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....

 television series based on the children's story of the same name

The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen is a fairy tale by author Hans Christian Andersen . The tale was first published in 1845, and centers on the struggle between good and evil as experienced by a little boy and girl, Kai and Gerda....

 by Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...

. It is directed by Osamu Dezaki

Osamu Dezaki

, also known as , , or , was a Japanese director of anime born on November 18, 1943, in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. His older brother, Satoshi Dezaki, is also an anime director....

 and animated by TMS Entertainment. The first episode aired on May 22, 2005 on Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

's NHK

NHK

NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....

 network.

Cast

• Tooru Nakamura - Narrator
• Ayako Kawasumi
  Ayako Kawasumi
  is a Japanese voice actress and J-pop singer. She is affectionately referred to by her fellow voice actors and fans as "", "" and "". She is a skilled pianist, having practiced the piano since childhood....
  
   - Gerda
• Rio Natsuki
  Rio Natsuki
  is a Japanese voice actress.-Anime:*Angelic Layer *Battle Athletes Victory *Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 *Digimon Adventure 02 *El-Hazard *Full Metal Panic!...
  
   - Kay
• Mayo Suzukaze
  Mayo Suzukaze
  is a Japanese film and television actress from Ishinomaki. Suzukaze has also done some voice work as a voice actress, namely as the voice of Himura Kenshin in Rurouni Kenshin. She was previously a Takarazuka Revue stage actress and the Top Star of Moon Troupe...
  
   - Snow Queen
• Tetsuo Gotō
  Tetsuo Goto
  is a Japanese seiyū from Gifu Prefecture.-Animation:*Angel Heart *Cyborg 009 *Death Note *Dinosaur King *Gallery Fake *The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy...
  
   - Red Troll
• Takuma Suzuki - Green Troll
• Akio Ōtsuka - The Avatar of the Wind
• Masahiro Takashima
  Masahiro Takashima
  is a Japanese actor.-Family:Takashima comes from a family of actors, including his father , mother and younger brother Masanobu Takashima. He married the stage actress Sylvia Grab in 2005.- Acting career :...
  
   - Carl (Kay's Father)
• Noriko Hidaka
  Noriko Hidaka
  , real name , maiden name is a seiyū, or voice actor. Hidaka is most known for the roles of Mikage Matsunaga , Minami Asakura , Akane Tendo , Satsuki Kusakabe , Near , Seta Sōjirō , Jean , Kikyo , and Noriko Takaya .Hidaka...
  
   - Nina (Kay's Mother)
• Masako Jō
  Masako Jo
  is a Japanese voice actor who works for 81 Produce.-Notable voice roles:*Chrono in Ah! My Goddess *Oliver in Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple*Kiriko Heguri in Aquarian Age: Sign for Evolution*Candy in Croquette!...
  
   - Yohanne (Kay's Younger Sister)
• Junko Midori - Matilda (Gerda's Grandmother)

Plot

Gerda and Kai have been neighbors and best friends since childhood. Gerda is now eleven, Kai twelve. They were happy children who worked and played as they should. All that changed when the Snow Queen's mirror broke. The shards spread all through the world, each containing evil. If a shard went inside your eye, it would turn your heart to ice. A shard went into Kai's eye. After that, he grew cold to those he loved. One night, the Snow Queen came after him. She took him into her carriage and they went back to her ice castle at the farthest north point of the world. Everyone in Kai and Gerda's village didn't know where he went and believed he died from drowning in the frozen-over lake. Gerda doesn't believe this, for she dreamed of seeing Kai enter the carriage. When a drunk man admits that he also saw this, Gerda starts realizing that maybe what she saw wasn't a dream. She packs her things and goes on a journey to save Kai and bring him back home.

Music

• Opening Theme:

"Snow Diamond" by Mariko Chisumi

• Ending Theme:

"Daisuki na kimi ni" (Towards You, My Beloved) by Kazumasa Oda

Kazumasa Oda

is a Japanese singer-songwriter, composer and is also known as the leader of the folk rock band Off Course.As a vocalist and leader of Off Course, Oda wrote many Japanese standard numbers in the 70s and 80s. He and Yasuhiro Suzuki were important composers in the band...

External links

• NHK's Snow Queen website
• Vap's Snow Queen website
• Review at THEM Anime