'Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day' Is a Masterfully-Executed Coming-of-Age Melodrama

First released in 2011, Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day is widely regarded as one of the best anime dramas of all time.   It has supposedly made anyone who sees it cry.  I’ve known its reputation for years, but it was only recently that I finally got around to seeing it for myself.  I binged the whole thing – 11 episodes plus the sequel movie – while Typhoon Ulysses was brewing last Wednesday.

Anohana tells the story of six childhood friends – Jinta “Jintan” Yadomi, Meiko “Menma” Honma, Naruko “Anaru” Anjo, Atsumu “Yukiatsu” Matsuyuki, Chiriko “Tsuruko” Tsurumi, and Tetsudo “Poppo” Hisakawa.  When they were in sixth grade, they were a tight-knit group, referring to themselves as the “Super Peace Busters.”  One summer day, during their playtime, Menma accidentally fell to the river and drowned, and after her death, the five remaining friends drifted apart.

Five years later, the five, now teenagers, are still scarred from that event – each one carrying his or her own trauma and guilt.  Then, out of nowhere, the ghost of a teenage Menma appears to a socially withdrawn Jintan.  She claims that she can’t pass to the afterlife unless her wish is granted.  Unfortunately, she has forgotten what this wish is, but asserts that it requires all of their friends’ help.   He initially dismisses her as a hallucination that stemmed from his fragile psyche.  Nevertheless, he decides to humor her, and starts making an effort to reach out to his estranged friends.

Reunited once again after five years, the Super Peace Busters work together in figuring out what Menma’s wish might be, although they do so reluctantly at first as, with the exception of Poppo, they are skeptical of Jintan’s claim that Menma is back, since only he can see and hear her.  In the end, the group becomes completely devoted toward realizing Menma’s wish, and working together for this objective proves to be the key for them to smooth out the tensions that have developed among them, open up about their feelings, and progress toward reconciliation and healing.

So did I cry?  Well, knowing what I was going into, I tried to condition myself to not be manipulated into becoming emotional.  But then, that climactic finale rolled in.  And while I didn’t necessarily full-on cry, I definitely had tears in my eyes and was sniffing by the time it got to that iconic hide-and-seek scene.  The execution was just so masterful that it got me.

And that is probably the main reason why Anohana works: the masterful execution.  This anime has plot elements that, on their own, are dumb, sappy, goofy, lazy, and clichéd.  It could have easily become a cheesy, ridiculous mess.  However, sublime direction executes the storytelling so well, that all these potentially conflicting and problematic elements work as beneficially as the original, thoughtful, and nuanced elements in service to presenting a genuinely poignant, beautiful melodrama.

There is manipulation that happens, of course.  All dramas, even the great ones, have it.  You may recognize these manipulations – especially with the music – when they occur.  But since they are done so well, you just don’t care and simply let them do their work of driving home the feels into you.

I don’t feel that Anohana is perfect, though.  Valid nitpicks can be found if one chooses to look for them.  Personally, there are parts where I was slightly ticked off since I felt the story suddenly became on-the-nose and conventional, when up until that point, it had been subtle and clever.  And there are just plot points that I thought was just inherently stupid.  For example (SPOILER), I didn’t like that it took that long to prove ghost Menma’s existence when, as it turned out, it was not complicated at all as she was actually able to move and use physical objects.

Nevertheless, in the end, Anohana may not have perfect writing, but as an experience, one can say that it’s perfect.

The anime series is definitely one of the most investing anime watching experiences I’ve ever had.  I was totally riveted from episode 1 to 11.

On the other hand, the film sequel, A Letter to Menma, was a mixed bag for me.  It was fine, but it also felt like an unnecessary cash-grab.  Basically, it served as an epilogue, showing how the friends are doing a year after the events of the series.  This is sweet and all, but the problem is, it’s not just a sequel film.  It’s a sequel film and a recap film rolled into one.  At least half of the movie’s runtime is dedicated to scenes from the show.  New material was arguably just enough for an OVA episode, and it would have been better if they just actually made an OVA episode instead.

In the end, I love Anohana.  It’s a compelling coming-of-age character-driven tearjerker that won’t only be memorable for being a masterwork of anime drama direction and storytelling, but also for the relatable life themes that are interwoven to its touching story.  It’s a legit classic.

Miscellaneous musings:

• For an anime released in 2011, its animation holds up tremendously – and will likely hold up for years to come.  Another reason why it’s a classic.
• “Secret Base” is now one of the songs I can listen to if I need to be overwhelmed by emotion.
• In their world, there is a game called Nekemon, an obvious allusion to Pokemon, and the characters bond over this.  Nekemon came up a couple of times during the course of this anime, and it’s such a whimsical touch that I found adorable.
• I kinda want a spin-off centered on Poppo’s adventures around the world.
• I’m leaning toward checking out its live-action film adaptation, to see how it compares.