Akage no Anne

Produced in 1979, the anime is based on the classic novel Anne of Green Gables (1908) by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. The series is part of the Sekai Meisaku Gekijō (World Masterpiece Theater) project and follows the journey of Anne Shirley, from her unexpected arrival at Green Gables to her adaptation to her new life. Initially, siblings Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert intended to adopt a boy to help with farm chores, but they end up receiving Anne, a red-haired girl full of dreams and ambitions, which she believes are impossible to achieve. Until then, Anne had lived a life marked by emotional deprivation and ... disappointments. As a result, she often relies on her vivid imagination, a tool that allows her to see herself and the world in an idealized and optimistic way.

Another striking characteristic of Anne is her deep appreciation for nature, represented in the series through settings reminiscent of impressionist art. The landscapes are painted with soft, natural colors, using loose brushstrokes that give them a poetic and enchanting feel. This is easily noticeable in the anime during static scenes of nature appreciation, which frequently highlight the changing seasons and the introduction of new environments. This visual care, combined with a beautiful soundtrack, reinforces the importance of this element in creating a cozy and pleasant atmosphere, captivating from start to finish.

Additionally, the work has a more measured pace, focusing on character development, which, for some, may seem slow or tiring. However, watching little Anne mature over time and build meaningful relationships is one of the most rewarding experiences the anime offers. A clear example is the evolution of her relationship with Marilla, who, initially rigid and pragmatic, becomes loving and understanding. Witnessing the sincere friendship between Anne and Diana and seeing Matthew striving to express his feelings are moments that warm the heart and enrich the narrative.

Akage no Anne is one of the few works that, on several occasions, moved me to tears, and the only one that made me cry like a child.

I've already mentioned my history with Anne of Green Gables in my previous reviews of both the books and the Before Green Gables anime, so I won't repeat myself here. But I will gladly go on and on about how much I love the World Masterpiece Theater and their adaptations of various Western children's literature every chance I get. Several of my favorite anime come from there, and sure enough, Anne of Green Gables was one of many books that Japan decided to adapt into an anime in the year 1979. Anne as a series actually has quite the history when it came to being ... brought to Japan, which this article here (anneofgreengables. com/blog-posts/how-anne-became-popular-in-japan ) goes into great detail about. Not only that, famous anime director Isao Takahata was head director of the series, with Hayao Miyazaki doing layouts and scene designs for a good chunk of episodes and animated the opening sequence. If you're interested in a deep-dive history behind the anime's production, I highly recommend you read this article about Anne on AnimeTudes (animetudes. com/2022/05/08/anne-of-green-gables). There's a lot of interesting things in there, such as why anime Anne looks the way she does, behind the scenes woes, and additional history on why Anne as a character was so fascinating to a Japanese audience. Anne of Green Gables has had many adaptations across its lifetime, from the earliest movies, the 1979 anime, the famous 1985 Ken Sullivan mini series starring Megan Follows, Netflix's Anne With an E, and a new trilogy of films from 2016-2017 (Which from I've heard, that film trilogy is...not very good).

The story centers on two adult siblings, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, who live in a farm on the beautiful Prince Edward Island in the late 1800s. Matthew is getting on in years, so they decide to adopt a boy from an orphanage to have him help around the farm. Yeah, this was apparently a common practice in late 19th century Canada. But a miscommunication has them wind up with a girl, instead, and this girl—Anne Shirley—isn't any ordinary child. She's an outgoing, talkative, energetic red haired kid who loves to imagine things and is a romantic idealist despite the bad life she had up to this point. Although Marilla and Matthew do their best to bring her up, they can't contain her wild energy, and Anne finds herself in a variety of situations, like making friends, dealing with boys, learning things in school, wishing she could follow current fashion trends despite Marilla's distaste for anything extravagant and fashionable, and so on. One thing's for sure: Avonlea won't be the same with her around, and maybe this will prove to be a good thing for everyone involved.

