Ashita no Nadja

Plot

Nadja is a beautiful orphan who lives at the Applefield Orphanage, in early 20th-century England. Nadja is called by Miss Appleton, the orphanage's owner, to receive a package delivered to her. The gifts sent for her thirteenth birthday are a dress and a diary. She is told in the accompanying letter that her mother is still alive. She later joins a traveling street performance act called the Dandelion Troupe in search of her mother after a fire breaks out in her orphanage. She travels the world, finding many friends along the way that teach her things about herself, ultimately having to learn the truth about her parentage and discovering her own destiny.

Characters

Dandelion Troupe

Nadja Applefield (ナージャ・アップルフィールド, Nāja Appurufīrudo)

Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu

Nadja Applefield is a Franco-Austrian sunny, charming girl, with a talent for dancing and making friends wherever she goes. Even though she is young, she shoulders responsibility quite well, often taking care of the younger children at the orphanage. On the other hand, she is impulsive to the point of foolhardiness and extremely trusting, which leads others to take easy advantage of her and even abuse her thoroughly, if the right buttons are pressed. Her biggest dream is to someday be reunited with her mother.

Nadja was given to Miss Applefield to raise when she was a baby, her only possession at the time being an elaborate heart-shaped brooch. Nadja grew up at the orphanage believing her parents were dead; in the days before her 13th birthday, Nadja received a surprising gift in the mail: a trunk containing a ball gown and diary, both keepsakes belonging to her birth mother. The gown was worn by Nadja's mother at her first ball, and the diary was her mother's colorful description of all the people she met and danced with at that ball. Nadja is amazed by this gift, and stunned to discover that her mother might actually be alive out there somewhere. When bad men arrive to steal the brooch away from Nadja, she leaves the Applefield orphanage and begins a career as a dancer with the travelling Dandelion Troupe. Her true date of birth is unknown, even by Nadja herself, but she claims it to be on July 25.

In episode 40 of the series, she departs for England leaving Dandelion Troupe to look for witnesses to testify her identity, after finding out that her former friend Rosemary was impersonating her and was spending time with her mother. Early in the series, she meets the Harcourt twins, Francis and Keith. She initially feels attached to Francis and once mistook Keith for Francis. Halfway through the series, she seems to be falling in love with Keith, as Francis tells him, even though she doesn't confess or seems unaware of her true feelings. She is ultimately forced to choose between them romantically. Near the end of the series, she chooses Francis over Keith because she thinks that he was the first person to help her. Indeed, the first person to help her was Keith. Since she is confused about her feelings, she chooses Francis, but later comes to realize the one that she loves is Keith. Francis is the one that makes her realize it. In the end, she did not choose either one and re-joined the Dandelion Troupe. It is hinted that she will make another decision. Interestingly, she is very popular among the males of the show, with Francis, Keith, Christian, Kennosuke, Oliver, TJ, and Fernando all developing crushes on her.

Applefield Orphanage

Rosemary (ローズマリー, Roozumarii)

Voiced by: Rumi Shishido

A childhood friend of Nadja in the Applefield Orphanage. While Nadja is the type to always run around climbing trees with the boys, Rosemary is more dreamy and would rather watch from afar. Secretly, Rosemary is unhappy about her status as an orphan, and always likes to fantasize that she is really a beautiful princess who was lost by her family, and who will be rescued any day now (in fact, she at times refers to herself as 'Princess Rosemary'). Nadja played along with Rosemary's dreams by calling Rosemary 'princess' and pretending to be her faithful knight.

When Rosemary turns 13, she, like all Applefield children, has to leave the orphanage and get a job. She works first as the maid of a wealthy family in Spain, and later as a lady-in-waiting for the scheming Herman Preminger, who disguises her as Nadja for his own purposes. Rosemary sees her second job as a way to make her own princess dreams finally come true at any costs even if it hurts Nadja, whom she sees as a traitor after a tragic misunderstanding that happens when they re-meet in Spain, months after they parted.

Rosemary originally is a good-hearted girl with hidden self-worth issues, but she soon develops an extremely nasty and cruel personality after her trust with Nadja shatters, resorting to practically anything to get what she sees as revenge. Believing that Nadja had betrayed her and seeing that her dream is at the grasp of her fingers, Rosemary becomes active and manipulative and at times even reaches levels of madness and scheming that are scary for a 13-year-old girl. Even Herman starts to fear her at one point, since he knows Rosemary is perfectly able and willing to use his weaknesses against him if needed.

