Audience reviews
19 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
JohnBoy54
excellent! I am a huge fan of the Anne of Green Gables books and PBS series. This anime was an abreviated and yet very accurate depiction of the spirit of the title character and the reactions of her friends and family to her wide-eyed enthusiasm. Through embarrassments and trials Anne holds on to her sense of wonder and adventure. Besides Anne, I loved the characterization of Matthew's quiet joy in everything Anne did as opposed to Marilla's serious yet still loving direction. Also the flighty Philomena was hysterical. The art work created simplistic characters, but lush and detailed backgrounds. Very satisfying and fun.
Read at the sourceOtaku_Senpai
There is a 1979's anime, Anne of Green Gables, which is adapted from the same novel I guess. I had reviewed it and had given it a 10/10. It was really good. And this 2025's anime Anne Shirley is also a very good anime. As a matter of fact many would prefer this over the 1979 version, due to the updated modern visuals. For me 1979 is better. I just think the classic visuals suit this anime more as its a classic story. But watch any or both, you will love it.
You should know even though this show has half the episodes of the 1979 show, the story moves much faster and actually covers much more of the novel. I think by episode 11, the show roughly covered the story that was told in the 50 episode 1979's Anne of Green Gables. I was surprised by this. The fewer episode count means story telling…
Read at the sourcelordent
Introduction & Expectations
I approached this adaptation with no prior background—I haven't read L.M. Montgomery's original novel, nor have I watched the Netflix series or the classic 1979 anime. My childhood experience with historical drama was mostly limited to older titles like Candy Candy and Hana no Ko Lunlun. What completely sold me on this show was the premise: a 24-episode historical drama based on a Western classic. Modern anime trends rarely appeal to me due to their repetitive, cloned formulas and the rigid, restrictive 12-episode format. I genuinely miss the era of solid 24-episode runs. Unfortunately, while Anne Shirley is not completely unwatchable, it failed to deliver on its potential.
Story & Characters: 4/10
The weakest aspects of this series are undoubtedly its narrati…
Read at the sourceGamiKhan
I am going to be mixed for a different reason, I think with the material it has, it has done the best job it could evet, some people complain it is too rushed, but just compare it to the OG green gables anime, episode 24 there is when anne is lying with her leg broken, this went much further than even the 50 episodes of the OG.
I gotta say they skipped a lot of boring stuff, and the only reason people like me stuck around is exactly because of the time skips and going directly to the more exciting stuff.
Never the less, this just didnt excite me much, anne is softballed her entire life after getting addopted and they really stop demonstrating her intelligence from really early on. Leaving only the negatives that the character has, like her stubborness and being undecided in love.
I just…
Read at the sourceazaddandy
If you're like me who never watch the original, heard or read about Anne Shirley but like coming of age story with close to 0 stake, watch this.
I've read reviews of people who watched the original and said there are some things that's lacking in this anime version. But as someone who came in blind, this story is as fun, happy and sweet as it gets.
You get the childish Anne in the 1/3 of the anime, sweet teenage Anne in the 2/3 and matured Anne in the last 3/3. The outwardly childish imaginative kid slowly fades away from Anne and turned into how she expressed it in her thoughts and writings the more she grows up.
Of course there are something that's lacking that even myself would notice but it still doesn't take away my enjoyment of the series.
Read at the sourceP_F_V
Anne Shirley may not be the best adaptation of Anne of Green Gables to start with; in squeezing three books into one 26-episode season of television, it definitely has that feeling of something which people are so familiar with that they get a little careless with how they recreate it. I haven't experienced any other adaptation, and I've only just barely scraped the beginning of the World Masterpiece series, but I can tell that this adaptation is speeding through a handful of events and character arcs that probably had much greater weight in other retellings, particularly the ending of the first book.
However, there's still enough that sticks with you that makes this adaptation worthwhile. Though not as atmospheric as the storybook feel that the 1979 series has, the smooth animation with…
Read at the sourceSakura131
Anne Shirley as an anime is at its most compelling when it interrogates adult authority- not as wisdom, but as contradiction. Through Anne, the series quietly but persistently exposes the hypocrisy of the adults around her, especially those who claim moral superiority through Christianity and “proper” child-rearing.
