These women aren’t little at all, they’re normal sized!
Alternative Titles:
- Wakakusa Monogatari
- Wakakusa no Yon Shimai
- Ai no Wakakusa Monogatari
- 若草物語
Year Anime Premiered: 1980; 1981; 1987
Animation Studio: Nippon Animation; Toei Animation
Number of Seasons: 1 OVA + 1 + 2
Source Material Country of Origin: America
Source Material Available: Novel
Is It Officially Licensed Past Where The Anime Ends?: Yes
Is It Fan Translated Past Where The Anime Ends?: Yes
Entry Last Updated: July 20th, 2026
Where To Start The Tales of Little Women Novel After The Anime?
Little Women anime adaptations come in three different versions.
Little Women (1980)
This short hour-long special is a very faithful adaptation of the original novel, but is was very condensed due to its time constraints.
Little Women (1981)
The 1981 TV anime is fairly faithful to the first book, but skips and condenses some plot lines down still and makes several changes to certain events.
Tales of Little Women (1987)
Tales of Little Women is the longest adaptation, but by far and wide, the worst adaptation of the novel. This TV series wildly expands the world of the novel, taking something like 20 episodes just to reach where the novel technically starts, and not even covering all of the events of Part 1 of said novel. It introduces new characters, has plenty of anime-original storylines, and alters some canon events.
The sequel anime, Jo’s Boys, is a even looser adaptation. It is titled after the third novel of the series, but its characters and plot are more styled after Book 2, Little Men.
Is The Tales of Little Women Novel Over?
The Little Women novels by Louisa Marie Alcott are long complete.
- Little Women was published in 1868
- Part 2 of Little Women, Good Wives, was published in 1869
- Book 2, Little Men, was published in 1871
- Book 3, Jo’s Boys, was published in 1886.
Will There Be A Tales of Little Women Season 3?
We got the version of Little Women that we got in 1987, and I don’t think they will be making more anime of this classic story.
