Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I thought we’d take a stroll over to Green Gables, where Anne is currently embroiled in the midst of a great crisis. With Diana’s utterly unreasonable mother still holding the Currant Wine Catastrophe over Anne’s head, our heroine was forced to break a sacred vow, and at last return to school. Though Mr. Phillips and Gilbert remain detested foes, Anne is determined to be strong for her bosom friend’s sake, and has even learned that the imagination-bereft Millie Andrews is actually a pretty nice girl.
So yes, it has all been a maelstrom of torment for our beleaguered young Anne, as she has been sure to tell anyone who will listen. However, the tempests of adolescent emotion are as fickle as they are fierce, and I imagine this particular storm will blow over in time for Christmas. In the meantime, I’ll be happy enjoying Anne’s preposterous editorializing of her profoundly normal problems, as well as the sumptuous realization of Green Gables offered by Takahata and his formidable team. Let’s get to it!
Episode 18
We’ve got a very reliable pairing handling key duties on this one – Takahata himself handled the adaptive script, while the preposterously wide-reaching Seiji Okuda handled storyboards. Alongside other World Masterpiece Theater productions, Okuda has storyboarded episodes of Moomins, Sherlock Hound, and Ashita no Joe, with his credits also sprawling forward to include Naruto, One Piece, and even recent productions like Hitori Bocchi
“Anne rescues Millie May.” At last, a chance to redeem herself! Unless she’s also the reason Millie May needs to be rescued, which I frankly cannot discount
A pan across the forest abutting Green Gables tells a story of time’s continuous passage. The leaves have now entirely fallen from the trees, placing us in late October or beyond
As snow begins to fall on the scene, we learn that there has been no further trouble from Anne, who has flung herself wholeheartedly into her studies
Watching so much cel anime has me missing the tangible effects used for things like these flakes of snow falling across the composition. Digital effects might feel less like an intrusion on the frame, but that’s not necessarily a better result. There is a tactile satisfaction in these roughly descending flakes; it is hard to match the inherent charm of abstractions painted by human hands like this
Gilbert and Anne are promoted into the fifth grade, joining Diana and the others
“All things great are wound up with all things little.” The narrator offers a line that could well serve as a summation of this whole narrative, or perhaps even Takahata’s career altogether. The greatest things in life are concealed within the tiniest fragments of the everyday
We learn that the Canadian Premier is including Prince Edward Island in a political tour, a decision that will apparently have grave ramifications for our young Anne
Pans across the harbor town offer fine demonstrations of this show’s understated yet personality-rich character designs. Effective drama demands your aesthetic match your dramatic intent, but these days it often seems characters are designed to be as visually loud as possible in the abstract, better to grab the eye regardless of how that design fits within their story. It’s been a tough pill to swallow watching the garish, coherency-averse sensibilities of online streaming filter back into narrative art
Marilla and “red-hot politician” Rachel Lynde head off to see the Premier. I so adore this narrator’s little embellishments
Anne fumes over her geometry homework. “It is casting a cloud over my whole life.” I feel the same way, Anne
Matthew buoys her confidence by revealing Mr. Phillips is actually quite impressed with her progress
“Mrs. Lynde said if women were allowed to vote we would soon see a blessed change. What way do you vote, Matthew?” I’m fairly sure Matthew’s politics are “whatever won’t make people yell at me”
“Did you ever go courting, Matthew?” “Well now, no, I don’t remember.” Matthew plays it cool
Honestly, dude’s an inspiration. Not particularly social, lives a quiet but satisfying life, soft-hearted and nice to everybody. He is a model of success that you don’t really see venerated in fiction all that often; his life matches his ambitions, and he is very happy with it
Incredible silent look from Matthew as Anne describes another girl’s desire to have a harem of men fawning over her. This show’s deadpan reaction cuts are marvelous – the humor sings because none of it is ever oversold, a sharp contrast from a great deal of modern anime
