Anne Shirley and Diana Barry Jigsaw Puzzle

My brother got me a sweet gift for Christmas. It's an Anne of Green Gables jigsaw puzzle. The image is from the anime Anne of Green Gables series (Akage no An, 1979), which was produced as part of Nippon Animation's World Masterpiece Theater series. The pretty painted scene shows Anne Shirley and Diana Barry sitting together and talking in an apple orchard. If you want one too, you can purchase the 1014-piece puzzle here.

Created January 27, 2023. Last updated March 4, 2023.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Green Gables Anime Doll by Takara Tomy

On July 31, 2016, Takara Tomy Toys is releasing a limited and exclusive Anne of Green Gables doll based on the 1979 anime series by Nippon Animation. The beautiful anime, also known as Akage no An, was directed by Isao Takahata as part of the World Masterpiece Theater series. The Anne of Green Gables doll was designed to celebrate 40 years of Nippon Animation. Read more about the Takara Tomy Toy release here.

The sweet Anne Shirley doll is part of the "Rikaraizu" series, which faithfully represents anime characters. The Anne of Green Gables doll is approximately 23 cm tall and has two outfits (shown below):


Anne's first outfit is the brown wincey dress she arrived at Green Gables wearing. The second outfit is the beautiful dress with puffed sleeves that Matthew Cuthbert gives Anne for Christmas. The doll can be posed on its own stand, and it comes with a hat, bag, shoes, and other accessories.

Created July 31, 2016. Re-posted online March 7, 2023. Last updated January 20, 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. Re-posted online with new photos and content 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. Re-posted online March 4, 2023. Last updated January 20, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com