Anne Shirley

Anime adaptations of western novels are usually hit or miss. Most of the time the staff will have to make some compromises that result in the story not being nearly as impactful in anime format as it is in the book or live action. Totally not the case here with Anne Shirley. It’s hard to believe this is from the same studio that gave us the utter disaster that Tower of God season 2 was. Going from that to a masterclass in storytelling like this is insane. This was truly an amazing experience and one of the best anime of the year. It’s a shame it had to air at such a stacked time. Getting to follow Anne as she developed from a problematic little girl to a bold, educated, intelligent and strong young woman was so cool. The story taking place with this backdrop of feminism and a rapidly evolving Atlantic Canadian society where women are able to have more agency and take on roles outside of the home was really cool. I’m a sucker for epic stories that follow a character throughout their entire life and truly make you feel apart of it, all the ups and downs, the joy and sadness, Anne Shirley has all of it. While it didn’t cover Anne’s entire life(first 3 books out of 8), it covered such a crucial part of her and had so many emotional moments that left me in tears and introduced me to so many characters who feel like family. If you enjoy well written historical fiction and great side characters, Anne Shirley’s a must watch for you. This is easily one of the best anime adaptations of a western classic ever. Anne’s journey is without a doubt the best part of this series. While some parts are condensed to make it more suitable for an anime viewing experience, I generally felt like we got to see Anne grow up right before our eyes and it’s paced in such a way that the passage of time elicits an emotional response from you. Think of it like how you’d feel watching your child grow up before your very eyes. There’s this feeling of pride and happiness, but also sadness knowing they’re getting older and going off to start their own life. Anne’s development is so well done and just like anyone in real life, it’s full of challenges and obstacles, seeing her overcome these difficulties and come out stronger on the other side is so satisfying. The writing in this adaptation is so good that my mood became intrinsically linked to these episodes. If Anne went through a rough time and lost someone close to her, I’d be torn up all weekend. Conversely, when Anne has her big milestones, I was over the moon. The biggest achievement of this adaptation is making you feel like you’re in the story, right there with Anne and the other characters as they go through their lives. In many ways, it has that soap opera feel, that sort of pull to keep audiences engaged and watching for decades as the cast evolves. To me, Anne is so amazing because she’s committed to doing things her way. This story takes place in the late 19th century when women didn’t have the same rights and expectations that men have, yet Anne is determined to make something of herself besides being a housewife. As someone who finds nothing more attractive than an intelligent and driven woman, Anne is an extremely endearing character to me and I admire her dedication and perseverance. The fact she gets rejected at numerous points and doesn’t let it discourage her, but uses that to fuel her and remains committed to achieving her academic and career goals is so admirable! As someone who’s dealt with rejection a lot throughout my own life, I related to her a lot. My only complaint with Anne is that she’s so slow on the uptick with romance, but she does start coming around by the end, so I’ll give her that. If anything, I suppose that’s an example of how well written she is. Romance isn’t the end all be all to her character in an era where being married defined a woman’s status and worth. Anne defines her own value and tells her own story. I mentioned the supporting cast earlier and man, they really bring a lot to this story. Anne’s development simply wouldn’t have happened without the contributions of important people she meets along the way. Whether it’s her adopted parents Matthew and Marilla moulding her into a proper young lady, her best friend and totally not yuri bait lover, Diana, encouraging her to pursue her dreams, her rival and totally not the guy of her dreams that she should’ve been with from the start, Gilbert pushing her to be a better student or any of the numerous side characters in the story, they all play a very important role in the story and Anne’s life. They also all became apart of MY life as this show went on, especially Diana and Anne. Their relationship was genuinely beautiful. I think if you get ONE friend in life as real as Diana, you’ve been extremely blessed. Yes, it had the yuri bait undertones, but even without that, I loved every interaction they had and seeing that become less frequent as she and Anne got older made me really sad. That’s something that unfortunately does happen as you get older and pursue your dreams while your friends pursue theirs. This story really nails the feeling of the passage of time and how you can feel sad about certain parts of your life coming to an end, but happy about other parts starting. The constant introduction of new characters at the various phases in Anne’s growth help to establish that sort of feeling. Can’t talk about this show without going into the romance. Now, Anne might be a romance author on the side, but when it comes to the real thing, this girl is blind as a bat. She can’t see the forest for the trees and appreciate what’s right in front of her. I won’t spoil all the twists and turns on this subject, but suffice to say the Gilbert x Anne ship was one of my favorite haters to lovers ships ever. I appreciate that things develop with them so slowly and Gilbert is nothing but patient and respectful to Anne. He refuses to make her uncomfortable or be overbearing. There’s the old adage about love not being selfish and Gilbert personifies it, even when he gets done dirty by Anne, he stays an outstanding young man and I really appreciate how the author wrote him. Easily one of my fave characters of the year because of his support and friendship for Anne. This was my 2nd favorite part of the story overall after Anne’s individual growth. It’s really hard to believe this was the same studio that gave us that PowerPoint presentation in tower of God 2. This generally looks amazing, it’s an historical series so you don’t need great animation, but it’s still very solid. The art style is gorgeous and I love the character designs. The direction is underrated in this series, like the whole anime. I think this show had some of the best directed episodes of the entire year, leaving me in tears on multiple occasions. Clearly they put all the staff’s energy and the budget into this show. Anne Shirley is one of the best shows of the year and it’s unfortunate more people haven’t checked it out. I really could not have asked for a better historical drama story. The characters, writing and production values are just incredible and Anne is easily one of the most loveable leads you’ll ever see. I know this probably wasn’t that popular in Japan, but I hope we get to see the rest of her story animated because she’s become such a big part of my life over these last 6 months. Thank you to everyone involved in this adaptation. Amazing job. Anne Shirley gets 9 out of 10.

