is an anime

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....

 adaptation of the classic Robin Hood

Robin Hood

Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....

 story consisting of 52 episodes. In this version, Robin and his allies are mostly pre-teens.

Overview

Robin's home is burned to the ground by the order of Lord Alwine, the Baron of Nottingham. Robin and his cousins flee into Sherwood Forest hoping to escape persecution, and end up encountering a group of bandits led by Little John. Together, Robin and the bandits must stop Lord Alwine's persecutions and greed as well as prevent the greedy Bishop Herfort from adopting Marian Lancaster and obtaining her family's wealth.

Protagonists

• Robert Huntington (aka Robin Hood) – The heir to the noble family of Huntington, Robin Hood's house is burned to the ground by the order of Lord Alwine. He is forced to flee and hideout in Sherwood Forest where he and his cousins encounter Little John and his gang.
• Marian Lancaster – The descendant of the noble Lancaster family who is to be adopted by a greedy bishop named Herfort. She wears a golden crucifix around her neck as a symbol of her family.
• Will – Robin's friend/cousin who fight along his side when trouble arises. He has two sisters.
• Friar Tuck – An old monk who lives on the edge of Sherwood Forest and helps Robin if needed.
• Little John – A leader of a group of bandits who were forced to hide out in Sherwood Forest to avoid forced labor. Though he clashes with Robin at first, he proves to be an "invincible" ally. He has a love interest in Winifred.
• Much: Much is Little John's right-hand man.
• Winifred: Robin's cousin and Will's sister.
• Barbara: (called Jenny in the English version) Barbara is Robin's cousin, and the younger sister of Will and Winifred.

Antagonists

Most of the antagonists of the series serve as only "temporary" antagonists who eventually start aiding the protagonists near the end of the series. However, all of them start off as those who oppose Robin through the majority of the series. It's only near the end do some of them start to make a change for the better.

• Lord Alwine – the Baron of Nottingham that taxes his workers and keeps them working for him. He is the one that orders the destruction of the Huntington's castle. He is based on the Sheriff of Nottingham in both character design and personality. Near the end of the series, due to Robin's constant thwarting and a near death experience by him, he starts to make a change for the better until coming across a plot that would allow him to take over the kingdom, thus, changing him back to his greedy, inconsiderate self. Once again, however, his plan of action is stopped by Robin as well as King Richard.

• Bishop of Hereford – A greedy bishop of Nottingham that is to adopt Marian Lancaster for the Lancaster's wealth. Like Alwine, the Bishop eventually starts to make a change for the better towards the end of the series. Unlike Alwine, he remains loyal to the protagonists in the end, and eventually helps out Robin by informing them Alwine's plot to take over the kingdom.

• Gilbert – A loyal and dangerous knight that serves under Lord Alwine and does his bidding. He has a scar under his right eye, which is hidden by his long hair, from a very short fight with Robin in the first episode. During a fight with Robin he is blown off a cliff by the forces of nature along with Marion, but he uses his strength to help Robin save her, and ends up falling, believing to have died. It is discovered later that he survived the fall. He later becomes a knight for King Richard, and no longer serves under Lord Alwine.

• Cleo – Gilbert's sister, first introduced in episode 24 "The Girl in Black". She wears a black dress and has long dark hair. After Gilbert's supposed death early in the series, she is told by Alwine that Robin was the cause. She plans to kill Robin and avenge the death of her older brother, despite he was not the cause of Gilbert's death. Later on, Cleo eventually finds out the truth and no longer tries to kill Robin, and the two form somewhat of a relationship (however, Robin's true feelings stay to true to Marian).

• King John - Upon discovering his heritage, Alwine uses him to try to take over the kingdom. He himself follows the plan to become king and attempts to replace his brother, King Richard.

• Guy of Gisbourne
  Guy of Gisbourne
  Sir Guy of Gisbourne is a character from the Robin Hood legends of English folklore. In The Ballad of Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne , he hunts Robin for the Sheriff of Nottingham, but Robin kills him and cuts off his head...
  
  – A bounty hunter hired by Alwine to kill Robin.

Music

The series uses two pieces of theme music for the Japanese version; one opening song and one ending song. The Japanese opening song is called "Wood Walker", and the Japanese ending song is called "Hoshizora no Labirinsu (星空のラビリンス lit.Labyrinth of the Starry Sky)", both sing by the Japanese vocalist Satoko Shimonari.

There are two English opening songs. One is called "Robin of the Forest", while another is an instrumental of "Wood Walker" used for the Interfilm video dub. The French dubbed opening is called "Les Adventures de Robin des Bois", which is sung by Alexis Thomsasian. All the opening animations are kept the same, however, the ending animation differs depending on the international versions, for example, the Japanese ending is completely original whereas the German dub shows scenes from the series to a shortened instrumental theme of their composed opening.

Episode list

1. "The Hero of the Woods is Born"
2. "Sherwood Forest is Full of Memories"
3. "The Fight Between Robert and Gilbert"
4. "Let's Build the Cottage in the Woods"
5. "Guy of Ghisborne, the Avenger, is in Town"
6. "Gentlemen Bandits"
7. "A Knight and His Doubts..."
8. "A Mad Run Towards Nottingham!"
9. "Could Yesterday's Enemies Be Today's Friends!?"
10. "An Impossible Adoption"
11. "Longing for the past, expecting and uncertain future"
12. "A great disguise for an infiltration in Nottingham Castle"
13. "An Adoption Happily Sent up in Smoke"
14. "The Sun Rises on a New Day"
15. "An Unexpected Return"
16. "Fog and Hurling Win, A Lethal Duel"
17. "Will Poison Be The Ultimate Farewell?"
18. "War to Evil: Tuck's Stubborn Battle"
19. "An Unexpected Arrival, Witchcraft in Sherwood"
20. "Revenge for a Humiliation"
21. "Welcome, O King of the Forest"
22. "Mount-rose's shanty is burnt down"
23. "Thunderstorm in Nottingham"
24. "The Girl in Black"
25. "Love and Hate in Sherwood Forest"
26. "Peace After the Storm"
27. "A Foundling in Sherwood Forest"
28. "The Flying Ship"
29. "The Cards Predict a Romantic Future"
30. "War to the Greedy Baron"
31. "The Bandits' Revenge"
32. "A Father for Barbara"
33. "The Return"
34. "The Fog of Revenge"
35. "The Good Old Times"
36. "The Mysterious Gamekeeper"
37. "Sherwood on Fire"
38. "The Treasury of the Woods"
39. "The General Reconciliation"
40. "An Evil Being"
41. "The Traitor of England"
42. "The Lake of Truth"
43. "The Decisive Battle"
44. "The Bad Luck Man"
45. "A Charming Outlaw"
46. "Big, the Unbeatable"
47. "Honest Looking Eyes"
48. "A Tragedy for the Sherwood Bandits"
49. "The Prince of the Woods"
50. "The Decision"
51. "The Crowning"
52. "The Immortal Boy"