みつばちマーヤの冒険

みつばちマーヤの冒険 (Hepburn: Mitsubachi Māya no Bōken, lit. "The Adventures of Maya the Honey Bee"; German: Die Biene Maja; English: Maya the Bee) is an anime television series produced first by Zuiyo Enterprise and then by Nippon Animation) and ABC of Osaka. The series consisted of 52 episodes and was originally telecast from April 1975 to April 1976 on the NET (now TV Asahi) network, with which ABC (not to be confused with the Tokyo-based TV Asahi) is affiliated. Based on the classic children's book The Adventures of Maya the Bee by Waldemar Bonsels, the anime series has become extremely popular in Europe and has been rebroadcast in countries and languages all around the world since its premiere. A film edited from the first few episodes was released on December 15, 1977.

A second Maya the Bee series, 新みつばちマーヤの冒険 (Shin Mitsubachi Māya no Bōken, The New Adventures of Maya the Honey Bee), was a co-production made in 1979 by Wako Productions and Austrian/German Apollo Film, Wien. The second series first premiered in Germany (ZDF) from September 1979 to September 1980. The very different and cartoon-like second series, which lasted for 52 episodes, was not very popular and did not premiere in Japan until 12 October 1982, on TV Osaka, and aired through 27 September 1983.

International versions

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