A literary classic that couldn't be found in anime format. Anne Shirley is a classic from the 1900s. It's an extremely emotional story about the entire life of a red-haired girl. It's a coming-of-age story. Initially, this anime had everything it needed to shine. An extremely charismatic protagonist, capable of holding the viewer's attention. Honoka Inoue did a spectacular job with her performance; she carries most of the series. She knew how to adapt to the character's eloquence and was able to connect with her. The animation, while not fluid and beautiful, did have its own essence and charisma. They opted to use static backgrounds so that the characters would stand out. The backgrounds were in a very beautiful oil painting style. The story, while lacking a fixed direction, was entertaining enough to watch a pair of siblings raise a girl they adopted due to a mistake made by the orphanage administrator. Up until the first three episodes, everything looked like it would be an anime full of beauty and learning. The problem arose when they started making abrupt time jumps. Suddenly, a school year passed in 10 minutes, or in two episodes, Anne went from 10 to 14 years old. Due to the lack of continuity, you couldn't connect with the secondary characters because you couldn't appreciate the impact they had on the protagonist's life. You can understand everything about the protagonist because she's the only one who matters to the story. When it comes to secondary characters, even if they're important, like the Cuthberth siblings, it's very difficult to empathize with them because we don't interact with them much. Anne Shirley isn't an anime designed to tell a linear story. It's very noticeable when they focus on episodic stories. When you watch episodic stories, you understand that Anne's life wasn't meant to be told in a linear fashion. They should have always told a story in each chapter and captured 24 key moments in Anne's life to reflect them in 24 episodes. Feelings like romantic love or filial love are handled very superficially. They want you to understand such a complex feeling in one or two chapters. These kinds of stories need more careful handling to reach the audience. It's not a bad anime, it's not a bad story. It's just that many times you won't be able to connect with it.

