Anne of Green Gables (1979, 50 Episodes, English Subtitles)

Anne of Green Gables is the 1979 season of the World Masterpiece Theater television series, which was created by Nippon Animation. It is the third and final series created by Isao Takahata (director) and Hayao Miyazaki (layout and design). Yoshifumi Kondo replaces longtime friend Yoichi Kotabe (character designer and animation director). After episode 13, Miyazaki would also withdraw to direct Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro.

This is a fantastic series, my favorite of all Anne of Green Gables adaptations. Paku-san really dives into the depths of these characters and knows just where to adapt, where to cut and where to expand. He understands the psychology of these characters, not just Anne, but everyone, especially Marilla. His objective storytelling approach is very even-handed and balanced, and it's a quality that is somewhat unique to this Anne. Most other versions identify too strongly with the main character, and they suffer a little as a result.

I could write a million words about this series. It's absolutely magnificent, even if a touch below the standard set by Heidi and Marco. It's funny and touching and emotionally varied. There are some really beautiful moments just in the first episode. And I wouldn't dare spoil the devastating heartbreaks that occur in the final dozen episodes.

Here is the entire series, all 50 episodes, with English subtitles. Enjoy it before it disappears!

Japanese Voice Actor Ryuji Saikachi Has Died

Sad news for anime fans everywhere. Veteran Japanese voice actor Ryuji Saikachi died on September 29 from congestive heart failure. He was 89 years old. He was a fixture on more than 80 anime films and television series, dubbing American movies (including Disney's The Lion King), videogames and commercials.

His animation credits include the following: Dragon Ball Z, Tokyo Godfathers, Paranoia Agent, Night on the Galactic Railroad, Galaxy Express 999, Wolf's Rain, Unico in the Island of Magic, 3x3 Eyes Seima Densetsu, Roujin Z, Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise, Mermaid Forest and Tensai Bakabon.

For Ghibli Freaks, Saikachi is remembered for playing the train engineer in Laputa: Castle in the Sky, a member of the orchestra in Gauche the Cellist, and most famously, Matthew Cuthbert in Anne of Green Gables.

Thanks to Anime News Network for their article and research.

Was Anne of Green Gables Dubbed Into English?

Was Anne of Green Gables ever dubbed into English? I Miss Bionix examines various issues surrounding the 1979 World Masterpiece Theater production, including the discovery of episodes that were dubbed for Western markets. What happened? Who were the intended countries for this version? And how is it possible that this fantastic series was never released in North America?

This article explores several issues, including the very complicated issue of international copyrights. These Anne episodes appear to be owned by Belgian/German company Studio 100, who were responsible for the recent CGI remakes of Heidi and Maya the Bee. In 2008, the company bought Germany's EM Entertainment, which included a number of classic World Masterpiece Theater series, including Heidi, Maya and Anne. Previously, EM acquired the catalog from KirchGroup, who may have been the original broadcast distributors in the 1980s.

If you're wondering why it's so difficult to obtain the rights to many classic anime movies and TV series, this is a perfect illustration. Any North American distributor would have to navigate through several companies in Japan and Europe, each party demanding a hefty paycheck and attaching strict conditions. And without a possibility for TV or cable broadcast, the costs would be far too prohibitive for most indie distributors.

The English Anne episodes are currently available on YouTube, minus one episode. Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to watch, as I'm not in the proper country. D'oh.

Here is a short preview of the English-language dub of Anne. It was produced in South Africa, who were responsible for many European anime dubs in the 1980s. Sounds very good.