History YMMV / AnneWithAnE

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* HollywoodHomely: Anne is outright called ugly ''many'' times in the series by many characters. To the point where she has deep insecurities about her looks and eventually "accepts" that's she's not beautiful. While Anne may not have the beauty of a young supermodel, she's perfectly adorable as a young kid. What's more, as she grows older, she becomes a fairly attractive young woman. Especially when she starts taking the effort to [[SheCleansUpNicely fix herself up]] as oppossed to her younger years.

* UncertainAudience: The show has several episodes and plot lines dedicated to educating kids and young teenagers about societal issues faced by marginalized groups and why diversity is worth celebrating; this sometimes results in a slightly corny, "PSA"-like tone that might make older viewers roll their eyes. At the same time, and probably as a consequence of this, the show presents a remarkably grounded and even cynical view of the world and doesn't stray away from dark topics such as discussions of suicidal ideation, PTSD and abuse, which some might find are a bit too depressing for some younger viewers. The writers do their best to balance these aspects to produce a show that can be enjoyed by the whole family,, but there are stretches of runtime that will alienate at least some part of its viewers.

* {{Narm}}: [[spoiler: Mary's]] death. While it was a beautiful send-off, the Easter scene, with everyone reciting a prayer around her under a gazebo feels somewhat narmy especially for a character we barely know, when other characters like Gilbert's father weren't granted any fanfare despite having lived in Avonlea for their whole lives. The fact that death by sepsis is noted as being horrible and very painful while Mary is just a little sweaty but still able to sit up and talk, makes the ethereal death quite unrealistic. It seems more narmy and kills any suspension of disbelief.

** In the second episode, Anne is met at the train station by a man who claims to have been sent to take her to "her family" and tries to lure her away. The savvy Anne immediately knows he's lying and runs away, and he immediately tries the same act with a couple of boys passing by on the platform. AdultFear at its finest.

* CaptainObviousReveal: InUniverse, Anne treats the discovery that her biological family came from Scotland as a huge surprise and a reveal, but she was born in Nova Scotia[[note]]literally, "New Scotland"[[/note]], where that applies to a plurality of the population.
* FranchiseOriginalSin: A lot of changes fans complain about were actually in the books - for example [[spoiler: Matthew has a heart attack from the stress of]] their bank failing [[spoiler: and in the book, he actually dies]]. Anne also was beaten in her previous homes because of being an orphan.

* HollywoodHomely: Anne may not be a young supermodel, but she's perfectly adorable for someone who's called ugly all the time. There is merit to this in the books, as Anne's red hair is seen as unattractive (hence why she tries to dye it black). It's said that people who hear Anne described as ugly find her prettier than they were expecting, while those who hear her as pretty find her plain.
* IronWoobie: Poor, poor Anne went through so much abuse, neglect, and bullying, yet always looks to the future with sunny optimism.
* LesYay: Anne and Diana are deeply devoted to one another, frequently swear undying love and loyalty with oaths that sound like wedding vows, and Anne spends a lot of time admiring her female friends' beauty, even describing each and every one of their lips with poetic raptures.
* {{Narm}}: [[spoiler: Mary's]] death. While it was a beautiful send off, the Easter scene, with everyone reciting a prayer around her under a gazebo feels somewhat narmy specially for a character we barely know, when other characters like Gilbert's father weren't granted any fanfare despite living all their lives in Avonlea. The fact that death by sepsis is horrible and painful and she's instead shown to be just a little sweaty and uncomfortable but still able to sit up and talk, makes the ethereal death quite unrealistic and even more narmy, killing any suspension of disbelief.

** In the second episode, Anne is met at the train station by a man who claims to have been sent to take her to "her family" and who tries to lure her away. The savvy Anne immediately knows he's lying and runs away, and he immediately tries the same act with a couple of boys on the platform. AdultFear at its finest.
** Also Ka'Kwet's life in the residential school, and the abuse she suffers. What makes this worse is that stories like hers ''actually happened''.

* WhatAnIdiot: Sure, Moody, the ''electrocuted wire'' tastes like chocolate cake. Granted he did immediately claim responsibility, but still - that was pretty dumb.

* HarsherInHindsight: It's more than likely unintentional on the show writers' part, but [[spoiler: Matthew's suicide attempt may remind some people rather uncomfortably of how Richard Farnsworth (Matthew's actor in the 1985 film) ended his own life in 2000.]]

* UncertainAudience: The show has several episodes and plot lines dedicated to educating kids and young teenagers about societal issues faced by marginalized groups and why diversity is worth celebrating; this sometimes results in a slightly corny, "PSA"-like tone that might make older viewers roll their eyes. At the same time, and probably as a consequence of this, the show presents a remarkably grounded and even cynical view of the world and doesn't stray away from dark topics such as discussions of suicidal ideation, PTSD and abuse, which some might find are a bit too depressing for some younger viewers. The writers do their best to balance these aspects to produce a show that can be enjoyed by the whole family, and they mostly succeed, but there are stretches of runtime that will alienate at least some part of its viewers.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped:
** Menstrual periods are nothing to be ashamed of. Not only can women have children thanks to them, but their presence is (usually) a sign that a woman is healthy and her reproductive organs work as they should.
** The residential school system was a nightmare factory that scarred generations of indigenous Canadians.

* {{Narm}}: [[spoiler: Mary's]] death. While it was a beautiful send off, the Easter scene, with everyone reciting a prayer around her under a gazebo feels somewhat narmy specially for a character we barely know, when other characters like Gilbert's father weren't granted any fanfare despite living all their lives in Avonlea. The fact that death by sepsis is horrible and painful and she's instead shown to be just a little sweaty and uncomfortable but still able to sit up and talk, makes the ethereal DisneyDeath quite unrealistic and even more narmy, killing any suspension of disbelief.

** To be fair, Anne probably was rather pretty in the books, since Lucy Maud Montgomery's inspiration for Anne's appearance was [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Eternal-question.gif Evelyn Nesbit]].

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Menstrual periods are nothing to be ashamed of. Not only can women have children thanks to them, but their presence is (usually) a sign that a woman is healthy and her reproductive organs work as they should.

* GeniusBonus: In S2E7, "Memory Has As Many Moods As The Temper," Marilla suffers from what modern viewers would easily recognize as migraines. When Anne comes home from Aunt Josephine's party and puts the flower crown she got at the party on Marilla's head, her pain starts to alleviate. This is more than just a heartwarming moment - [[https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/03/13/289787263/electronic-headband-prevents-migraines-with-tiny-jolts migraine crowns]] have been shown in many patients to dramatically improve painful feelings due to nerve stimulation .