If this series doesn't warm your heart, have someone close the lid, and chuck you in the ground already. The artwork is beautiful and lush for the most part. Characters are portrayed quite lovingly. The background work is formidable. The animation in the first cour is wonderful. I'll be nice and call the second cour a bit choppy. Too many instances of panning still frames, and the slide show of Diana's wedding was very disappointing. Still, overall the animation is better than most SoL titles. This series is all about the great characters and their development. If I mentioned them all it would read like an encyclopedia. It never felt too hard to keep track of them, though. Anne's portryal is masterful. It's almost impossible not to love her, freckles and all. Diana is the bestest best friend ever. Anne's adoptive parents are so believable. It's wonderful to see how Anne's presence transforms Marilla. As Anne grows and becomes an amazing adult young lady of brilliance and talent, her circle expands, and more great characters are added. They are all lovable but I particularly fell for Phillipa. She is the perfect foil and mirror to Anne. The narrative kind of scared me at first. Anime has tried adapting Western literature, and usually fails miserably, when they try to shoehorn it into Japanese culture. This tale is fairly simple and straight forward, and at it's very essence, totally human. It follows Anne's life, starting as an orphan being mistakenly adopted by the Cuthbert siblings, through her becoming a college graduate, and finding her own true love had been right under her nose all the time. The story is funny and courageous, but there is pathos and angst. Anne has much to overcome in life, but she's so irrepressible. You just know she's going to come out right from the tough and painful parts. The VA work is stupendous. Even the most minor characters are done with aplomb. Anne's actress deserves an award. One of the main reasons I like Phillpa so much was her VA was brilliant as well. Credit the directors for providing a fine lead. I know the animation shortcomings may have been a function of finances, since the early work was so fine, so all can be forgiven. The soundtrack throughout the season was excellent. I especially loved the OP, and never skipped a one. I was chair dancing with Anne every episode! So cheery and upbeat. Anne Shirley might not be the best anime of all times, but it certainly is a masterpiece, and an example of what anime can be at its best. If I were the school marm, I'd be cracking open my gradebook, and marking this one down as a 97/100. A full blown A and a well deserved one, at that. This is a redhead you got to get into your life.

I've seen people give this anime a 10/10 rating, and it's not hard to see why. The characters are simple but endearing, the story is relatively gripping, and the anime conveys a truly pleasant positivity that makes you feel good. My concern is the pace. From the beginning to the end of the series, I felt like the anime was rushing to fit the entire story into its 24 episodes, even if it meant never letting the situations and characters breathe, which poses two major concerns in my opinion. First of all, it lessens the impact of situations. Whether it's a trivial problem at school or the death of a loved one, the series glosses over it so quickly (often in half an episode) that it's hard to feel the gravity and importance of the event on Anne and/or the other characters, so it seems less important to us, which leads to the second problem: we feel less connected to the characters, in the sense that we don't feel what they are going through as much as they do, and so we are less affected by what happens to them, which is quite ironic for a series that relies on this. I know that this pacing issue didn't bother everyone, but even without having seen the original (which I recently started watching and which is much better in this regard), I felt that it was moving too fast, causing me to become increasingly detached from the story and its characters. But don't get me wrong, the series is very good and has some excellent episodes, such as the last one, which sums up the appeal of the series quite well. In short, it's a very enjoyable series, but it lacks the pace to make it to the next level.

Anne Shirley as an anime is at its most compelling when it interrogates adult authority- not as wisdom, but as contradiction. Through Anne, the series quietly but persistently exposes the hypocrisy of the adults around her, especially those who claim moral superiority through Christianity and “proper” child-rearing. Again and again, Anne is punished not for wrongdoing, but for failing to conform. She is pressured into a false confession over the missing brooch. She is made to apologize when no apology is warranted. She is chastised for defending herself, while cruelty toward her is excused as discipline. Even her interests are policed: she is told that the things she enjoys or the way she behaves are “boyish,” improper, or unbecoming. The punishments feel futile because they are disconnected from justice - they exist to enforce obedience, not understanding. What makes Anne such an effective lens for this critique is her tabula rasa. Having not been raised within conventional family or religious structures, she arrives in Avonlea without the ingrained reflex to submit. She doesn’t instinctively accept that adults are right simply because they are adults. This makes her a canvas onto which the community projects its values- and, in doing so, reveals their flaws. The anime suggests that rearing children strictly according to Christian values often prioritizes appearances, guilt, and compliance over empathy or truth. Anne’s uniqueness functions as a foil for the entire community. She feels no inherent need to conform and is unapologetically herself, which in turn exposes the quirks, vanities, and unspoken cruelties of those around her. Even vanity itself is handled thoughtfully: Anne cares deeply about her appearance, but the series makes a point that one of her earliest interactions with others is to have her looks evaluated and mocked. Her fixation on beauty feels less like shallow self-absorption and more like a response to being taught - immediately - that her worth will be measured externally. Despite her love of books and learning, Anne also fails to fit neatly into traditional school structures, further highlighting how rigid systems struggle with children who don’t learn or behave “correctly.” The tragedy, and the critique, is that Anne’s imagination and sincerity are treated as flaws rather than gifts. In the end, Anne Shirley isn’t just a coming-of-age story. It’s a quiet indictment of moral systems that value conformity over compassion - and a reminder that a child who refuses to bend can reveal more truth than a whole town that never questions itself.

