Lady!!

Lady!!
is a Japanese manga series written and illsutrated by Youko Hanabusa. It was published by Akita Shoten in the shōjo manga magazine Hitomi Comics from 1987 to 1993 and collected in 12 tankoubon volumes. The manga series was adapted into two anime television series, entitled, Lady Lady!! and its sequel Hello! Lady Lynn, produced by Toei Animation.
The first season of the anime series, entitled consists of 21 episodes and was aired on Wednesdays from October 21, 1987 to March 23, 1988 on TBS.
Youko later made two sequels, Lady Lynn!! (レディ リン!) and the dōjinshi Lynn no Kodomotachi & Peter Pan (リンのこどもたち&ぴぃたぁぱん)
Summary
Young Lynn and her mother travel from Japan to meet Lynn's father, The Viscount of Marble, who lives in England. On their way to the Marble Mansion, Lynn and her mother get into a tragic car accident in which Lynn's mother is killed. When Lynn wakes up in the hospital, the truth about her mother's death is kept as a secret from her since her father cannot bear to bring her such grief.
Soon after Lynn moves with her father to The Marble Mansion where she encounters a miscellaneous cast of servants, most of who are charmed by Lynn's adorableness. Lynn also finds out that she is not the only child of The Viscount of Marble – she meets her elder half sister Sarah, whose mother has also died. At first Sarah seems cold and distant towards her.
After a string of events, the two sisters finally form a strong bond. Then problems arise with the arrival of the scheming Waverleys who take it upon themselves to run the household in The Marble Mansion while The Viscount of Marble is away. The motherless little girl tries to accommodate to the high society life and get the approval of the nobility. Her greatest wish is to become what her mother hoped her to be – a true Lady.
Much later, because of unpaid debts, the Russels lose The Marble Mansion to the bank. Sarah and Lynn are put into different homes. Nevertheless, Lynn never gives up and finally becomes a lady.
Characters
Lynn is a cheerful and innocent 5-year-old Anglo-Japanese girl who wishes to be accepted by her new family. She is naïve yet has an optimistic personality. She is the youngest daughter of The Viscount of Marble George Russell and Misuzu Midorikawa. Though she is half-British and half-Japanese descent, her appearance is predominantly English, especially having a wavy blonde hair. Hailing from Japan, her name was , when she was still living there with her mother and her grandparents. Her name Lynn is sometimes spelled as Rin to keep her Japanese ancestry.
Her mother was killed from a car accident while protecting Lynn and wasn't told the truth until Magdalene Waverley coldly told her about it. She holds her mother's keepsake, the Lady's Key and promised that she'll persevere to become a true Lady. Lynn loves and cares for her father and sister very much that she is willing to make sacrifices even her own happiness just for their sake. She is good at horse riding, under the tutelage of Arthur and his steed Alexandra who is particularly fond of her. She has a pet kitten named Queen.
Sarah is Lynn's elder half sister. She is the eldest daughter of The Viscount of Marble George Russell and Lady Frances Russell. She is 5 years elder than Lynn. Cold and distant at their first meeting, Sarah is actually kind and caring. Gradually, she cherishes Lynn as if she is her own younger sister, spurred on by their same state of being motherless, and defends her from the abuses of the Waverleys.
Unlike Lynn, Sarah doesn't have any memory of her mother because she died when Sarah was very young. Her mother's only keepsake is the flute and the musical score. She is very good at painting and an excellent flutist. Sarah has feelings for Arthur.
Arthur is the eldest son of the noble Brighton family. He is Edward's elder brother. Calm, reserved and charming, Arthur is an excellent equestrian, and together with his noble steed Alexandra, wins a competition hosted by the equestrian club in the course of the series. He and Sarah have been friends long before Lynn arrived in England.
Edward is the youngest son of the noble Brighton family. He is Arthur's younger brother. He is Energetic and playful, and very protective of Lynn and would do anything for her sake. Though he can ride horses like his brother, he cannot ride Alexandra since the latter refuses to be ridden on by anyone except Arthur and Lynn. Later in the series, Edward manages to ride on Alexandra to stop Lynn from going back to Japan.
George is The Viscount of Marble and Sarah and Lynn's father. he is gentle and kind, he loves his children dearly and will do anything for their sakes. He is away on business trips a lot in order to pay back the money he owed to the bank for his businesses, with The Marble Mansion as the collateral. George works hard to the point of endangering his health. He is pressured by his father, The Duke of Woburn, to marry Magdalene Waverley to pay off his debts.
