Review of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
Anohana will always have a place in my heart, I watched this anime just out of simple curiosity and never turned back. The plot of Anohana may seem quite generic, but it is very touching in its own way. It is about a group of childhood friends who have grown distant ever since a accident that led to the death of one of their friends and have lived their own lives ever since. Now the ghost of their dead friend, Meiko (called Menma), shows up to the "leader" of the original group of friends, Jinta (called Jintan), to get her wish fulfilled so thatshe can pass on. Because Menma does not remember what her wish is, Jinta tries to gather the old group of friends together again to help Menma fulfill her wish. As the group of friends gather together again, old scars begin to unravel and the group deals with the past they struggle to let go. It really showed how a single event can really influence our lives and the depths that people can go to in order to suppress their feelings. My one problem with this anime is with the early episodes. The build up for this anime does take a while, so don't quit watching after the first few episodes.
If I had to describe the animation in this anime in one word, it would be "vivid". Anohana has really vivid animations that really paints a picture in your mind. Not only that, the animation really differentiated the six main characters really well. They are looked very different and I could remember each of the characters just by what they looked like. The music in this anime is absolutely amazing. The opening practically tells you a story itself, showing the characters when they were kids vs when they are now older and more mature. The ending theme really tugs at your heart and makes you feel relaxed after finishing an episode. The flowers in the ending theme are extremely memorable as a symbol of this anime as well. And the original sound tracks, they are some of the most peaceful yet saddest music I have ever heard in my entire life.
The characters are of course, the driving force of this anime. This anime focuses on the six main characters who were originally childhood friends. The biggest strength of this anime is that it leaves a lot of room for these characters to develop themselves as they cope with their past and to develop their relationship with each other. Through the interactions of these characters with themselves and with each other, we get to see so many different feelings and emotions. The feelings of anger, of jealousy, of regret, of relief, of sadness and of determination. Even in this short, 11 episode anime, we get to connect and understand these characters on such a deep level and on multiple dimensions. Not only that, but each character had something unique and defining in his or own way. Like Menma's cheerful and playful attitude even though she's a ghost, Jintan's caring but hesitant personality, Tetsudou (Poppo)'s role as an energetic person and comic relief, Anjou (Anaru)'s easily-influced and jealous attitude, Chiriko (Tsuruko)'s shy and quiet personality and Atsumu (Yukiatsu)'s hard-working and persistent attitude.
Anohana made me laugh, it made me cry and it made me happy. It made me sad and glad at the same time. It is easily one of the best slice of life animes that I have ever watched and I thoroughly enjoyed watching this anime. So therefore I give Anohana 10/10 as it is truly a masterpiece.
(tl;dr) "Enough you idiot! Shorten it to 20 words or less!"-Saitama (One Punch Man)
Anohana has amazing and well developed characters, amazing animation and music, and a touching plot. It is a masterpiece.