Again and again, Anne is punished not for wrongdoing, but for failing to conform. She is pressured into a false confession over the missing brooch. She is made to apologize when no apology is warranted. She is chastised for defending herself, while cruelty toward her is excused as discipline. Even her interests are policed: she is told that the things she enjoys or the way she behaves are “boyish,” improper, or unbecoming. The punishments feel futile because they are disconnec…
Read at the sourcejoemaamah
If this series doesn't warm your heart, have someone close the lid, and chuck you in the ground already.
The artwork is beautiful and lush for the most part. Characters are portrayed quite lovingly. The background work is formidable. The animation in the first cour is wonderful. I'll be nice and call the second cour a bit choppy. Too many instances of panning still frames, and the slide show of Diana's wedding was very disappointing. Still, overall the animation is better than most SoL titles.
This series is all about the great characters and their development. If I mentioned them all it would read like an encyclopedia. It never felt too hard to keep track of them, though. Anne's portryal is masterful. It's almost impossible not to love her, freckles and all. Diana is the bestest best…
Read at the sourceJrDetectiveUBet
Unpretentious Reviews
Overall wonderful anime. But episode 19 is brutal. It seriously needs a trigger warning. Not going to dock points off the anime for it, but that episode wrecked me, and I'm in a safe stable environment. Imagine watching that as someone who's barely hanging on...
Anime starts off super light, with Anne as an 11 year old, and slowly gets more serious as she grows into adulthood. The first 5 seconds or so of the OP animation are cute, and I watch them every episode. But otherwise the OP and ED weren't interesting to me, so I only watched them a few times.
Anime that span 10+ years of time without a time skip are rare. In fact, I can only recall one, Yawara, and it took 124 episodes to tell the tale. This illustrates my only real dissatisfaction with Anne Shirley. It f…
Read at the sourcesmithling
Anne Shirley is a wholesome story that I could recommend to anyone. It has fun and comedic scenes that are often balanced with the consequences of said scenes. I was invested in the characters and felt that their reactions were believable, for the set provided. Love and romance may be underlining themes but imagination twists and turns the story around.
The OP is one of my favorites and the English/Canadian Dub was a delight. It just has a charm about it that I love and want to share with others.
Note: I have not read the original story and therefore this review is just about this show
Read at the sourceJet_Suzuyaki
I've seen people give this anime a 10/10 rating, and it's not hard to see why. The characters are simple but endearing, the story is relatively gripping, and the anime conveys a truly pleasant positivity that makes you feel good.
My concern is the pace. From the beginning to the end of the series, I felt like the anime was rushing to fit the entire story into its 24 episodes, even if it meant never letting the situations and characters breathe, which poses two major concerns in my opinion. First of all, it lessens the impact of situations. Whether it's a trivial problem at school or the death of a loved one, the series glosses over it so quickly (often in half an episode) that it's hard to feel the gravity and importance of the event on Anne and/or the other characters, so it seems less i…
Read at the sourcekiyo_seibah
Another amazing anime, this time adapted from a legendary classic novel, so story wise of course it was no doubt really great, and i think they adapted it pretty well too.
Definitely one of the best coming of age in recent years and even more interesting because the setting is on late 19th century.
Through this anime we can see Anne's journey from a child to a grown woman. Overall the story was touching and heartwarming. The friendship and characters bond also lovely and romance part (although only intense later on) are well written too.
Graphics and scenery were really really stunning and mesmerising eyes. Scoring was really good too with beautiful and emotional scoring. Pacing was kinda too quick especially from the middle until the end.
