Review of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

Anohana is a very disappointing (and at times frustrating) anime. The premise is excellent, and the first couple of episodes really make you think that you are in for a treat, but it fails to deliver on basic elements of storytelling. Characters just... don't develop in this anime. Hell, even one of the characters has "changing based on their surroundings" built into their defined traits, and yet for some reason despite the very serious undertones of this anime that could be utilized to actually make an engaging experience nothing is meaningfully explored character-wise. ... actually, this happens with the plot too. Of the first three quarters ofthe anime, nothing *really* happened. No questions were ever answered, and even the validity of Menma's existence was constantly in question, despite us seeing her being able to move objects around from the beginning (but not limited to this, of course).

The sound is actually quite nice! The opening and ending are catchy and fun, and the voice acting isn't... atrocious? Menma's quite annoying throughout, though. Furthermore, the art is actually stunning! It's just a shame that art and sound can't make a bad plot with bad characters better. 😔

If this is a melodrama, it's certainly failing to move me in any way. If this is a slice of life anime, it's failing to give me any form of insight into one of its primary themes: loss of loved ones (and its effects on others, other than that It's Sad). It just fails to accomplish... much of anything. Why did this story happen at all?