Maria as their new mother. The Baron finds himself falling for Maria and when he admits that to Yvonne, she decides to leave him. Eventually they get married and live happily as a family. The family starts the Von Trapp family singing group and perform in public in a music contest and impress the crowd. The family faces trouble when the Nazis take over Austria, but having each other they decide to leave rather than become under Hitler's control.

Why I love it: First of all, the story. It is nicely progressive teaching you about family, relationships and life. Though it doesn't show the real Von Trapp family, but it makes you wonder and draws you in into that version of their interesting life. The music and songs are so beautiful especially if you heard our perfectly sung Arabic versions, I just love them. The characters are lovable and it's nice to see their growing relationships together.

Bonus: The story of the Von Trapp family was also adapted on the big screen in Germany and later in America and of course a Broadway musical. The real Von Trapp singing group still exist to this day with the grandchildren singing and following their ancestors legacies. A while ago I was interested in the real story and found out a couple of interesting facts such as; that they were 10 children not 7, Maria was originally a teacher for Maria Von Trapp not a governess, and she wasn't such a nice person in real life as portrayed in the adaptations. If you'r intrigued you can read more here The Real Von Trapp family.

If you haven't seen this anime, hurry and put it on the list. You're sure to enjoy a nice family, feel good drama ^_^