Tico of the Seven Seas

Tico of the Seven Seas (七つの海のティコ, Nanatsu no Umi no Tiko) is a Japanese anime series by Nippon Animation. It is about an 11-year-old girl and her best friend Tico, a female orca.

Unlike the other series in Nippon Animation's World Masterpiece Theater line, Tico of the Seven Seas is an entirely original story. An English dub of the series, entitled Tico & Friends, was produced by Ocean Studios. The dubbed series omits major character deaths and also edits out some violent, bloody and death scenes; one episode from the original version, which focuses on the aftermath of a major character death, is even omitted completely and replaced with a makeshift clip show episode (although some scenes from the omitted episode are included in the replacement).

Plot
Nanami Simpson is a young Japanese-American girl. Having lost her mother when she was young, she now lives with her marine biologist father, Scott Simpson, on board his research vessel, the Peperonchino. Scott has been in search of a creature known as the Luminous Whale, a whale that can glow brightly underwater, for many years and is determined to eventually see it and preserve its existence. Nanami also is close friends with an orca named Tico, who was rescued as a baby just before Nanami was born. The two have an unbreakable bond and swim with each other every day. As a result, Nanami gradually learns to hold her breath longer and swim deeper than other humans can.

Scott's search from the Luminous Whale soon puts him at odds with the Gaiatron Corporation, a greedy research conglomerate led by the ruthless and ambitious Adrienne Benex, who wishes to exploit the creature for a rare element it seemingly carries in its body. Aiding Benex are her right-hand man, Gaulois, and Dr. Charles LeConte, an old acquaintance of Scott's who is obsessed with the Luminous Whale.

Together, Nanami, Scott, and Tico, along with Scott's first-mate and right-hand man, Al Andretti, seek to locate the Luminous Whale before Benex and Gaiatron can. Over time, they are joined by a few new crew members:

Cheryl Melville, an English-American heiress looking for adventure.

James McIntyre, Cheryl's loyal butler.

Thomas LeConte, Dr. LeConte's introverted and lonely, but intelligent son, who wishes to prove himself capable in the real world.

Junior, Tico's calf, born nearly halfway through the series.

As their journey goes on, the crew of Peperonchino encounter and make both new friends and enemies, and form bonds with each other, as they race against the corrupt Benex and Gaiatron to find the Luminous Whale first.

Official

 * Official web page (in Japanese)