Overall really well adaptation from a very leg…
Read at the sourceFirechick12012
Guys, you all know by now that I love the World Masterpiece Theater, or at the very least, Japanese anime adaptations of Western children's literature. I've already gone on about how much I love Anne of Green Gables in my multiple reviews of the books and the 1979 anime...and I swear to God, the second I read that there was going to be a new Anne of Green Gables anime, simply titled Anne Shirley, I just about screamed. Seriously, was ANYONE expecting this to happen in the year 2025?! I sure wasn't! But boy, was I happy to check it out! I'm always down for more Anne of Green Gables, even if I had a feeling it wasn't going to reach the highs of the 1979 anime. But then I heard that not only was Anne Shirley going to be 24 episodes long, it was going to cover not just the first book, but the…
Read at the sourceAlisherK
Anne Shirley of Green Gables
I went into this without any prior knowledge of the series, the original novel, or the live-action adaptations, so this was my very first time experiencing something like this—something of this scale, on such a grand level. From the very beginning, my thoughts were really positive; it immediately captured my attention as something different, mesmerizing, and unique in this medium. What surprised me the most was how my appreciation kept growing with each episode—it never went downhill, not even for a moment.
This show gave me so many emotions—it made me feel so much on a personal level. It taught me lessons about life. Watching the journey of this “eccentric” girl from Green Gables as an observer filled me with warmth. It made me smile countless times, it made…
Read at the sourceCerisepink
What first caught my attention about Anne Shirley was its nostalgic tone, which reminded me of classic anime like Heidi and Candy Candy. I had been wanting to watch something calm and heartwarming for a while, so I decided to give the first episode a try and I really enjoyed it from the very beginning. Thanks to a few spoilers, I also found out that the original story comes from a book written many years ago and that it has had several adaptations over time.
The pacing of the story felt a bit rushed during the first episodes, though still acceptable to some extent. Some situations were introduced and then resolved almost immediately, without leaving room to really immerse myself in the story. I was hoping that in this second part the pacing would improve and the story would find a better…
Read at the sourcechekkit
This is unapologetically my favorite of the past two seasons and quite possibly my anime of the year. It's cheesy, I know, but I can't help but adore a full-fledged story that takes me for a ride through life and where it leads. It steam rolls just about every other anime this year because it has a focus with little frills or filler. There may not be highly epic animated scenes (The opening sequence IS gorgeous though), but it is beautiful nonetheless and stays consistent. Cozy at times, uncomfortable at others when it reminds you of life's throws.
It all starts with this annoying chatterbox of a child named Anne Shirley who might have thrown me off had I not stuck through a few more episodes. There was more to her than just being a petulant sassy child who had a knack for causing trouble…
Read at the sourceChuy_diazz
A literary classic that couldn't be found in anime format.
Anne Shirley is a classic from the 1900s. It's an extremely emotional story about the entire life of a red-haired girl. It's a coming-of-age story. Initially, this anime had everything it needed to shine. An extremely charismatic protagonist, capable of holding the viewer's attention. Honoka Inoue did a spectacular job with her performance; she carries most of the series. She knew how to adapt to the character's eloquence and was able to connect with her. The animation, while not fluid and beautiful, did have its own essence and charisma. They opted to use static backgrounds so that the characters would stand out. The backgrounds were in a very beautiful oil painting style. The story, while lacking a fixed direction, was entertain…
Read at the sourceJuwuhart
The anime offered a very different experience from the Netflix series, and I loved this new perspective. Even though some parts felt a bit rushed, the story remained engaging and full of surprises. The animation isn’t the smoothest, but its style is beautiful and visually fitting for the tone of the story.
The characters were a strong point — they’re not perfect or one-dimensional, but instead have flaws, strengths, and realistic reactions, which made them feel more human. The plot also goes much further than the Netflix series, which won’t even get a continuation, and it delivers something close to a proper ending.
Overall, in just 24 episodes, it manages to capture the spirit of the book. It may not please everyone, especially those looking for extremely fluid animation, but I’d defini…
Read at the sourceMarinate1016
Anime adaptations of western novels are usually hit or miss. Most of the time the staff will have to make some compromises that result in the story not being nearly as impactful in anime format as it is in the book or live action. Totally not the case here with Anne Shirley. It’s hard to believe this is from the same studio that gave us the utter disaster that Tower of God season 2 was. Going from that to a masterclass in storytelling like this is insane. This was truly an amazing experience and one of the best anime of the year. It’s a shame it had to air at such a stacked time. Getting to follow Anne as she developed from a problematic little girl to a bold, educated, intelligent and strong young woman was so cool. The story taking place with this backdrop of feminism and a rapidly evolv…
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