Review of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

After reading countless gleaming reviews on this anime I decided to give it a whirl with zero expectations. Maybe I was saving it because it looked to be too far out of my comfort zone, maybe I didn't want something emotional, I don't know but it sure hit home when I watched it. I had just had a lifelong friend I called brother sent to the hospital for heart failure...in another country. Then I watched Anohana. I could only take 2 or 3 episodes at a time tops. I never outright sobbed but I was filled with both joy and agony in a way Iwill never forget. I am sure that the influence of this show inspired me to chose to tough it out when I wen't to go buy pizza and rootbeer "for him" because its what we would have done if we were together. I wanted to ball my eyes out but I didn't, he wasn't gone after all, I shouldn't act like he was. Why is all of this in my view? Because this is what Anime is, this is what shows like Anohana are. They are shows that make you look at your life and want to be a better person, they help you understand whats happening and give you hope when your alone. Now, I am a person of a particularly strong faith so I don't want you to think I'm replacing God with Japanese morality. I simply want to assert the kind of beautiful impact such well crafted media can have on someone who already had so much to hope on. Please watch this show, just for you, not because reviews told you so. Watch it to reflect on who you are and what you have become, watch it to grow and to look on a bright future with a smile, regardless of what is waiting for you.