Review of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

Wait, this looks familiar. Haven't I already reviewed this show before? You're right, I did. Way back in 2011, when I was in high school and back when it first came out. But looking at the review now, I've decided to remake the review now that I've watched AnoHana again for the first time in years. My old review of it was pretty crappy and seemed more like gushing and fangirling than an actual review. I think it's high time I rectified this. But my rating and overall feelings toward it haven't changed, as I love this show just as much as I did backwhen it first came out.

The story is about six kids who were once great friends and spent a lot of time together, having fun and making the most of their happy childhoods. However, one of them, a girl named Meiko "Menma" Honma, dies in a terrible accident, and her death fractures the once close knit group of friends. One of them, Jinta Yadomi aka Jintan, is so affected by Menma's death that he becomes a shut-in, never leaving the house, not even to go to school. He spends his days playing games and generally being a grouch...then one day, years later, Menma suddenly reappears before him, all grown up! Technically, her ghost appears, and after some playful antics, she asks him to grant her wish, but she doesn't remember much about her wish except for one thing: All of their friends need to be together for it to happen. But it's been years since the Super Peace Busters have interacted in any way, with several of them having gone in very different directions in life. Will fulfilling Menma's wish even be possible?

One of the reasons AnoHana, or its full title Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai (Translated to "We Still Don't Know The Name of the Flowee We Saw That Day"), was noticed in the first place was the programming block it was on, Noitamina. Noitamina is known for having more down-to-earth, realistic anime aimed at adults, some of which include Honey and Clover, Paradise Kiss, Eden of the East, etc. Back in 2011, Noitamina had a brief dry spell as two of their anime, Wandering Son and Fractale, tanked really hard for varying reasons, and AnoHana was made in an attempt to bring in some money and new life back into the block. Thankfully, it succeeded with flying colors, and there are several reasons why AnoHana became so popular with fans.

For one, the animation is quite good. Every frame has a lot of detail packed into it, from the characters' subtle tics to running at full speed. The colors are bright, the setting is well done (and modeled after real locations, to boot!), and the character designs are relatively decent, managing to look somewhat realistic but still anime enough to give it that cartoon aesthetic. Kinda reminds me of early Digimon in a way, striking a good balance between cartoony and realistic. But sometimes I felt the smooth characters and their thick outlines kind of clashed with the blurrier backgrounds. It wasn't bad, but it can be noticeable to the trained eye. The soundtrack is very nice as well, especially the opening and ending themes, both of which fit the show and its themes perfectly. The ending itself is actually a cover of a song done by a group called Zone, and said song was used as the ending theme for another anime. I like this version better, as the vocals aren't as throaty.

Your mileage may vary on the characters. I personally liked them all just fine. I thought they were all three-dimensional, well fleshed out, well rounded, and all have their strengths and flaws that the show explores beautifully. They do seem like typical archetypes at first, but the show fleshes them all out and makes great use of their development over the course of eleven episodes. Even Menma, the cutesy moe girl who seems like she's only there to be cutesy and childish, has her reasons for being the way she is and isn't just there for otaku to jack off to. But while I may feel this way about the characters, others won't, especially since they're teenagers and the situations they get into may come off as melodramatic and forced to some.

Speaking of drama, this show has a lot of it and does everything it can to hit as hard as possible. Again, some people may find this to be one of the show's biggest flaws, and I can somewhat understand where they're coming from. Personally, I found AnoHana's attempts at heavy drama to be meaningful, meant to bring out the best from its characters, and actually makes sense in the context of the story, rather than shows that do so just for the sake of drama like...well, every reality and teenage romcom TV show ever, most of which involve characters acting stupid to create artificial drama or drag it out unnecessarily. AnoHana knows when to use it and when to hold back, and while many say that Mari Okada's writing borders on melodramatic, I found that it makes sense here and was actually used to the show's benefit. So if you like series that are more restrained and composed, you may want to look elsewhere.

But if you want a great emotional roller coaster, this is the show for you. I've rarely come across an anime (Or any anime that's not in the World Masterpiece Theater) that's this well laid out, especially when it has such a small amount of episodes. Moe shows get a bad rep, and for good reason, but this is one of the great exceptions that truly won me over. Seriously, if you want a drama involving teenagers that isn't mind-numbingly stupid or contrived, give AnoHana a shot.