Just kidding, this is just to get your attention. Quite the opposite actually, AnoHana is one of the best anime I have seen. When I was first recommended to this anime by my brother who claims it to be the ‘Best Anime Ever’, I brushed it off and thought, “Meh, with that weird name?” I cursed my stupidity for putting off this anime for 2 months before finally getting to it. I have always thought of myself to be a fan of the dark and mystery genre but this is the anime which completely changed that mindset.
AnoHana starts out as a rather light-hearted slice-of-life anime as we are introduced to ghost girl Menma who pesters Jintan. A lot. The characters are the main charm of this anime as each character are unique and have their own personality and way of thinking. Before you ask, no, this is not a romantic comedy of any sort. The main focus of this anime is about getting over the death of a dear friend, about overcoming grief and guilt, sorting out relationships among friends and moving on with life.
Very few anime have made me felt extreme emotion. These are the types of anime which should be considered a masterpiece. When watching AnoHana, you should be ready to bawl your hearts out. It is not a simple tear-jerker that ‘tells’ you to cry when you watch the anime. “Hey, the girl Menma died. Yea, it’s sad because everyone misses her and she’s really nice and cute and all. Poor her. So you should start crying.” No, it does not get pity from the audience and collects cheap tears. Instead, it skillfully orchestrates the viewers to actually be in the shoes of the characters and feel what they are experiencing. You will honestly CARE for the characters and understand the actions of each characters to cope with their grief or loss of their dear friend. It is in no way a manipulation of emotion and AnoHana can create moments where I can relate to myself in life.
Story: 9
Okay, so maybe you may think that from the synopsis that this kind of story has been done before. The dead comes back and wants her wish granted so that she can move on. Well, DUMP THE SYNOPSIS! This story is pretty damned original if you ask me, despite the similarities of childhood stories such as 20th Century Boys. The story is simple but beautiful. The themes in the story are straight forward and I felt that I learnt something by the end of each episode. Friendships, families, death and life. What if one day someone dear to you died? What changes would occur? Will you grieve over the person for years to come or accept it and move on with a stronger heart? If I died, will my family and friends be sad? Will they remember me or forget me? One word: DEEP. The story is seriously deep for a 11 episode anime. You will come to realize that it is not as light-hearted as it seems. Oh and there’s the crying. (From me mostly)
Art: 9
I really cannot complain about the art. It is absolutely beautiful. It has a clean and crisp look and everything is sharp. Watch it in HD and you will know what I mean. In fact, there’s a slight difference in lighting between the past and present, where the past have brighter colors and the present being slightly moodier. If you have watched it already, watch it again and spot the difference, if not, pay attention to every grain of detail AnoHana has to offer. The character design is pretty good and everyone loves Menma so no arguments there.
Sound: 10
I love all the music in AnoHana. The opening was relaxing and sweet, accompanied by the smooth animation. I literally have to stop myself from floating into the midst of the light-hearted melody. Then we come to the ending. I can tell you guys a long story about the band Zone and how the song was made 10 years ago and how the lyrics are meaningful in both the anime and in real life. Instead, I’ll just rant about how cute the 3 girls from Super Peace Buster frolicking around in the drifting flower petals look. The song complements everything. I have not skipped past neither the OP nor the ED once throughout the 11 episode. I never got tired of hearing it. That is just how good it is.
Character: 9
From how Jintan loves Menma to how Yukiatsu is obsessed over the same person pretty much displays all the difference between each character. Both of them have feelings for Menma but the way of expressing it is very different. This is what I liked about AnoHana. Even though they are all friends, they have their own way of ‘achieving their goals’ and take up different path even though they have the same feelings for Menma. Jintan is relentless and never gives up to help Menma and while certain others wants to give up so as to not hurt Menma’s family’s feelings. Of course, the best moments are when you see how these great characters change over time and how eventually their hearts are as one and move forward together on the same wavelength.
Enjoyment: 9
I enjoyed the series very much. Yea that’s all I can really say. It’s just really good and even though crying is not really much of an enjoyment, they are happy tears so I can deal with that.
Overall: 9
This is a very refreshing anime, a good change from all that gore fest anime I have been watching. I am sure it would lighten your mood some after watching AnoHana and it will probably fight some stress off. I cried and then felt much better after that. Man, this is almost like a therapy anime! This is completely irrelevant but I think I will get myself some AnoHana goods and re-immerse myself into the anime because it is really good. Everything about this anime is great, from the art and characters to the brilliant sound. Watch it. You will not regret it. In fact, you will regret not having to watch it earlier and hit yourself for it soon after like me.
In conclusion, oh what the heck is that all not enough to convince you that this is a good anime and that you should watch it?
Warning: If you have a solid ‘reputation’, I suggest you watch this anime by yourself in an enclosed area. Also, parents freaks out when their child walks out of their room teary puffy eyed chanting “You found me…You found me…You found me…” . Enjoy the anime :)
