Review of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

Going into this anime, I didn't think I'd like it as much as I did. Why? Let me explain. The characters are very good in this show. Some you may hate, some you may love, and some you may start off hating but love by the time the series is over. The show is very good at destroying first impressions. The characters are complex, they have good and bad traits, and seem very real. They are flawed, but understandably flawed. This was a nice change of pace from the usual characters I see in slice of life, and I really liked it. The music and animation areboth fantastic, the music always enhanced the mood and the animation faired well throughout, but pulled out most of the stops during the final episode, which I 'll get to later. The opening and ending are both very nice, and fit the show perfectly.

The story is very well written, very well executed, and very relateable. I can see the story hitting a lot of people hard because at it's core, the story of AnoHana is something I'm sure a lot of people have experienced at some point in their life. But there is one problem, ONE PROBLEM that keeps this show from being perfect, and that is the last episode. To be more specific, the last HALF of the last episode. It's clumsy, confusing and a bit overwrought as well. I won`t go into why for fear of spoilers, but watch it and see if you agree or not.

Overall, AnoHana is great, really great. Amazing characters, an awesome story, and art that never fails to impress makes AnoHana a must watch. At 11 episodes, it`s definitely worth your time