Introduction & Expectations I approached this adaptation with no prior background—I haven't read L.M. Montgomery's original novel, nor have I watched the Netflix series or the classic 1979 anime. My childhood experience with historical drama was mostly limited to older titles like Candy Candy and Hana no Ko Lunlun. What completely sold me on this show was the premise: a 24-episode historical drama based on a Western classic. Modern anime trends rarely appeal to me due to their repetitive, cloned formulas and the rigid, restrictive 12-episode format. I genuinely miss the era of solid 24-episode runs. Unfortunately, while Anne Shirley is not completely unwatchable, it failed to deliver on its potential. Story & Characters: 4/10 The weakest aspects of this series are undoubtedly its narrative structure and the complete lack of character depth. Without diving into spoilers, the writing feels heavily geared toward 11-year-old girls who daydream during summer break about idealistic friendships, romantic confessions, and perfect relationships. My biggest disappointment, however, stems from the absolute lack of character progression. In a coming-of-age story spanning years, you expect to see the protagonist mature. Yet, by episode 23—right before the finale—I felt like I was still looking at the exact same 11-year-old girl from the first episode. Her behavior, mindset, and reactions barely evolved. This issue is highly amplified by the voice acting. The production relied heavily on relatively inexperienced and green seiyuu. Because of this rookie voice cast, the vocal performance remains flat and dynamicless throughout the series. The lead actress fails to adjust her tone, pitch, or delivery to reflect Anne's aging process. Instead of sounding like a maturing young woman, she sounds like a child from start to finish, which completely shatters the illusion of time passing. As for her supposed talent, across all 24 episodes, we never actually see her working on her craft. She writes nothing down, reads nothing to her adoptive parents, and shares no literary ideas with her friends. Instead, her days are filled with playing, going to school, getting good grades, accidentally dyeing her hair green, and cooking. Relationships suffer heavily from "telling instead of showing". The audience is simply forced to accept facts: she is beautiful, she is imaginative, and now these characters share a deep bond. Paradoxically, a tight 12-episode format might have suited this specific, simplified narrative much better to cut out the superficial bloat. Animation & Art: 6/10 Visually, the production is passable. Watching it on a 4K TV, the image clarity is sharp, and I had no major complaints regarding the technical presentation. However, the art style itself is far too simplistic and basic for a 2025 release. On a positive note, the background art in several episodes stands out, showing a decent level of detail and effort that helps establish the historical atmosphere. Conclusion I still firmly believe that the anime industry needs more grounded, historical slice-of-life adaptations instead of the usual fantasy clones. In that sense, Anne Shirley is a step in the right direction, but its juvenile tone, inexperienced voice acting, and rushed execution prevent it from being a truly great drama. It is an average watch that could have been much more if it trusted its audience with deeper writing.

