DESCRIPTION

CAST

ANIME DramaKonnichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables
MOVIE AdventureAkage no Anne: Green Gables e no Michi
MANGA DramaAkage no Anne
ANIME DramaAnne Shirley

REVIEWS

• 

  Sardinyas

  95/100
  A low tier review of a top tier anime

  A talker who never knows when to shut up, a dreamer who is always lost in her own imagination... These are one of the most unique and striking features of Anne Shirley, a cheerful and friendly orphan who wants a place to call home and people to call father and mother. The first few episodes show the viewers who she is, how she acts, what she likes and what she dislikes. And all these things are what make her such a relevant presence that stands out among all the characters.

  "I've made up my mind to enjoy this drive. If I make up my mind to, I definitely will. I am not going to think about going back to the asylum while we're having our drive.”

  Despite being proud and temperamental, Anne manages to be optimistic and try to see things on the good side.
  Her positive sides somehow compensate for the negative ones, and with that Marilla and Matthew decide to keep her. Due to her past, she doesn't have many skills, knowledge or manners, and during the anime we can see her evolution in several of these aspects. But Anne is not the only one who evolves, her bright company can affect those around her in growing attached to her.

  A thing that anime manages to do very well is to change the tone in a way that does not seem too abrupt, as it is a fifty-episode story, it has enough time to be distributed between the ages of eleven to seventeen years. In some moments the growth is applied so smoothly that it is barely noticeable, both in height and in personality. This is a factor that makes Anne's development satisfactory and realistic. Life is always moving, not just yours, but everyone's. The last third carries a melancholy atmosphere, it is happy to see her goals being accomplished, but sad that the further she gets she spends less time with her friends and family, there is always a feeling of parting in the air. And it is there that Akage no Anne explores very important themes: Aging and Paths.
  With Anne grown up and her guardians getting older, she needs to make decisions that she hadn't thought about before, because life is unpredictable and not everything goes smoothly.
  “The road might be filled with bends. There are full of unknowns after a turn. Walking slowly along this narrow winding road, rather than running toward a broad open horizon, I'll be able to see more of the beauty and warmth. I will not forget the mountains rising on the other side. ”

  Anne of Green Gables is an experience that certainly was worth every moment. I didn't read the original so I don't know how well adapted the anime is, but it has a great excence in itself. That rural, green and lively environment gives immersion to those who are watching.

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• 

  Louistrea

  85/100
  Heartwarming adaptation of a coming-of-age tale beckoned by generations in an old-fashioned town called Avonlea

  Akage no Anne is is the Japanese adaptation of the 1908 children's novel Anne of Green Gables by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery which happens to be one of my favorite pieces of classic literature. The work is a lovely coming-of-age story about Anne, an orphan full of imagination, as she arrives at her new home and learns about the intricacies of life. The naturalistic characterization of the cast of characters and the use of dialogue in the most profound of ways creates an experience like no other. In essence, Anne of Green Gables is just a piece of narrative excellence which proves that even the simplest concepts can be assembled together in order to create something truly masterful.

  

  [ Introduction to the World Masterpiece Theater ]

  To understand this further, I will introduce the World Masterpiece Theater, a long-running series of anime adaptations of classic western literature largely produced by Nippon Animation. Each year the company took a classic novel and adapted it into a series of about 50 episodes. While the series in general is aimed at children and many of the originals that got adapted were children's books, its themes and plots can be surprisingly mature. The franchise used certain pieces of classic literature and adapts it into an anime, in this case being Anne of Green Gables.

  

  [ Setting and character analysis ]

  Anne of Green Gables begins its tale in the fictional town of Avonlea on Prince Edwards Island, Canada set during the dawn of the Second Industrial Revolution. Here we are introduced to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, who soon become the parental figures of Anne as they look to adopt a boy of around 10 to help them with the farm work. However, they are surprised when a young girl was instead given to them by the orphanage. The story is quite literally as the synopsis entails "The story covers Anne's growth from about eleven to seventeen years old as she makes friends, goes to school and studies. At a difficult point in her life, Anne will have to make a hard choice and perhaps find a new dream."

