Emily of New Moon (2007) aka Kaze no Shoujo Emily

Emily of New Moon aka Kaze no Shoujo Emily (translated to English as "Emily, the Wind Girl") is an animated television series that was based on L.M. Montgomery's Emily of New Moon trilogy.

The Emily of New Moon anime series was a single season with 26 episodes. Each episode was roughly 25 minutes in length. The series was produced by Hideaki Miyamoto, and the series music was by Akira Miyagawa. The series aired on NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) Educational TV from April 7, 2007 to September 29, 2007.

The protagonist Emily Byrd Starr was voiced by actress Tomoko Kawakami. The anime's plot primarily follows that of the novel Emily of New Moon with some scenes from Emily Climbs and Emily's Quest. Set on Prince Edward Island, Canada, the series follows the growth of a young girl Emily Starr. The story begins with Emily, who lives alone with her father. When her father dies, Emily is adopted by her strict Aunt Elizabeth and moves to New Moon Farm. Facing loneliness and isolation, Emily writes letters to her dead father. Emily meets and becomes close friends with Ilse Burnley, Teddy Kent, and Perry Miller. Each of the friends has a special talent. Emily loves to write and dreams of becoming a novelist.

Cast:
Tomoko Kawakami as Emily Byrd Starr
Akemi Okamura as Perry Miller
Kôki Miyata as Teddy Kent
Sachiko Kojima as Ilse Burnley
Emi Shinohara as Kaze no Oba-san (Mrs. Wind) (narration)
Masako Ikeda as Laura Murray
Rokuro Naya as Jimmy Murray
Toshiko Fujita as Elizabeth Murray
Akio Ohtsuka as Mr Carpenter
Atsuko Enomoto as Rhoda Stuart
Aya Hisakawa as Aileen Kent
Chiemi Ishimatsu as Jennie Strang
Kiyoyuki Yanada as Allan Burnley
Misaki Sekiyama as Carrie Strang
Niina Kumagaya as Miss Brownell
Shigenori Sôya as Douglas Starr
Touko Aoyama as Grace and Saucy Sal
Youko Matsuoka as Aunt Ruth

External Link:
Official Emily of New Moon (2007) Website

Image credit:
Drawing of Emily Bryd Starr from Emily of New Moon (2007) aka Kaze no Shoujo Emily. © NHK

Created December 11, 2006. Last updated April 23, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Green Gables Miniature Diorama

My boyfriend gave me a blind box, which he spotted while traveling in Seattle. It's from the "Little Anime Series World Masterpiece Theater" collection. Each box contains a miniature diorama from one of five World Masterpiece Theater anime series produced by Nippon Animation. One of the anime series included is Anne of Green Gables (Akage no An). Knowing that I love Anne of Green Gables, my boyfriend bought a box for me and hoped for the best. Lucky for me, my box contained the Anne of Green Gables scene.

This blind box collection was manufactured by MegaHouse in 2003. The five World Masterpiece Theater series included in the collection are: Anne of Green Gables (1979), 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (1976), Rascal the Raccoon (1977), A Dog of Flanders (1975), and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1980). The scenes for the five series are depicted on the sides of the blind box and on the insert inside the box (pictured below):





Inside the red box was a pink case that looked like a tiny book:



A brown plastic box, designed to look like wood, slides out of the pink case:



Opening the box reveals the eight items shown below: the Green Gables kitchen, Matthew's couch and shoes, the Green Gables kitchen table, a bowl, a pair of birds, and three characters: Matthew Cuthbert, Marilla Cuthbert, and Anne Shirley:



Here's a closer view of Matthew Cuthbert (who's asleep), Marilla Cuthbert, and Anne Shirley (carrying a layered cake):



Here are a few views of the Anne of Green Gables diorama with Matthew asleep on his couch, Marilla bustling about the kitchen, and Anne carrying a lovely layered cake (that hopefully is flavored with vanilla instead of liniment):





Here's a close-up view of the Green Gables diorama:



Created June 27, 2005. Last updated January 20, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Green Gables (1979) aka Akage No An

Anne of Green Gables aka Akage no An (translated to English as "Red-Haired Anne") is a beautifully animated television series that was based on L.M. Montgomery's novel Anne of Green Gables. The plotline closely follows that of the novel and begins when Anne meets Matthew at the train station in Prince Edward Island. The anime series was produced by Nippon Animation in Japan in 1979 as part of the World Masterpiece Theater series (1). The series is 50 episodes long, and it first aired on Fuji Television from January 7, 1979 to December 30, 1979.

Anne of Green Gables was written and directed by the acclaimed screenwriter and director Isao Takahata, who is known for directing Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Only Yesterday (1991), and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013). In 1985, Takahata founded the treasured Studio Ghibli together with Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki. Studio Ghibli is admired for its artistry, creativity, and beauty in storytelling. Hayao Miyazaki created the settings and layouts for episodes 1 to 15 of the Anne of Green Gables anime. Miyazaki is the beloved anime director of Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind (1984), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Princess Mononoke (1997), Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), and Spirited Away (2001). In 1990, Takahata edited the first six episodes of Anne of Green Gables into a film for theatrical release (1).

Yoshifumi Kondo was the character designer for the vibrant Anne Shirley. Anne’s voice was portrayed by the Japanese actress Eiko Yamada. She provided the voices of several other characters in the World Masterpiece Theater series, including Jo in Tales of Little Women and Little Women II: Jo's Boys. The opening and closing theme songs (“Kikoeru kashira” and “Samenai yume”) were composed by Akira Miyoshi and sung by Ritsuko Ohwada.

Anne of Green Gables aired in several countries throughout the world. It was broadcast in Canada in the mid-1990s under the title Anne...La maison aux pignons verts by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and dubbed in French (1, 2). In addition, the anime aired as Anna dai capelli rossi in Italy, Ana de las Tejas Verdes in Spain, Ana dos Cabelos Ruivos in Portugal, and Anne mit den roten Haaren in Germany. The series was also dubbed in English and broadcast by the South African Broadcasting Corporation and by Japan Entertainment Television in Taiwan.

In 2009, an anime prequel to Anne of Green Gables (1979) premiered called Konnichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables (translated to English as “Hello Anne: Before Green Gables”).


Image credit:
Drawing of Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables (1979) aka Akage No An. © Nippon Animation

References:
1. Helen McCarthy. Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. 1999. 223.
2. Team Ghiblink. Nausicaa.Net http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/wmt/index.html (2001).

Purchase and watch Anne of Green Gables (1979) aka Akage No An (Note: Most official Akage no An Blu-Ray/DVD sets are available for Region 2 (Japan), and they are not officially available in all region formats yet):



Created March 1, 2002. Last updated January 20, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com