In the end, Rosemary recovers her dignity and becomes tired of all the lies and manipulations, realizing that even in achieving victory through them that she is empty and unsatisfied. After speaking to Nadja one last time, she leaves the Preminger manor to "build her own princess castle", in her own words.

Preminger and Colorado clans

Duke Preminger

Voiced by: Eiji Maruyama

A well-respected Austrian nobleman, he is the father of Collette and Herman and Nadja's grandfather. He is a powerful and proud man, but also cold and obsessed with family honor. The only people he seems to have a soft spot for are Oscar and Collette.

Raymond Colbert, Nadja's father, worked for the Duke and was fired when Collette asked for permission to marry him, which was refused. As a result, the two eloped. Tragically, Raymond died in an accident while both Collette and Nadja were very sick. The Duke told his retainers to give baby Nadja away to a friend of theirs, Miss Applefield, and tell Collette that her child had perished, thus tricking her into coming back home.

Duke Preminger also hires two private investigators, Rosso and Bianco, to gather information about Nadja's life to see if she is worthy of joining the Preminger clan. It's hinted that he is, in fact, the one who sent Nadja the gown and the diary. Unbeknownst to him, Rosso and Bianco are actually working with his son Herman to eliminate Nadja, making Herman the family heir.

Collette Preminger

Voiced by: Reiko Yasuhara

Nadja's mother, whose pink gown and diary were sent to Nadja around her 13th birthday, Collette is the eldest daughter of the rich Austrian nobleman Duke Preminger. She eloped with Raymond, a French musician and her piano teacher, when her father fired him after learning they were involved. They lived in poverty but happily in Paris until Raymond died in an accident. Both Nadja and Collette were very ill at the time. The Duke's retainers gave Nadja to the orphanage and told Collette that she had died. The grief-stricken Collette was easily convinced to return home where she has lived a quiet life in the company of her father, second husband (her old friend, Count Waltmüller, a good man who takes care of her very well) and younger brother Herman.

Collette is remarkably similar to Nadja: trusting, good-hearted, stubborn when she wants to be, and slightly klutzy at times. They cross paths several times not knowing that they're mother and daughter until almost the end.

Harcourt clan

Francis Harcourt

Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga

He is the son of a wealthy English nobleman, raised by his kind aunt Emma Queensbury after his mother died. Unlike other nobles, he does not believe in social classes and differences, so under the 'noblesse oblige' motto he becomes an active advocate for charity and a sort of kind, sweet guardian angel for the poor. He is extremely focused in this work to the point of being somewhat workaholic, therefore ignoring the affections of girls like his close friend Marianne Hamilton.

Francis and Nadja meet in a charity ball, bonding through their common memories and crossing paths many times as they separately travel through Europe. While still good-hearted, Francis is not as ultra-perfect as he seems, especially since he has serious self-worth problems regarding both his own persona and someone he dearly loves, as well as heavy guilt trips that arise when he sees that his good intentions aren't enough to make the poor happier. He and Keith fall in love with Nadja, but he is aware that Nadja's affections are for Keith and accepts it. In episode 44, Nadja is forced to choose between Keith or Francis. In the end of that episode, she chooses Francis, but in episode 50 when she is talking with her mother, she talks about how she is "has not come to recognize her own feelings anymore". This along with a scene later on in the episode when the Harcourt twins stated that they will "play fair" for the love of Nadja concludes that Nadjas love interest has actually not been chosen.

Keith Harcourt (a.k.a. the Black Rose)

Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga

The Black Rose is a dashing, handsome and mysterious thief who steals from the rich and gives the stolen wealth to the poor, since he believes that all the wealthy people are frivolous and self-centered. He is well loved by the crowd, and famous among the journalists. His trademarks are his black costume with cape, mask, and calling card that he uses to taunt his future victims. He crosses paths with Nadja several times during her travels with the Dandelion Troupe; she is at first enraged by his dry wit and exploits, but later learns his motives and starts to empathize more with him.