  We start the discussion of the characters with our protagonist Anne Shirley who carries many imperfections. For instance, she carries an obdurate hatred of a character simply because he teased her once. However, she is an incredibly realistic and human character and her imperfections are only proof of that. Witnessing the heartfelt relationship between Anne, Matthew and Marilla as they grow together as a family and deal with the tribulations of life is only part of the journey. The build-up started back in the very moment when Anne made her way into Green Gables, culminating with substantial personal and interpersonal developments within the family. Fundamentally, the story revolves around Anne's process of maturation and how it all ties up together.

  

  [ The magical transition from novel to adaptation ]

  The adaptation of this anime is simply brilliant with every scene given detail and the scenery described within the novel is given life with an arresting view. Akage no Anne successfully maintains the charm of the original narrative through the stylistic devices it possesses as an anime, therefore delivering an accurate and heartfelt visual reinterpretation of Montgomery’s imaginative vision. The original novel Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery has resonated with millions of people around the globe due to its realistic approach of depicting the magic of everyday life. I also give my utmost respect to the director of this adaptation, Isao Takahata, who has done an amazing job of exploring its full potential.

  

  I cannot recommend this enough to everyone as I believe it is a story everyone can enjoy. Watching everything unfold is truly an experience like no other.

  Hope you enjoyed my review and have a great day!
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• 

  KrenZane

  90/100
  Painting the colors of life on a canvas of linear time supported by the breath of nature and family

  Forested shawl over river-stream dress. Boots of soil and petal-laced gloves. A tiara atop with wild rose ornaments, holding on hand a garden of dreams. Anne of Green Gables is poetically romanticized from the start, at times amusingly so in its earnestness, as the story unites with your run-of-the-mill young protagonist orphaned as a child exploding with imagination that would make the most devastating volcanoes forego their activities in shame. Words upon words rocket on all directions like a machine gun as never-had-friends-and-family Anne Shirley finally finds for herself targets that don't run at lock-on, effectively shielding to nullify the ever-creeping shadows of monotony and boredom. In a coming-of-age story ingrained in everyday life, we follow this dear young girl on her adventures to color both grayscale and rainbow with further meaning outsourced from her endless pool of imagination, experiencing the joys and sorrows of change and growth as many as sand on the beach.

  

  ---

  Introduction Episodes

  Anne of Green Gables travels linearly and grows like a plant. Each and every episode is a day in the life of Anne in Avonlea, a countryside located in Prince Edward Island. It started when Anne was sent to the rural town to be adopted by the Cuthberts. However, we learned that her being sent there was a mistake, for the family was wanting for a young boy, not a young girl. Shocked upon picking up Anne on the train station, Matthew Cuthbert--introverted and reserved through and through with a fear of women despite the ripe age of 60--nevertheless picked up the child on a carriage to the Green Gables. It is clear that Matthew took a liking to Anne and intends to keep her unlike his stern and solid younger sister Marilla Cuthbert who dismissed the kid's plea for them to keep her, the words a thorny lance to Anne's fragile heart who experienced joy in being taken in by a family intentionally for the first time only for it to be torn asunder without even being given ample time for relishing.

  Crestfallen and ravaged by a tempest of despair of having tasted the exquisite goblet of home and an environment which essentially has a strong affinity with Anne's wild imagination, what with the lush greenery, the kingdoms of cherry blossom trees, and the shining waters, among many others, yet its sweetness eventually shoved away for the return of loneliness, Anne breaks down at this romantic tragedy.

