Old, Sad Anime Movie

August 26, 2013 2:37 PM

I'm trying to identify an animated Japanese movie I saw when I was a kid, but my web-search-fu has come up empty.

Here's what I (think I) remember:

1. It was a historical film set in Japan.
2. The story was about a girl (or maybe a girl and her sister?) who loses her family somehow and has to survive on her own.
3. The part I remember the most was a very sad scene where she has to cut her long hair short. It might have been somebody else cutting her hair—as punishment, perhaps?—or she might have had to do it herself.
4. This is really vague, but I seem to recall there being a lot of water in the movie. A storm? A flood? A sea voyage?
5. I saw the movie on TV in the LA area in the mid-to-late 70's. I'm pretty sure it was on KTLA's Family Film Festival.

Does this ring any bells?

posted by The Tensor to Media & Arts (7 answers total)

Grave of the Fireflies, I bet.

Brutal. Totally brutal.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 2:56 PM on August 26, 2013

Response by poster: It was definitely not Grave. It was set further back in the past, probably pre-1900. (Also, Grave was released about a decade late.)
posted by The Tensor at 2:58 PM on August 26, 2013

Response by poster: Update: I don't think it's Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid even though that does involve knives, hair cutting, and water.
posted by The Tensor at 3:16 PM on August 26, 2013

(Lol, was just coming in to say that this scene from The Little Mermaid rang all those bells for me.

Seems like Toei Animation was a pretty big anime producer for the American market in the 70s... maybe go through their film list?
posted by NorthernAutumn at 3:22 PM on August 26, 2013

Can you say anything about the time period the anime was set in? Like, was it futuristic or fantasy or in the past?
posted by spunweb at 8:55 PM on August 26, 2013

Response by poster: Can you say anything about the time period the anime was set in? Like, was it futuristic or fantasy or in the past?

"It was a historical film set in Japan."

"It was set further back in the past, probably pre-1900."
posted by The Tensor at 10:40 PM on August 26, 2013

I'm on my phone and also lazy but check the Wikipedia entry for "World Masterpiece Theater" - I bet money it was one of those.
posted by turbid dahlia at 5:46 AM on August 27, 2013