Anime Review: Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai (Anohana)

Anohana's Female Cast

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai (aka: Anohana) 

Story: 9.6

Art: 9.4

Music: 9.7

Characters: 9.2

Overall: 9.5/10

11 Episodes

Noitamina has never really stuck on me as a "must see" developer. All of my attention consistently went with Aniplex, BONES, Shaft, KyoAni, and P.A. Works, primarily for their high quality animation. But Noitamina proved me wrong big time. Anohana is by far, one of the best series I've ever seen and most definitely worthy as a contender for anime of the year. 

A gem of a season

The story revolves around childhood friends that have separated over several years due to the death of one of their own; Menma, due to an accident. Following the events of their separation is Jintan and his "summer stress"; the soul of Menma, back from the dead and full of spirits. Menma says to Jintan that she is back because she needs to have her wish granted, and this can only be done with every single member of the childhood group; the Super Peace Busters.

The cast (left to right): Poppo, Anaru, Menma, Jintan, Tsuruko, and Yukiatsu

Without spoiling too much, let's just say that the series goes back and forth; revealing the past, event by event, while progressing with the future. While keeping this balance of past and present, we see a soft integration of emotion as each episode goes by. Just to clarify, this is not a horror series, but a drama and slice-of-life series.

The drama is by far the best part and reaches as far as Air TV, CLANNAD, and Toradora. The music is masterfully played and the characters are consistent while keeping their growth throughout the time period.

Daww... Menma is great. 

Keep in mind that this is an 11 episode season. This means that the producers are going to have to use up each and every second carefully while making it feel well paced. This is the challenge that Anohana faced and delivered. Every second is used well and efficiently, characters bloom throughout the animation and key elements aren't glossed over. This was a splendid job with timing.

The artstyle is by the same artist as the guy who worked on Toradora. And this is fantastic, the animation works well with the themes and really shows prowess under the smoothly woven textures.

Music was also amazing. Both the OP and the ED really showed the elements of the series that made itself standout. Calm ballads and sorrowful pieces litter the soundtrack and really exemplify the strength in some of the emotions.

This anime had some of the most well rounded characters, ESPECIALLY considering that they did this with an 11 episode frame. The only complaint is that Poppo's character seemed a bit sporadic in the finale and Tsuruko's character seemed to change quite a bit as well. However, these are minor gripes to the accomplishments of the whole.

Overall, this anime deserves any fan of the drama genre to check it out. It was an extraordinary ride that will pleasure the audience with tears. And be warned, you may burst to immeasurable amounts of tears by the end of the series.

Yukiatsu, stay away from Menma...