What if I told you there was a 50-episode Studio Ghibli tv series you’d probably missed? Akage no An, aka Anne of Green Gables was broadcast six years before Studio Ghibli was formed, and it featured people who would become Ghibli luminaries. Director Isao Takahata would later go on to direct many Ghibli films, and he worked hard to be faithful to the source stories. (Anne of Green Gables was already a popular book in Japan). Hayako Miyazaki did the backgrounds and layout, and Yoshifumi Kondō did the character designs.

Anne didn’t make a splash in the US because the audience was more oriented to science fiction (Mobile Suit Gundam came out the same year). The market for Ghibli-esque anime just wasn’t here at that time.

Bobduh the author of the Wrong Every Time blog has been gradually reviewing it, and he’s up to episode 14. Episode 1 is here, and it’s a great introduction to the series!