Belle and Sebastian (1981): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1981, Belle and Sebastian is an animation, drama and family series.

What it’s about. Belle and Sebastian is an anime adaption of a series of French novels called Belle et Sébastien by Cécile Aubry. The series ran on the Japanese network NHK from April 7, 1981 – June 22, 1982. It consists of 52 episodes and was a co-production of MK Company, Visual 80 Productions and Toho Company, Ltd.. Toshiyuki Kashiwakura was the head writer and character designs were by Shuichi Seki. The show was broadcast on French and Japanese television in 1981, with American cable network Nickelodeon picking it up in 1984. In the United Kingdom, it aired on Children's BBC in 1989 and 1990. This anime used many staffers from Nippon Animation's World Masterpiece Theater franchise, thus the look and feel is similar to that of a WMT production even though Nippon Animation itself was not involved with this series. The series has been aired in many countries outside Japan and has been dubbed and subtitled in English and numerous other languages.

Who’s in it. Belle and Sebastian stars Noriko Ohara as Sebastian (voice), Ichiro Nagai as Grandpa Cesar (voice), Keiko Yokozawa as Angelina (voice) and Hiroko Suzuki as Lena (voice), among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 7.6/10, Belle and Sebastian has been warmly received by audiences.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Belle and Sebastian page.

If you liked it. Fans of Belle and Sebastian tend to enjoy Rick and Morty, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Attack on Titan and Attack on Titan: No Regrets.