Review of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

Finished. 9/10. 17:47. 09/11/2022 There is nothing more painful than agonizing over the fact that you can't change the past, or that you are stuck in it. This anime nails it to a tee. Such a promising premise must also deliver a promising story. And this anime is a prime example of such. It handles its themes very well, and it knows when to pull the punches, when it has to. The idea of childhood friends drifting apart is not a foreign concept to us, so it might come as a surprise to you when this anime will make you cry, agonize, and feel bad for each charactereven when something is particularly common in real life.

That is one of this anime's most powerful weapon: a realistic view of how former friends can turn into enemies, and a realistic answer to the question "Is it possible to still mend this relationship? And if so, how?". Anohana gives a deeper look into the regrets of a person, and how those regrets might eat away at your ability to maintain your present self, and build for your future. It gives a good development to all the characters who might not have realized that they are still stuck in the past, more than they are letting on.

While the idea that a ghost of our past might come back to haunt us is far-fetched, Anohana uses that fantastical situation to create a realistic portrayal of friends who might find each other again, in order to finally look towards their future.

This anime is a beautiful work of art, both technically, and narratively. It isn't worth missing out.