Mitsubachi Mâya no bôken

The Maia bee is undoubtedly the best children's series of the 70's. Very engaging and educational. Highly recommend.

Strong, courageous, independent, curious, brave, and FUN! Maya was all this and so much more. She was like the kids watching: discovering life bit by bit, unencumbered by preconceptions. Mistakes were bound to happen but they were never squandered, they were used instead as stepping stones to maturity.

Maya, in a sense, helped me grow up.

Also, like Vicky the Viking, Maya had gorgeous design and visuals that still feel modern today.

In German, this series was called "Biene Maya", in English "Maya the Bee". It features two young bees having adventures out and about, discovering new things and helping other insects. Among their friends are a wise grasshopper, they also encounter ants, beetles, earthworms, and some not so nice wasps and the spider Thekla.

I would say the target audience is 2 - 8 year old children. The animation is good for its age, but you do notice that the series is over 25 years old, however, it holds up very well compared to modern children's TV series, especially as the characters and story lines are well thought through.

Most 20 minute long episodes will convey values such as friendship, helping others, etc., but the messages are never too blatant.

Maya the bee must be one of those shows which everyone here in Slovenia know. It is cult cartoon here specially for the generation who have watched cartoons 10-25 years ago. There are even some theme song covers by many bands. It was shown very often from 80s to early 90s. I've seen it also 2 years ago on national TV so i believe even many children today knows that show. I never know this show was made in Japan. Hard to believe the cartoon from Japan was so popular in a country with totally different culture. I have no idea how it was accepted in Japan or any other countries, but I guess its not that popular if the review i am just writing is the 3rd one. I've seen the show also many times on German TVs so I guess it was quite popular there too but definitely not as popular as here. People here made it look like some national show.

I have been looking for this cartoon for so long. I used to watch all the time when it used to be aired on Nickelodeon (when it was still cool). I don't remember much, but I remember Maya, another bee and a grasshopper and their many misadventures. I do remember that they were mortal enemies with hornets. It was a very humble cartoon. It wasn't exciting, i wasn't overly done. A great piece of animation for the kiddies and family to enjoy!