  The next afternoon came and Anne was sent back to the adoption house along with Marilla. On the roads Marilla convinced the young girl to open up, albeit reluctantly. Anne's parents who were teachers died of illness when she was only 2 months old. She was sent to two families before being accepted in the orphanage she belonged, experiencing loss, famine, separation, taking up caretaking responsibilities, and most especially, suffering loneliness along the way. Using her imagination, she weaved for herself a fabricated reality where she has a friend named Katie Maurice. Although aware that Katie is only imaginary, she persisted with the play until she was told to part ways with that one household due to a financial crisis stemming from poverty and a vice-filled father figure. She spent more than half a decade in the orphanage seeing off children like her who had no parents finally having their own families while she stayed rotting in the adoption house until being mistakenly delivered to the Cuthberts.

  From this we can understand that the traumatizing events Anne has been through solely due to the lack of family and a home that comes with it is heartbreaking to say the least. That sudden dark turn of the tone grabbed my well of sympathy and offered it to this dear crimson apple with a tree in sight no longer. Yet, it is due to her imagination that she nurtured and smithed into a defense mechanism against sorrow that she pulled through and retained that childlike vitality that is hopeful for the future.

  After encountering Anne's would-be familial prospect should she reject the adoption, Marilla's heart softened and decided to keep Anne in the Green Gables. Finally with a home she can ground herself on, in a conducive environment meant for sustainable maturation, Anne's daily adventures of learning something new everyday begins.

  

  ---

  The Story's Flesh: Of Loving Relationships

  Anne of Green Gables is akin to a regular Saturday morning show with its relaxing atmosphere one can easily fall under comfort to. The feeling of ease arises from a mellifluous soundtrack directed by Urakami Yasuo playing the sound of rural life and art design handled by Ioka Masahiro that thoroughly replicates the rose-colored beauty of nature. I was going to say, Ioka's craft on the natural environment is astounding, truly bringing out nature's deep and manifold aesthetic blessings. It turns out that Miyazaki and Takahata Isao (the anime's director) expressed their praises for Ioka's depiction of nature as well.

  Although it doesn't really require much brain power to appreciate and comprehend because it's more face value, it is nevertheless a story that abounds in life lessons one would expect from a classic children's novel (still written with all ages in mind) and excelling in that regard so much that its novice complexity is not at all a weakness, but rather a strength. Its encompassing scope is reached from its lessons regarding doing chores, temper regulation, forgiveness, self-love, the value of friendship, balancing fun and studies, discovering and pursuing dreams, and most importantly, loving your family. All of these concepts and more explored in six cycles of spring, summer, fall, and winter are executed with immense grace.

  Were I to read the novel or watch this anime whether in my innocent years or my rebellious phase I would still take the story's tender intentions taught with love to heart. It does not come off as overbearing, it really rings convincing all the way, soothing down angst and cynicism and all its cronies.
  Anne and the cast and everything behind it are simply great teachers capable of understanding the events of human life and telling a story that would alleviate doubts while fortifying virtues.

  The protagonist Anne Shirley at eleven started off like your ordinary kid: causing mischief, unbelievably noisy, inhibiting self-deprecating behaviors concerning physical features, prideful, and rather oblivious to the environment. I myself found her a bit intolerable during the first quarter of the series, so close to the border of annoyance. She basically exhausted all her many faults in the beginning. But there is one thing about her she herself is already aware of, something I find very much admirable especially since she's just a child, and it's that she learns from her mistakes and is confident that it would never happen twice.

  Another thing about Anne is that she respects Marilla and Matthew a lot. She doesn't talk back disrespectfully despite Marilla's many disagreements, nor does she do anything with the intent of causing trouble for her guardians in mind. She fulfills her household responsibilities faithfully. It is very clear that Anne cherishes the very first family that accepted her, and that's as sweet as honey.

  The sentiment is reciprocated by the Cuthberts. Matthew is literally overflowing with love and affection for Anne, going so far as to sacrifice his already weakened body for honest work that pays in order to give Anne the most comfortable life she can get and for her to forget her haunting past. Matthew possesses boundless care and understanding for Anne, being a firm believer of the child's capabilities. He has complete and utter faith in Anne's personality as well. Matthew's love is quiet, but persevering, gentle, yet fiery. Its boundlessness is absolutely wholesome.

