Laura

Laura, released in 1975, is a quintessential entry from Nippon Animation’s celebrated World Masterpiece Theater series. Based on the classic novel by Laura Ingalls Wilder, the series was designed to bring literary staples of Western children's literature to a Japanese television audience. The studio focused on a high degree of fidelity to the source material, emphasizing the pastoral themes and the resilience of the pioneer spirit during the 19th-century American frontier expansion.

The character design for the series was handled by Yasuji Mori, a veteran animator whose work became the visual blueprint for the studio's mid-70s aesthetic. Mori aimed for a soft, realistic style that would capture the warmth of rural life, eschewing the exaggerated features common in other anime of the era. Upon its release, the series was well-received for its gentle pacing and emotional sincerity, eventually becoming a significant cultural touchstone for viewers in both Japan and several European markets where it was subsequently licensed.