Guys, you all know by now that I love the World Masterpiece Theater, or at the very least, Japanese anime adaptations of Western children's literature. I've already gone on about how much I love Anne of Green Gables in my multiple reviews of the books and the 1979 anime...and I swear to God, the second I read that there was going to be a new Anne of Green Gables anime, simply titled Anne Shirley, I just about screamed. Seriously, was ANYONE expecting this to happen in the year 2025?! I sure wasn't! But boy, was I happy to check it out! I'm always down for more Anne of Green Gables, even if I had a feeling it wasn't going to reach the highs of the 1979 anime. But then I heard that not only was Anne Shirley going to be 24 episodes long, it was going to cover not just the first book, but the next two books, Anne of Avonlea and Anne Of The Island. I admit, I grew worried that the producers for this were going to compress three books into a format that wasn't going to work for it. Anne of Green Gables is a story that absolutely needs room to breathe, and the 1979 anime understood this to a T, which is why it's so beloved across the world. My fears would prove to be validated now that the show is complete. Don't get me wrong, I still really like Anne Shirley as a show, and compared to all the bad isekai slop that gets churned out, I'll gladly recommend Anne Shirley to anyone who'll listen...but the decision to compress three books into 24 episodes is the show's biggest flaw, not just in what it leaves out in the adaptation process, but the speed through which it covers the content and the results that came from doing so. The story centers on two adult siblings, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, who live in a farm on the beautiful Prince Edward Island in the late 1800s. Matthew is getting on in years, so they decide to adopt a boy from an orphanage to have him help around the farm. Yeah, this was apparently a common practice in late 19th century Canada. But a miscommunication has them wind up with a girl, instead, and this girl—Anne Shirley—isn't any ordinary child. She's an outgoing, talkative, energetic red haired kid who loves to imagine things and is a romantic idealist despite the bad life she had up to this point. Although Marilla and Matthew do their best to bring her up, they can't contain her wild energy, and Anne finds herself in a variety of situations, like making friends, dealing with boys, learning things in school, wishing she could follow current fashion trends despite Marilla's distaste for anything extravagant and fashionable, and so on. One thing's for sure: Avonlea won't be the same with her around, and maybe this will prove to be a good thing for everyone involved. For anyone interested, episodes 1-10 cover Anne of Green Gables, episodes 11-15 cover Anne of Avonlea, and episodes 16-24 cover Anne Of The Island. I do own and have read the latter two books in the series, but it's been years since I've read them. Now, there will be a lot of comparisons to the 1979 anime, and I hate to make comparisons to it because that series and Anne Shirley are two very different adaptations with different approaches to the books, so it's inevitable that there will be differences between the two. I don't even think Anne Shirley is a bad series, if my rating hopefully gives any indication. But in order to help you understand Anne Shirley's issues, comparisons to the 1979 will have to come up in order to illustrate the things that the 1979 anime succeeded in and Anne Shirley fell short in. One of those issues being, of course, the pacing. Yeah, in its attempts to cover three books in a 24 episode run, Anne Shirley speed runs through the books' content like a race car in the Formula One. Whereas the 1979 anime adapted one chapter per episode, Anne Shirley opted to have a single episode cover four whole chapters each, and because of this approach, it often feels like it doesn't leave itself any time to settle down and let things breathe. This is unfortunately the show's biggest problem, and this single issue's effects are completely entrenched in everything about the series. Because the producers want to cover three books instead of one, of course there's going to be a lot that has to be cut out. Some stuff, I didn't mind being cut out, such as Anne spanking a student during her tenure as a teacher and a lot of the religious elements, because these days religion isn't a big deal as it used to be, but there are whole chapters, events and even characters that are completely left out to the point where their absence causes huge plot holes that make no sense if you haven't already read the book. For example, Mrs. Allan, a minister's wife, is established to have become friends with Anne at some point in Anne Shirley, with the series even briefly referencing the event where they become friends in question. But here's the thing: Both the book and 1979 anime actually show how this happens, i.e. the liniment cake incident, where Anne bakes a cake for Mrs. Allan for a tea party but accidentally put liniment in it because she had a cold, and the two bond over the silly mistake. But because Anne Shirley reduces the liniment cake incident to just a throwaway footnote, any interactions Anne and Mrs. Allan have make absolutely no sense because the series chose to leave out the chapter that explains how they became friends, so in the actual series, it feels odd that Anne is somehow friends with some random minister's wife with no explanation whatsoever. The series even leaves out important characters like Diana's Aunt Josephine, who becomes one of Anne's biggest supporters and confidants. The series' accelerated pacing also hurts the characters and how they develop. One of the reasons the 1979 anime is so beloved is because it absolutely made optimal use of its 50 episode run time. The staff for that show understood that Anne of Green Gables is a series that cannot be rushed, and deliberately chose to make it a leisurely, down-to-earth, quiet series that prided itself on its atmosphere, ambience, and making you feel like you were living right alongside Anne and her friends in Avonlea, growing up alongside them and observing their growth. Yes, modern audiences might see it as boring nowadays, but in my opinion, slow pacing doesn't always equal poor quality, and I hate that it feels like producers are treating children like they need constant stimulation and instant gratification like Cocomelon. What happened to teaching kids patience and appreciation of atmosphere? Because the 1979 anime took its time and allowed everything to happen organically, we got to watch the characters grow and develop in a way that felt natural and real, and their development is the series' biggest highlight. The 1979 series made sure to have everything leave an impact, impatient watchers be damned. Anne Shirley wants to achieve this as well, but in its desire to cover three books under a 24 episode run time, it has to completely bum rush through adapting whatever chapters it feels like, making the characters' development, growth, and relationships not feel as organic or impactful. That's not to say the series is bad at showing the characters actually changing and developing over the course of the series. Considering all the slop we get nowadays, Anne Shirley is pretty much top tier compared to stuff like Solo Leveling or all the crap isekai that care more about hype, sakuga, and indulging power fantasies than having three-dimensional characters to care about. On its own, Anne Shirley's problems don't necessarily make it an inherently bad show, far from it, as it still understands what its about. But when you compare how the 1979 series adapted Anne of Green Gables, the cracks are more easily noticeable. Actually, it seems like this is a persistent problem for all anime series these days, where a short episode run completely cripples a show's ability to flesh out its characters and story in a way …

