The “Lost” Miyazaki: How a Swiss Girl Can Be Japanese and Why It Matters

In the United States, anime is often branded as a quintessentially Japanese genre whose attractiveness to foreign audiences comes from its mix of exoticism and universal human values. Some animated texts do not, however, easily fit this characterization. One example is the series Heidi, Girl of the Alps, which spread to some 35 countries starting in the late 1970s. This article explores the consequences of scholars' failure to engage with Heidi despite its significance as an extremely globally influential text and an exemplar of Miyazaki's early work. Exploring how Heidi resonates with dimensions of Japanese culture and of Miyazaki's oeuvre, it demonstrates how “reclaiming” Heidi can help us develop a more sophisticated understanding of transcultural dynamics under conditions of globalization.