Konnichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables (こんにちは アン 〜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.