Series Review – Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai

We Still Don’t Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day – あの日見た花の名前を僕達はまだ知らない

Final Impressions:

Anohana, as an anime original coming-of-age story, could have turned out to be a disaster. Especially with a short, 11 episode length, I was initially worried that there wouldn’t be enough time for to flesh out the characters too well. Instead, the characters ended up turning out to be absolutely captivating, and very well written right up until the end. This series wastes no moment in fleshing out all of the characters and pushing the plot, always moving forward and using the most of the limited time available for this series. And the resulting series turned out to be one of the most memorable series I’ve seen in recent times.

From start to finish, this show has always been fully focused on building the characters, resulting in a realistic and well thought out main cast. It’s truly the characters that shine here, always building upon the complex character dynamics between everybody, and exploiting the character relationships for an emotional, powerful story. Certain characters did need more screentime and development (Poppo and Tsurumi), but even then this series gave us a decent feel for their emotional scars and issues. They were acting a bit out of character towards the end though, which could have been fixed if the duo had gotten more in depth development.

What this series really emphasizes well is just how powerful of an impact Menma has had on all of members of the main cast, and their unresolved issues and problems associated with her. It leaves no stone unturned, fully exploring the depth and complexity to a lot of the characters and their relationship with Menma, and not to mention does a good job with developing Menma herself.

Now the only real issue I had with this series is how at times the series was just way too overdramatic. The characters may have been excellently built up, but some of their interactions were a bit too unnatural. Especially during certain key episodes, the drama was almost nauseating at times. Even so, the story for the most part was excellent at setting up the situation, as well as delicately pushing forward everybody’s eventual confrontation with their emotional scars.

As a coming of age story, Anohana was great at forming an admirable story with a believable and compelling cast. All the characters really brought out the best (and worst) in each other, and everybody’s gradually progression in this series is done at a natural, yet well-executed, pace. This is especially notable considering how, with only 11 episodes, this series didn’t waste even a single precious moment of time, managing to show that a series doesn’t necessarily have to be long to be good. The series did kind of wind down a bit towards the end, with some plot holes and predictability, but for the most part it was a very enjoyable ride.

Animation/Art: 8.5/10

Music: 8.5/10

Setting: 7.5/10

Characters: 9.5/10

Story: 9.0/10

Overall Enjoyment: 8.6/10

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai – 11 (Final)

Episode 11 Final – The Blooming Flower of That Summer – あの夏に咲く花 (Ano natsu ni saku hana)

Man, this had to be one of the most emotional final episodes I’ve seen in a long time. It wasn’t really the best ending episode I’ve seen by any means, but it did wrap up almost all of the loose strings quite well. And did I mention it was emotional? Seriously, there was a ridiculously large amount of unnecessary crying in this episode, though it was at the same time extremely heartbreaking (and definitely one heck of a tearjerker). We finally get to see the Super peace busters move on with their lives, as well as see a lovely (yet saddening) farewell between Menma and the rest of the gang.

What I find a bit funny here is that my predictions in my episode 10 post turned out quite a bit more accurate than I had anticipated. I mentioned previously that everybody was only thinking of themselves, while they never actually were being true friends with Menma and genuinely wish the best for her. Well, this episode elaborates on just that, where everybody pretty much outright confesses that they wanted Menma to move on because it would benefit themselves, and not because they were thinking for her sake. Everybody did realize that they needed to have a genuine chat with Menma, as opposed to selfishly think for themselves.

In the end, though, Menma’s wish was accomplished (albeit, the fireworks were pretty much unrelated). As it was hinted at before, Menma had actually made a promise with Jinta’s mother, which ended up being her “real wish”.

