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Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai (We Still Don’t Know the Name of the Flower we Saw that Day) [from here forwards we’ll refer to it as Anohana] is a series that undoubtedly conveys the strong feelings of friendship, loss, grief, anger and love in a powerful manner. Personally I chose the series on the assumption that it would give me the same level of emotions that I got from series such as Angel Beats and Clannad, both of which have had an impact on the way I view things and this series does not disappoint when it comes to ... leaving a mark on the viewer. If you’re only reading this to see if you want to watch the series or not, then all I have to say is give it a go. Chances are you won’t be disappointed.

Let’s cut straight to the chase and look at the story and concept of the anime. The concept of ghosts hanging onto something isn’t new, in fact the series manages to play around with the thought and it creates something much more powerful. The most memorable scene for most is the ending, and I have to agree there. Without going into spoilers (even though it’s pretty blatantly obvious what happens) the ending leaves the viewer feeling sad but not disappointed. In fact the whole final episode builds to a climax almost perfectly, and that’s why the series has gained such acclaim.

The story is probably at a perfect length, whilst I would have liked to see a bit more character interaction I think that the way it was executed in 11 episodes made it extremely memorable as you never really find a space to get bored. Honestly, the first episode almost threw me off the series until I first saw the complexity of the relationships between the characters. However from then on it just moved at a perfect pace to engage the viewer.

The backstory is also interestingly crafted. There is no real mystery of what happened, but the complexity of what happened on that day unfolds at the perfect rate for the viewer to be curious but never fully understand the entire picture. In fact the last reveal of what happened threw me completely off but looking back it made quite a bit of sense. That’s another thing in this series. There are no real unexplainable things; everything just pieces itself together with logic, which is something quite rare in an eleven episode anime series.

Anohana as a story is enough to keep the viewer engaged and if that’s all you care about then go watch it.

The art is reasonably good, especially in the concluding few episodes. The use of colours and tones were quite excellent and the character design was almost perfect, aside from my small dislike for Jintan’s father. The climax scene, in fact the entire last episode, was animated wonderfully and I definitely liked that.

The music and voice acting for this series is quite good. Firstly the soundtrack used in the emotional scenes just amplified the feelings of the characters, and that was done so beautifully. The OP and ED were both quite decent (I’m actually listening to the full OP as I type this) but you’ll remember the songs more due to their roles in the final episode.
The voice acting was done so beautifully. It’s hard to find a flaw in the cast, they were all suited well for their roles and none of them felt out of place, and the result of that was impressive. However the reason they were memorable were their emotional performances and the like. Their emotional cries were quite powerful, and it impacts the viewer beyond belief.

I really liked the characters, and particularly their interactions with each other. The main group (The Super Peace Busters) are all interesting in their own way but it’s the relationships and their individual emotions that make them so fascinating. The way they all change is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the series along with their respective relationships with Menma.

The main character of the series is Jintan, and he’s the only one who can see Menma. He was once the cliché leader who led by his actions (basically a classic Shounen style hero). However once Menma dies and everyone in the Super Peace Busters split apart he becomes much more complex. He basically locks himself in his house and refuses to come to school, that of course changes as the series progresses. As the group are forced to interact with each other again his personality is put in the questions, who he wants to become is also put into the question of the viewer. I personally found his character development the most interesting, and his feelings for Menma and Anaru are also placed into the spotlight (which provides a strong focal point for the drama). Ultimately his personality shines through as that of a Leader, and that’s something quite enjoyable.

The girl in focus on this series is Menma. She died before the series began and returns hoping to fulfil her dream (which she conveniently forgot). To my surprise she was voiced by Ai Kayano (Mayaka from Hyouka and Mashiro from Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo), her voice just seemed different. Her dream is the ultimate driving point of the story, and is what brings together the old group of friends. Her personality is the classic innocent girl who wants everyone to get along. Ultimately the way she acts in the final episodes is what people will remember, and her impact on everyone’s life is monumentally instrumental.

Anaru is an interesting character. She was once the more quiet girl with a large collection of video games and manga but she grew up to be much more of a ‘bad’ girl. She admits to imitating those around her, and ultimately it’s her growth (and her evidently soft side) which is highlighted. Her feelings for Jintan are highlighted from almost the beginning, and the viewer is left to feel sorry for her as she is pushed aside in Jintan’s quest to fulfil Menma’s wish. Her emotional importance to the story was quite memorable and was definitely a key factor to the enjoyment of the series.

To be honest, my favourite character was probably Yukiatsu, only due to the raw emotions that he emitted during the story. He was in love with Menma as a child, but he knew that she only saw Jintan, causing him to hold a bitter feeling towards the ‘Leader’ as someone that was always better than him. His obsession over Menma was frighteningly powerful, and his pain was a key reason as to my liking of the character. His inferiority complex leads him to pursue Menma even if she is dead, which leads to some of the more creepy moments of the story. Ultimately he is one of the key characters and my favourite.

Tsuruko and Poppo were both probably the least important characters in the story. Whilst they undoubtedly held an important role in the progression of the story, I found the four above characters to be far more powerful in their stories. I found certain parts of their story sad and I never felt like they were irrelivent, but I didn’t find them completely useful either.

Anohana is one of those series that leaves you thinking, and I left thinking of the importance of friends, the pain of loss and just a general load of feels. In conclusion (this is basically a TL;DR) I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who was willing to watch a serious drama.