If you're like me who never watch the original, heard or read about Anne Shirley but like coming of age story with close to 0 stake, watch this. I've read reviews of people who watched the original and said there are some things that's lacking in this anime version. But as someone who came in blind, this story is as fun, happy and sweet as it gets. You get the childish Anne in the 1/3 of the anime, sweet teenage Anne in the 2/3 and matured Anne in the last 3/3. The outwardly childish imaginative kid slowly fades away from Anne and turned into how she expressed it in her thoughts and writings the more she grows up. Of course there are something that's lacking that even myself would notice but it still doesn't take away my enjoyment of the series.

Another amazing anime, this time adapted from a legendary classic novel, so story wise of course it was no doubt really great, and i think they adapted it pretty well too. Definitely one of the best coming of age in recent years and even more interesting because the setting is on late 19th century. Through this anime we can see Anne's journey from a child to a grown woman. Overall the story was touching and heartwarming. The friendship and characters bond also lovely and romance part (although only intense later on) are well written too. Graphics and scenery were really really stunning and mesmerising eyes. Scoring was really good too with beautiful and emotional scoring. Pacing was kinda too quick especially from the middle until the end. Overall really well adaptation from a very legendary novel.

What first caught my attention about Anne Shirley was its nostalgic tone, which reminded me of classic anime like Heidi and Candy Candy. I had been wanting to watch something calm and heartwarming for a while, so I decided to give the first episode a try and I really enjoyed it from the very beginning. Thanks to a few spoilers, I also found out that the original story comes from a book written many years ago and that it has had several adaptations over time. The pacing of the story felt a bit rushed during the first episodes, though still acceptable to some extent. Some situations were introduced and then resolved almost immediately, without leaving room to really immerse myself in the story. I was hoping that in this second part the pacing would improve and the story would find a better balance especially with a more mature Anne at the center but instead, it felt even more rushed. Many important events passed by so quickly that it became difficult to truly connect with them, giving the impression that this wasn’t an adaptation but rather just a summarized version of the books. Regarding the romance, at first I really liked the rivals to lovers trope, but… I feel like it was stretched out too much and dragged on unnecessarily. On top of that, the anime relied on the cliché of ending right after the confession, leaving me wanting to actually see Anne and Gilbert as a couple. In fact, we saw more of Anne with Roy than with Gilbert, and that part of the story ended up feeling somewhat tiring. Aside from that, though, the story itself is very beautiful, calm, and delivers valuable messages. I especially liked how it portrayed Anne through different stages of her life rather than focusing only on a single phase, which is what usually happens in these types of works. If you’re looking to take a break from intense dramas, action, or complicated plots, and you’re in the mood for something nostalgic and touching, Anne Shirley is definitely a good choice. The core story is still charming and makes for an enjoyable watch, especially if what you want is a lighthearted work without the need to dig too deeply into every detail. (Resubmitted and updated)

