Akage no An

Being an animation fan, I'd heard about this show before. I knew that Hayao Miyazaki had worked on it before founding Studio Ghibli - who wouldn't be curious? I never thought I'd see it, since it's only been released on DVD in Japan. But, thank the Net, I've found a way to watch the original, subtitled version. What a wonderful series! I've only see the first four episodes, but they've definitely captured my imagination.

Being from Atlantic Canada myself, I was thrilled to see my region depicted so beautifully in anime. It's all accurate, let me tell you (although I'm not sure if they have Japanese sakura trees in PEI...) I have to admit that I've never read the Anne novels, but watching an anime adaptation is the next best thing.

It's hard to believe this series was made in 1979... it's a masterful series of paintings, character animation and sweeping music.

Please, do whatever you can to find this gem of TV animation!

I've been a fan of the 1985 Anne of Green Gables series, loving it as a child and watching it on PBS growing up, and reading the books. Recently I stumbled upon this gem, thanks to the internet.

The drawings are excellent, and one is not even bothered by the subtitles. The story is so faithful to the books that you get swept up with the story. My heart just about broke watching Anne so upset and heartbroken at the thought of leaving Green Gables. I just wanted to hug her so badly, and it's anime! I laughed, cried, smiled my way through this charming series, and highly recommend it to any Anne of Green Gables fan.

"Akage no an" is simply the best piece of 'book to film' adaptation you will ever encounter. No other movie or television show even compares to this enchanting masterpiece. Why this has never been properly released in the states is beyond comprehension, but a captioned box set can be found online at Japanese and anime DVD sites.

The exquisite animation and drawings are truly works of art, much better than the computer generated graphics of today. Each character and setting is drawn to perfection will all of LM Montgomery's small subtleties incorporated into picture.

Each episode is nearly a page by page account of the actual book and 99% of everything is here. Every character, every special moment, all the tragedy, comedy, romance, and relationships are played out just as Montgomery would have intended.

I tend to be against adapting books into movies, because you generally don't have time to be at all faithful to a book in such a short running time (the first couple of Harry Potter films were quite long because they wanted to hit so many plot points, but they still cut out all the character development). The popular Canadian miniseries from the '80s was a perfect example of this. It got a sense of the story across, but only just.

This is different. Fifty episodes are enough to do justice to a 38-chapter book. There's only one incident of any note that was cut, and several that were much fleshed out or added (plus one or two dull episodes that were mostly clips of earlier shows). You can be assured the creators really understand the characters and interpersonal dynamics of the story.

But is the story worth your while. You bet! A lot of folks link this series with Miyazaki, though he only worked on the first 15 episodes. More important were fellow Ghiblies Takahata and Kondo. But it FEELS like Miyazaki: strong, young, imaginative female lead steeped in the magic of Nature, learning to be loved by a grouchy but kindhearted elderly couple. All it needs is some flying machines!

It is worth digging on eBay for the possibly semi-legal region-free English subtitled DVDs. Don't mistake it for the recent Canadian animated series (which boggles the mind--surely it would've been cheaper to license and dub Akage no An!). This is, and surely always will be, the definitive film version of Anne of Green Gables. (You even get used to the "Konichiwa, Diana!")

I never realized that this animation was made in 1979. I watched this series, every single episode, when I was ten. And let me just say that this animated series is incredible. It captures every emotion the novel delivers, from Anne's first depth of despair to last bend around the corner. Anne's chatters, Marilla's scornful love, Matthew's unconditional love, the rivalry romance between Anne and Gilbert, they are all there. It does not miss out anything, and I do mean anything. It is truly a masterpiece. The characters are drew beautifully, especially Anne and Gilbert. And the sceneries are breathtaking. You would never imagine this was made in 1979 if you saw it for yourself. And the music. Oh, the music is also just incomparable. The music will be remembered for such a long time. This series is incomparable to Anne of Green Gables animation series that's being made these days. If you have access to this animation, give it a chance. Just one episode and you'll fall in love with it forever.