Review of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

(Warning: may contain spoilers) The reason I started watching AnoHana is simple - I wanted to see what the hype was all about. I had seen all over the internet how it had made people cry and it was oh-so-awesome but I was doubtful of it being that good. But I did watch it and, I’ll be honest, I cried. It was really sad but a great anime. In the end, I’m glad I watched it. If you like a good tear-jerker with a splash of comedy, then you should definitely try this one. Story – This anime is about a group of friends who grow apartafter their friend dies in tragic accident. Years later you see Jinta “Jintan” Yadomi, the former leader of their group, has become a recluse who doesn’t go to school and is only interested in playing video games all day. When he starts seeing his old friend Meiko “Menma” Honma, he believes the summer heat has got to him - Menma died on that day many years ago. With others being unable to see her, he convinces himself that it’s just his imagination and attempts to move on. But Menma is persistent about having her wish fulfilled. So Jintan must reconcile with all his old friends and together find out what Menma’s wish was.
I quite enjoyed how as kids they gave each other nicknames. So there was Jinta “Jintan” Yadomi, Meiko “Menma” Honma, Naruko “Anaru” Anjou, Tetsudo “Poppo” Hisakawa, Atsumu “Yukiatsu” Matsuyuki and Chiriko “Tsuruko” Tsurumi. For the most part, their nicknames were made by taking a part of their first name and a part of their last name and joining them together, something I thought was rather adorable.
In a nutshell, Ano Hana shows you the different ways in which people try to deal with the loss of a loved one.
The story, in my opinion was dealt with tactfully and was well developed. It was easy to follow and as the series progressed, I found myself being drawn more and more into it.

Character – You were able to see the characters evolve throughout the story, despite there being only 11 episodes to this anime. The characters had diverse and varied personalities and so the viewer has a lot of chances to relate to a character. As the show progressed, you saw how Menma’s death affected each of them and how they dealt with it.
At first I liked some characters more than others and thought some, like Yukiatsu, were horrible. But by the end I saw him in a different light and, though he wasn’t my favourite character, I felt like I could understand him.
Menma herself was interesting. Before I watched Ano Hana I had heard she was a really annoying character but personally, I disagree. Since she died when she was very young, it made sense that she would still be rather childish despite having an older body.

Art – The artwork in Ano Hana was well done, with lots of scenery shots and each character having unique characteristics. Occasionally the animation would look a bit “off”, but nothing too noticeable that would take you out of the show. The animation was amazing in both the opening and ending.

Music – The music for this show was one of the best I’ve heard so far. The opening and ending songs both are fantastic, so much so that I actually listen to them both through when usually I would skip them in most shows. They really give the right feel for the show.
The background music was great too, and even sound effects were well executed (like with the use of chirping cicadas).

Conclusion – Overall, I loved this anime! It made me laugh and made me cry – especially at the end. And I mean real crying, not just sniffles. It is definitely worth watching all the way through as it only gets better as it goes on.