The Super Peace Busters
Meiko Honma - Menma
Menma is a young girl and the female protagonist of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day who suddenly appears in front of her childhood friend Jinta and asks him for a favor so she can move on.
She has wide and innocent blue eyes and distinguishable long silver hair with bangs. The color of her hair and eyes is unique due to the fact that she is of mixed ancestry – her mother is Russian while her father is Japanese. She is skinny and her skin is pale. She always goes outside barefoot, because she is, after all, a spirit. Throughout the anime she wears the distinctive white dress with a blue bow which she was wearing the day she died. Even though she is a ghost, and Jinta is the only one who can see and hear her, she manages to make others notice her by moving the objects around and making the lights flicker. However, the only way she can communicate with everyone else is by using hher diary, so others can see her words when she writes them. Even though she died as a 5-year-old child, she does not appear as a child ghost, but rather as a ’’grown up’’ 15-year-old girl. However, her personality does not seem to have changed a bit. She is still the same little Menma that everyone loved.
Menma is always cheerful, happy, positive, and selfless. She is kind to a fault and is constantly worrying about others, always putting her friends and family first. Yet it is not unusual for her to get upset and start acting childish all of a sudden, probably because she died at a very young age and also because she can be a very sensitive person. The happiest time of her life was when she and her friends played together in the woods. Jinta sometimes refers to her as ‘’the beast of the summer’’ because she is the source of his frustrations, but also the muse for feelings that he is too embarrassed to acknowledge. The fact that only Jinta can see her hints that he and Menma share deep feelings for each other that surpass those of pure friendship. When Menma appears in front of Jinta, she asks him to help her grant her wish, but she does not remember what exactly she wishes for, only that it is related to their childhood group - The Super Peace Busters.
Menma symbolizes the lasting connection between friends and the ability and the need to overcome bittersweet memories. She manages to bring everyone back together and forces them to come to terms with their painful secrets and suppressed feelings.
Jinta Yadomi - Jintan
Jintan is the male protagonist and a 15-year-old boy who is the only one who can see and hear Menma. He is described as having black hair of middle length, yellow eyes, and a slim body.
As a boy, Jinta was the leader of their self-proclaimed childhood group The Super Peace Busters. He was an energetic, lively, and outgoing child who was loved and looked up to by everyone. However, after Menma died in a tragic accident, he started withdrawing from society and ended up becoming a "hikkimori", which is a Japanese term for a person who seeks isolation from the real and social world. He has sunk to his lowest, refusing to attend high school and spending his days playing video games at home. He lives alone with his father because his mother died when he was very young.
It is very possible that he is spending his days in such a way because he cannot forgive himself for insulting Menma the day she died and for never having a chance to apologize. That day, everyone had gathered at The Super Peace Busters clubhouse in the woods. Out of nowhere Naruko asked Jinta whether he liked Menma or not. Being flustered and embarrassed, he burst out "Why would I be in love with such an ugly girl?!" which resulted in an uncomfortable silence. Jinta, not knowing what to do or say, did what any child would - he ran away. That negative moment was the last he shared with Menma before she died. However, when she appears in front of him 10 years later and asks him to grant her wish (which she cannot remember) he believes that she is a hallucination, and not a real ghost. Only later on will he try to reunite with all of the other childhood friends so they can finally help Menma out and by doing that, he will learn more about himself and about friendship in general.
Naruko Anjou - Anaru
Anaru is one of the main female characters in Anohana. As a child, she had curly brown hair and glasses that caused her to feel extremely insecure. This insecurity led to jealousy towards Menma, who had long silver hair and a warm personality that everyone admired. Now as a high school student, she is described as a pretty girl with orange hair and a stylish fashion sense. She is very easily influenced by others which can be seen in the fact that she always hangs out with the girls that she disapproves of and dislikes.
Even though all of The Super Peace Busters have grown apart, Anaru still worries about Jinta and brings him homework from school. She often displays a cold and indifferent attitude towards him and the other childhood gang, but deep down inside, she still cares deeply for everyone else and blames herself for Menma’s death. It also becomes obvious that she has some lingering feelings for Jinta from the past. Anaru is also a big fan of anime and manga which can be seen in the fact that she possesses a huge collection of them and because of that, and her work at the video store, she starts reconnecting with her old friends.
Anaru can be easily described as a "tsundere", or someone who shows mixed emotions all the time, switching between mean and nice with the flip of a switch. Although she is not very good at expressing herself, she has a very caring heart and loves her friends and family deeply.
Tetsudou Hisakawa - Poppo
Poppo is one of the main male characters and probably the most positive one. He was very awkward as a child and because of that he always felt great admiration for Jinta and for being included in their secret group. As a grown up, he is described as having brown short hair, a big strong body, and a happy personality. He dropped out of school and now travels the world in search of new adventures, and makes a living by working various part time jobs. This may seem like a carefree life, but to him, it's a way to escape. Just like the others, he is running away from his childhood memories. Being the sole witness to Menma’s death, Poppo has carried a heavy load of guilt ever since for not being able to save her. It is interesting how even though it must bring back extremely painful memories, he decides to revisit their old clubhouse in the woods and even make it his home. It seems like he is trying to live in the past because he isn't able to come to terms with it.
