Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple
Encyclopedia
is an anime
television series that adapted several Agatha Christie
stories about Hercule Poirot
and Miss Marple
. A new character named Mabel West, Miss Marple's great-niece, who becomes Poirot's junior assistant, is used to connect the two detectives.
The series was broadcast from 4 July 2004 to 15 May 2005 on NHK
, and continues to be shown in re-runs on NHK and other networks in Japan. The series was adapted as manga
under the same title, which was released in 2004 and 2005.
constraints (typically one 25 minute episode for a short story, four episodes for a novel). Despite being a modern Japanese adaptation, the original (mainly English) locations and time period are retained. The most obvious story change is the addition of Mabel West and her pet duck, Oliver. However apart from her soliloquies, most of her lines are taken from the incidental dialogue of other characters in the original stories, so her presence does not materially alter the plot development. Other changes are generally of a minor nature, for instance Inspector Japp becomes "Inspector Sharpe", possibly due to the derogatory implications attached to the word "jap
". The significance of some details which rely on English idioms is changed, for example when a dying uncle taps his eye in Strange Jest, this was originally a reference to the saying All my eye and Betty Martin, but in the anime it becomes a reference to a stamp in which a woman appears to be winking (however the clue still achieves the same end).
for NHK
. The series was directed by Naohito Takahashi with music by Toshiyuki Watanabe
and character designs by Sayuri Ichiishi
. The opening theme is "Lucky Girl ni Hanataba wo" and the ending theme is "Wasurenaide," both performed by Tatsuro Yamashita. The 39 episodes were initially broadcast in Japan on NHK stations from 4 July 2004 to 15 May 2005. The series was released on seven DVDs.
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
television series that adapted several Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
stories about Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975 and set in the same era.Poirot has been portrayed on...
and Miss Marple
Miss Marple
Jane Marple, usually referred to as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christie's crime novels and in twenty short stories. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur detective. She is one of the most famous...
. A new character named Mabel West, Miss Marple's great-niece, who becomes Poirot's junior assistant, is used to connect the two detectives.
The series was broadcast from 4 July 2004 to 15 May 2005 on NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
, and continues to be shown in re-runs on NHK and other networks in Japan. The series was adapted as manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
under the same title, which was released in 2004 and 2005.
Adaptation
The TV series is a generally faithful adaptation of the original stories given the timeconstraints (typically one 25 minute episode for a short story, four episodes for a novel). Despite being a modern Japanese adaptation, the original (mainly English) locations and time period are retained. The most obvious story change is the addition of Mabel West and her pet duck, Oliver. However apart from her soliloquies, most of her lines are taken from the incidental dialogue of other characters in the original stories, so her presence does not materially alter the plot development. Other changes are generally of a minor nature, for instance Inspector Japp becomes "Inspector Sharpe", possibly due to the derogatory implications attached to the word "jap
Jap
Jap is an English abbreviation of the word "Japanese." Today it is generally regarded as an ethnic slur, although English-speaking countries differ in the degree to which they consider the term offensive. In the United States, Japanese Americans have come to find the term controversial or...
". The significance of some details which rely on English idioms is changed, for example when a dying uncle taps his eye in Strange Jest, this was originally a reference to the saying All my eye and Betty Martin, but in the anime it becomes a reference to a stamp in which a woman appears to be winking (however the clue still achieves the same end).
Characters
- Hercule Poirot:
- Jane Marple:
- Mabel West:
- Miss Lemon:
- Hastings:
- Oliver:
- Inspector Sharpe:
Anime
The anime was produced by Oriental Light and MagicOriental Light and Magic
Not to be confused with Industrial Light & Magic, formerly Oriental Light and Magic, is a Japanese animation studio founded in June 1995. They have worked on several anime series, with Pokémon their most prominent work, doing all of the TV anime and films. The animation studio is composed of...
for NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
. The series was directed by Naohito Takahashi with music by Toshiyuki Watanabe
Toshiyuki Watanabe
Toshiyuki Watanabe is a Japanese musician and composer who has scored several films and anime, most notably the Mothra films in the 1990s...
and character designs by Sayuri Ichiishi
Sayuri Ichiishi
is the lead anime character designer for the Pokémon anime series, although she has worked on other animation titles. Her work closely follows Ken Sugimori to transfer Pokémon and Ken's characters into the anime...
. The opening theme is "Lucky Girl ni Hanataba wo" and the ending theme is "Wasurenaide," both performed by Tatsuro Yamashita. The 39 episodes were initially broadcast in Japan on NHK stations from 4 July 2004 to 15 May 2005. The series was released on seven DVDs.
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