Review of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

Ano Hina has a charming premise and interesting first few episodes. A lot of times in the later of the series there are tear-jerking moments. However I was a little disappointed with how it played out in the end. Of course, I stuck with it until the end because there was something sweet about it. There are plenty of issues surrounding the death of a childhood friend that can be dealt with in a dramatic, interesting way. However, the series relies mostly on petty high school love triangles. "I have a crush on him he has a crush on her! Waah!" This wasn't set up likea typical high-school drama show...why did it end up trying to be one? Especially since it had presented itself with such a promising first few episodes. I did, however, stick to it for certain reasons.

I liked Menma enough to want to see her have a happy ending. Anaru was the best character for me, the only one who showed some semblance of development. Her character was the only one with any sort of depth, and the only one I got attached too. The other characters are mostly forgettable, particularly Yukiatsu and Tsuruko. Popo is enjoyable but he has so little involvement in aspects of the story he seems misused. Menma, is of course, an ultra-cute, joyful loligirl, but you kind of know what her fate will be from the first episode.

Now on to the last episode: hated the first half and thoroughly enjoyed the second half. Yeah, I got teary. Overall, not overly depressing and perhaps maybe a little uplifting. It's started as story about dealing with loss, growing up, and moving on. While is maintained that to a degree, it later focused more on love and relationships. Without going into spoiler territory, I'll settle at an overall opinion of average for the final chapter.

Also, there's another thing I don't want to spoil, but it's a plot hole that made me want to bang my head on a table. We know Jintan can see Menma from day one. However, there's something about how she is able to communicate in a later episode that made me think, "Well why the hell didn't you do that from the beginning!!" I mean, I know lolis can be airheads, but seriously!

All in all, it drew me in during the beginning. The drama got lackluster later in the series, but kept me watching because I wanted to see Menma's wish fulfilled. The last few episodes, with the exception of 10 which was a little better than the others, bumped the series down to just "okay" when it possibly could have been a very good and heartfelt story.

bonus points: I really love the ED, wherein hundreds of white flowers burst into color.