Review of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
Anohana (also referred to by its full title Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai) is one of the best stories to ever be told through the medium of anime. Story: 10/10 On the surface, Anohana seems like a simple story of childhood friends reminiscing on their pasts and growing as people through their bond, but it becomes so much more than that. It becomes a gut-wrenching journey towards a final goodbye. It becomes a reminder to be grateful for everything and everyone in your life. To live in the moment with no regrets. This seemingly simple story tackles the struggles ofgrowing up and of living life in general with no holds barred. Things really suck sometimes. Anohana acknowledges this and then demonstrates the silver lining that can often be found in the bad times. The tragic events of this story are sad, no doubt about it, but so much good comes of the reunion of the Super Peace Busters. This is the way the real world is. It is not all bad. It is not all good. It is somewhere in between. This is Anohana's message.
Art: 9/10
A-1 Pictures almost always does a fantastic job, and Anohana is no exception. Animation is smooth and colorful and all of the character designs are fantastic. The symbolism of flowers throughout the series is a nice touch too.
Sound: 10/10
Beautiful. This one word could describe Anohana as a whole, but this applies especially to the music. The OP and ED both fit into the show perfectly. The use of the ED at the end of the last episode is very effective (you'll know what I mean). The soundtrack is simply perfect. Voice acting in the original Japanese audio is all good with two of my personal favorites, Ai Kayano (Alice Zuberg from SAO and Darkness from Konosuba) and Haruka Tomatsu (Asuna from SAO and Zero Two from Darling in the FranXX), voicing Menma and Naruko respectively.
Character: 9/10
Everyone in Anohana is a very flawed individual, no doubt about it. The realism on display from this cast is a joy to see. The characters are not quite perfectly written and portrayed, unfortunately, but there are only some minor missteps. For example, Yukiatsu's character borders on being cartoonishly evil in the beginning and doesn't really do anything for most of the series other than act as a plot device for the struggles of other characters. While he does have his reasons for being he is the way he is, Yukiatsu is easily the weakest member of the cast.
Enjoyment: 10/10
11 episodes of near perfection. I watched the whole thing in one sitting and if it weren't for the tears streaming down my face, I very well may have watched the whole thing all over again.
Overall: 10/10
I don't give 10s easily, but in my eyes Anohana deserves it. I truly believe it is a master-class in character-driven storytelling that invokes extremely deep and strong emotions in the viewer in a way that few other stories could. There is no other anime that accomplishes what Anohana does in such an undeniably effective way, and that is what makes it a masterpiece.