I wholeheartedly assure Takahata’s Akage no Anne is yet the best adaptation of Montgomery’s novel!

I finally decided to give it a shot after seeing the latest anime adaptation, “Anne Shirley”, which doesn’t fit, in my opinion, Anne of Green Gable’s charming vibe. At first I wanted to watch them both shows concurrently, but I got so mesmerized by the 70s anime that I decided on bingeing it right then and there.
I must admit, the first 3 episodes seemed really long and uneventful, but if you hang on, the rest of the show will flow smoothly and you’ll get pulled into Anne’s poetically frantic existence before you know it! Her joy becomes ours, her sorrow as well, not to mention her scatterbrained antics. The wonderfully retro soundtrack emphasizes the beauty of this tale, merging into the pace of Avonlea’s routine as you watch the world through the eyes of a romantic, not to mention dramatic, 11 years old girl.

Now, I’ve got nothing against 2025’s Anne Shirley, quite the opposite: I am grateful we get to have new adaptations that will introduce the tale to a younger audience. What bothers me is, firstly, the generic 2020s graphic style which I find quite boring. Everything and everyone is smoothed flat with shiny cheeks and very little variation on skin tones or body types. I do love Naoko Yamada’s influence on the show, being one of her many fans, yet something bugs me. Anne, supposedly a scrawny, pale “ugly” child becomes a rather plump, pinky little girl with very few freckles and an overall generic appearance. Gilbert, who is known for making fun of her red hair, is depicted as having almost red hair himself, what irony! Not to mention the goofy cartoonish look of evil they have plastered on his face most of the time… Which is something else that bugs me: the acting. Now I get that the animation industry has improved drastically and that studios are expected to show off how smooth and flowy their animation is, but I think overdoing it makes the story and characters lack the subtlety and humanity it had in Takahata’s adaptation. Where Anne, in the latter, will widen her eyes and stare quietly in awe at something she finds beautiful, our 2025 Anne will gasp, gesticulate and giggle ever so irritatingly. Now, I know she’s supposed to be all about drama and exaggeration, but I’m getting second hand embarrassment watching modern Anne goofing away.
Takahata is a master of making touching, moving even, shots without cringey theatrics; pardon my harsh words. What strikes me most in his works is his love for nature! It just adds a je ne sais quoi to the series. Where 2025 Anne is paced quickly, although understandable as there is half the number of episodes, 1979 Anne knows best to take its time and enjoy the small things in life. Just like in “Only Yesterday”, the director puts nature in the spotlight with beautiful hand painted backgrounds and many shots people would consider useless, like close shots of bees buzzing around flowers or beautiful ponds glistening under the sunlight etc. That’s what makes the charisma of the anime, and what makes it stand out. But 2025 Anne Shirley will skip to get straight to the point, therefore losing this glamorous contemplative aspect that gets us closer to Anne’s character who draws her wild imagination from details and observation such as those…

Back to Takahata! Just thinking about the “Snow Queen”, “the “White way of Delight”, or “Lover’s Lane” makes me nostalgic of a childhood that isn’t even mine and I long to visit Avonlea and witness the passage of time as well as the changes each season provides. How I long for a quiet countryside life!
And then, before you know it, Anne is grown up. You hadn’t realized she’d grown so tall, and when you look at the flashbacks of her arriving at Green Gables with her big forehead and cute freckles, you find yourself propelled into Marilla’s mind, submerged with nostalgia and love.
The show makes us grow older at the same time as Anne who discovers the wonders and contingencies of adulthood: the plots and twists of every episode gets more serious and dramatic with time, and when Anne is no longer a little girl, we smoothly shift from elementary school quarrels and dreamy fairy tales to the harsh reality of financial issues, fragile health and grief. I even found myself shedding a few tears. But Anne, although no as chaotic as before, stays true to herself and I ended the show lighthearted, with a broad smile on my lips!

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