One of my favorite little girls' anime (thats not magical girl)
Ashita no Nadja! (aka - "Tomorrow's Nadja", or "Nadja Applefields")
Made by Toei in 2003, unlike the more modern day magical girl shows before and after it, Toei decided to go back to their simpler roots from the 70's and 80's and focus on a girl living in 1900s Europe.
13 year old orphan, Nadja, is old enough to go out in the world to start her life after living in the orphanage since birth. However, its been revealed to her that her mother is alive. On her 13th birthday she is sent some of her mother's belongings in order to find her.
She embarks on her adventure through Europe, traveling as a dancer in a circus troupe, picking up the clues to her mother's whereabouts along the way.
I'm on the last arc of this show and their really pulling all the dramatic punches. It's pretty fantastic .
Subject: Ashita no Nadja/Nadja Applefields 
