Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (Japanese: 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., “We Still Don’t Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day.”) is a 2011 Japanese anime television series created by Super Peace Busters (超平和バスターズ, Chō Heiwa Basutāzu), an artist collective consisting of director Tatsuyuki Nagai, screenwriter Mari Okada, and character designer Masayoshi Tanaka.
Information
- Type- TV
- Titles- anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
- Genres- Drama, slice of life, Supernatural
- Rating- PG-13 – Teens 13 or older
Synopsis
The story is based on Five childhood companions reunite when the ghost of their dead friends appears, and demands they grant her final wish.
Jinta Yadomi is peacefully living as a recluse, spending his days away from school and playing video games at home instead.
One hot summer day, his childhood friend, Meiko “Menma” Honma, appears and pesters him to grant a forgotten wish. He pays her no mind, which annoys her, but he doesn’t really care.
After all, Menma already died years ago.At first, Jinta thinks that he is merely hallucinating due to the summer heat, but he is later on convinced that what he sees truly is the ghost of Menma.
Jinta and his group of childhood friends grew apart after her untimely death, but they are drawn together once more as they try to lay Menma’s spirit to rest.
Re-living their pain and guilt, will they be able to find the strength to help not only Menma move on—but themselves as well?
Media
Review:
Truly one of the most depressing yet uplifting story. The premise was not really new, but there was still unique elements to it. The first 2/3 of the plot was the complexed development of the 6 main characters and their relationships. Although they were childhood friends, certain event to one of the member drove the group apart, yet created a “peace” between them.
Throughout the story, they all had to break this “peace” and move on with their lives. Because of the great developments of these characters, the ending of this series became tear-jerkingly painful. The anime, with its execution, sent a powerful and hopeful message about friendship, confronting personal trauma, and most importantly, moving on from the trauma. Absolutely beautiful animation and characters.
