Kon'nichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables

Konnichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables (Japanese: こんにちは アン 〜Before Green Gables, Hepburn: Konnichiwa An 〜Bifō Guriin Gēburusu; lit. 'Hello Anne: Before Green Gables') is a Japanese anime television series; it is the 26th entry in Nippon Animation's World Masterpiece Theater franchise. The series is an adaptation of Canadian children's literature author Budge Wilson's 2008 prequel novel Before Green Gables, which was translated into Japanese as Konnichiwa Anne (こんにちは アン) by Akiko Usagawa. It chronicles the early years of main character Anne Shirley as she loses both her parents and is adopted by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert.

It aired on BS Fuji from April to December 2009 as well as Animax starting a month later.

Production and development

Introduced in Lucy Maud Montgomery's 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables, the series marks the 100th anniversary of the original novel's release and the 30th anniversary of its anime adaptation, Akage no Anne, also produced by Nippon Animation and one of the first pioneering World Masterpiece Theater series. The announcement trailer was narrated by Eiko Hisamura, who portrayed Anne in the original Akage no Anne.

While developing the series, Nippon Animation's staff undertook research by visiting a historical village in southeastern Canada which formed the inspiration for Avonlea in the novel, going to historical houses preserved from the era in which the novel is set and taking photographs, with core staff members and character designer and chief animation director Takayo Nishimura (previously chief animation director and character designer for 5 Centimeters Per Second), basing the characters, props and settings on them and also from historical books that he bought there. Nippon Animation's staff have followed this format of contextual research while producing other World Masterpiece Theater series.

The series premiered on April 5, 2009, and aired every Sunday from 19:30 to 20:00 JST on BS Fuji. From May 2009, it also aired on Animax.