The warm pulse of morning at the mighty Suns arrival The bounty of the earth the playful winds And aloft in a dance every happy thing swings. For scenery is therapy And all the symbols show in the Alps. The sound of their innocence claimed for youth and freedom A heartleap at the daily for ascetics Thereon magic is in tables the fir trees and the broomsticks For grace is within children And kindness at the ready in the Alps. The beauties of the meadows make friends with one and all Every one is named every things involved And a lifetime bond is a shared resolve For empathy is a sweet ol prayer And all the love is found in the Alps. https://i.ur.com/cuJ503R.png SPOILERFILLED WRITEUP There is a kind of synchronicity of positive affect enshrined in an encounter with childlike wonder. Stunned before a world of intact innocence the eye becomes focused: details spring up like a wellnurtured field of green infused with the sustenance of its contented design and the luster creeping up upon the longforgotten otherside rekindles the fizzled care for natural delight. Heidi Girl of the Alps in its offering of the majesty that is the Swiss Alps and the equal magnitude of the same quality found within a young girls heart arranged an audiovisual score so restful so stirring although sometimes so frustrating still so capable of impelling an imagination portal to rise out of thin air. There we see a sea of clouds to lay a kinetic body down or an image of a theater sung by the illustrious troupe of nonhuman vocalists and instrumentalists. Sometimes what stands solely within reverie is the looming figure of a great mountain patiently waiting for its children to come home into its restorative abode. The species of certain quadrupeds alongside winged creatures wild or domesticated regardless with the inclusion of the elementals and the natural course of the landmarks jewels are identified with familiarity through a separate language shared by the wellmeaning kind. And these prompts on the screen or are mirrored back to the screen most appropriately consolidate the identity and charm of Heidi Girl of the Alps. https://i.ur.com/N96lrGE.png Emboldened were those last few words of the title to pull out an encapsulation. Heidi Girl of the Alps is indeed an anime about Heidi a girl who lives in the Alps. Go figure But more than that as a girl of the Alps Heidi as the central force carrying the brunt of the storys elements over her little shoulders brings with her like a religious disciple with the most reverent faith in a higher entity the gospel of the mountains bounty. The title is as candid as the show appears to be. I adore the level of connectivity that effortlessly arises in these scenarios and the enduring quality that comes from being simple and forward points a finger at myself and laughs. The commitment of Takahata Isao to portray the novel of Johanna Spyri as an anime adaptation that beholds the daytoday on Mother Natures bosom in the mountains with exhilarating adventure and an endless display of wonder is as clear as the crystal sheen of that paradisiac lake found at the upper limits of the ranges. Vivid landscapes come as lucid spells to enchant an unspeakable sense of longing especially to the urban man courtesy of Ioka Masahiros art direction. Urakami Yasuos understanding of the sound of natures existence comes like an angel descending from a cloud of stairs to simulate a cinematic life on the simple livelihood in the countryside amongst wildlife and domesticated creatures and wooden gadgets and village gossip and sweaty work and open galaxies of green brown and blue. The trifecta of perpetrators are also found depicting the dreamy yet grounded depiction of nature in Anne of Green Gables truly the allstars of childlike wonder and rural majesty. Watanabe Takeos music compositions that incorporate the German style seal the package and complete the foundation of what makes Heidi a sensorially pleasant watch. https://i.ur.com/LOSfhmJ.png Although Heidi can be considered as cottagecore the saccharine warmth the vision usually concerns itself with is instead replaced by a louder more imposing embrace that comes from the presence of the Alps. There is also an underside if you will in the form of the industrial city of Frankfurt an urban metropolis devoid of bright hues and towering trees in favor of commercial buildings and crammed lines of houses where Heidi experienced legitimate trauma in the Sesemann household. So despite the choir of loveliness that echoes throughout virtually this entire writeup indeed a large portion of mountain life is consumed by life in a mansion with a governess who practices the art of extreme borderline devilish discipline. With filters removed and masks cast off the middle section of Heidi boasts a superior degree of furyinducing plot. I would have lesser issues with it if the reins on Fraulein Rottenmeier were tighter to reduce her freedom in the presence of the master of the house his mother and his only beloved daughter but her influence knew no bounds for reasons I cannot understand as a mere commoner in the modern world and she continues to be prowling over with her closeminded philosophies which were never really fully addressed apart from the skip in character journey with her believing in the Alps magic in the end. At the very least it makes for a powerful springboard once we go back to the mountains with Heidi when AlmOnjis despair is exorcised by the reunion of loving family completely sold on the value of companionship and the holy power of the Alps is given inarguable legitimacy. https://i.ur.com/jLFevlW.png With the way Ive been talking I consider the mountains as a character of their own. It is a peculiar feeling to have. However it is a testament to the energy nature brings into our souls. Heidi Girl of the Alps manages to incorporate an entity that is motionless and incapable of verbally speaking and transform it into what could be considered a most influential character with omnipresence. To draw a comparison it is much like Arias NeoVenezia. This makes me realize that I so like it when the setting of the story itself is given dominant importance and impact because it becomes treated with a unique kind of value that is different from living breathing casts. The vigor that the Swiss Alps bestows upon its inhabitants is known to be unmatched thus there the conclusive arc of Claras road to recovery was suitably positioned as it was. There was less of Heidi and more of Clara towards the end. Arguably not as interesting of a character thus admittedly reducing my engagement with the anime but the ultimatum of the message it materialized made it a definitively reasonable decision to make. https://i.ur.com/ueri0hR.png A threefold salvation occurred within the Alps. First it was Onji who cocooned himself as a misanthrope in the desolate Alps yet eventually grew to be more amicable to his community due to a certain orphaned girl. Second it was Heidi who essentially was breathed into life and found a place she could call home and a true family to live with. The Alps were here lifeline during the dark ages of separation. Lastly it was Clara who with the help of the mountains the children the goats and Onji was relieved from the ailment of weak legs and in turn learned to stand and walk on her own after those many years on a wheelchair with access to professional medical aid nonetheless. Indeed touchingwalking on grass can solve a plethora of our problems. Thank you Heidi. But in all seriousness every step towards salvation heightens the treasure of beauty found in the Alps. It is a grace to be looked at with wistful eyes and a longing soul a deity to convert stalwarts for environmental preservation. The core of resplendence unveiled in all its glory Heidi Girl of the Alps is a gem of its time. This is a classic produced with meticulous care such that it achieves to replicate sceneries that could make the mouth agape in awe and the heart leap in calming bliss. In terms of personal connection it isnt too close to the special places within me. Regardless of that Isao Takahata and team have translated a heartwarming story with its delightfulness intact in animated form.. https://i.ur.com/nyB4vMS.png