ROSSANA
Original title: Kodomo no omocha
Characters: Sana Kurata, Akito Hayama, Tsuyoshi Ohki / Tsuyoshi Sasaki, Aya Sugita, Fuka Matsui, Naozumi Kamura, Misako Kurata, Rei Sagami, Babbit, Asako Kurumi, Hisae Kumagai, Mami Suzuki, Shinichi Gomi, Principal Narunaru, Professor Mitsuya, Professor Tana Professor Sengoku
Author: Miho Obana
Production: Gallop, NAS
Regia: Akira Suzuki, Akitaro Daichi, Hiroaki Sakurai
Country: Japan
Year: April 5 1996
Broadcast in Italy: 8 July 2000
Gender: Comedy
Episodes: 102
Duration: 24 minutes
Recommended age: Teenagers aged 13 to 19
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Rossana's cartoons are broadcast on Italia 1 from Monday to Friday at 7,45am. Rossana's series (original title "Kodomo no omocha") divided into 70 episodes was taken from Miho Obana's manga comic (which was published in Italy by Dynamic Italia) and has achieved enormous success among the girls' audience.
 Rossana (Sana Kodocha in the manga comic) is a cheerful and carefree 11-year-old girl who attends the fifth grade of Tokyo. He lives with his adoptive mother the writer Cathrine Smith, as her parents died in an accident and the little girl was raised and cared for like a real daughter, to the point that Rossana only learns the truth several years later. Despite her young age, Rossana leads with her friend Gerard a successful television program entitled "Long live the joy" and stars in several comedies and commercials. In her work Rossana is assisted by her manager Robby, a boy who always wears sunglasses and who lives with Rossana's family, as he lost his parents and remained penniless and a vagabond. Rossana moved by his situation, she decided to host him and to enlist him as a manager and between the two there is a solid friendship. The profession of actress does not prevent Rossana from doing well in her studies (except in mathematics) and from having a good friendship with her companions, but not with fellow thugs and in particular with Eric (Akito in the manga), a violent boy and grumpy who also makes fun of the professor and the teacher, as he blackmails them with a compromising photo, which captures them kissing.
Rossana in turn, at Robby's suggestion, resorts to a plan to mock Eric and manages to photograph him in his underwear, so she threatens to show that photo to the school as long as he becomes a quiet boy. Rossana soon discovers the reason for that restless character, as she realizes that the boy suffers from heavy feelings of guilt. At the time of his birth, his mother died in childbirth and both his sister and father hold him responsible for that death. Just in that period Rossana shoots a film with a very similar plot and invites Eric's family to watch that television program, which will allow them to understand their mistakes and relieve Eric of that heavy burden. Thanks to that episode Eric will become the great friend and Rossana, which will lead him gradually to fall in love with her. But Rossana doesn't think about it at all and during a school trip, Eric gives her the first kiss she reciprocates with a sound hammer on the head, as she thinks she is in love with Robby. However, he reunites with his ex-girlfriend Alissia, after she had left him to become a successful actress, but which he has never forgotten. Due to the bad love disappointment with Robby,  Desperate Rossana runs away from home, but finds in Eric a friend who can make her think and comfort her. Meanwhile, Mrs. Cathrine Smith publishes a book where she tells the story of Rossana and declares that she is not her mother. This creates an enormous bewilderment in Rossana who, however, thanks to that publication, meets her real mother who offers her to go and live with her, but Rossana after long thoughts refuses the invitation. Meanwhile, Eric does everything to get Rossana's attention, even enrolling in a karate course. The time comes for her transition from elementary to middle school and Rossana is no longer in class with Eric, but she will become friends with Funny, a girl with whom she has many things in common.
Later, during the filming of some commercials, Rossana meets the famous actor Charles Lones, a peer with whom she shoots a film in the high mountains called "The house in the woods". Meanwhile, Eric meets Funny an old flame from kindergarten and gets engaged to her. At that news Rossana suffers from jealousy and realizes that she has feelings towards Eric, which leads her to reject the advances of the beautiful Charles.  Outraged by that refusal, young Charles during a press conference reveals the scoop to reporters, saying that Rossana was in love with a boy who matched Eric's description. The latter recognized himself in the words of Charles, while watching TV he understands that Rossana is in love with him and has a confirmation just when the girl reveals her true feelings. But by now Eric is engaged to Funny and Rossana just has to leave with Charles to try to forget him, also because they will have to shoot the musical "Endless Summer" in Brodway. In New York Charles meets his real parents, as his father is the author of the musical. Rossana is close to Charles in that difficult moment and the two get together just the day before their debut. Upon their return to Japan, they are besieged by journalists who give the news live on TV. Meanwhile, Eric and Funny broke up as the girl realized that Eric and Rossana still love each other and that she is still in love with her previous boyfriend Geremy. Things do not last long even between Charles and Rossana, as the girl did not like Charles's press statements and he realizes that Rossana still thinks about Eric, so they break up. This will lead Rossana and Eric to reveal their feelings for each other and finally be together as boyfriends.
 There are differences between the cartoon and the manga comic, in particular in the part in which the Rossana family finds themselves short of money due to a wrong financial investment and this affects the carefree Rossana who also has problems of work. Also in the manga we find a part where Eric (Akito), is expelled from school for beating a professor, who in turn had beaten him. For the rest, especially the first part of the cartoon remains faithful to the original manga
Rossana, all names, images and registered trademarks are copyright TV-Tokyo / NAS Sony - Miho Obana and those entitled to it and are used here for cognitive and informative purposes.
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