The really heartbreaking moments, though, were almost definitely towards the end. What stunned me at first is how, when Jinta reached the secret base, he lost the ability to see Menma as well. Jinta’s desperate, frantic screams really got me worried. But the icing on the cake here was how Menma then declared that they were playing “hide and seek”, all while Menma wrote down her final thoughts for everybody. Seeing everybody tear up and cry felt a bit unnatural (especially for Tsuruko and Poppo), but when everybody is finally able to see Menma in her final moments while was delicately leaning on a tree, there was a powerful “punch” to the scene. It really hit the mark on being powerfully emotional and heart-rending, with everybody’s desperate “Mou ii kai!” chant and “Menma, Mitsuketa!” practically moving me to tears. Hearing everybody’s heartfelt goodbyes, all while Menma finally reveals her own sad yet hopeful feelings to the group, was truly a beautiful scene.

And not long afterwards, we saw Menma’s smiling figure fade away into the morning sun.

In the end, this final episode played everything very safe. All of the characters managed to truly confront and overcome their problems, while finally being able to wish Menma a genuine, happy farewell. The crying and drama in this episode felt rather forced at times, but it was still nonetheless very moving. The finale was, admittingly, disappointing in comparison to what I was hoping for, but it may be because I thought the ending would be less predictable than it turned out to be. The hide-and-seek twist towards the end was great though, and really got the emotions flowing. I personally loved how the hide-and-seek drama unfolded, and it made for an especially memorable farewell between the Super peace busters, and the “Flower seen that day”.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.3/5

P.S. All the relationships have been pretty much confirmed, Anjou x Jinta, Tsurumi x Yukiatsu, and Poppo by himself. Or at least, that’s what the closing scenes here heavily imply.

Screenshots are later in the post. Final series impressions will be up in a separate post.

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai – 10

Episode 10 –

Oh, the drama. Well, I can’t say that I wasn’t expecting what happened in this episode. The final scenes to this episode were feeling rather incomplete, which is why the twist at the very end wasn’t really much of a curveball; there were simply still too many loose ends left hanging. This episode primarily built upon what the previous episode left off on. Last episode, it was quite obvious that Menma’s now known presence caused a completely different set of problems to arise. This episode went all out with reinforcing those problems, and a lot of those problems have degraded to the point of borderline hostility. It’s really just become a huge jumble of mixed, oft negative, emotions. The impact it is having on everybody is quite profound ( though a tad too overdramatic), and in a way fascinating considering how Menma herself probably didn’t expect the situation to become so negative. At the same time though, Menma is completely oblivious to everybody’s feelings for the most part, so I guess I was just expecting a bit too much from her. Oh, and Tsuruko + Poppo development?!?! Finally??

The most powerful moments in this episode were all focused around how everybody interpreted the fireworks event, where everybody expects Menma to go off to heaven. Those with the most negative feelings amongst the cast would probably be Tsuruko and Yukiatsu, both in surprisingly different ways. Tsuruko finally reveals that she likes Yukiatsu (no surprise there), but her problem has always been that Yukiatsu had his eyes out for Menma only. I guess Yukiatsu could never see Tsuruko past the “friend-zone”, which must have been quite frustrating considering how they’ve been “friends” for well over 10 years. Thus, Tsuruko’s natural conclusion that “once Menma is gone, it will be better for her relationship with Yukiatsu” makes logical sense, yet at the same time feels rather twisted. Rather than genuinely wishing for a peaceful passing for Menma (as a good friend), Tsuruko just wants Menma to go away so that Yukiatsu could move on with his life. She obviously feels that Anjou should be the same, though Anjou (with a much more naive and pure-hearted personality) doesn’t quite agree. Anjou’s inferiority complex definitely kicked in here though, which probably hurt her already disappearing self-esteem.

