Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai: Review

     As you can tell from the title, Ano Hana is a title that you'd forget to catch. 5 years from now, you'll gloat to your mirror since you'll ensure that you'll have no friends that you were one of the few, the proud, the heartbroken who actually watched through this tale of a boy and his childhood friends filled with regret as they return to each other's lives to mourn a dear friend. No seriously, this is Ano Hana.

Remembering the past and working in the present.

     What makes this story somewhat bizarre is that the ghost (aka Menma or Meiko Honma for those otaku sticklers) can be seen by the main character, a young Hikikomori called Jinta Yadomi who becomes what I like to call the Whoopi Goldberg of the show, acting and speaking on her behalf as they recall childhood memories that really were quite terrible. As the show continues, the story continues to pull at your heartstrings as you're revealed the truth about the group and their feelings towards each other. I have to admit, at first I didn't know what to think. Sure, it's good looking...Thanks to Aniplex's A-1 Pictures and the tale written by Mari Okada  (Gosick, Fractale), a slice of life tale of tragedy goes down smooth like your favorite pie a la mode, the theme song and ending both catchy in their own right (Ano Hana's OP, Ano Hana's ED) will leave you feeling great after watching a lot of honest emotions on your screen, but really? Why? What makes this unlike any other title similar to it?

     Well, that's just it. I can't think of any show like it. When I started my Anime Rehab, I had to start by admitting to myself that anime wasn't dead. That generic shows existed, but that there were titles worth watching, worth writing about.

Will Menma's wish come true? 

     This show helped prove it and did it with grace, which is a feat my mirror and I will cherish. A great cast of characters all affected and still affected with a loss of a friend, a feeling of never standing up to a memory and love lost between what should have been rather strong couples. Ano Hana, is about fixing something that went wrong, and getting back with people who really mattered and really cared for each other. As the protagonist, Yadomi struggles with coming back into society, as he's forced into trying to fulfill Menma's forgotten wish. She prompts him through small pokes and prodding to find their old childhood friends, to help with the task of trying to remember what it is she wanted as a final wish. As the show continues it begins to sway as Yadomi then has to grapple with his feelings for Menma as well as possibly loosing her even though it really is the right thing to do. At first the friends don't believe, to the point where one cross dresses as Menma and revels his love and obsession over Menma, but eventually with some slight help from Menma herself, they come around and consider how to honor their friend. The ending will leave you in silent tears but glad and probably better off for seeing this.

At this time, Ano Hana isn't licensed in the United States, which means you'll have to find some way to see it, (streaming, downloading, blah blah blah) but honestly, it's really worth it and at 11 episodes, you really don't have anything to lose.

Please check it out, you won't regret it.