Manga Sekai Mukashi Banashi
Tales of Magic, also known as Merlin's Cave, and Wonderful, Wonderful Tales From Around the World, and known in Japan as Manga Fairy Tales of the World (まんが世界昔ばなし Manga sekai mukashi banashi?) is a Japanese anime anthology series based on fairy tales and classic stories, produced by Dax International with Madhouse.

Premise 
It aired in Japan on TBS from October 7, 1976, to March 28, 1979. The series features adaptations of fairy tales, legends, literature classics and famous characters biographies.

It consists of 127 episodes, each one combining two different stories, which run for 10 minutes each, except for 13 mid-series stories that covered an entire half-hour episode. Some story arcs in the second half of the series are told over several episodes, as in the case of A Little Princess lasting 11 episodes, and Les Misérables, which lasted 13 episodes for a total running time of 120 minutes. However, these serial episodes were broadcast alternating with shorter stories, sometimes reruns of earlier episodes in the series. The series features 181 story arcs, consisting of 231 segments in total excluding reruns.

Every tale is produced by a different staff who gave each episode their own distinctive style. Among the many artists who worked on the series there are: Osamu Dezaki, Akio Sugino, Yoshifumi Kondō, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Toyoo Ashida and Shuichi Seki.

The narration is provided by Mariko Miyagi, who also voices all the characters in the series along with Akira Nagoya.

The show has been released in English-speaking countries by different companies under various titles. In 1979 American Way released a selection of 65 episodes in three seasons with the title Tales of Magic. In 1986 Embassy Home Entertainment released on VHS selected episodes of Tales of Magic, sometimes under the alternative title Merlin's Cave (Merlin's Magic Cave on the videotape cover). Another English adaptation of the series is titled Wonderful, Wonderful Tales From Around the World. Some episodes of Tales of Magic, as in the case of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland or The Snow Queen were adapted by Fred Laderman and broadcast by BFA Educational Media on CBS as single half-hour specials. The series was also released in several other countries such as Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Quebec, Brazil, South Korea and in the Middle East.

Music 
Opening Theme:

1) "Uba uba ukyakya (ウバ・ウバ・ウキャキャ)" by Mariko Miyagi

2) "Watashi o yobu no wa dare (私を呼ぶのは誰)" by Mariko Miyagi

3) "Mama! himitsu dayo (ママ!ひみつだよ)" by Mariko Miyagi

Ending Theme:

1) "Yume o mita no (夢をみたの)" by Mariko Miyagi

2) "Memoir (めもわーる)" by Mariko Miyagi

3) "Tenshi ga toru (天使がとおる)" by Mariko Miyagi

References

External links 

 Official website at sekaimukashibanashi.net
 Official website at madhouse.co.jp
 Manga Sekai Mukashi Banashi (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
 Manga Sekai Mukashi Banashi at IMDb

TBS Television (Japan) original programming
Adventure anime and manga
Drama anime and manga
Fantasy anime and manga
Romance anime and manga
Anime and manga based on fairy tales