Little Women, also known as Wakakusa no Yon Shimai, is a 1981 Japanese animated television series adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. The series is directed by Kazuya Miyazaki and produced by Toei Animation for the Kokusai Eigasha company. The series was produced as a follow-up to a TV special based on Alcott's novel the previous year by the same animation studio. The TV series character designs differ slightly from those of the TV special; Jo, for example, while she is blonde in both versions, has curled hair rather than straight hair in the TV series. This series is sometimes confused with Nippon Animation's 1987 World Masterpiece Theater TV series based on Little Women, Ai no Wakakusa Monogatari, as both series were dubbed in English and broadcast on U.S. cable TV in the 1980s. In addition, both TV series share a voice actress: Keiko Han, who plays Beth in this TV series, was cast as Meg in the 1987 series.