This story is from Ghibli so the bar is already high from the beginning. I remind seeing or reading at someplace that Goro intended to do animation for the youngers. That would be his goal with Ghibli. I think he nailed it with Sanzoku no Musume Ronja. The sound in this is so heartwarming. It looks like someone wants to hug you. Its peaceful and somewhat mystical. It matches the forest and its environment. I loved the opening and especially the ending. The characters are all full of energy. It maintains a good atmosphere and catches the childrens attention. Ronjas father Mattis is so over the top. But I think we can buy that since hes the leader of robbers. His wife Lovis is what gives the show some balance. Shes a strong woman who maintains the order there. One could argue about her role as a housewife depicting her as responsible for feeding the irresponsible male being the mother of adults that only do little choirs here and there. I wont go against that since Ive got a bit annoyed by it. Although considering the story takes place somewhere in the past and the Japanese are quite conservative that was how things probably worked. I think we can let it lie. Moreover is being a housewife a bad thing by itself or is it the way its generally depicted thats bad? I dont intend to finish this discussion since its a big one. In the end this is a review not a discussion topic so Ill end that here. Sorry I got a bit carried away. Anyways shes an admirable figure. As I said before shes a strong woman with a great sense of responsibility and quite a toughlover. Ronja as her mother is a strong person. As a little child shes adorable and her smile is something else. How could I explain that? Its so sincere so genuine. Its the kind of smile you only see in young children. Its interesting seeing her growth as the series goes on her adventures and her first love. As for Ronja and Birks relationship Goro followed Hayao Miyazakis formula of strong women. Shes not the fragile princess in love with the perfect prince. Ronja is equal and although Birk starts a little more knowledgeable about the world she fastly keeps up with him creating a good dynamic. The big let down about this series is that it got lost towards the end regarding the plot. It builds a charming story lots of good things to be developed but Sanzoku no Musume Ronja hurries and delivers a somewhat makeshift end. It looked like the series had to finish before the planned time. Finally I enjoyed this series. I think thats how a story for children must be done. And the fact is that when a good story is made even if its targeted for a specific public most of us would enjoy it. So go watch without worries its a good story.