Mitsubachi Mâya no bôken

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 watched few episodes of this Japanese-German cartoon from the 1970s on YouTube before. I thought I never watched any old anime TV series like that before in my entire life. It looks pretty interesting and I like it. I heard it was shown on RTÉ 2 and the ITV/BBC long time ago. Wish I watched it as a kid.

I know it is loosely based on the 1912 German children's novel by Waldemar Bonsels.

I'm sure it looks better than that silly 2010s reboot series and its films.

If you are interested in bees, you'll love this 1970s anime TV series. It isn't just for kids, you know. It is for everyone including the fans of Maya the Bee.

As I have just come across this title in the IMDb, I simply felt obliged to add my short comment on this cartoon, or more to say, my memories concerning the lovely adventures of mesmerizing Maya. This adorable bee is still known to have filled the minds and hearts of many kids in the early 1980s in Poland. Every Sunday evening, the TV presenter of the time invited us to join the bee and her friends in their lovely world of adventure in nature. And, as a few seconds of preparation passed, the memorable title song rang out, the tune we found so beautiful and delightful. At that moment, we were already deep within a magical world...

However, many years have passed since those days and people could ask why I even bother coming back to this distant past once again through this review? For several reasons...

This is one of the very few cartoons that brings back lots of good memories, intense emotions and deep nostalgia, something that has remained in my childlike thoughts and has always strongly belonged to the personal world of those blissful years. Besides, this is one of the cartoons that taught me to love nature and cherish friendship since it really promotes these values. We find Maya a social, friendly character who makes lots of friendships and likes to be in company with others, who helps others, laughs with others when they laugh and cries with them when they cry. A sort of basic idea of a true friend... Finally, I loved this cartoon for its clear morals, which showed the children what is good and what is bad, what is wrong and what is right in particular situations. I remember that we modeled on the events and behaviors as little children and that proves everything for itself.

Yes, those are my feelings and memories concerning this charming cartoon. Perhaps, I have not said anything special nor new in my comment. Yet, I hope that you will find it helpful as the opinion of yet another 'fan' of these adventures who says heartfelt words with others: Charming Days of Childhood...Days which cannot be forgotten!

I am almost 40 and I'm not ashamed to confess I have the complete DVD collection at home. Extremely popular in Europe this TV show is just as charming and lovely as it was back in 1975. Maybe the animation isn't as great for today standards but it doesn't matter, it works perfectly. I don't know in other countries but here in Spain the show got even better thanks to a wonderful dubbing cast who just captured the real magic of each character. And of course we cannot forget that wonderful intro song that it's known for everybody in Spain...You only have to start singing the first lines and probably somebody will join you. Wanna try? :-)