is a Japanese

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series; it is the 26th entry in

Nippon Animation is a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with its headquarters in their Tama, Tokyo, Tama City studio and an administrative office in the Ginza district of Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō. Nippon Animation is known for prod ...

's ''

World Masterpiece Theater is a Japanese TV animated series that showcased an animated version of a different classical book or story each year from 19:30 to 20:00 on Sunday on Fuji TV. It aired from 1969 to 1997 and from 2007 to 2009. It is commonly abbreviated to ...

'' franchise. The series is an adaptation of Canadian

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

author

Budge Wilson Budge Marjorie Wilson (née Archibald; May 2, 1927March 19, 2021) was a Canadian writer. She was noted for her work in children's literature. Wilson started her career in writing in her fifties. Her first book was published in 1984, when she ...

's 2008 prequel novel '' Before Green Gables'', which was translated into Japanese as by Akiko Usagawa. It chronicles the early years of main character

Anne Shirley Anne Blythe () is a fictional character introduced in the 1908 novel ''Anne of Green Gables'' by Lucy Maud Montgomery, L. M. Montgomery. Shirley is featured throughout the classic Anne of Green Gables#Related works, book series, which revolves ...

as she loses both her parents and is adopted by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert.

Production and development

Introduced in

Lucy Maud Montgomery Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942), published as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a collection of novels, essays, short stories, and poetry beginning in 1908 with '' Anne of Green Gables''. Sh ...

's 1908 novel ''

Anne of Green Gables ''Anne of Green Gables'' is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (published as L. M. Montgomery). Written for all ages, it has been considered a classic children's novel since the mid-20th century. Set in the late 19th century, t ...

'', the series marks the 100th anniversary of the original novel's release and the 30th anniversary of its anime adaptation, ''

Akage no Anne is a Japanese animated television series and the fifth entry in Nippon Animation's ''World Masterpiece Theater'' franchise. It was adapted from the 1908 novel ''Anne of Green Gables'' by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Produced by Nippon Animation in ...

'', also produced by Nippon Animation and one of the first pioneering ''World Masterpiece Theater'' series. The series is narrated by

Eiko Hisamura is a Japanese actress and voice actress from Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Hisamura worked under her maiden name before her marriage and for a long time afterward, so that name is still often used, even among fans. She is currently affili ...

, who portrayed Anne in the original ''Akage no Anne''. While developing the series, Nippon Animation's staff undertook research by visiting a historical village in southeastern Canada which formed the inspiration for Avonlea in the novel, going to historical houses preserved from the era in which the novel is set and taking photographs, with core staff members and character designer and chief animation director Takayo Nishimura (previously chief animation director and character designer for '' 5 Centimeters Per Second''), basing the characters, props and settings on them and also from historical books that he bought there. Nippon Animation's staff have followed this format of contextual research while producing other ''World Masterpiece Theater'' series. The series premiered on April 5, 2009, and aired every Sunday from 19:30 to 20:00 JST on

Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

broadcasting satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. ...

network BS-Fuji. From May 2009, it also aired on

SKY PerfecTV! is a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service that provides satellite television, audio programming and interactive television services to households in Japan, owned by parent company SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation. SKY PerfecTV! is also a dire ...

's network

Animax , stylized as ANIMAX in all caps, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. Launched on July 1, 1998, Animax is the first 24-hour network in the world dedicated to anime.The Anime Biz' - ...

. Online streaming on Biglobe was announced, but was eventually suspended.

Staff

* Director: Katsuyoshi Yatabe * Series composition and screenplay:

Michiru Shimada was a Japanese anime screenwriter from Tokyo. Shimada was a graduate of Waseda University. She made her screenwriting debut in 1980. She died in 2017, aged 58, from undisclosed causes.Yasuharu Takanashi is a prolific Japanese composer and arranger for anime and video game series. His anime composition credits include ''Naruto Shippuden'', ''Fairy Tail'', '' Log Horizon'', '' Shiki'', '' Hell Girl'', and '' Record of Ragnarok''. Biography Tak ...

, Hiromi Mizutani, Kenji Fujisawa * Art director: Shigeru Morimoto * Colour design: Tomoko Komatsubara * Production:

Characters

;

: ;Joanna (Harrigan) Thomas : :Anne's maternal aunt, wife to Bert and mother to Eliza, Horace, Edward, Harry and Noah. She is constantly trying the make ends meet, and as such is often in a bad mood. ;Bert Thomas : :Joanna's husband and father to her children. Due to his laziness and alcoholism, he is unable to hold down a job, usually spending whatever money he earns from the oddjobs he does on cheap liquor. ;Eliza Thomas : :First born daughter of Thomas family and primary income of the household. She cares for Anne like her own child, but later marries Roger Emerson and leaves Anne behind. ;Horace Thomas : :First son of the Thomas family. ;Edward Thomas : :Second son of the Thomas family. ;Harry Thomas : :Third son of the Thomas family. ;Noah Thomas : :Fourth son of the Thomas family. ;Jessie (MacIntyre) Gleeson : :An old widower with high standing. ;Lochinvar :Anne's companion cat. His name is taken from a line of the poem " Marmion" by

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

.Marmion, by Sir Walter Scott
(Project Gutenberg)
''O, young Lochinvar is come out of the west'' ;Narration :

References

External links

Anime television series official website
*
Nippon Animation's official announcement
* {{Anne of Green Gables 2009 anime television series debuts 2009 Japanese television series endings Animated television series about orphans Anime and manga set in Canada Anne of Green Gables television series Drama anime and manga Historical anime and manga Japanese children's animated adventure television series Nippon Animation Prequel television series Slice of life anime and manga Television shows set in Canada World Masterpiece Theater series