Review of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

"I wonder... What were the names of the flowers that bloomed during that season?" Sorry, just give me a minute, I can't seem to stop these tears from coming out of my eyes... my goodness, it's been a long time since I've seen an anime that can make me cry like that. AnoHana... truthfully, I didn't know what to expect when getting into this anime. The first thing I always do when looking for an anime to watch is get recommendations from my friends, but due to some recent trust issues regarding the recommendation of School Days from a friend of mine, this was probably the firstanime in a looong time I actually decided to give an anime recommended by someone. And let me just say, thank God I listened to her. This anime was beautiful.

When I first read the plot, it seemed simple. The ghost of a girl shows herself to her childhood friend, and he and the rest of his friends from back when they were kids tries to help her figure out what's keeping her earthbound, that way she can pass on and transcend into heaven. Now, the thing that makes this story amazing is how it all plays out, and then the overall outcome of the goal. What I can say right now is that despite the sound of the story, this anime's plot is incredibly unique and very well thought out. One of the things I tend to look for in an anime is how they finish off the series. One bad ending could knock a couple points off the overall score. Luckily, with AnoHana, they ended the series on a good yet emotional note with an overall feel of satisfaction. True, the ending left me in tears, but they were tears of joy.

A-1 Pictures brought us this magnificently detailed anime. The setting, the characters, and the animation style brought good memories back to me when I watched OreImo and Sword Art Online for the first time. The artwork to AnoHana was remarkable. Sure, at a glance, you might not think much of it. It's simple, but once you start watching it, the animation really pops out at you with its details and color.

There is no English Dub for this anime. Truthfully, I'm happy about it, because this anime should only be watched in Japanese. The voice acting was top notch. This is easily some of the best work that Ai Kayano and Miyu Irino have brought to us, as well as the rest of the cast. Now, for the music. If you think back to the soundtrack in other anime such as Clannad, Kanon, or Angel Beats, you can get a good idea about what kind of music AnoHana works with. The medleys are soft, slow, and calm, while letting you feel peace within your body. It might be a little hard to notice while the anime is playing, but if you listen closely, you'll see what I mean. As for the Opening and Ending, wonderful. I can't really describe them, so you'll need to listen to them to see what I mean.

Characters were nearly flawless. Each filled with emotion and unique personalities, while hiding secrets within them that will tell you a lot about them. My personal favorite character was Menma. She seemed so full of life (haha, pun) throughout the series, and her smile was contagious. Jintan was one of the best male protagonists I have seen in a long time. He started off as that one gloomy character you see every once in a while, then started opening up and becoming more likable each episode, until the very end where you can't help but think how cool of a person he is. Poppo was the comedic character in the series. 17 in terms of his physical body, but childlike at heart. He brought joy throughout most of AnoHana, as well as some good laughs here and there. Anjou was the tsundere of the show, well... kind of at least. She seemed nice most of the time, but there were some issues that I had with her every once in a while, but they were easily resolved later on. Chiriko didn't really seem to stand out that much to me. She was shy, quiet, and seemed like the really smart person that you'll see studying in her free time. An overall likable personality though. And then... there's Yukiatsu. He was the one person I had the most problems with. To put it simply, he's a cross dresser with anger issues and can't seem to leave anything alone, even if it meant helping someone out. It doesn't make him a hateable character, but not a very likable one though. But for the most part, the characters in AnoHana were very well made.

AnoHana is a tearjerker. My friend told me she cried her eyes out while watching it, but I had to see for myself just how emotional it could get. Well, I figured it out. It was able to make me cry from the last episode all the way to the end of this review. You will get emotionally attached to these characters, I can promise you that. You might cry out of sadness, you might cry out of joy, you might cry out of both. Some of you might be a lot manlier than me, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I have a softspot for anime like this, and this was well worth watching. I hope that you think so as well.