For an anime that was made in 1979, Anne of Green Gables looks absolutely amazing. The hand-painted backgrounds are a feast for the eyes, using earthy tones and soft colors that really make Avonlea come right to life. You could take a single screenshot and put it in a frame, they're that good. It helps that the team that worked on this anime took care to do all the research they could to depict everything from the house architecture, the rolling prairies, to life in 19th century Canada as accurately as possible, even visiting Canada itself to really get the details right. On that front, they succeeded with flying colors. Of course, the actual animation is no slouch either, with equally down-to-earth, realistic motion that favors naturalism over exaggeration (With the exception of scenes where we get to see Anne's imagination go into overdrive), with the character designs also reflecting this. I've heard some reviewers complain that Anne looks weird here, but that's the point. She's described that way in the book as well, so it makes sense that the character designers would make Anne look gangly and not pretty like her peers. Then again, there were plans to make Anne look more like a shoujo anime protagonist, in line with translator Hanako Muraoka's interpretation of the character, as detailed in that AnimeTudes article I linked, but that idea got scrapped because Takahata wanted her to look more realistic, a decision I feel was the right one.

Speaking of realism, Anne of Green Gables is a series that lacks much in the way of conflict and is mainly a slice-of-life series. The characters actually behave and feel like real human beings, whose problems and daily lives feel real and down-to-earth rather than exaggerated just for the sake of milking drama like in a soap opera, and engage in all sorts of situations that people can relate to. I mean, what kid hasn't experienced dealing with the antics of rambunctious boys, trying to convince your parents to let you go to a late night event like a concert, dying your hair for the first time, or playing games involving daring people to do ridiculous things? Takahata and his team did an amazing job in developing the characters and showing them changing and growing as the series goes on, like with Anne going from an energetic, talkative kid to a more mature, restrained 16-year-old at the end of the series. Though because the series is 50 episodes long, and what few conflicts it shows are very far apart from each other, it can be very easy to dismiss the show as being boring and dull. You really need to be able to enjoy slice-of-life if you want to enjoy this series. But overall, the character development and writing here is master class.

Even the soundtrack is quite lovely. Both opening and ending songs by Ritsuko Ohwada are all beautiful, swelling orchestral numbers that manage to both encapsulate the series' tone and Anne's moments of whimsy. The insert songs and background tracks are nice and have their own unique, rustic charm, whether it be soft oboes, bouncy violins, or even Japanese renditions of actual Victorian era songs like Nelly In The Hazel Dell. Every piece of music fits like a glove, and there were never any points where it felt out of place. The voice acting is also stellar and wonderfully down-to-earth when it needs to be, with Anne's voice actress, Eiko Yamada, making her voice acting debut here, which would cement her career for years to come. Don't expect Anne to sound like a high pitched cutesy moe girl here, because this isn't the series for that. I admit I still find it hard to believe that Kazuhiko Inoue plays Gilbert here, as you would not be able to recognize him whether you're familiar with his work or not.

If you're interested in watching this adaptation specifically, the series has received complete fansubs twice, so it's not hard to watch in its original form. But one interesting thing about this series is that back in the eighties or nineties, it actually received a complete English dub which was produced in, of all places, South Africa, using an all-British voice cast. You can read more about its history here. It was posted on YouTube a few years back, and later someone spliced the English audio with higher quality footage from the Japanese blu-ray. I've been watching it quite a bit, and...surprisingly, it's a LOT better than I initially thought it'd be. Considering how dubbing was still a new concept, especially in other countries, most dubs from that era tend to...not be very good, especially ones not specialized in their native language, and I was honestly worried that this dub was going to be terrible. While I do question why the dub decided to hire British voice actors for a series that's clearly set in Canada, the dub itself is really good. All the actors put on fine, down-to-earth performances fitting their assigned characters. Even the narrator sounds like he wouldn't be out of place doing stuff for National Geographic. The only noticeable problems it has are the lip sync being slightly off at times and getting some names wrong (Anne's imaginary friend Katie Maurice is referred to as Kathy Morris, and the song Nelly In The Hazel Dell is referred to as Nelly In The Hazelnut Bush, though those got rectified in later episodes), though I've heard the latter is because the English dub used the German dub as its basis and not the Japanese version.

