Anne Shirley

Such a cute version of Anne's life. The anime is like the book.

Where Takahata's anime was slower and took its time to let us live along Anne and bask in the beautiful painted backgrounds, this one has a faster pace. Events that in the previous series were developed throughout one episode are now often half an episode.
I have to say I don't consider this to be a con.
Older fans which are acquainted with Takahata's work are certainly too fond of it to look for a replacement and have probably seen all the adaptations of the book, especially the 2017 tv-series. This translates into us all being at least a bit tired of watching always the same part of the story. "Anne Shirley" allows us to "skim" through the events of the first book - by now we've seen it in any form to the point we know it by heart - and finally see the rest of the books that I believe have not been portrayed since the 1985 mini-series.

On the other hand, new watchers are probably too accustomed with today ryhtms and paces to be the target for an anime with a slow ghibli-esque tone as the 1979 one. In addition to this, I also think they knew from the beginning they had to do their own thing so they never tried to emulate Takahata's work and are instead really honest with their adaptation. I already said how Akage No An (1979) had beautiful backgrounds that looked like watercolors and oil paintings; the new adaptation has backgrounds reminiscent of pastel and crayons, so beautiful that I would often stop just to look at certain shadings. It also includes far brighter colors and a blend with CGI that sometimes creates a beautiful immersion - other times it's not that well made or necessary but still, at the end of the day it's not bad considering the whole picture.

As you can see, I have avoided making a comparison with the live action adaptations. This is mainly due to the fact that I consider them - especially the Netflix series - more apt to a ya/adult target because of darker and sometimes more mature/adult themes, whereas I've always thought the animated adaptation to be enjoyable by anyone and I must say I consider this to be the case even with this one.
Time to create a new generation of lovers of Anne of Green Gables. It's a canon event.

Very nicely done. Definite anime style but the Canadian accent in the English voices is a nice touch. Gorgeous artwork that showcases Prince Edward Island.