Key changes include explicit depictions of Anne's traumatic backstory—orphanage abuse, witnessed violence, child servitude, and PTSD—which manifest in flashbacks, nightmares, and her coping through hyper-imagination, turning the whimsical orphan into a resilient trauma survivor and antihero. This alters character arcs, making her resilience a product of systemic child neglect rather than innate spirit, and includes graphic moments like her first menstruation and financial desperation. Themes of gender inequality, bullying, prejudice, religion, and emerging feminism are foregrounded, with Anne positioned as an 'accidental feminist' challenging norms through school debates and autonomy.

Creator Moira Walley-Beckett explicitly aimed for 'documentary realism' to address topical issues like identity, isolation, and discrimination, prioritizing contemporary relevance over fidelity. Casting remains organic with a predominantly white ensemble fitting the 1890s PEI setting, lacking race or gender swaps, though later seasons escalate diversity. Reception is polarized: critics praised the modernization and social relevance (83% Rotten Tomatoes), but book fans criticized the 'gritty' deviations as unnecessary soapiness, betrayal of the joyful original, and platform for liberal messaging, with terms like 'woke' and 'confused feminism' appearing in backlash. These elements noticeably shape the narrative without fully overwhelming the core story of family and friendship.