Yukiatsu, on the other hand, is a rather interesting case. He obviously cares for Menma (obsessive, as we all know), but he is also extremely jealous of Jinta and how he is the only one to be able to see Menma. At this point, it almost feels as if Yukiatsu just wants Menma to go away simply so that Jinta can no longer “have Menma for himself”, rather than Yukiatsu genuinely wishing for her to peacefully go off to heaven. Yukiatsu’s determination to prevent Jinta from stopping the fireworks ceremony feels like the biggest indicator here, though Yukiatsu’s comment last week, where he said how “Jinta wanted to keep Menma for himself”, was just loaded with jealousy and angst. Meanwhile, Jinta just selfishly wishes that Menma will not move on to heaven, which once again goes back to how he isn’t thinking for Menma’s sake, but rather his own desires and emotions.

You notice how everybody’s desires at this point aren’t for to “stay as good happy friends forever”, or let Menma peacefully go on to Heaven, but rather, are all pretty much about what they want to get out of Menma’s departure. Poppo seems to be the only one who seems to genuinely be cheerful and a good friend about Menma’s passing, and even then he too is obviously hiding something from everybody around him. His revelation here that he was the “stupid one back in the old days” is definitely the major hint about his issues, and I do have a sneaking suspicion that it was Menma that accepted Poppo as a friend, and was the first one to look at him in an unfiltered, genuine way. Cue the pent up emotions and forced cheerful acting.

Either ways, with all the negative emotions flying around with regards to Menma’s passing, all those desires and expectations were really smacked hardcore in the face when it ended up that Menma didn’t disappear after the fireworks display. This series so far has been so focused on what “everybody else thinks is the wish”, but the key point everybody missed is that Menma herself never revealed what her true wish was to them. My suspicions back a few episodes ago were smack dab on the spot, where it ended up that the fireworks was not Menma’s final wish. As I mentioned in my previous post, what is truly important here is that everybody becomes genuine friends with each other again, all before Menma says her final farewell. Her wish does seem to be related to some advice Jinta’s mother gave her, and I do wonder if the title of this series will finally play a role here. But once everybody can truly let Menma go with no regrets or hard feelings, we’ll finally see Menma’s last, hopefully happy, farewell.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.0/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai – 09

Episode 09 –

In comparison to the previous episode, this week’s installment of Anohana was much more relaxed, yet at the same time still had a rather serious tone to the overall atmosphere. It’s interesting to see how Menma’s presence has had a clearly visible effect on how everybody interacts with and treat each other, while at the same time bringing up some rather different emotional conflicts than before. What took me by a bit surprise here, though, is how Tsuruko and Poppo both got some development in this episode, which was LONG overdue. That being said, the development they got this episode was so insignificant, that it is barely worth mentioning. At least they got some attention here, which is some progress. On another note, this series does seem to be hinting at a possible Yukiatsu x Anjou pairing, and to be honest, this originally ridiculous-sounding idea (to me, at least) is actually starting to sound more and more plausible.

One thing I do sort of appreciate about this episode is how Poppo and Tsurumi both explicitly point out that Menma could have proved her existence ages ago, which is what everybody that was watching this series was ranting about. They don’t really discuss why she didn’t in much detail, but at least the creators acknowledged the gaping plot hole. Part of the plot hole could be explained with how Menma can’t seem to write at Jinta’s home, though even then I’m still a bit skeptical. The phenomenon that is preventing her from writing in certain places (or is it with certain writing utensils?) is still a mystery. We don’t know the exact reasons that limit her from writing at times, but it does seem to be a hint at perhaps what Menma’s true wish is.

Now that there is solid evidence that Menma is living with Jinta, though, this brings up a whole different set of tensions between Jinta and the rest of the group. For one, Yukiatsu is obviously frustrated how he can only talk to Menma via Jinta, which is practically the same as Yukiatsu not being able to talk to Menma at all (when it comes to sensitive topics, at least). Jinta being the only one able to see Menma also brings up some rather visible emotional situations, such as where Anjou is thinking about her relationship with Jinta, and always comparing herself to Menma. Anjou comparing herself to an invisible, “dead” girl must be rather harsh on her self esteem, especially because she is competing with something she can’t even see. We are definitely starting to see the resurfacing of that inferiority complex of hers, though Yukiatsu does seem to be providing some unintentional emotional comfort.