  Marilla doesn't fall short in loving Anne. Being rather airheaded and clumsy, Marilla is a much-needed slap to bring Anne back to reality whenever she wanders away into fantasyland. She teachers her the value of religion, nurturing the importance of morals and duty within Anne. As a pragmatist, it was very wise for Marilla to not spoil the girl at her tender age and rather train her to be sensible amidst the extravagance around the neighborhood.

  Marilla is not without faults, however. There were times where she was too stern and needlessly strict and distrustful of Anne without ever hearing her side of things. Some moments she was seen to be dismissive of Anne's latent ability to imagine, which the story urges is an extremely pivotal intelligence to enhance as it transcends the world of dryads and nymphs and seeps into reality. Overtime, however, as Anne continues to grow, Marilla "mellowed out" as per Avonlea's very own Rachel Lynde's words (who I feel deserves her own religion because of her everything-ness). The mother figure painstakingly floated through the stark age gap and learned to understand the needs of the youth, especially one such princess who was never raised by proper parents.

  All in all the Cuthberts of the Green Gables make for one of the best families in fiction and therefore one of my high favorites in the expression of family love.

  

  The story doesn't limit to familial expositions. As a show focusing on the conglomeration of relationships from mere shards to complete figures, it is also important to take note of Anne's friends, specifically Diana Barry. To put it simply, I adore Diana. At first I shared Anne's anxiety in thinking that she will never have her bosom friend and Diana would be weirded out by her outgoing energy, which would mean that Avonlea would be a desolate place for the child, incomplete despite already fulfilling the having-a-family requirement. It turned out that their friendship would last until the end of time, the oath on the garden stream fulfilled.

  Diana and Anne are always in sync. Both of them are basically as one, never separating from one another inside and outside the classroom. They're practically two little flowers in one stem. I grew so fond of their interactions; their friendship, I found, is one of the most sincere ones. I too would like to have my own Diana who connects with me and my eccentricity. She is a real gem, always there through thick and thin, unafraid to call out her friend's mistakes.

  Their relationship also has its own share of conflicts. Once they had a huge argument which would have spelled the end of their wedding vows. It was triggered when both of them realized, they were two different individuals after all. Diana and Anne were too in touch with each other such that both of them could regard each other as their own selves in the intricate coalescence of their souls. Were it not for Jerry Bout's prank on Anne in telling her she'll die from the poisoned apple which prompted her to apologize to Diana for her childishness, things would never be the same for the inseparable duo of Avonlea. In the end, Anne decides to join the study session for Queens while Diana paves her own path, both still cherishing their bond nonetheless.

  

  ---

  Time Will Not Cease Its Flow

  The author does not condone naivety nor irresponsible deeds--it is always addressed at some point in the story. It isn't always rainbows and sunshine in one countryside of Prince Edward island. Time flows and it carries along with it both blossoming petals and withered leaves. It is an inescapable fact that problems always catch us ever so suddenly in surprise, and we have no choice but to accept destiny's decree.

  We witness Anne grow so much throughout 50 episodes, and I truly felt like I've overseered her like my very own child. Puberty didn't exempt the young girl to shoot up in height. That alone brought a sense of melancholy. Anne eventually became sensible and spoke less of her endlessly meandering fantasies. She experienced exhaustion in dedicating her time to study hard to ace the Queens Entrance Exams. She tied with Gilbert Blythe at #1, and after a few months, lived in the city boarding house away from the Green Gables.

  Is this what being a parent feels like? Rather than connecting with Anne in this aspect as a growing teenager, I felt more strongly the side of the Cuthberts. Seeing one's child away arises a debilitating kind of loneliness. Parents have their own feelings too. They cope with their own problems too. They love us children too, and I can't help but think about my personal situation and how I lack in gratitude for my own family. I became sensitive to their feelings whenever I am absent from school and silent for my studies. Those sorts of things and many others I reflected due to the movement of the story.

