Review of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

Anohana draws on the common experiences that nearly all of us share - our childhood and our character development as we move towards adolescence - and adds a story of loss and reconnection to create a stellar piece of work. 'Not too short, not too long, just about right' is the mantra that runs throughout the anime; for the subject matter, it is just about right; for the characters, it is just about right; for the progression and pacing, it is just about right. What is really interesting about this work is the ability to really offhandedly explore the nature of the relationship between the twomain characters, and between them and the rest of them. The characters are, for the most part, believable and nearly everyone will identify with at least one of them. I say 'for the most part' because one of the characters should not really 'be' there. But it doesn't matter, for the key beauty of Anohana is to let the viewer themselves come to that realisation instead of stating it outright.

Perhaps the animation is not used in a such a way to convey the plot along, but at the same time that doesn't really matter. The value of Anohana, after all, comes from the pacing of a believable story that contains something for everyone. The music is one of the more memorable ones, and the endings for the last two episodes are especially well made.

In a sense it is a shame that it was only twelve episodes long, but more often than not, the best things are those that don't meander around till the plot is lost in layers of stuff but those that have a singular goal in mind and do whatever it takes to achieve it. Anohana manages to stay true to its course, delighting the viewer with the development of the characters into a beautiful, if somewhat bittersweet, ending.

10/10.