Kon'nichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables

Konnichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables (こんにちは アン 〜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.

Production and development
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. Nippon Animation's staff have followed this format of contextual research while producing other World Masterpiece Theater series.

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.

Staff

 * 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

Characters

 * Anne Shirley


 * Joanna (Harrigan) Thomas
 * 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.
 * 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
 * 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.
 * 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
 * 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.
 * 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
 * First son of the Thomas family.
 * First son of the Thomas family.


 * Edward Thomas
 * Second son of the Thomas family.
 * Second son of the Thomas family.


 * Harry Thomas
 * Third son of the Thomas family.
 * Third son of the Thomas family.


 * Noah Thomas
 * Fourth son of the Thomas family.
 * Fourth son of the Thomas family.


 * Jessie (MacIntyre) Gleeson
 * An old widower with high standing.
 * 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.


 * Narration