Review of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
(Disclamer : This review will also include bits and pieces from the movie, also I’m sorry if there’s a tiny bit of spoiler material inside, I will try my best to reduce it) Now, this is my first time watching this type of anime as I’ve always sticked to stuff like Physiological anime, supernatural anime, horror and those kind of stuff. Luckily, I entered the anime challenge and decided to pick up anohana as a different type of supernatural anime.. It’s a different type of supernatural anime that I usually end up watching. Now , Anohana : The The Flower We Saw That Day is an animewhich speaks a lot through emotion and friendship. A lot of anime from various type of genres too speak through emotion, however it different from Anohana because most of them are like sprinkles of emotional bits here and there this is because its most likely where you would remember that scene the most out off any given show. None the less, when I run across Anohana, which to me, it's sole purpose is to create a plot which have this gradual buildup to this one BIG emotional climax. This would follow up by a huge void inside me that would need some time to recover from the eternal sadness of finishing watching this ride of sadness.
It’s like the producers of the show were saying in their minds “Happiness? LOL, There’s no such of a thing here” and hit us with an intense moment of eternal sadness and depression in the end.
Why, you might ask?
Sure, it is pretty common and it’s used in a couple of different mediums of entertainment before. However, none have really speak to my heart before. Anohana have something inside it, something special that could even make a grown man shed a tear with it’s sweetness and it’s heartwarming friendship with Menma and the rest.
Everyone of them have their own way of trying to forget about Menma, unfortunately her return which only Jinta can see makes everything complicated.
As you look at the characters, you could feel what they feel.They are believable and relatable to a certain extend. That sense of remourse that you lost one of your good friend who seem to cheer everyone up with his/her personality. It’s like the light in the dark tunnel of your life, and when you lose that person, you lose something inside you. Those are what the people of anohana feels like when they lost Menma and I feel their pain. During the near end point of the series, none of the characters wanted to let go of their memory with Menma and often have troubles coming terms with their past.
I’ll just say something, it takes a whole lot to make me cry, and especially after watching the series and immediately watching the movie….I lost it, when the closing theme song was played in the middle. My face was T____T;; (Like that when I was watching the near end of the movie)
The art of the movie, in my opinion is perfect too. If you noticed carefully, when they have the flashback as kids. The mood and surrounding, seems to be more..colourful, and more innocent with vibrant colours surrounding the scene. It relects the thoughts of a young child, only wanting to remember the good part of his tragic past. As they grow up, the mood lean towards a more darker feel. A sense that we lost our part of innocents when we grow up.
I would say, after watching all kinds of horror anime/supernatural anime, I’m glad I took the back seat and go with something I’m unfamiliar with in Anohana : The Flower We Saw That Day. I felt that empty void inside my heart after watching this series and also shed some tears which not many things could make me. In short, I would recommend this to everyone who enjoys anime that rips your heart out and feed it to a pack of cute looking wolves.
*Damn feels, sobs*
On the side note, Menma is so adorable… Her voice actress did a good job in my opinion.