Frances was the first wife of The Viscount of Marble and Sarah's mother. She has a kind and gentle personality and cares her loved ones very much. She died when Sarah was very young so Sarah does not have any memory of her. She and George met in the university and they rode horses together with their friends. She is also an excellent flutist. Her portrait hangs in the Marble Mansion. Throughout the series, she is seen as the ideal Lady, both by Sarah and Lynn.
Misuzu is Lynn's mother. She met George when he was in Japan for a business trip. She also has a similar personality as his late wife and a reason why he chose her. She was killed from a tragic car accident while protecting Lynn from harm shortly after their arrival in England. Her wish for Lynn is to become a true Lady.
Magdalene is Sarah and Lynn's almost stepmother. Together with her children, Thomas and Mary, they play as the antagonists of the story. She wants to marry The Viscount of Marble in order for her family to be incorporated in the nobility. She turns a blind eye to her children's wrongdoings while heaping the blame on Lynn. Her family is very wealthy and is capable of paying off George's debts.
Thomas is the eldest son of Magdalene Waverley and Sarah and Lynn's almost stepbrother. He is a mean and mischievous boy who, together with his sister Mary, enjoys tormenting Lynn. He has a penchant of playing with his pistol and shooting the roses and Mary's cat, Prince. He is also a habitual liar. However, he is quite cowardly and runs away when his pranks are found out.
Mary is the youngest daughter of Magdalene Waverley and Sarah and Lynn's almost stepsister. Like her brother, she enjoys making Lynn miserable. Although unlike Thomas, she experiences pangs of conscience when her pranks go too far. She owns a Persian cat named Prince but she is sometimes mean to him, and later disowns him by the end of the series.
Richard Russell is the father of the Viscount of Marble. Brooding and serious, he refuses to recognize Lynn as a member of the family because of her origin. He is pressuring George to marry Magdalene Waverley to solve his money problems, to the point of offering to accept Lynn into the family if he does, or the Marble Mansion will be taken.
Isabel is Richard's younger sister and the Countess Montgomery. A contrast with her brother, she is kind and understanding. She is charmed by Lynn's adorableness when they first meet. She subtly tries to make Richard more accepting of Lynn.
Robert is the household butler working at The Marble Mansion.
Brenda is the head maid working at The Marble Mansion.
Jill is the young maid working at The Marble Mansion.
Tom is the gardener working at The Marble Mansion.
Prince is Mary's pet Persian cat. Playful and mischievous, he is often used by Mary as a tool in her schemes against Lynn. Though often treated kindly by Lynn, Prince is persistently causing trouble for her. He often picks on Lynn's pet cat Queen. Later in the series, however, he was disowned by his owner and was adopted by Lynn.
List of episodes
Music
Opening Theme
"LADY"
Lyrics by Masumi Kawamura
Composition and arrangement by Katsuhisa Hattori
Performed by Shonentai
Courtesy of Warner Pioneer
Ending Theme
Lyrics by Masumi Kawamura
Composition and arrangement by Katsuhisa Hattori
Performed by Shonentai
Courtesy of Warner Pioneer
Insert Theme
Lyrics by Takashi Matsumoto
Composition by Kazuo Zaitsu
Arrangement by Akira Nishihira
Performed by Nami Shimada
Courtesy of Columbia Records
Staff
Director: Hiroshi Shidara
Producer: Kazuo Yokoyama, Hiromi Seki, Hiroshi Inoue
Episode Director: Toshihiko Arisako, Yasuo Yamayoshi
Character Design: Kazuhiro Ochi
Art Design: Takao Sawada
Storyline: Tomoko Konparu
Planning: Hiromi Seki, Kazuo Yokoyama
Production Manager: Yoshiro Sugawara
Music: Kōhei Tanaka
Production Company: Toei Animation Co., Ltd., TBS
External links
Manga
Author's Official Website: リンのマーブル館
*Milly un giorno dopo l'altro* Lady!! di Youko Hanabusa *Shoujo Manga Outline*
Anime
Toei Animation's Official Website: Lady Lady!!
1987 anime television series debuts
1987 manga
1988 Japanese television series endings
Akita Shoten manga
Anime and manga set in the United Kingdom
Anime series based on manga
Historical anime and manga
Shōjo manga
Toei Animation films
Toei Animation television
TBS Television (Japan) original programming
Television shows set in England
Television shows set in London
Comics set in London
Comics set in England