In December 2018, Silver Zero Subs finally completed their long English fansub translation of Anne of Green Gables, Isao Takahata's 1979 television production with World Masterpiece Theater.
Anne had been translated into English many years ago, but this new fansub takes advantage of the show's Blu-Ray box set that was released in Japan. The picture quality is a dramatic improvement over the ancient DVD (or possibly even VHS) source.
Obviously, we would love to see Anne and all the other WMT series commercially released on home video in the West, but given the enormous costs of licensing and producing an English-language soundtrack, such a move is highly unlikely if not impossible. These fan translations are always a labor of love, often taking years of dedication and hard work to see completion. They're certainly not doing this for the money, but love of anime and the need to preserve those works that disappear unfairly.
Personally, I think this is a magnificent series and the best adaptation of Anne ever seen. Takahata captures the spirit of Maud Montgomery's classic novel while skillfully filling out the characters and their world. The addition of new animation director Yoshifumi Kondo (replacing Yoichi Kotabe, who worked on Heidi and Marco) also adds a degree of natural realism to the story, thanks to his brilliant character designs. You can see why Kondo was so beloved at Studio Ghibli years later. Hayao Miyazaki also served as the sole layout designer, as he did with the two previous series, but he famously dropped out after episode 13 to direct his first feature film, The Castle of Cagliostro. Because of this, Anne feels much more like Paku-san's baby, especially when compared to the team effort on Heidi.
A fantastic series, overall, one that deserved to be seen and enjoyed by everyone. Expect the usual amount of humor, psychological realism and tear-jerking melodrama. This is Paku-san, after all.
You can find Anne of Green Gables at the Silver Zero Subs download page.
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