Overall, I really love this series, flaws and all. The only real complaint I have with it is that when Anne is 15 years old, she comes off as a little too perfect, but that doesn't last for very long. The 1979 Anne of Green Gables anime isn't just a fantastic adaptation of Lucy Maud Montgomery's novel, but an amazing series that truly understands what it is and isn't afraid to be what it is, a quiet, wholesome, down-to-earth coming of age tale about a girl's life on a Canadian island. I know most people generally prefer the 1985 Kevin Sullivan movie, and I like that one too, but I find myself gravitating towards this series for its willingness to expand on the source material and truly make the most of it. Plus, Anne is becoming relevant again in light of the fact that there's going to be a new Anne of Green Gables anime adaptation due to air in spring of 2025. On one hand, I'm really interested in seeing how that adaptation tells the story, as there have been multiple anime adaptations of Western kids books before (Little Women and Dog of Flanders being two examples), but on the other hand, I really hope the staff on that series don't screw it up somehow, and there's already debate on whether it'll even live up to the legacy that the 1979 series established, or even respect the original book. I'm going to watch it regardless and see what it's like on its own merits. But whether you're an Anne of Green Gables fan, a World Masterpiece Theater fan, or somebody who is just sick and tired of all the isekai anime that get churned out every season and want something to watch that has more meat and substance to it, check this series out if you ever get the chance.

Akage no Anne, probably the best anime for kids - it has a pretty good english dub readily available on youtube (minus one episode). I would say it's probably the best slice-of-life tv show ever.

If you are a person who likes reading books, you are in for a treat with this show. I haven't read the book but apparently this show is a near perfect adaptation. And the writing and the pacing of the show very much feels like a good quality fiction book.

The animation is serviceable. In terms of technicalities the animation (character animation more specifically) doesn't hold up to shows like Future Boy ... Conan or Neon Genesis Evangelion, but that is not to say that it looks bad - it actually looks good most of the time (definitely better than most other shows in the same era like Lupin III) but there is a bit of an uncanny valley effect that happens every now and then.
However, where the show truly shines is in its static artwork, the background art is phenomenal and is just beautiful to look at.

Music is good. It has a classical feel which suits not only the location and time of the story but also the 1970s animation this show uses. If you've seen Grave of the Fireflies it sounds very similar to that. My only complaint about the music is that it sounds quite sentimental which sometimes doesn't quite fit with some of the scenes.

There are a two main problems with Akage no Anne (Anne of the Green Gables):
1. The show peaks in the first 2 thirds. This is to be expected because, as with any coming of age story, you'd expect the ending to be a bit slow and sombre. Some people may dislike this change in tone. As Anne becomes less energetic and more adult-like the show becomes less entertaining but, again, this is to be expected.
2. Animation quality is significantly worse in the last third of the show. It's not that bad but it is low frame-rate and a bit less detailed - thankfully the art style of the show is the same and the lower animation quality is only really noticeable with character movement. It feels slightly rushed, and the pacing is noticeably quicker but some of that may have been a stylistic writing choice rather than a budget issue.
Despite this however, the ending (last 5 episodes) is pretty good and is comparable to the quality in the middle third of the show.

So, with that out of the way, why should you watch Anne of the Green Gables? Aside from its good artwork, world building, and good story, what is it that makes this show shine? Well, Anne of the Green Gables really has fantastic characters and most of the episodes are quite a lot of fun. From childhood antics to very relateable slice of life moments this show has a little bit of something for everyone. And it has a decent bit of tragedy baked in as well. Take the best bits from Only Yesterday and maybe a few elements from My Neighbours the Yamadas and put it into a sprawling 50 episode detailed story, and you have a really good slice of life series. That's basically what Anne of the Green Gables is.

How did I find out that this anime, and such a niche one at that, exists and actually end up watching it?
1. Gigguk / Garnt mentioned it in one of his videos in passing.
2. I looked up the anime and found it was made by my two favourite anime creators of all time, Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki.
3. It turns out Anne of Green Gables has a pretty passionate community so it's easy to find.

If you are looking for anime classics, Akage no Anne is a great one. If you're looking for more classics from the 70s, check out Future Boy Conan, another critically acclaimed TV shows made by the two Studio Ghibli directors, Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki.