anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

Anime has a unique talent for tugging at our heartstrings and invoking feelings some of us never knew we even had. Be it a Slice of Life, Drama, or Tragedy series, the emotions will well up within us, and at times, the tears will flow. Veterans approach these with some tissues ready, and more often than not, they end up needing them. If you’re looking for an Anime that will really touch your soul within a short number of episodes and also become memorable, look no further.

“anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day,” also known as “Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai” or “Anohana: We Still Don't Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day,” is an 11 episode TV Anime series that aired from the 15th of April until the 24th of June, in Spring 2011. It was produced by Aniplex, Dentsu, Fuji TV, and Fujipacific Music, licensed by NIS America, Inc. and Aniplex of America, and brought to life by Studio A-1 Pictures.

The main staff behind the production are Saitou Shunsuke as Producer, Nagai Tatsuyuki as Director, Episode Director and on Storyboard, Saito Shunsuke as Producer, and Aketagawa Jin as Sound Director. It features the genres of Drama, Slice of Life, and Supernatural and received a rating of PG-13 for teenagers 13 years or older.

Anohana is an original series adapted into a Light Novel and Manga of the same title. The Light Novel ran for two volumes from March to July in 2011, done by Author Okada Mari and Artist Tanaka Masayoshi. The Manga ran for three volumes from April 2012 until April 2013 for the Shounen demographic by Artist Izumi Mitsu, serialized in Jump SQ. A sequel was released in a single movie titled “anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day The Movie” on the 31st of August 2013.

A year after the Anime's events, it retells the main events from each main character's perspective. A single Special episode titled “Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai.: Menma e no Tegami” aired in February 2012 as a Side Story featuring a Special Picture Drama episode from the Anohana Fes.

An Alternative Setting movie titled “Sora no Aosa wo Shiru Hito yo” (Her Blue Sky) was released in October 2019 by Studio CloverWorks. Another 2 episode Special series titled “Meiji x Kokosake & anohana Receipt Oubo Campaign” was released in June 2015 for commemorative purposes, where anohana's Menma sings Meiji Chocolate's theme song.

The Story revolves around protagonist Jinta Yadomi, who lived a peaceful life as a recluse, idling his days away from school and playing video games at home. But one fateful hot summer day, a childhood friend of his, Meiko "Menma" Honma, appears before him and pesters him to grant her long-forgotten wish. Much to her annoyance, he chooses to ignore her and continue with his aimless life. No matter what she did, he continued not to care because Menma had already passed away years ago.

Initially, Jinta brushes these events off as mere hallucinations due to the summer heat, but in time, he becomes convinced that what he sees is the actual ghost of Menma. Following Menma’s untimely death, Jinta and his group of childhood friends had grown far apart, but now they are drawn together once more in their attempts to lay Menma's spirit to her final rest. To do so, they must all relive their hidden pain and guilt while finding the immense strength required to help Menma move on and themselves as well…..

Life and death go hand in hand in the real world, and dealing with the loss of a loved one is a mammoth task. Various people deal with this grief in many different ways, but it's especially tough for children and teenagers. This is a central theme of Anohana. The series starts simple, and most viewers would see nothing out of the ordinary, but something unorthodox is hidden in plain sight.

The story seems straightforward from the surface, just a group of teens learning to cope with past trauma while maturing in the process. The plot is well constructed, and it takes an organized approach to critical events of the series, all while the narrative gives off a placid tone. Most events are foreshadowed and thus become predictable to an extent.

However, flashbacks effectively portray certain events, emotions, and historical context to the characters’ relationships. Thus viewers see the stark contrast between their past and present selves. This Anime needs viewers to feel empathy for and relate to the characters and their complex predicaments and, in trying to do so, makes the story drag on without getting to the point.

Anohana is a Character focused anime, and thus most viewers would expect constant and high development from them. Unfortunately, this is not the case because their growth makes abrupt starts and stops now and then. This gives them a certain sense of realism but can also be perceived as simply going in circles.

They do have strong characterization, though. Each character is shown to have experienced a specific defining moment in their lives, giving them a lot of individuality. This is even more evident in comparing their past and present selves. The downfall in this department lies in the fact that the story seems to drag on meaninglessly in an attempt to achieve minor character development.

The Art and Animation are pretty good. When it comes to pretty good character designs, there are noteworthy differences among all the main characters symbolic of who they were and who they've become. Anohana shows how people masterfully romanticize personal history and memories to escape past trauma; the present is portrayed in darker tones and a sharper focus.

The past is represented in lighter tones and a soft-focus with ample lighting. The Animation stands out by visualizing the differences in movement between the children and teens, exuding the fact that these characters are no longer who they used to be.

The Sounds and Music are expertly handled. There is a lot of emphasis on the dialogue, alongside its intuitive script. The manner of speech plays a key role too. The Voice Actors do an excellent job, and certain characters have two VAs to depict their past and present selves. Each character is handled with care and expertise, but not without some occasional issues arising due to grown actors voicing children.

This could have been remedied by employing actual child Voice Actors for these roles instead, but the performances aren’t bad even as it stands. The OSTs are slow pieces performed on piano or guitar that reflect the story and add some bittersweet air. The Opening themes are "Circle Game" and "Aoi Shiori" by Galileo Galilei, which beautifully portray the past and present while hinting at the reasons behind the characters’ emotional difficulties.

The Ending themes are "Dear Love" by Remedios and "secret base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~ (10 years after ver.)" by Ai Kayano, Haruka Tomatsu, and Saori Hayami, which features a cute and calming montage of the girls.

Anohana is a sentimental and straightforward series that addresses the coping mechanisms of children and teens when coming to terms with past trauma. While it feels more like a soap opera than a drama and has minor flaws, it deserves praise for handling its complex themes quite well.

This Anime does not offer much, albeit having a few genuinely entertaining moments in terms of sheer enjoyment. It has its flaws but is a good series overall. Regardless, the romanticized view of the characters and events may become irksome. The constant flux of realism coursing through the narrative would be the selling point that makes this a genuinely unique Anime. This series is recommended, especially if you're a fan of the genres and themes. In place of entertainment, there is a lot of sentimentality, realism, emotions, and complex themes portrayed quite well here.