This unintentional emotional comfort for Anjou, though, does seem to be brooding some jealousy in Tsuruko, which isn’t quite surprising because there were already hints before that she liked Yukiatsu. While she does get some development here, it’s barely worth mentioning. While Tsuruko isn’t my favorite character or anything, why can’t she get some proper screentime and development…? x_x

Poppo also only got a brief moment that hints at his potential emotional issues, though it seems rather simple at a quick glance. It’s very much implied that Poppo was going to ask Menma whether she “liked him”, which implicates the idea that Poppo may actually have had a crush on Menma. This does bring up a few key points to note though; if he is really hurt from how Menma suddenly passed away, is his very cheerful disposition his way of compensating for her loss? Is there an explicit reason he always seems to be so happy and goofy, and does it relate back to Menma? Honestly speaking, with only 2 episodes left in the series I doubt Poppo and Tsuruko will get any proper development, though I guess it can’t really be helped at this point.

And of course, Jinta himself doesn’t want Menma to go disappear on him again. Jinta knows it’s the right thing to do, yet at the same time it’s quite obvious that he is very conflicted with the situation at hand. At the same time, Menma herself obviously doesn’t want to disappear either. Really, it’s the sense of inevitability in her finding peace, that is causing them both pain and trouble.

In the end, everybody in the “super peace busters” have their own emotional scars, and of course, they all tie back to Menma’s death. While Menma may be around to get a final wish granted, at the same time it seems that Menma is back in order for to bring peace of mind to her group of friends before she herself moves on. Her “final wish” , which I suspect hasn’t been revealed yet,  itself might actually be kind of unimportant. Rather, what is important is how Menma and the rest of the group get on genuinely good terms with each other before they part ways. The wish itself may play a role in how they come to terms with their feelings, and once they feel they can let Menma go with no regrets, I feel the series will finally come to a true conclusion.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.8/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai – 08

Episode 08 –

…Wow, this had to be the most emotionally powerful episode we’ve seen so far. Seriously, I’m utterly speechless. While the events in this episode felt a bit “convenient”, I can easily overlook it for the most part because of the powerful impact this episode had. Man, though, talk about a depressing episode; almost half the cast cried their eyes out here.

Warning, *Spoilers from this point on*

We’re finally seeing Menma take her own initiative and course of action here, which I’ve been waiting for since the very first episode. While it is a bit convenient that the creators for this show decided to finally use their trump card, and reveal solid evidence of Menma’s presence to the rest of the Super peace busters, the timing and way in which they had Menma reveal herself was a shockingly powerful moment, which is why I could somewhat forgive the convenience factor.

This episode was really heavy hitting with all the depressing topics though, with the revelation of Menma’s mother hating all of Menma’s childhood friends quite the shocking revelation. On top of that, we finally see Yukiatsu snap and tell Jinta to stop “pushing his feelings onto others”. We see Anjou cry her eyes out as she becomes frantically worried over Jinta, and her desperate pleas towards Jinta go unanswered. We see the group of friends that had finally gotten together suddenly break apart, leaving Jinta alone in the task of granting Menma’s wish. Honestly speaking, it seems that the writers for this series wanted to make this episode the most hopeless, despair-heavy episode that they could, and they succeeded.

This tremendous sense of hopelessness and despair is what made the final moments of this episode even more powerful, that’s for sure. This entire episode set the situation far beyond Jinta’s control, where even Jinta’s most valiant efforts could no longer hold the increasingly fragmented and hurt Super Peace Busters together.

In this desperate situation, Menma used her last “trump card”, so to speak, and revealed her presence to the group. What made the moment so emotionally powerful, though, was the sheer raw emotional reactions from the entire main cast. The speechless, wide-eyed, shocked group really just left me speechless. After everybody was doubting Menma’s existence, and using Jinta as an outlet for their angry feelings, the final moments to this episode definitely had a jarring, powerful impact on  everybody there. Personally, I think it was a brilliantly well done scene.

