I’m always surprised at the variety of stories that Japan’s anime studios create for us. While some fans might complain of too many shows chasing popular trends like idol or isekai or harems, sometimes it’s nice to see anime go back to its roots and give us a “slow story” based on a literary classic. Let’s check out the new Anne Shirley anime, based on the popular Canadian novel Anne of Green Gables, in this post!
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A Big Budget Anne of Green Gables Anime Remake
The Anne Shirley anime is a remake of the 1979 anime Akage no Anne by Isao Takahata, who became one of the Ghibli founders. It tells the story of an orphan girl with red hair and a powerful imagination who goes to live with an elderly couple on Prince Edward Island, located north of Nova Scotia. The headstrong Anne has many adventures in her new home, eventually finding her place in her community.
The timing of the release feels perfect — almost like Japan noticed Canada was having a rough week and decided to cheer them up with a big anime hug.
The Anne Shirley anime is produced by The Answer Studio, which brought us The Garden Of Words. The show will get a full 24-episode run. It’s funded by NHK and is streaming on Crunchyroll.
The Story That Connects Canada and Japan
Anne of Green Gables has been a hugely influential novel since its publication in 1908. The book has represented Canada in the minds of people all over the world, including Japan. The house from the story is a real place, and every year, thousands of Japanese make the pilgrimage to Prince Edward Island to Green Gables Heritage Place, making it perhaps the oldest anime “holy land.” Japan even built a (now defunct) replica of the town from the book called Canadian World.
How did this one novel become famous in Japan? As I wrote in my post about the popularity of the Dune novels in Japan, sometimes it all comes down to a single person… or sometimes two people.
Loretta Leonard Shaw was a missionary who came to Japan as a teacher, working at a missionary school in Osaka. She befriended Hanako Muraoka, a Japanese writer and translator. Before returning to Canada in the months leading up to WWII, Loretta gave a copy of Anne of Green Gables to Hanako in the hopes that she would translate it into Japanese. During the war, Hanako secretly worked on her translation of the novel, aware that she could be imprisoned for possessing a book from an “enemy” nation. The book was a huge sensation when it hit shelves in 1952.
And now there’s a brand-new Anne of Green Gables anime for the next generation to enjoy!
Is Anime Returning to Its Roots?
Back in the 1970s, the World Masterpiece Theater was a staple of anime, with all the best animators of the era making works based on famous Western novels. Some of the most famous works included:
- Heidi, Girl of the Alps. The 1974 anime adaptation was broadcast in Europe, where it became a beloved classic.
- A Dog of Flanders. The anime that made Belgium famous in the minds of the Japanese is not well-known in Belgium, as the novel wasn’t translated into Dutch until 1987.
- 3000 Leagues In Search Of Mother is another classic anime based on a Western novel. It tells the story of Marco, who travels from Italy to Argentina in search of his mother. The scene where Marco pretends to be the son of a dying woman so she can be at peace will have you in tears in no time.
- Little House On The Prairie. The American TV series was a smash hit in Japan. There was even a 1975 anime adaptation called Laura, the Prairie Girl (草原の少女ローラ).
- Hayao Miyazaki tried to get the rights to an anime based on Sweden’s classic Pippi Longstocking, but the writer refused. So he found a way to get his revenge…
- While based on a modern manga, I believe you can put Victorian Romance Emma into the same bucket of classic feel-good stories. I highly recommend this anime to everyone!
Does this new anime mean we’re going to get more anime adaptations based on literary classics?
Thanks for reading this blog post about the new Anne Shirley anime, based on the novel Anne of Green Gables. What do you think about anime telling slower, simpler stories like this? Tell us in the comments below!
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