Portal:Studio Ghibli/Selected related article/17
Anne of Green Gables (赤毛のアン, Akage no An, lit. Red-haired Anne) is an animated television series, part of Nippon Animation's World Masterpiece Theater. It was adapted from the novel, Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Produced by Nippon Animation in 1979, it was first broadcast on Fuji TV from January 7, 1979 to December 30, 1979. Fifty episodes were produced in total.
The series was directed by Isao Takahata. He chose to make this animated version very true to the original source material, although his two previous works (Heidi, Girl of the Alps and 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother) had been adapted and altered.
Hayao Miyazaki did the scene setting and layout. Previously, he had worked on 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother, although he left the production and Nippon Animation after the first 15 episodes. Miyazaki noticed a difference in Takahata's philosophy of animation; Takahata stuck to controlled, realistic acting at the time, similar to his former work. Miyazaki had not intended to do other work with Takahata, but he had also not planned on becoming independent in this season of his work.
Yoshifumi Kondo was selected for character design and animation director over Yoichi Kotabe, who had stopped work with Takahata after 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother. Kondo went on to work with Takahata on the films Grave of the Fireflies and Only Yesterday. The voice of Anne was provided by Eiko Yamada, who became a staple of World Masterpiece Theatre anime, going on to play Lavinia in Princess Sarah and Jo March in Little Women (the latter of which also featured character designs by Kondo).