Alps no Shoujo Heidi episode 45
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Alps no Shoujo Heidi episode 23
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I think that the anime adaptation of Heidi is better than the original book, which used the ableist trope of a child in a wheelchair miraculously recovering due to the healing power of nature. I feel like the anime handled it better because, for one thing, the doctor said in the first place that it was likely the character would eventually be able to walk again, which is the opposite of what he had said in the book. Secondly, it happened more gradually and that also made it feel more believable to me.
There was one scene in the anime that I could tell was ableist though, where the character in question said she would never be a bride because she couldn't walk, and Heidi said "Of course your legs will be cured by then!" without considering that a woman who uses a wheelchair could get married too.
Other than that scene, whether the character arc as a whole was still ableist, I'm not confident in saying because I am able-bodied myself. All I can say for sure is that it seemed like an improvement over the book which I could tell was ableist.
The other major difference from the book is that most of the religious content was gone, which makes sense for a Japanese audience. Heidi still sung hymns for Peter's grandmother, but that was about it.
In any case, I liked the anime. The characters are charming.
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