He is always the one who looks on the bright side and tries to smooth things out if someone is fighting. Poppo may seem mellow and not really aware of the real problems, but he has more depth to his character than meets the eye and some inner scars that he is trying to overcome by being positive and merry all the time. Poppo is more than eager to see The Super Peace Busters reunite and he is also the first one who believes Jinta that he can see Menma. He tries to talk to her on many occasions and he also gives his best in trying to get all of them together again.
Atsumu Matsuyuki - Yukiatsu
Yukiatsu is one of the main male characters who is described as a handsome and intelligent high school boy with short light brown hair and green eyes. Although he is very popular among girls and classmates, he cannot connect with anyone. The only person that he still keeps in contact is Chiriko and sometimes they are even mistaken for a couple.
Atsumu is very hardworking but he also has a dark side which is probably the result of his inferiority complex since childhood. He confessed his love to Menma and gave her a hairpin as a symbol of his affection but she rejected him. He also blames himself for her death and he still feels haunted even though he cannot see her like Jinta does. He gets very upset when she is mentioned and he even keeps a similar white dress in his closet and cross dresses as a way of coping with her death. He probably thought that doing so was the only way he could connect with Menma and be in her presence again. He still has not got over his feelings for Menma and that is why he has a hateful attitude towards Jinta, as he is envious of his ability to talk to Menma. Once he is revealed as a crossdresser, he confesses his feelings, and even manages to pay more attention to Chiriko.
Chiriko Tsurumi - Tsuruko
Tsuruko is another main female character and she is described as a very serious person who is very reasonable. Her physical appearance is nerdy; she has long black hair and glasses. She and Atsumu are the only ones from The Super Peace Busters who remained close, and that is mostly because they attend the same elite high school. However, Atsumu is a much better and faster learner than she is, which can be seen in a scene in which he teases Chiriko for being only the fourth in the class, never managing to keep up with him.
Chiriko tends to argue a lot with Noriko because she disapproves of her friends and believes that Noriko should not be so easily influenced. She is very skeptical when it comes to Menma, but it is obvious that she is also jealous of her because Atsumu, who Chiriko had feelings for, confessed his feelings for Menma. Chiriko was the one who found and kept the hairpin that Menma rejected, which was the symbol of Atsumu's feelings.
Supporting Characters
Satoshi, Manabu and Irene Honma
Some of the most vital supporting characters include Menma’s parents - Manabu Honma and Irene Honma - and her younger brother Satoshi.
Satoshi is a boy in his teens who has short silver hair and dark blue eyes whose appearance resembles Menma very much. He does not really remember his older sister from the days when she was alive. He only remembers that he always wanted to go with her outside, but she thought him too young to join The Super Peace Busters so she assigned him the mission of guarding the house instead. When Menma sees him as a ghost, she is shocked at how much he has grown up, and the same goes for their mother, who has neglected him for so long due to her grief that she has not even noticed how tall he is now.
Menma’s parents, especially her mother, are still stuck in the past and cannot move on, while her brother Satoshi feels upset because he has been neglected ever since Menma died. Her mother is described as a middle-aged woman with grey hair that reaches her shoulders and resembles Menma’s hair. She is kind but has not got over her daughter’s tragic death and partially blames The Super Peace Busters because they have all grown up and moved on while her daughter is lost forever.
Menma’s father is described as a cold-blooded businessman who is a very strict and serious person. He does not like having his feelings overwhelm him, like his wife. However, he will later on accept his daughter's death as well and accept the farewell meeting.
Atsushi and Touko
There is also Jinta’s father Atsushi who is very kind, calm, and funny. He may seem like a careless person, but he knows exactly what his son is doing and he is also very concerned for him. He also loves saying "Kawaii!" everytime he can and he is described as a middle-aged man with a goatee, shaved head, and colorful cap on his head.
Jinta’s mother Touko also makes an appearance. She is shown as a kind and caring mother who is beautiful and has long brown hair. She used to prepare steamed raisin bread for The Super Peace Busters and she died of an unknown disease. She asked Menma to promise her that she would make Jinta cry. This was in hopes that he would stop suppressing his feelings and start acknowledging them.
Naruko’s mother, Haruna and Aki
Naruko’s mother is shown as an older woman with long brown hair who is very strict, but is also very close to her daughter. Naruko does not like to anger her mother and she knows that even though they are close, she won’t let her do whatever she wants.
Naruko’s friends Haruna and Aki also appear from time to time. Aki has short brown hair while Haruna has long dark brown hair and they both enjoy bantering Jinta for finally coming to school.
Yama-san
Yama-san is an old man with short grey hair who is Atsushi’s old friend and a fireworks maker. He was supposed to make fireworks for The Super Peace Busters but he did not end up doing that because Menma’s father would not allow it. However, he changes his mind later on and all of them attend the fireworks together.
All of the characters carry their own scars and secrets from the past, but they manage to come to terms with their pain thanks to Menma’s reappearance.
