Meh, I’m not exactly happy. This episode really was the final nail in the coffin for our Anne: SOMEWHERE ON THAT SHIP, the real Anne must be walking around somewhere, anxiously waiting to meet the Cuthberts. This isn’t just a matter of Anne’s voice actress (who somehow kept the same voice through the entire series, and never even once tried to act like the real Anne), but the entire direction of this episode makes no sense whatsoever. Also, there was too much pointless dialogue in this episode. You could replace 90% of it with just “blah blah blah” and it wouldn’t have lost that much of its meaning.
Of course, it was an interesting idea from the creators to give Anne the time to close off her past by bringing her some letters from the Thomas family, however it just doesn’t make any sense. Right now, Anne can think back to those times with at least a happy mindset, but that goes completely against the Anne of Green Gables: she hated her past, and only talked about it when she really needed to. Right now, I can see how Anne wants to tell all her new friends about her adventures on Nova Scotia, just because the creators decided to slap this kind of a happy ending at the end.
I’m not against happy endings, but I’m really against the ones that don’t make any sense in terms of storytelling. I’m usually very lenient on anime, but endings are one thing that I’m very strict against: after all, these are the things that you’ll remember the most after finishing a series. This episode looked too much to the past. It tried to wrap things up that didn’t need to be wrapped up: I actually really liked that you can’t be sure what happens to the people you leave behind. Just leave it to your imagination what can happen to them. This episode instead should have focused on Anne’s trip to Prince Edward’s Island. In fact, it would have made a great ending, to just see Anne imagining what it would be like to live with the Cuthberts, which was pretty much glossed over in this episode. I’d love to have seen a bit of last-minute background on Spencer and Lily, for example (non-cheesy, of course).
Overall, if I would have been in charge of adapting this series, I would have done it really differently, especially after the Thomas-arc. It’s a real shame, but this really seems to be the end of the World Masterpiece Theatre for good: when even a remake of one of the most loved characters of the franchise fails, then there’s no wonder that Nippon Animation ended up deciding not to continue it. Still, I really hope that they’re not going to give up after this. After Toei, they probably are the oldest animation company still actively producing series, and I hope that they will come with new series in the next decade. Because even without the WMT, they have made their share of wonderful series.
Thankfully I still have plenty of WMT-series that I haven’t seen yet. Right now, I’d rank the ones of which I’ve watched at least 13 episodes as follows:
8. Konnichiwa Anne
7. Trapp Family Story
6. Tom Sawyer
5. Ie Naki Ko Remi (1997)
4. Anne of Green Gables
3. Perrine Monogatari
2. Porfy no Nagai Tabi
1. Les Miserables
Rating: — (Lacking)
I didn’t think it was too bad actually.
Anyway yes there are so many WMT shows left, and don’t forget the movies too (especially Marco)
You have to admit even if Anne wasn’t really strong, it at least had it’s charm and some extremely solid and emotional episodes.
One thing I don’t get is why everybody here tend to so overflattering , idealizing and overprotecting Ann here.This Ann sure can’t be the Ann of the Green Gables because this Ann has too many friends and ” family members” ( if they’re not related by blood they seem to love Ann more than their own family so it looks like it, that really got on my nerves especially this episode was demostrative of that unexplainable attachment they all feel for Ann! They all even have the urge to call their kids Ann! Just hard to believe! Even Sara of the Little princess that has much more reasons to be flattered and loved by everybody isn’t the way it’s done with this Ann! )The Ann in the Green Gables has only had imaginary friends all her life, Diana was her first and only friend, THAT certainly isn’t the case for this one. She certainly wasn’t that miserable for her to so desperately be wishing for happiness! She has the Thomas family , she has Henderson with her husband, Elise, her friends in the school she attended and to not forget Tessa, that became a precious friend to her with the baby child, so if this Ann and the other were to be the same person it would mean that Ann just erased her past with everyone that loved her more deeply than anything else to start a new life, which would make her really ungrateful!
I do not think this is the end of the WMT. I’ve heard they are preparing a new title for sure in 2010. We just have to wait. But the novel it is based on is not much known.
But if you compare the older series with the new ones, practically everything has changed except the names: FujiTV’s administration and Nippon Animation’s administration most notably. Because the animator’s skills and talent can not certainly worsen. It is just different approach, that for the most part lacks the experimentation of the older titles and prefers to remain more standardized.
I’ve seen most of the series from 1974 to 1996, except Lassie.
As for ratings, here is a novel approach:
My top-10 (first grade TV series, second grade book. So in the first grade, book adaptation also counts in case I’ve read the book, except the series Tico, regardless whether I’ve liked the book or not)
1. Marco (9,9)
2. Little Women (9,8)
3. Heidi (9,9 -first book only-)
4. Rascal Raccoon (9,7)
5. Anne of Green Gables (8,7)
6. Perrine (8,9)
7. Dog of Flanders (8,7)
8. Katri (8,-)
9. Lucy of the Southern Rainbow (8,-)
10. Annette (8,8)
11. A Little Princess (8,7)
12. Little Men (8,9)
13. Sound of Music (8,5)
14. Pollyanna (7,8)
15. Swiss Family Robinson (7,-)
16. Daddy Longlegs (7,6)
17. Romeo’s Blue Skies (6,9)
18. Sans Famille (6,10)
19. The Bushbabies (6,8)
20. Tico (6,-)
21. Little Lord Fauntleroy (6,5)
22. Tom Sawyer (5,9)
23. Peter Pan (5,8)
Regarding “Les Miserables” I had read the book first (I rate it with 10 since it is a classic), so when I saw the way the characters were drawn (especially Fantine), I skipped the series. Regarding Porfy, first episodes were good but just like the new Anne, I felt they did not risk for anything that would later make the series a classic, but just a middle-to-good series.
Thankfully, the World Masterpiece Theater isn’t giving up. In fact, Nippon Animation announced that it’s making a new series called Mahou Tsukai Haley no Speed Story, though I’m not sure if there’s an original novel for it or not, and it’s gonna air in July. It sure does look interesting!