A very precious ring to find, a princess with many suitors and a young maid who finds herself in the middle of a big trouble. These are the main ingredients of this week's 80s anime. The fantastic journeys of Fiorellino arrives in Italy in 1983 but was born as a manga, written and illustrated by Hideko Mizuno. A light and funny story, sometimes surreal, also suitable for an audience of children. In less than 30 episodes, the story of a young girl who finds herself traveling around the world with her kitten runs fast. But why? Let's go find out.
The fantastic journeys of Fiorellino: the plot
Princess Florence and the Smile of the Amazon
Let's leave the Japanese setting this time. Fiorellino's Fantastic Travels is set in the Vienna of the Hapsburg Empire. This is where a beautiful young princess, Florence, celebrates his 19th birthday. Dozens of suitors arrive at the party who aspire to marry her, not only because they are attracted by her beauty but also for The Smile of the Amazon. It is a very precious ring that the princess always wears on her finger and that was given to her by a Brazilian suitor who spent all his fortune to buy it. The suitors, on the other hand, come from all over the world: there is an Indian chief, a Polish prince, a famous physicist and chemist, even the son of the Führer. Each of these offers her great riches to have her as a wife but for Florence it always seems to be little. No one seems to interest her, until a mysterious and fascinating man arrives at the party who does not reveal his name.
The deception of the phoenix thief
Let's take a step back. At that time a very skilled and now famous thief who likes to define himself was shot in Vienna 'The Phantom Thief Phoenix'. A jewel like Il Sorriso dell'Amazzone can't help but tempt him and that's why he crashes into Princess Florence's party, pretending to be her noble suitor. Attracted by this charming man, the princess gives in to his flattery which is nothing more than a deception. Fenice, in fact, provokes her, asking her if her dazzling beauty is not due only to the ring she wears. Struck by her vanity, Florence makes an unexpected gesture: she removes the ring, puts it inside a fish from the banquet and throws it away. So he launches the proposal "Whoever finds him can become my husband!"
But, in all this, what role does the protagonist of the anime play?
Fiorellino's escape
At the beginning we anticipated that the protagonist is Floret, but what role does it play in the whole story? Well, in spite of herself, this young 16-year-old waitress finds herself in the middle of trouble because of the his kitten Lily. This is the one to find the fish thrown by Princess Florence, to eat it and swallow even the precious ring. Having discovered what had happened, all the suitors throw themselves in pursuit of the kitten and, consequently, also of her mistress. In the escape, Fiorellino runs into a couple of hot air balloons, gets on one of them and thus begins his long journey. While the princess's suitors chase her aboard the other balloon, Fenice he clings to that of Fiorellino, with the aim of defending it from these men and above all to recover the ring before them.
Floret around the world
Start like this Fiorellino's escape for the worldor, with real but also imaginative means of transport (at the end it moves with a flying carpet!). If the balloon takes her to Venice, in the following episode she finds herself in Rome and then again in Milan. It will arrive in Switzerland, among green landscapes, and then again in Belgium and in the inevitable Paris. And again Oslo, England, up to New York and Tokyo. From city to city, Fiorellino is constantly pursued by Florence's suitors and, for this reason, often in the midst of big troubles from which she comes out also thanks to the help of Fenice with whom, little by little, a friendship is born and of which protagonist falls in love. The adventures of Fiorellino therefore continue in this way until the 29th and last episode, at the end of which comes a twist.
The end
There are actually two i twists of history. The first comes when Fiorellino, taken prisoner by the leader of a Viking ship (who is the father of Phoenix!), Discovers that she is actually the princess of Priscilla's Realm. She was not deliberately abandoned but saved from a war in her realm by her nurse, the wife of the Viking chief. It is recognized because the princesses of that realm have a rose under their foot. Fiorellino will later also find his father. In the last episode, the protagonist leaves Tokyo aboard a flying carpet and arrives in New York. Here he also faces a huge gorilla who kidnaps Princess Florence but everything turns out for the best. At the end, the king, Fiorellino's father, reveals that the girl has an older sister. Then examine the foot of the Princess Florence and it turns out that it is right she the other missing sister. Florence and Fiorellino embrace in tears, while the king gives Fenice the hand of the protagonist. And the ring? That too is eventually recovered by the kitten and returns to the princess's hands.
The fantastic journeys of Fiorellino: curiosities
The history of the name
The story of Fiorellino also has one of the characteristics most loved by the Japanese when it comes to anime at the base: the protagonist is an orphan. In fact, towards the end, we will find that this is not quite the case; however, in a chat with Fenice, Fiorellino tells why he has this bizarre name. “They had abandoned me, they found me in a field of flowers with many bees. That's why they called me Fiorellino. " It is then in the same conversation that she explains why she is so attached to her kitten (for which she goes around the world, between troubles and chases): "I was abandoned like Lili, that's why we are so connected." Abandonment is therefore an important theme that gives a big boost to the whole story.
It's raining commonplaces
Avoiding going into the understanding of how a 16-year-old girl, poor and without parents, was able to travel the world alone and without particular means, it is however necessary to underline an aspect that, during the vision, is still evident: the characterization of places and personages. In fact, it rains stereotypes and clichés. Starting with the suitors of Princess Florence: the German is a Nazi in uniform, the Indian is a tribal chief called Geronimo, the rich oilman named Petrol Dollar. Same thing happens for the places that appear in the animated series and where Fiorellino finds himself in his adventure, described in the period between the two world wars (not without some anachronism).
The abbreviation
There are two acronyms dedicated to the anime in Italy. The first, from the title The ballad of Fiorellino, is sung by I Cavalieri del Re with music and text by Riccardo Zara. It is the one that accompanies the broadcast from the arrival of the anime in Italy, in 1983, until 1996. Subsequently, with the reruns broadcast on Mediaset since 1996, it is decided to 'update' the theme song. A new one is born, The fantastic journeys of Fiorellino, sung by Cristina D'Avena with music by Enzo Draghi and text by Alessandra Valeri Manera.
The characters
Floret - Protagonist of the story. An orphan who turns out to be an abandoned princess due to a war in her kingdom.
Fenice - Gentleman king, he often helps Fiorellino and falls in love with him. They will become husband and wife.
Princess Florence - Spoiled but basically good, owner of the coveted Sorriso dell'Amazzone, she turns out to be Fiorellino's older sister.
Lily - Fiorellino's cat who swallows Florence's ring and starts the chase.
Pretenders of the Princess - they are Sheikh Petroldollaro, King Pica Pica, the German commander Hail Gestapo and the Indian chieftain Geronimo.
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You want to relive the adventures of others 80s anime? We got excited with the story of Pollyanna, we took a blast from the past with Ryu the cave boy, between Sorgenti Maledette with Ranma 1 / 2, in the adventures of Sandy of a thousand colors. We went to a dystopian future with Conan and we are passionate about the sporting challenges of Holly and Benji, Lotti e Mila and Shiro. But also a lot, more!
Animated tags Fiorellino's fantastic travels Fiorellino's fantastic travels: on the run across the world to save a kitten