The Black Rose's true identity is revealed mid-way in the series. His true name is Keith Harcourt, and he is the older twin brother of Francis, who walked away from his family after he finished his schooling at age 15. He shares his twin's desire to help the poor, but is far more cynical and disenchanted, since he thinks that 'noblesse oblige' is insufficient. The death of their mother had an influence; while the more innocent Francis saw only Countess Harcourt's kinder side, Keith saw her secret unhappiness upon being a bird in a gilded cage. Nadja's love of freedom touches him so much that he appoints himself as her protector after he rescues her from Rosso and Bianco. Like his brother, he falls in love with Nadja as he protects her and is drawn to her personality. In episode 44, Nadja is forced to choose between Keith or Francis. In the end of that episode, she chooses Francis, but in episode 50 when she is talking with her mother, she talks about how she is "has not come to recognize her own feelings anymore". This along with a scene later on in the episode when the Harcourt twins stated that they will "play fair" for the love of Nadja concludes that Nadjas love interest has actually not been chosen.

Others

Harvey Livingston

Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda

A friendly, lanky and talented American journalist who works for a French newspaper, and due to his work he travels through Europe searching for the most outrageous news. He is one of the first people to give Nadja serious hints about her true origins; he examines her brooch during their meeting in Italy and, noting its craftsmanship, deduces that she is of very noble origin and warns her of how serious a matter it could be.

Despite his lazy outlook, Harvey is extremely serious when it comes to his work. He also has a strong sense of justice and greatly admires the thief Black Rose; one of his most cherished dreams is to interview him. He has looked after his little brother, T.J., ever since they were orphaned.

Marianne Hamilton

Voiced by: Fuuko Misaki

Marianne is the daughter of another English noble clan, who has known Francis Harcourt since childhood and has loved him since then. In fact, the Hamilton and Harcourt families were planning to engage Marianne and Francis, but Nadja's appearance disrupts these plans.

While she makes clear to Nadja that she will not give Francis up to her and says that Nadja is better off with Keith, upon hearing her family plea Marianne accepts to help Nadja and Francis to prove Nadja's bond to the Premingers, wanting to see if she really is who she claims to be, and even saying that if Nadja truly is a Preminger, she will cancel her engagement to Francis.

Marianne is painted as a morally ambiguous character with both good (focused, honest and straightforward) and bad (manipulative and possessive of Francis) traits. She is less malicious than Rosemary and Herman, but still not completely good. Despite her selfishness, she seems to truly care for Francis, as seen in a scene with Nadja where Marianne blurts out that Nadja has Keith and the Dandelion Troupe while she only has Francis to hold on to, and runs away from Nadja almost in tears.

Media

Anime

Produced by Asahi Television Broadcasting Corporation, ADK and Toei Animation, the series is directed by Takuya Igarashi, with Tomoko Konparu handling series composition, Kazuto Nakazawa designing the characters and Keiichi Oku composing the music. It is available on DVD in 13 volumes (in Japanese) containing two to three episodes each, released from September 2003 to September 2004. A DVD box was released on February 10, 2016. It is also available on SD Blu-ray in a Blu-ray box that was released on July 26, 2023. It has also been released on French-Canadian R1 DVD by Imavision as "Nadja Applefields" in two boxsets, the first with the first 26 episodes released on September 25, 2007, and the second with the last 24 episodes released on April 29, 2008. It has also received two English-dubbed compilation films titled "The Adventures Of Nadja" from William Winckler Productions and Toei. The first of the films are a compilation of episodes 6, 7, 10, 13 and 21, while the second is a compilation of the last five episodes of the series. The opening theme is "Nadja!!" (ナージャ!!) by Minako Honda, and the ending theme is "Que Sera, Sera" (けせら・せら) by Ami Koshimizu.

Manga

A manga adaptation by Ayumi Yui was serialized in Nakayoshi beginning with the March 2003 issue.

Novel

A sequel novel, set three years after the anime, titled Ashita no Nadja - 16-sai no Tabidachi (小説 明日のナージャ 16歳の旅立ち, lit. 'Tomorrow's Nadja - A Journey at 16 Years Old'), was released on September 12, 2017. Tomoko Konparu, the anime writer, wrote the novel and Kazuto Nakazawa, the anime character designer, returned to draw the novel's cover art and other illustrations.