Kon'nichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables

Kon'nichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables
こんにちは アン 〜Before Green Gables (Konnichiwa An 〜Bifō Guriin Gēburusu)
Genre	Adventure, slice of life, drama
Anime television series
Directed by	Katsuyoshi Yatabe
Produced by	Kōichi Motohashi
Written by	Michiru Shimada
Music by	Yasuharu Takanashi Hiromi Mizutani Kenji Fujisawa
Studio	Nippon Animation
Original network	BS Fuji, Animax
Original run	April 5, 2009 – December 27, 2009
Episodes	39

Konnichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables (こんにちは アン 〜Before Green Gables, Konnichiwa An 〜Bifō Guriin Gēburusu, lit. "Hello Anne: Before Green Gables") is the 26th in Nippon Animation's World Masterpiece Theater anime. The series is an adaptation of Canadian children's literature author Budge Wilson's 2008 prequel novel Before Green Gables, which was translated into Japanese as Konnichiwa Anne (こんにちは アン) by Akiko Usagawa. It chronicles the early years of main character Anne Shirley as she loses both her parents and is adopted by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert.

Introduced in Lucy Maud Montgomery's 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables, the series marks the 100th anniversary of the original novel's release and the 30th anniversary of its anime adaptation, Akage no Anne, also produced by Nippon Animation and one of the first pioneering World Masterpiece Theater series. The series is narrated by Eiko Hisamura, 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.^{[1][failed verification]} Nippon Animation's staff have followed this format of contextual research while producing other World Masterpiece Theater series.^[1]

The series premiered on April 5, 2009, and aired every Sunday from 19:30 to 20:00 JST on Fuji Television's broadcasting satellite network BS-Fuji. From May 2009, it also aired on SKY PerfecTV!'s network Animax. Online streaming on Biglobe was announced, but was eventually suspended.^[2]

• Director: Katsuyoshi Yatabe
• Series composition and screenplay: Michiru Shimada
• Original character design: Yoshiharu Satō
• Character designs and chief animation director: Takayo Nishimura
• Music: Yasuharu Takanashi, Hiromi Mizutani, Kenji Fujisawa
• Art director: Shigeru Morimoto
• Colour design: Tomoko Komatsubara
• Production: Nippon Animation

Anne Shirley

Voiced by: Rina Hidaka (日高里菜)

Joanna (Harrigan) Thomas

Voiced by: Seiko Tamura (田村聖子)

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

Voiced by: Setsuji Satō

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

Voiced by: Rika Wakusawa (わくさわりか)

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

Voiced by: Yumiko Kobayashi

First son of the Thomas family.

Edward Thomas

Voiced by: Chiaki Shimogama

Second son of the Thomas family.

Harry Thomas

Voiced by: Taeko Kawata

Third son of the Thomas family.

Noah Thomas

Voiced by: Satomi Kōrogi

Fourth son of the Thomas family.

Jessie (MacIntyre) Gleeson

Voiced by: Mitsuko Horie

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.^[3]

Narration

Voiced by: Masako Ikeda

• Anime television series official website
• Kon'nichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables at IMDb
• Nippon Animation's official announcement
• Kon'nichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Before Green Gables to Debut in Canadian Embassy in Japan (Anime News Network)

• v
• t
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World Masterpiece Theater by Nippon Animation

Calpis Comic Theater

• Dororo (1969)
• Moomin (1970)
• Andersen Stories (1971)
• New Moomin (1972)
• Fables of the Green Forest (1973)
• Heidi, Girl of the Alps (1974)

Calpis Children's Theater

• Dog of Flanders (1975)
• Marco, 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (1976)
• Rascal the Raccoon (1977)

Calpis Family Theater

• The Story of Perrine (1978)

World Masterpiece Theater

• Anne of Green Gables (1979)
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1980)
• The Swiss Family Robinson: Flone of the Mysterious Island (1981)
• Lucy-May of the Southern Rainbow (1982)
• Story of the Alps: My Annette (1983)
• Katri, Girl of the Meadows (1984)
• Princess Sara (1985)

House Foods World Masterpiece Theater

• The Story of Pollyanna, Girl of Love (1986)
• Tales of Little Women (1987)
• Little Lord Fauntleroy (1988)
• The Adventures of Peter Pan (1989)
• My Daddy Long Legs (1990)
• Trapp Family Story (1991)
• The Bush Baby (1992)
• Little Women II: Jo's Boys (1993)

World Masterpiece Theater

• Tico of the Seven Seas (1994)
• Romeo's Blue Skies (1995)
• Famous Dog Lassie (1996)
• Remi, Nobody's Girl (1997)

House Foods World Masterpiece Theater

• Les Misérables: Little Girl Cosette (2007)
• The Long Journey of Porphy (2008)

World Masterpiece Theater

• Hello Anne: Before Green Gables (2009)

Theatrical features

• The Dog of Flanders: The Movie (1997)
• Marco: 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (1999)

Related articles

• Nippon Animation
• Isao Takahata
• Hayao Miyazaki

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