Anne Shirley (2025 TV series)

is a Japanese anime television series produced by The Answer Studio and directed by Hiroshi Kawamata. It is based on the first three Anne of Green Gables novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery, specifically the 1952 translation by Hanako Muraoka. The series aired from April to September 2025.

A manga adaptation illustrated by Akane Hoshikubo began serialization in Enterbrain's B's Log Comic online magazine in January 2025.

Plot

An eleven-year-old girl, Anne Shirley, leaves the orphanage and is adopted by a family on Prince Edward Island. She was sent to live with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, despite them asking for a boy. Matthew, Marilla's older brother, welcomes her, but Marilla is initially cold, wanting her to be returned. As time goes on, she warms up to Anne, deciding to let her stay with her and Matthew at their home, known as Green Gables. During her life there, she goes through personal and life challenges, and makes life-long friends, such as Diana Barry, and competitors like Gilbert Blythe. In the process of the series, she grows up, and matures as a woman, experiencing love, happiness, friendship, sadness, and loss.

Characters

An 11-year-old girl who comes from an orphanage. She has a vivid imagination and becomes used to her life in Green Gables, on Prince Edward Island. She can have a temper, especially when people make fun of her looks, including her red hair. As the series progresses, she becomes more mature and confident, eventually becoming a professional teacher and going to college to further her education.

The adopted mother of Anne, who is unsure about Anne at first, after she and Matthew were supposed to have a boy from the orphanage, rather than a girl, but warms up to her. She can be stern and strict with Anne, attempting to instill discipline in her, but also forgiving, as she grows to love Anne's vivacity and joy. Despite her strict and conservative upbringing, Marilla has fairly progressive views for her time and serves as one of the two main motivators for Anne getting an education and choosing a profession instead of becoming a housewife.

The adopted father of Anne, who quickly takes a liking to her, and tries to temper Marilla's reactions to the eleven-year-old unique and quirky Anne. He is the older brother of Marilla and has no qualms about "spoiling" Anne and indulging her with pretty clothes and fancy shoes. He dies of a heart attack from the shock of learning the bank closed down in Episode 10. As she grows into a pretty and more confident teenager, Anne still visits his grave whenever she is feeling down, thinking of what he would say.

The of Anne, who she meets early on during her time in Green Gables. She is one of the only girls who is Anne's age who is living in the local area. While she does not have a vivid imagination like Anne, she remains a loyal bosom friend. Their friendship is so strong and passionate that as children they were practically inseparable and constantly professed their love for each other. They remain best friends into adulthood, always hanging out closely when Anne comes home from college for the holidays. She later meets one of the guys in their youth city development society and after a few years, she accepts his proposal of engagement. This somewhat upsets Anne, who feels like she is the only one who has not yet decided on her life path.

A thirteen-year-old boy who teases girls at the local school and makes fun of Anne's hair, calling it "carrots," resulting in her breaking a slate over his head, causing him to fall in love with her. Due to making fun of her, and ignoring his attempts to apologize to her, she refuses to speak with him for several years. Gradually, they make peace and even become quite close friends after Gilbert helps her get further education. Despite this, there is still some awkwardness in their relationship, as Anne still does not understand how she feels about him and does not know how to respond to his courtship.

A strict and unpopular teacher at Avonlea, who often misspells Anne's name, by not including the "E" and punishes her, but not others, for arriving late, resulting in Anne's refusal to attend school for several weeks. Once, he punished Anne for losing her temper with Gilbert Blythe. He is described as lacking discipline, and "courts" one of his older pupils, Prissy Andrews, openly.

Living near Matthew and Marilla, Mrs. Lynde is a noted busybody but is also industrious and charitable. Although she and Anne start off on the wrong foot due to Mrs. Lynde's blunt criticism and Anne's short temper, they soon become quite close.

Another of Anne's friends. Having several "grown-up" sisters, Ruby loves to share her knowledge of beaux with her friends. She is pretty and blonde, but rather empty-headed and prone to hysterics. In Episode 19, she dies young from an unspecified incurable disease (implied to be tuberculosis), having received relief shortly before her death from Anne's motivational words and time spent with her.

One of Anne's friends from school, she is plain and sensible.

Lewis Andrews

An older man who is eccentric, resulting in people near him not understanding him, and he has a harsh-speaking parrot named Ginger.

The strict mother of Diana.

A classmate generally disliked by the other girls (as are her siblings), Josie is vain, dishonest, sharp-tongued, and jealous of Anne's popularity.

A male friend of Gilbert.

A male friend of Gilbert, who hangs out with him and Jimmy.

The sister of Charlie.

Mrs. Heather Hammond

Anne lives with her for a portion of her pre-Green-Gables life and cares for Mrs. Hammond's three sets of twins. Anne is sent to the Hopetown orphan asylum when Mrs. Hammond is forced to break up her home after her husband's sudden death.

Ella May MacPherson

Mrs. Blewett

Mrs. Spencer

Flora Jane

Muriel Stacy

Teddy Phillips' replacement as teacher at the Avonlea School.

