Series: Anohana

Genre: Drama, Supernatural

Review: This anime, Anohana, translated in English is We Still Don’t Know the Name of the Flower that We saw Today, perfectly illustrates the hardship and emotional turmoil that the six characters had to go through. The title, Anohana, at first may seem out of place since the plot is about death and learning to accept the loss of someone close. However, the title has a meaning that plays out nicely towards the end.

The anime starts off very simply: Jinta, the protagonist character, sits in his room on a hot summer’s day playing video games while his childhood friend, Menma, tries to annoy him. After getting bored of the game he decides to make some ramen for himself and his father, which makes Menma extremely annoyed because of the fact that she does not get to eat any ramen.

The beginning of the story may seem ordinary but as the story progresses, the tone of the anime begins to develop into something that is a bit more emotionally complex.

The characters in Anohana are portrayed with great detail and description about their past. The fun-filled times, dangerous adventures and games from their past shown through flashbacks slowly disappeared after Menma’s death. How each character deals with the overwhelming emotions of Menma’s death reflects and builds on to the characters’ personality. The pain and sufferings are perfectly depicted throughout the anime which promotes a degree of empathy to the audience and the element of realism. The studio A-1 Pictures manage to visualize and illustrate the development of the characters’ childhood personalities through flashback into the teenagers they are now.

Overall, I enjoyed very much watching Anohana. And though I hate to admit it, it was one of the few shows that made me cry at one point in the series.