Admittingly, like I mentioned earlier, this situation was very, very convenient. Seriously, there would have never been trouble like this in the first place if Menma had just revealed her existence much earlier on. Now that the anticipated moment has finally passed, though, I’m honestly looking forward to seeing how everybody copes with their grievances towards Menma. I mean, Jinta even pointed out how everybody holds some sort of guilt regarding Menma, so seeing everybody slowly reconcile with her will be a very fitting way to start closing off this series.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.5/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai – 07

Episode 07 –

Based on the events in this episode, I guess we’re one step closer to figuring out what Menma’s wish was. I do highly suspect, though, that the “wish” that the group thinks is Menma’s wish is probably not the right one. There are a few major hints with regards to that, with the most obvious one being Yukiatsu’s comment in the middle of the episode. On the sidelines, we are seeing steady progress and development in the Jinta x Anjou relationship, which has been rather nice to watch (and cute at times). However, what is slightly bugging me is how Poppo and Tsurumi aren’t really getting much development. As part of the main group I guess I just had expected more in depth info on the two, which is why I’m feeling slightly disappointed (especially when we’re only 4 episodes away from the finale). Well, aside from that, there is a rather odd plot twist at the end of the episode….

Well, as for the episode, it was pretty much about Jinta and the rest of the group trying to figure out Menma’s wish. Obviously, you would think that the best clue would be the contents of Menma’s diary. The “fireworks rocket” did seem like a valid wish at first, and I can see why Jinta, Anjou, and Poppo are convinced that it’s Menma’s wish. The key oddity here, though, would be how Yukiatsu reveals one single very, very large overlooked fact. According to Yukiatsu, Menma had asked for advice from everybody, BUT also requested to keep it a secret from Jinta. In other words, any wish that Jinta remembers is almost 100% not Menma’s true wish, because Jinta shouldn’t be aware of it in the first place. This does make me curious as to what the wish actually was, though, considering we still have no hints as to what the wish is. There are speculations around saying that the title of this series is a hint towards that final wish, but we won’t really know for sure until the show actually gives some proof.

Aside from the validity of the wish, the character development aspects here were a small unexpected surprise. Anjou and Jinta are getting along quite well, with them now calling each other by their more affectionate nicknames “Anaru” and “Jintan”. They make a cute couple, though I guess it’s more Anjou being cute than Jinta. As for Menma, she had her fair share of cute moments too; I mean, all of her “suspicious of Jinta” antics was pretty funny. In the end, though, she does have see a few “eye-opening” scenes, where she finally realizes that Jinta has been very worried about her (even when she herself wasn’t very concerned).

Like I did mention earlier though, what is slightly bugging me a bit is how Tsurumi and Poppo really haven’t gotten much development at all. This episode was kind of a teaser in that regard, showing Tsurumi wearing the hairpin that Yukiatsu was supposed to give Menma. There are hints at Tsurumi having her own set of issues with Menma, but there really hasn’t been much development on that.

The one event that does stand out as slightly odd here would be the final moments with Menma’s mother. Obviously, Menma’s mother is getting annoyed at the group’s attempts at fufilling Menma’s wish, probably because she herself doesn’t believe in such a wish. This certainly complicates the “obtaining fireworks” issue, especially with a sensitive character such as Menma’s mother involved. I could see the situation getting pretty ugly in the near future, though I can’t quite say for sure. With only 4 episodes left in this series, I’d like to see exactly how everything wraps up with regards to both the group’s friendship, the fireworks situation, and Menma’s final wish.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.7/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai – 06

Episode 06 –

Yay for character development. Well, at least, we can now start to see much more of the results of the characters’ development here. The somewhat remarkable change here, though, is that the focus of the series has changed from how everybody was affected by Menma’s death, to how Menma herself feels about her death. At the same time, this series doesn’t slack off, and continues to build upon the rest of the main cast as well. All the main characters are fairly well fleshed out so far, even characters with less screentime (such as Tsuruko and Menma’s mother). Now that the group of friends are back together, it seems that  we’re finally on our way to figuring out what Menma’s wish was.

