Anne Shirley Anime Cut Romance Between Teacher and Student

Episode 5 of the Anne Shirley anime introduced a significant change from the original material by completely removing the romantic relationship between the teacher Mr. Phillips and the student Prissy Andrews. This relationship is present in the original Anne of Green Gables novel, written by Lucy Maud Montgomery, and involves a romantic interest between an adult man and a teenage student.

Anne Shirley Anime Cut Romance Between Teacher and Student

In the book, Mr. Phillips is described as an unpopular teacher among his students and is widely known for showing favoritism toward Prissy Andrews, the oldest girl in the class. She is 16 years old when Anne Shirley starts attending school in Avonlea, and Mr. Phillips is portrayed as being in his thirties. The narrative suggests he is courting Prissy, although it’s never explicitly confirmed.

The romance between Mr. Phillips and Prissy is mentioned several times in the book, and their classmates even speculate about an engagement. There are also hints at a possible marriage after Mr. Phillips leaves the school. Some more recent Anne of Green Gables adaptations chose to portray this relationship more critically, showing, for example, Prissy running away and leaving Mr. Phillips at the altar.

However, in the Anne Shirley anime, this storyline is completely omitted. The teacher is still shown as a strict educator with questionable methods, but his connection to Prissy is never explored. It seems the decision to remove this romance was made to avoid controversy.

Nowadays, it’s completely forbidden to portray relationships like these, even if they appear in the original works. A good example is the Cardcaptor Sakura anime and manga, which included several age-gap romances, such as the teacher and Rika, Touya and Kaho, and even Sakura’s parents.

via Você Sabia Anime