Diana bursts in just as Anne is describing a plan to keep herself from reading the book Jane lent her. A tiny narrative lesson in that: your characters’ lives feel more real if their intended actions are occasionally preempted by a narrative intrusion, which helps to alleviate the sense of them being the protagonists of reality. The more you can evoke the sense that your world exists beyond the actions of the central characters, the better – though of course, these intrusions should also serve the drama itself. Neither worldbuilding nor its absence are objective virtues, they are simply tools for furnishing your core drama
Minnie May apparently has croup, a swelling of the airway that makes it difficult to breathe
It’s apparently a perfect storm of misfortune, as everyone who could have helped has gone off to see the Premier. Matthew immediately rushes off to find a doctor
“When you look after three pairs of twins, you naturally get a lot of experience.” Right, I forgot Anne already possesses a masters degree in childcare
The cool blue shades of the snow-clad forest at night offers a beautiful yet somber new vision of Green Gables, ideal tones for this ominous vignette
Also excellent musical accompaniment: a single lonely flute, wandering up and down its scale as if seeking safe harbor. The inherent dramatic quality of pure music has always fascinated me
“Anne, although sincerely sorry for Minnie May, was far from being insensible to the romance of the situation and to the sweetness of once more sharing that romance with a kindred spirit.” Anne can’t help herself any more than the rest of us. It is an odd sensation in moments of crisis – simultaneously feeling the emotion you’re allegedly “supposed” to be feeling, but also having a part of your mind more critically reflecting on the experience, assessing yourself as a character in a story
Ah jeez. You can hear the constriction in Minnie May’s rasping attempts to draw breath
Anne immediately kicks into chief doctor mode, directing her subordinates as she carefully tends to Minnie May. There’s an interesting duality in Anne; she’s obviously prone to flights of fancy, but she’s also intensely competent, and can secure her feet on the ground when the occasion calls for it
The sound dulls as Anne continues her work, as if holding its breath in anticipation. Anne looks out across the lake towards the trees beyond, a scene that for the first time feels more ominous than inviting – a reminder of how far they are from civilization and the medical care it implies
Anne tends to Minnie May for hours, with a doctor only arriving at three in the morning. Bless that indomitable Matthew!
The doctor is quite impressed with Anne’s work. Maybe he can write a letter of recommendation to Mrs. Barry
Hope rises with the morning, conveyed through both the dawn light causing the snow to shimmer beautifully on the branches, as well as through a soaring, effervescent violin melody
There really is nothing like the morning light on fields of unbroken snow. I’ve lived in New England long enough now to be thoroughly fed up with seasons, but I’m glad I grew up with that sight every winter
Anne wrestles with exhaustion, determined not to let the hated Gil get ahead of her in class
Hot damn! The doctor indeed offers a glowing portrait of Anne’s poise and intelligence to Mrs. Barry, saying Anne was the one who truly saved Minnie May’s life. You have gravely misjudged her, Mrs. Barry!
“Did you see the Premier? What did he look like!?” “Well, he never got to be Premier on account of his looks.” Savage, Marilla
Ah, the look of pride and victory in Marilla’s face as she relays Mrs. Barry’s apology to Anne. She loves her strange daughter so much
Anne rushes over immediately, incapable of handling anything so unglamorous as dishwashing at such a romantic moment
Thus Diana and Anne reaffirm their bosom friend bond via taffy pulling
And Done
What a tremendous victory for Anne! Certainly a difficult trial for Minnie May, but a lucky strike for Anne to have such a grand opportunity to demonstrate her responsibility and intelligence. Anne is precocious in all ways, possessing not just a top-tier imagination but also a keen mind, as well as the fortitude to set herself to a task with absolute focus when the occasion demands it. This adventure also served as an ideal introduction to Green Gables in wintertime, first emphasizing the snow’s ominous, forbidding qualities before offering us that gorgeous sunrise on the way home. It is always a comfort returning to Green Gables.
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