Anne Shirley Episode 4 Discussion

@Januaryfrost I haven't read the original novel, but I can say that it's a pretty typical Victorian romantic friendship. It's just a different time and mores, especially considering that people at the time, especially children, didn't have even 10% of today's knowledge about human sexuality. Not only would none of them have thought that it looked too ambiguous years later, but also what "gay" or "homoeroticism" was.

@perseii I can say that the difference in the time of publication of the book and the present time gives about 30 or 40 percent of drama on top. Just read other similar literature of that time.

@XArceusX If you were really expecting this to be literal yuri or that Anne might be a lesbian, then you clearly missed the context of what was happening and the setting. Especially the fact that both the girls themselves and those around them do not see anything strange or suspicious in this, although this is happening at a time when you could be put in prison even for the very fact of publicly admitting your homosexual contacts. Let me just remind you that this was written in the Victorian era, practically at the same time as The Lord of the Rings, Wuthering Heights, etc. Of course, such melodrama was not a complete representation of real life even then, but it perfectly conveys the spirit of that time.

@holdingnothing If you want feminist content, then take Little Women with its straightforward monologues about women's rights and the ability to choose their own future. With literal reasoning about things that even in the 21st century seem quite relevant. Anne Shirley is more of a classic Victorian teen drama, you try to find things in it that you know much more about than the author and the characters, living more than a century after them. There are definitely themes of sisterhood and the value of genuine female friendship, but Anne, like the original Marnie, was much more innocent here than the meanings people try to find there.

@RobertBobert Let me assure you that by no means do I think that Anne or Diana are lesbians, but the way they expressed their feelings for each other in the last episode, and again this time, though to a lesser degree than before, strongly feels like they are. Of course, I know that’s not the case. Even an amateur can tell that Anne will fall for Gilbert in the future, the boy she hates so much right now.

And the reason others don’t see anything unusual in their actions is because they haven’t seen them acting all lovey-dovey. Hopefully, you can’t deny the fact that they give off that lesbian feel.

@holdingnothing Only the first part is child-focused in the full sense of the word. That's why most adaptations, especially anime, only touch this one. The original manga went a little further, but not the original adaptation. How it will be this time, I don't know. Probably modern copyright holders thought that children would not be interested in reading/watching about the life of a young Victorian woman and her work and motherhood experiences. While for adults, the experience of adult Anne would seem too outdated.

@RobertBobert Yeah, even the one covering the prequel from 2009 had the same primary focus, moreso because the prequel is Anne when she's..8, I think?

@holdingnothing Well, I wouldn't actually mind watching a full adaptation of the original series. Especially considering that this show is based on a new version of the manga. But as I wrote above, it all depends on popularity and whether they can sell the sequel to the target audience of the first novel.

@RobertBobert The series goes on long enough that we deal with Anne's daughter, one of 6 children apparently. Not even sure how long Anne lives in canon, but it appears to be at least up to early WW2 where she's a grandmother, according to The Blythes Are Quoted. Where she's about 74, given being born in 1865 and living up until 1939 or so

@holdingnothing Well, if my suspicions are confirmed and they literally adapt the green mezzanines for 2 cours, then they have quite enough opportunities.

@RobertBobert It's more whether it'll click, I'm not sure how much foreign literature is especially popular in Japan. Feels like this would be uncommon, given the Canadian background, versus French or others like Swedish (Robber's Daughter Ronja comes to mind)

I imagine there's a historical reason for the connection of French art culture later on and Japanese art culture, especially manga and anime. Not just Radiant, but Chii's Sweet Adventure had a segment in an episode revealing there was a convention that was, iirc, focused on Chii's Sweet Home overall, very popular in France with readers. Person was in a Chii mascot suit and everything