Anne of Japan

In my quest for more information about the Japanese fascination with Anne of Green Gables, I found out about Terry Dawes's documentary-in-progress Anne of Japan. I have collected Lucy Maud Montgomery's novels, short stories, and poetry since I was a young child, and have been interested in the Japanese obsession with Anne ever since my husband and I happened upon the abandoned theme park in Ashibetsu, Hokkaido dedicated to all things Anne. It...

Naruto (ナルト, 2002-2007)

Sakura's inner demon is revealedI don’t often watch or read shōnen fiction (manga and anime for boys), but with a son rapidly nearing the age when boys become interested in such things, I thought I’d better start educating myself. There are so many popular shōnen animation series to choose from so I thought I’d start with one of the series that often makes the most-viewed lists on video-sharing sites.The...

The Japanese Maud Squad

Akage no An (Anne of Green Gables, Isao Takahata, et al., 1979)While doing some research totally unrelated to my interest in all things Japanese, I came across this wonderful CBC news clip from July 2002 covering a Japanese news crew doing a week-long special on Canada. The Japanese news crew are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the publication of Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables in...

Heidi, Girl of the Alps (アルプスの少女ハイジ, 1974)

The best gift of the New Year here in Germany is that Heidi (アルプスの少女ハイジ, 1974,) is playing on Kika this season. I had toyed with getting the DVD box sets for my kids for Christmas, but as I knew it would be more of a present for me than for the kids I decided to wait. Now we can watch it together every evening after Franklin.I have wanted to watch the series for a long time because it demonstrates...