The central focus this episode was certainly on Menma herself, yet we also got to see some great character interactions between Jinta and Anjou. Mainly, Jinta’s big confrontation with the class about Anjou’s “excursion” last episode, was a major event here. I guess that even Jinta, with his more hikikomori tendencies, still has some of those leaders skills he had in the past that Anjou admired so much. When things get serious with regards to Jinta’s friends, Jinta himself takes thing seriously and tries to help them (even though the method this time around was a bit drastic, it did it’s job). You can definitely see shades of everybody’s past selves in this episode, yet at the same time the characters are distinctly differently “flavored” than before; I guess it’s just a testament to how much they have changed over the years.

On another note, with Jinta, Anjou, and Poppo getting their hands on Menma’s diary, it seems that they may be one step closer to finally figuring out what Menma’s wish was. Yukiatsu and Tsuruko also seem to have remembered that Menma had previously called them to the secret base on that particular fateful day because she wanted advice. For some reason, I get the feeling that Menma’s wish may have been something very trivial and small, but that’s just my rather vague intuition at work here (and god knows how many times I’ve been wrong).

Well, either ways, the wish certainly did wonders at getting everybody back together. If you think about it, at the beginning of the episode nobody amongst the friends were really on friendly terms with each other. Tsuruko was suspicious and somewhat disdainful of Yukiatsu’s overbearing actions. Anjou disliked how Jinta never went to school. And Jinta himself was all alone in his house all the time. Poppo wasn’t even part of the picture initially. Menma’s wish has made quite a different situation here.

And finally, we can see Menma’s issues with more clarity here. She herself is obviously having a lot of trouble coping with her status as a ghost/spirit, and the anxiety is really starting to get to her. It seems that, even as everybody else’s relationships are slowly starting to mend back together, the factor that brought them all together (Menma) is suffering quite a bit on the inside. I guess, when the time comes, it will be up to Jinta and the rest of the gang to help out Menma in return. It all comes down to that “request” of hers. Now I wonder what it could be…

Overall Enjoyment: 4.2/5

P.S. Oh, and on a slight random side note, that “love letter” in the preview from last week was definitely a red herring =_=   Also, fun little extra fact here: in the beginning of the episode Jinta is watching an Anime no Chikara series on the TV, Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin. You can zoom in on the first picture above, and you can see the main character Maya on the TV.

Screenshots are later in the post.

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai – 05

Episode 05 –

Man, this episode was kind of depressing in a few scenes. The one scene towards the end, in particular, really did pluck at the heartstrings a bit. Once again, this series focuses in on the characters trying to slowly mend their torn relationships, and heal themselves in the process, but this time this expands a bit to focus more on the previously mostly unexplained cast. Anjou and Yukiatsu, as usual, are going through their own emotional phases. The difference here, though, is that even Tsuruko and Poppo are beginning to become more heavily involved emotionally. There is also a bit more of a focus on just how inconvenient and heartbreaking it is for Menma to be invisible to everybody but Jintan. Slowly, but surely, AnoHana is unveiling just how complex some of the issues the main cast has.

The characters we’ve already seen a lot about would be Anjou, Jintan, and Yukiatsu. Jintan is still conflicted over his current Hikikomori lifestyle, and his efforts to move on from Menma’s death. And Yukiatsu, obviously, just has an issue with Menma’s death itself.What surprised me was how Yukiatsu had actually managed to confess to Menma back when he was young, only to be practically rejected. This was literally right before Menma’s death too, which probably left a huge jarring impact on Yukiatsu. It’s pretty obvious that even now, his frustration with regards to his failed confession and Menma’s death are haunting him, which resulted in the whole cross-dressing debacle.

