Review of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

If not for the last episode, I would've given AnoHana a much higher score. Some of it was understated, tasteful, and rich in character development. At its best, AnoHana tenderly and convincingly engages the difficulties of growing up, overcoming trauma, and reconciliation, and there were moments when I was wholly taken in by the aching undercurrent of nostalgia that carries the story. But unfortunately, the ending was so over-the-top, borderline-ridiculous; as it is, the story doesn't take great pains to suspend disbelief, and for me, the heavy-handed ending destroyed any already-fragile credibility. Also, I thought the romantic polygons were drawn out gratuitously.Worth watching, prettily animated, great opening and closing sequences. Menma's shrill, incredibly irritating voice knocked down the score by a whole point, so consider my score +1 if you're tone deaf. I don't regret having watched it once, but I sure won't spend any more time on it.