Anime
TL;DR
Anohana Season 1 Review
Anohana: 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。 (Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai.)
A group of six sixth-grade-age childhood friends drifts apart after one of them, Meiko "Menma" Honma, dies in an accident. Years after the incident, the leader of the group, Jinta Yadomi, has withdrawn from society, does not attend high school, and lives as a recluse. One summer day, the ghost of an older-looking Menma appears beside him and asks to have a wish granted, reasoning that she cannot pass on into the afterlife until it is fulfilled. At first, he only tries to help her minimally because he thinks he is hallucinating. But since Menma does not remember what her wish is, Jinta gathers his estranged friends together once again, believing that they are the key to resolving this problem. All of the group joins him, though most of them do so reluctantly. However, things grow increasingly complicated when his friends accuse him of not being able to get over the death of Menma, for Jinta is the only one who can see Menma's ghost and his friends think he is seeing things. But as matters progress, it is realized that Jinta is not the only person in the group who is having trouble letting go of the past and later then Menma shows her presence to the group to prove that she is indeed real. It is revealed that all of the group members blame themselves for Menma's death and long-hidden feelings are rekindled. The group struggles as they grow from trying to help Menma move on and help each other move on as well.
Character design
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Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day is one of my favorite slice of life anime. This show is just one of those feel-good type of anime, but it also may make you cry. You will be bombarded with a rainbow of emotions.
Anohana animation is both gorgeous and vibrant.
Anohana music is beautiful and upbeat. This anime has one of the best opening and closing themes, which is always a plus. This series introduced me to one of my favorite band, Galileo Galilei, which did the intro theme “Aoi Shiori” (青い栞 Blue Bookmark). I can not get enough of the ending theme either, “Secret Base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~ (10 years after Ver.)” by Ai Kayano, Haruka Tomatsu, and Saori Hayami.
The character design, both visually and written wise, are top notch. The characters are believable and lovable. We see how each of them deal with their grief and eventually overcome them.
I highly recommend this anime to everyone that like a deeper anime experience. I would suggest you have a box of tissue ready. Anohana contains a tiny amount of suggestive themes and dialogs. Appropriate for young teens.
Featured Music
A collection of notable music and song from this series.
TV Series / TV Drama
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TV Series
Movie
TV Series
Movie
A collection of notable videos, ranging from a fan-created trailer, music video, opening, and ending clip.
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Photo by Nicolas LB, Jon Flobrant, and Yvette de Wit on Unsplash.