Philippa Gordon

Also known as "Phil" for short.

Mrs. Allan

Mary Joe

Royal "Roy" Gardner

Paul Irving

David "Davy" Keith

A young boy who is Marilla's third cousin whom she takes in, along with his well-behaved twin sister, when his mother passed away.

Dora Keith

A young girl, Davy's twin sister, who is also a third cousin of Marilla's.

Lavender Lewis

A middle-aged woman with white hair who has had feelings for Stephen Irving since their youth. An argument had broken them apart, which she regretted. She meets the motherless young son of her old sweetheart, and takes a liking to him as he reminds her of his father. Some weeks later, she finally meets Stephen again for the first time in decades. He proposes to her again and she happily accepts.

Lenora/Charlotta the Fourth

Stephen Irving

Paul Irving's father who finally marries his teenage sweetheart Lavender Lewis.

Media

Manga

A manga adaptation by Akane Hoshikubo, also based on the 1952 translation by Hanako Muraoka, began serialization in Enterbrain's B's Log Comic online magazine on January 5, 2025.

Anime

The new anime television series adaptation of Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables novels was announced in November 2024. It was produced by The Answer Studio and directed by Hiroshi Kawamata, with character designs handled by Kenichi Tsuchiya and music composed by Michiru Ōshima. The series aired for 24 episodes from April 5 to September 27, 2025, on NHK Educational TV. From episode three onwards, the opening theme song is performed by Tota, while the ending theme song is "Heart", performed by Laura Day Romance. Crunchyroll streamed the series. Medialink licensed the series in Southeast Asia for streaming on Ani-One Asia's YouTube channel.

Episodes

The series is divided into three arcs, each one corresponding to a novel in the series: Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island.

Reception

The series was well received. Anime Feminist said that the series had "feminist potential" and called it "gorgeous new take" on the Anne of Green Gables series, while honoring previous adaptations and welcoming those unfamiliar with the story, while being "concerned with the autonomy of children" and celebrating the "odd little girl protagonist," Anne Shirley. A review on the same site by Vrai Kaiser noted that Anne of Green Gables very popular and integrated into Japan, even incorporated into school curricula, spawning a TV anime in 1979, and said that you could see "traces of Anne in the evolution of shoujo and yuri" and noted that some described Anne's friendship with Diana Barry as fitting into "the tradition of Class-S that had been paved some decades earlier by Yoshiya Nobuko." Kaiser also described the series premiere as "beautiful, lovingly made", noted that it was "inevitably indebted" to the previous anime adaptation, praised series composer Takahashi Natsuko and the storytelling, said that Marilla may have less time to shine due to the shorter run-time of the entire series, calling her a "fascinating character" and hoped viewers gave the series "a chance," and described it as a series about a character who found "joy in a society that's been built to devalue and steal from young girls."

Prior to the series premiere, Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network said that while there was "a special place" in her heart for the original anime version as well and she was not "incredibly excited about this new adaptation," and said that many "modern heroines owe their roots to her Anne," that the series teasers and trailers take "a lot of inspiration from the original 1977 designs of Yoshifumi Kondō, complete with imagery with a "charmingly old-fashioned, pastoral feel." She concluded by saying that if the series can "pull off even half the charm of its source material, it should be something really special."

Following the series premiere, Silverman reviewed the anime's first two episodes, noting that we have to consider "what's being cut" in this adaptation, noting that chapters about "Anne attending church...are abbreviated" while praising the characters in the series and the voice acting of Honoka Inoue, argued that "the moments chosen to animate are perfect", and said that the series is "capturing the beauty of Montgomery's text." In her review of the third episode, Silverman described the episode as "beautiful exploration of the various sides of Anne," complete with the iconic breaking of a slate over Gilbert's head by Anne, stated that most of what is being excluded is "the religious bits", and called it fitting that Anne recites part of a verse drama by Robert Browning entitled Pippa Passes in this episode.

Petrana Radulovic of Polygon praised the anime's interpretation of Anne responding to Gilbert's taunts by smashing "the slate on Gilbert's head...like it's some super-intense anime showdown," asserted that the "only proper way" to adapt the big feelings of the novel is through "an anime adaptation," and said the latter makes sense considering how many elements of the series are present in anime, like "the episodic nature of the chapters" and the close and "almost romantic friendship between Diana and Anne." She also stated that this series "fully uses the medium of animation" to bolster elements of the original work. Jade King of TheGamer said the series is soft, endearing, and gives off "comforting cottagecore vibes" and "sickeningly sweet energy," calling it the "cutest anime" of Spring 2025, expressing her admiration for how the series depicts Anne as a "spunky, imaginative, undeniably hopeful young girl who...takes everything in stride" and stated it reminded her of Studio Ghibli films like Only Yesterday, When Marnie Was There, and Kiki's Delivery Service, and games such as Stardew Valley, Coral Island, and Fields of Mistria. Vera Vargas of CBR praised the ninth episode of the series, calling it "entertaining," with themes that are timeless, "flawless characterization and relatable interactions" and asserted that the series "keeps many moments" from the original novel.

Notes

References

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