Review : Anohana

There’s nothing quite like the loss of a loved one for changing a person, We always feel that death is such an alien concept, it exists but is somehow detached and unrelated to our own little world until it comes knocking on our doorstep! Anohana tries to show us just how powerful an effect death can have on us.

Story

The Story is centered around the six members of Peace Busters Club, who drift apart after one of their club member's (Meiko Menma's) death. After 10 years, our main character, Jinta lives as a recluse and refuses to go back to the society. Then one day, he sees Menma's ghost and finds out that Menma will not be able to rest in peace until her one wish in life is granted. Jinta gathers his estranged friends together once again, believing that they are the key to fulfilling Menma's wish. However, things go reluctantly crazy when his friends blame him for not being able to get over the death of Menma. Along with the feelings of bitterness from Menma's broken mother, the group struggles as they grow from trying to help Menma move on, to helping themselves move on!

Characters

The characters and the supporting cast are just brilliant and this is where Anohana shined the most for me. The main characters of the anime are the members of the Peace Busters Club, Our MC and the leader of the club, Jintan Yadomi has become a shut-in because of Menma's death and the way his friends changed since then. Anaru, who always had a one-sided love for Jinta is heavily influenced by her female classmates and as she wants to be part of a group too, she adapts herself. Yukiatsu, is a handsome, intelligent and charming guy but he suffers the most because of his one-sided love for Menma and treats Jinta in a bad way. Tsuruko, is a quite and smart girl. But, she represents the misjudged teenager, who seems think of him/herself as superior. Poppo, seems to be the only one from the group who hasn't changed and He is the first who believes that Jinta can see Menma and is pretty desperate to help her. Menma, she died when she was a child, and even though she looks like a child she has become older, she has maintained the pure and innocent character of a child and she does her best to make her childhood friends come close again.

Animation and Sound

Coming from A-1 Productions, it is not much of surprise that the artwork and animation is pretty well-done. The simplistic yet unique character designs add charm to the show and the backgrounds are also very well drawn and detailed with high quality scenery which is used throughout the show without any drop in quality. The animation is also very smooth and fluid. Anohana is definitely a beautiful show in the artwork and animation department.

Even the  soundtrack used in the anime are pretty good and the sound of the anime would probably be one of my favorite things about it. The opening theme is "Aoi Shiori" by Galileo Galilei, it depicts images of each individual character as they start to reminisce about their childhood and it is arguably the saddest opening ever. The background music is also excellent and is timed out perfectly, the music adds extra feelings and charm to the show.

Enjoyment

It was definitely an enjoyable anime series, and that was mostly due to the interactions of the characters. The realism used in this show allowed me to easily immerse myself into the show, and I really came to understand the characters and setting. If you are a fan of anime that really adheres to your emotional side, than you will certainly enjoy this anime!

Overall, Anohana is an amazing anime, that was capable of making me cry from the 1st episode all the way to the last episode. If you watch it you will definitely get attached to the characters and I can guarantee you that. Watching them you might cry out joy, you might cry out of sadness or you might even cry out of both. Some of you might not admit it, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I have a softspot for animes like this. Therefore, I highly recommend this anime.

5 STAR ANIME.

Click to view my ratings guide.