Review of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

This anime is a small miracle. Nothing short of it. How comes? The perfect balance. The art is simply outstanding: from the blue colors of Menma's eyes to the last brick of the bridge, everything is just perfect. There's a grace in the composition I haven't found anywhere else. The music would well be worth a cd on its own: both the opening and ending fit the mood of every episode like a glove. It's exactly as it should be: bittersweet, but with a positive outlook. However, the strong point of this anime is not really either art or music, but rather the narration and the story. A handbook guide forevery future anime, in my opinion: not only fillerless (that might sound obvious with 11 episodes, but trust me, it isn't), but as paced as a carefully calibrated engine. From the light moments to the most touching ones, not once you're estranged from the narrating pace. Not once could I think of a better way of telling the same events, not once.

The story is also a work of art in itself, probably an even better one than the narration: touching, but not melodramatic; happy, but not careless. It was truly touching, and I stress the "truly".
I feel extremely satisfied from learning of it: I wish more people would know it.

Bottom line: AnoHana it's one the many small yet huge accomplishments of humanity; those achievements that do not roar at the passing of time, but inexorably change everyone that comes in contact with it.
And I feel it changes for the better.