All right, taking on a spring series for the first time in awhile. If I cry while writing this review...well, anyone who has seen the anime will probably understand. And anyone who knows the title knows why I totally didn't type the whole thing as the title for this post. I'm not quite that crazy.
The FULL title is “Ano
Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai”. In English, “We Still
Don't Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day”.
Ano Hana Anime Review
Ten years ago, Meiko “Menma” Honma, died in an accident. Her childhood friends have all since drifted apart from the group they once
were. In fact, the leader of the group, Jinta Yadomi (aka Jintan) has stopped
going to school and become a freaking recluse.
One day, something pretty odd happens, Menma shows up in his house. She shows up as if she never died, as if she's been aging just like the rest
of them throughout the years, and she says that she can't go away until she
has a wish granted. Problem: she doesn't know what that wish is.
Jintan ends up getting everyone together again (not exactly intentionally)
and after he finally gets them to believe she's there, they have to figure
out what her wish is so they can grant it. And send her on to have some peace.
Oh, I'm crying already. Have been since the first paragraph of this section. Just so y'all know.
The Characters: Ano Hana
I think this may be one of my all-time favorite anime casts. You take this group of teenagers who used to be BFFs until one accident
happened and ruined everything.
You think, “Okay, it's been ten years, and they were so small when it
happened that they're probably over it”. Then they show up on the screen and you see how much Menma's death
completely screwed every single one of them up.
You've got Jintan, who, like I said, turned into a recluse. He doesn't leave the house to do anything until he's finally convinced that
he has to make money for helping with Menma's wish, so he goes out and gets
a part-time job.
You've got Anaru, who seems more or less all right, but she gets angry with
Jintan for being a recluse, and I can't say her other issue without spoiling
stuff from later episodes.
You have Poppo, who hides his sorrow by acting like he never grew up. Yukiatsu...well. I'm not spoiling that one. Tsuruko spends half her time trying to handle Yukiatsu. It's not a pretty
picture, but it is tremendously heartbreaking.
The only exception? Menma. She may be dead (and know it) but she's so...happy. She loves that she can be around her friends again. She loves watching them
try to grant her wish. She loves how they're all coming together for her and she just freaking
LOVES every single one of them.
It was beautiful watching all of these people join up for the sake of their
lost friend. One of the most beautiful things I'll ever see.
The Sadness: Ano Hana
This is the most heart-wrenching anime I have ever seen. Or will ever see. I used to think nothing could ever be worse than AIR, which made me cry like
a baby in the final episode.
Heck, I still can't think of that series without automatically going
“Misuzuuuuuuuuuuuu”. Then...Ano Hana happened.
I cried in every single freaking episode. I spent the last episode so enveloped in tears I can't even tell you.
I went clicking through the episodes to get screenshots and when I got to
the last one I ended up watching it over again and crying just as hard as
the first time. I could barely see through my tears, both times.
A friend told me she went through half a brand new box of tissues when she
watched the finale. Whenever we're addressing how sad something is, we ask about it on “a scale
of one to Ano Hana”. I am unable to listen to this song without crying. It's even worse when I
try singing along to it:
Conclusion?
The conclusion is...freaking watch Ano Hana. If you like things that break your heart, go watch it. It was by FAR the best anime of spring. Granted, it wasn't exciting.
If you're looking for the typical kind of enjoyable (you know, the stuff
that ends up on Adult Swim), Ano Hana is not what you want.
In my opinion though, Ano Hana is exactly what everyone should want. It's beautiful, the characters are precious, the music is really freaking
pretty (all of it) and I can't...fathom someone not enjoying it. And the ending might well destroy you the way it destroyed me.
You might end up being haunted by the line “I love you like I want to marry
you” ...I know I am.
My rating: 10/10
Go watch it as soon as you are done reading this review.
Fan Art: Ano Hana
Ano Hana | |
| Episodes | 11 |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama, Slice of Life |
| Aired | April 15, 2011 to June 24, 2011 |
| Directed by | Tatsuyuki Nagai |
| Producers | Aniplex, A-1 Pictures, Fuji TV |
| Opening Theme | ??? Does anyone know the title of the theme? I wasn't able to find it. |
| Closing Theme | Secret Base ~Kimi ga Kureta Momo~ (10 Years After) |
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