  __!! SPOILER GROUND !!__

  Spring had its turn for more than half of the tale. Anne of Green Gables is an expert in setting up the tone of the atmosphere, giving glimmers of inevitable conflicts without disregarding the shining perception it advocates for. Matthew experienced frequent attacks due to his heart problems. Marilla's headaches were an indication of blindness. Even Anne wasn't exempted to the party--the Cuthbert doctor warns of a possibility of Anne acquiring lung problems were she not properly supplied with fresh air. And this is where the author teaches us to balance studies and fun lest we fall unstable and threatened by ailments.

  And so I feared for the lives of the two old angels as the pages turned. Sure enough, Matthew died, which brought me my own kind of heart attack. Marilla was getting frail and with her own visual problems; she couldn't possibly provide for the family. The fall of the bank's financial conditions made it so that she had to make a difficult choice of considering to sell the house while she shelters inside the Lynde household as Anne continues her studies far away. The rain poured into a typhoon, the snow frosted into blizzards. It all felt so hopeless. And Anne isn't a superhuman--despite her blinding optimism, she regressed into the shadows for a while too. But with her dutiful nature, and most especially, the power of her imagination, she was able to concoct a plan to put them out of this misery. She gave up her studies despite a hard-earned scholarship and sought a teaching job instead.

  Anne...was so admirable. She was determined to shoulder finances at the age of 17. She was so quick in recovering and putting her wits together; I would have brooded it over for a week at least, paralyzed. The culmination of her hard work grew not solely for her own sake, but for a massive tree of fruitful bearings dedicated to the people who truly loved her for who she is. As she aged, she realized how home is the most important thing for her. That was the very thing she lacked for the first full decade of her life on Earth. That is something a lot of us take for granted. Anne of Green Gables preaches how we should also understand our parents for they are imperfect beings like us and to give thanks to the reasons for our nourishment.

  A bit of a tangent here, but there was a scene which I find unforgettable. It was during Anne and Diana's trip to Charlottetown sponsored by Josephine Barry. They basically experienced the finer things in life like casual regals. Upon being questioned whether the city life is more suitable for her than life in the countryside, Anne stated that, no, she prefers the simple elegance of the Green Gables to the luxury of the city. In arriving home after a few days of fun, Anne said,

  "I've had a splendid time, and I feel that it marks an epoch in my life. But the best of it all was coming home."

  

  If that isn't one of the best things you could ever hear from your child. Often, the saddest part of hanging out with friends is parting ways to go back home. For Anne, however, that notion is reversed. To her, being in the Green Gables is much better than eating ice cream, sweets over tea, witnessing opera performances, and sleeping inside a royal bedroom.

  Anne Shirley is the essence of what it means to appreciate what you have. Half of her life thus far was dedicated to grasping at straws and sleeping with utter lack. The orphanage's mistake turned out to be one of the greatest blessings for her, and that is something she will never release from her grip. She grabs the chance by the collar and pours it with genuine love as she continues to learn what it means to live with a family by her side. Allowing the main character to have that kind of background assures the universality of the story's impact. Deservingly, Anne of Green Gables the novel became a world-renowned classic. Anne's teacher profession goes far beyond the confines of the screen for the personal lessons she educates permits a blossoming garden of wisdom.

  Despite the prickling of thorns and bladed grass after reaching solid ground, despite the howling of uncertainties and the Death God's almighty shears, Anne Shirley braved every obstacle and lifted herself up the clouds by the power of her divine imagination providing her the strength to strive for her dreams and the magnetic attraction on kindred spirits as she bestows colors of joy around the narrow road's field like a basket girl throwing out flowers past the meadow.

  The achievement of simultaneous romanticization and pragmatism is a testament to L.M. Montgomery's writing prowess, interpreted by Takahata with his own magic. In this kind of storytelling where ebb and flow are not discarded but rather incorporated in full disclosure, Anne of Green Gables finished as a long-lasting definitive oeuvre, a heartwarming tale brimming with realizations. I firmly believe the story is a must to experience across all adaptations as it educates with love through timeless grounding art.

  
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