This is unapologetically my favorite of the past two seasons and quite possibly my anime of the year. It's cheesy, I know, but I can't help but adore a full-fledged story that takes me for a ride through life and where it leads. It steam rolls just about every other anime this year because it has a focus with little frills or filler. There may not be highly epic animated scenes (The opening sequence IS gorgeous though), but it is beautiful nonetheless and stays consistent. Cozy at times, uncomfortable at others when it reminds you of life's throws. It all starts with this annoying chatterbox of a child named Anne Shirley who might have thrown me off had I not stuck through a few more episodes. There was more to her than just being a petulant sassy child who had a knack for causing trouble with her oddball ways. She was a young orphaned gall who suddenly had a proper family (If one can even call it that) and had to learn the ways of normal life. It was slow. It was meticulous. She learned her manners whether she liked it or not. Failed a lot, learned a lot, and became interested in so much more than just the imaginations within her head. We see her roll through life with the friends and love interests along the way. We see her experiences, both expected and unexpected, as life has a way of throwing curve balls you just can't anticipate. More than that, we see other's lives through her lens... and how much her presence influenced those around her. Anne wouldn't be a mary sue or what someone might expect from her personality. Because overtime, she meshes with her world and becomes another piece in other's lives. She lives admirably and finds what she's good at. There are setbacks with family that she overcomes with time. One day she wouldn't be so odd, simply the person she was meant to be as she grew. I could go on and on about how much I love Anne Shirley, simple as it may be. It resonates with me most because, just like her, I grew up in rural country and experienced much the same as she would. It hits a bit home, to be honest. She reminds me a lot of my elder family relatives and what they experienced back in their day, those slices of life I experienced myself before we walked into this more modern age. How times have changed! How personal it felt to know your town, your neighbors, to communicate with letters or events to bring you closer. If you want a melodrama that plays on the time of old, focusing on one person as she lives her life in a beautiful old country, then this is for you. And also expect the /slowest/ of slow burns when it comes to the romance. I laughed. I cried (A lot). I enjoyed it all for what it is.

The anime offered a very different experience from the Netflix series, and I loved this new perspective. Even though some parts felt a bit rushed, the story remained engaging and full of surprises. The animation isn’t the smoothest, but its style is beautiful and visually fitting for the tone of the story. The characters were a strong point — they’re not perfect or one-dimensional, but instead have flaws, strengths, and realistic reactions, which made them feel more human. The plot also goes much further than the Netflix series, which won’t even get a continuation, and it delivers something close to a proper ending. Overall, in just 24 episodes, it manages to capture the spirit of the book. It may not please everyone, especially those looking for extremely fluid animation, but I’d definitely say it’s worth watching.

There is a 1979's anime, Anne of Green Gables, which is adapted from the same novel I guess. I had reviewed it and had given it a 10/10. It was really good. And this 2025's anime Anne Shirley is also a very good anime. As a matter of fact many would prefer this over the 1979 version, due to the updated modern visuals. For me 1979 is better. I just think the classic visuals suit this anime more as its a classic story. But watch any or both, you will love it. You should know even though this show has half the episodes of the 1979 show, the story moves much faster and actually covers much more of the novel. I think by episode 11, the show roughly covered the story that was told in the 50 episode 1979's Anne of Green Gables. I was surprised by this. The fewer episode count means story telling is not as detailed as the 1979 anime, obviously. And some of my favorite moments from the 1979 show, was totally skipped here. And that mattered to me and as a result I will give it a lower score than I gave the 1979's anime. Also some of the scenes in the 1979 were just done better, like where Anne likes to daydream and 1979 anime did it far better with its fully hand drawn animations. This show has excellent characters, and beautiful animation. This is that kind of show that makes you want to have a daughter. Because Anne is very likable and the show follows her coming of age.

I am going to be mixed for a different reason, I think with the material it has, it has done the best job it could evet, some people complain it is too rushed, but just compare it to the OG green gables anime, episode 24 there is when anne is lying with her leg broken, this went much further than even the 50 episodes of the OG. I gotta say they skipped a lot of boring stuff, and the only reason people like me stuck around is exactly because of the time skips and going directly to the more exciting stuff. Never the less, this just didnt excite me much, anne is softballed her entire life after getting addopted and they really stop demonstrating her intelligence from really early on. Leaving only the negatives that the character has, like her stubborness and being undecided in love. I just dont think a story like this holds up very well, in the anime atleast, it is trying to be a romance anime while not giving the main character any need to fight for what she wants, it really feels like everything is handed to her and we have moved on from stories like these. The animation was neat and the fast pace makes it a lot nicer to consume as otherwhise people would probably drop it 7/10

excellent! I am a huge fan of the Anne of Green Gables books and PBS series. This anime was an abreviated and yet very accurate depiction of the spirit of the title character and the reactions of her friends and family to her wide-eyed enthusiasm. Through embarrassments and trials Anne holds on to her sense of wonder and adventure. Besides Anne, I loved the characterization of Matthew's quiet joy in everything Anne did as opposed to Marilla's serious yet still loving direction. Also the flighty Philomena was hysterical. The art work created simplistic characters, but lush and detailed backgrounds. Very satisfying and fun.

