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Can you guess which world children’s literature stars these awesome “anime” characters are?

Casey Baseel Dec 24, 2019
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From The Chronicles of Narnia to Anne of Green Gables, Japanese children’s book publisher’s artwork shines.

What with all the anime and manga Japan produces, it’d be easy to imagine that Japanese kids get all their tales of youthful adventure and drama from domestic sources. Actually, though, the children’s literature sphere in Japan is highly internationalized, with many of the books it regards as true classics originating overseas.

Of course, this being Japan, publishers like Tokyo-based Gakken do make some changes to appeal to the local market. That’s not to say they alter the stories or characters’ personalities, though. What they do is give these international literary icons awesome anime-style makeovers!

Gakken recently polled its readers, asking them to chose their favorite main characters from the company’s 26-book Great Works of World Literature for Readers Under 10 series. Let’s take a look at the top five picks for male and female characters, but with a twist: we’re going to show you the character’s anime portrait first, so that you can try to guess who they are.

5 (female characters).

This nature-loving young lady is…
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… Heidi, from author Johanna Spyri’s stories set in the Swiss alps!

5 (male characters).

This seafarer, who was searching for treasure 116 years before Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates made their One Piece debut, is…
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…Treasure Island’s Jim Hawkins!

4 (female characters).

This unshakable optimist is…
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…Pollyanna Whittier, of Eleanor H. Porter’s Pollyanna series!

4 (male characters).

This rugged survivor is…
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… classic literature castaway Robinson Crusoe!

3 (female characters).

This youngest royal sibling is…
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Lucy, from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe/The Chronicles of Narnia!

3 (male characters).

This simian star is…
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…Son Goku/Sun Wukong, the Monkey King from Journey to the West (and inspiration for the Dragon Ball martial artist of the same name)!

2 (female characters).

This scarlet-tressed orphan is…
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…Anne Shirley, a.k.a. Anne of Green Gables, or “Red-haired Anne,” as the book is titled in Japanese editions!

2 (male characters).

This well-dressed gentleman didn’t buy those jewels, because he’s…
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…Arsène Lupin, French author Maurice Leblanc’s legendary gentleman thief (and ostensible grandfather of anime rogue Lupin III)!

1 (female characters).

At the top of the leading ladies list, we come to…
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… Sara Crewe from a A Little Princess, an expanded version of an earlier serial by The Secret Garden author Frances Hodgson Burnett!

1 (male characters).

And finally, a man who needs no introduction beyond his hat…

…master consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, who, like Son Goku and Arsène Lupin, also served as inspiration for an anime character with an overlapping name, Detective Conan’s Conan Edogawa!

Gakken’s cool anime-style artwork isn’t just seen on the covers of its books, either. It’s also featured in interior illustrations, and even anime/manga-style character relationship charts, as seen in this video showing off the company’s version of Anne of Green Gables.

Gakken’s Great Works of World Literature for Readers Under 10 series is readily available in Japanese bookstores, with each book priced at 880 yen (US$8.15). The fresh visual take on well-known characters make the great collectors’ items for classic literature fans, and if you feel a little awkward buying books just for the pictures, it’s also worth remembering that as books written for readers under 10, they’d also make great study material for anyone learning Japanese.

Source, images: PR Times
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Follow Casey on Twitter, where he thinks Gakken’s Sindbad looks pretty cool too.