Anjou, as usual, is still rather insecure about her own self, as well as uncertain with regards to her relationships with everybody around her. Now Yukiatsu may have been a jerk at times, but he does admittingly redeem himself a bit by saving Anjou from being forced to go to a love hotel. This stems back to Anjou’s issues with lack of self confidence, as well as her questioning of what direction she is taking in life. Her thoughts about the friends she hangs out with (and why she is hanging out with them), as well as the guy who was out to seduce her, are all pretty reflective of this. Her uncertainty with regards to her own feelings for Jintan, too, roots back to Anjou’s lack in self confidence and how she always considered Menma “better” than herself. I guess you could say she always feels inferior to Menma, and it’s tough to “update” your self confidence when comparing yourself to someone who has already passed away.

What took me by much, much more surprise here would be the inclusion of Poppo and Tsuruko’s problems. Considering how they’ve usually played more of a “side character” role recently, seeing their problems become more of a focal point wasn’t exactly a twist I was expecting. Tsuruko, as anticipated, does harbor some sort of jealousy towards Menma in some way. Either that, or she just resents Yukiatsu’s obsession with Menma, or perhaps a bit of both.

Poppo’s issues, on the other hand, is a little more difficult to pinpoint. Based on his rather carefree wanderer-style lifestyle, and the fact that he mooches meals off of Jintan, does indicate that he simply tries to live out an obliviously carefree, maybe “fantasy”, life. His desperation in trying to be able to see Menma is certainly reflective of some rather dire faults in him as well. I would have to say that his desire to “believe Menma is there” is an indication of him trying to search for something that he wishes to see, to believe there is a world beyond what he sees. I do believe he has a more complex issue at hand here, though I do wonder how his problem will be resolved.

What was the biggest eye-opener for me here, though, was the emotional conundrums that Menma is going through. Considering how Menma is always so happy and carefree most of the time, it’s quite easy to forget that she too is simply a young girl who scared and uncertain about what is going on, and is heavily affected by what goes on around her. Menma’s “invisible” nature not only causes troubles for the rest of the cast, but it also allows Menma to overhear everything that people have to say about her, completely unfiltered or anything of the sort. Menma’s emotions are probably being pushed really hard in a lot of scenes where she realizes that she can only sit there and watch in agony. The final scene in this episode, where Poppo desparate wants to be able to see Menma, was probably the final straw for Menma, where she finally broke down in tears. Seriously, being in Menma’s situation (where she can do nothing but watch) must be the most depressing situation out of the everybody’s.

In the end, Anohana builds up more upon the characters themselves, exploring their personas in much more depth and detail than before. I do appreciate the attention to details with regards to each character, but at the same time I kind of wish we could get some more happy turn of events here. It’s just one depressing event after another, after another. Well, either ways, I’m really curious as to the direction of the story from here on out, with the next episode preview in particular perking my interest. Is that a love letter I’m seeing there?

Overall Enjoyment: 4.0/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai – 04

Episode 04 –

Haha, I was totally expecting events along these lines sooner or later, but I didn’t expect them to happen so soon. This time, the focus on Yukiatsu pushed the plot forward, and oh man, did things get interesting. Many of the rumors floating around about the guy turned out quite accurate, and just speaks volumes about Yukiatsu’s personality. Not to mention, now that everybody knows his secret, I wonder how the others will treat him.

What makes this episode so significant is that Yukiatsu blatantly admits to his dislike of Jintan. His seemingly arrogant personality, coupled with his rather assertive manner of speech, makes him seem like a complete jerk to Jintan and Menma.

What makes him rather interesting, though, is how he purposely lied about “what Menma said”. Why exactly did he feel the need to “put words into Menma’s mouth”?