Anne Shirley may not be the best adaptation of Anne of Green Gables to start with; in squeezing three books into one 26-episode season of television, it definitely has that feeling of something which people are so familiar with that they get a little careless with how they recreate it. I haven't experienced any other adaptation, and I've only just barely scraped the beginning of the World Masterpiece series, but I can tell that this adaptation is speeding through a handful of events and character arcs that probably had much greater weight in other retellings, particularly the ending of the first book. However, there's still enough that sticks with you that makes this adaptation worthwhile. Though not as atmospheric as the storybook feel that the 1979 series has, the smooth animation with bright, crisp colors make this an excellent comfort anime, and the brisk pace makes it very digestible, whereas the older anime forces you to chew on long pauses that stretch the 50 episodes to cover a 38-chapter book. And, of course, presentation aside, it's a sweet old tale with lovable characters. I might have to take a peek at the book sometime. This might be a 9/10 if a few key events had more room to breath, but the arc of the adaptation from childhood to adulthood seems pretty complete. I'm not unsatisfied that this is my introduction to Anne of Green Gables, and it might not hurt to be yours, though there are definitely plenty of other options.

Unpretentious Reviews Overall wonderful anime. But episode 19 is brutal. It seriously needs a trigger warning. Not going to dock points off the anime for it, but that episode wrecked me, and I'm in a safe stable environment. Imagine watching that as someone who's barely hanging on... Anime starts off super light, with Anne as an 11 year old, and slowly gets more serious as she grows into adulthood. The first 5 seconds or so of the OP animation are cute, and I watch them every episode. But otherwise the OP and ED weren't interesting to me, so I only watched them a few times. Anime that span 10+ years of time without a time skip are rare. In fact, I can only recall one, Yawara, and it took 124 episodes to tell the tale. This illustrates my only real dissatisfaction with Anne Shirley. It felt a bit too rushed. Trying to cram that much time into 24 episodes requires compromises that detract from the overall enjoyment of the show. Apart from that, nothing else stood out as a Wow! moment or a What? moment.

Anne Shirley is a wholesome story that I could recommend to anyone. It has fun and comedic scenes that are often balanced with the consequences of said scenes. I was invested in the characters and felt that their reactions were believable, for the set provided. Love and romance may be underlining themes but imagination twists and turns the story around. The OP is one of my favorites and the English/Canadian Dub was a delight. It just has a charm about it that I love and want to share with others. Note: I have not read the original story and therefore this review is just about this show

Anne Shirley of Green Gables I went into this without any prior knowledge of the series, the original novel, or the live-action adaptations, so this was my very first time experiencing something like this—something of this scale, on such a grand level. From the very beginning, my thoughts were really positive; it immediately captured my attention as something different, mesmerizing, and unique in this medium. What surprised me the most was how my appreciation kept growing with each episode—it never went downhill, not even for a moment. This show gave me so many emotions—it made me feel so much on a personal level. It taught me lessons about life. Watching the journey of this “eccentric” girl from Green Gables as an observer filled me with warmth. It made me smile countless times, it made me clap in excitement, it made me sad, it gave me grief, it gave me fulfillment—and, in the end, it gave me a desire to simply enjoy life as it is and to cherish what I have. My feelings for this anime will never change. I know that for sure. And I also know there will never be anything even remotely like it again. Masterpiece? Words of recognition can’t capture just how beautiful and stupidly good it was from start to finish. These 25 episodes left a hole in my heart, wishing for more, and I truly hope it gets more seasons. This show is nothing short of a work of art. The radiant and captivating personality of Anne Shirley lights it up completely. I’ve never felt like this for a show—or for a character—before. Truly, BEST GIRL. I don’t even know what genre to place it in—slice of life, drama? Whatever it is, it set a new benchmark for me. What a stunning, alluring series. Truly an iconic work. Peak. Absolute cinema. Masterpiece. Magnum opus. Pinnacle of the medium. 10/10. Forget top 10—it’s in my top 5.