My guess here is that Yukiatsu feels that he alone, and nobody else, should have the right to “see Menma”. He is just being extremely selfish here in his obsession with Menma, and wants “Menma” to himself. Or maybe I’m overthinking things, and Yukiatsu is just trying to spite Jintan. However, his continued obsession with Menma since the beginning of the episode says a different story, and it’s quite obvious that he has some major personality issues.

This episode does flesh out Tsurumi a bit as well. Tsurumi was well aware of Yukiatsu’s obsession, probably since childhood. I guess you could say that Tsurumi cares for Yukiatsu, and wants him to get over Menma already. Perhaps Tsurumi’s sometimes cold personality is a result of this, though this is just my rather randomly thought up guess. One thing I am wondering is why she is so concerned for him, because I doubt she has any sort of romantic interests in him.

What’s great about AnoHana is that each of the characters are fundamentally flawed in some way, and it’s only together as a group where we see those flaws laid bare, and yet at the same time it’s the same group that helps gradually heal those flaws. Yukiatsu is a rather extreme case here, with his rather creepy actions very reflective of the extreme obsession he has. Tsurumi’s actions to try and help him, on the other hand, shows a rather unexpectedly concerned side to Tsurumi. Now I’m just really curious as to how Tsurumi’s revelation of Yukiatsu’s cross dressing will change up Jintan’s perspective of him. Oh, and how Yukiatsu probably won’t make fun of Jintan anymore with regards to “obsessive over Menma”; it’s progress I guess 😛

Overall enjoyment: 4.3/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai – 03

Episode 03 –

AnoHana truly is turning out to be a great coming of age story. The characters’ personalities are all flawed in their own way, all tracing back to their childhood memories together. Interesting thing here is how, as children, all the main characters held some sort of conflicted feelings towards each other, with Menma and Jinta probably being the only two exceptions. Either ways, this show seems like it will be pretty much about them gradually getting over their own flaws through Menma and their rekindled friendship, and growing up together as friends. Menma acts as the catalyst here, mainly because she is the reason why the old group of friends are getting back together like this.

What really makes this show great so far is the awesome characterization the main characters. Like I mentioned earlier, everybody has their own flaws in their personalities. Matsuyuki, for instance, holds quite a bit of jealousy towards Jinta. It’s pretty obvious that Matsuyuki was in love with Menma, and even now he still seems to love her (perhaps borderline obsession, if the rumors about him hold to be true). How he eventually moves on from his childhood love for Menma is something I’m very much looking forward to seeing.

Tsurumi (the blue haired girl) does also seem to hold a bit of animosity towards Matsuyuki, but it may be because she didn’t like how he obsessed over Menma. Her demeanor and reactions to topics about Menma do seem to say quite a bit about her.

I admittingly can’t really say much about Poppo, but my guess is he doesn’t want to face reality, and instead just wants to wander around and have fun with his life.

Anjou (the red-haired girl) has some serious self confidence issues ever since she was a child. She doesn’t feel confident in herself, which is why she always ends up trying to imitate others (such as Menma in her childhood, her friends in the present day). Her little chat with Chiriko just serves to emphasize this point, where Anjou goes on a little monologue trying to justify how she is dressed. Her crush on Jinta is probably what will push her forward, little by little.

And of course, the most important character here would be Jinta, who seems to have become a social recluse. His tendency to avoid people is a huge difference from the very leader-like, strong personality he had as a child, which does make you wonder how he changed so much. His fear of interacting with people almost definitely stems from the death of his mother and Menma, and how he gets over this fear is something I want to see.

The personalities for the characters here are all very intricately crafted, each with their own flaws and subtle (well, sometimes very blatant) aspects that helps flesh out their presences in this series. What is great about this series, though, is how all these issues are brought to light when the characters are together as a group, and seeing their interactions in that group that is bringing about some profound changes. Amidst that, Menma would be the “healing factor” here, with her presence gently guiding the group forward, and slowly rebuilding their broken friendships.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.3/5

Screenshots are later in the post.