[Reckoner]

Originally Posted by BetoJR

How the heck is Jinta relatable? I mean, are many of us here reclusive shut-ins with deep emotional scars that impede our personal growth? I know I'm not and I don't really relate to him. I care about him, tho, and about the story and the other characters, myself (yeap, even Yukiatsu). So, wish-fulfillment is clearly not the point for everyone, at least.

And I have no problem with the "supernatural" part, either. Doesn't really matter, as long as it's a good yarn, for me. Maybe I'm wrong?

I think it's silly to disregard the show's attempts to play up on the nostalgic chords of its audience. That's what makes this show relateable. Has everyone gone through Jintan's pain? I would think most of us have not lost one of their dear friends and their mother while growing up, while feeling guilty for causing his friend's death. But since when does the audience ever have to actually go through the troubles of a character to empathize and understand? With this logic, there are almost no relateable characters in anime .

Originally Posted by cyth

None of them have really moved on in the sense that Menma's death is still an issue preventing them from achieving happiness. Menma is a reminder why they're miserable. To each his or her own, they've lost something important, not just a dear friend.

Well 3 of them feel like they caused Memma's death. I think Jintan is obvious because of this and his mother's death, that he really isn't happy. Yukiatsu has an inferiority complex with Jintan. Anaru likes Jintan and is pained to see him in such a situation. I think they all have very plausible reaosns for still being a bit miserable, 10 years down the road.

The ball is still out on Tsuruko. Poppo doesn't seem miserable. In fact, he seems like the one character to not be emotionally scarred to death by this all incident.

Originally Posted by cyth

I guess this is why otaku are eating it up, because most of them are oblivious to its main manipulative trick. Obviously, I'm stereotyping here just a little bit, but... real otaku do not live admirable lives. There's nothing great about being a basement dweller spending most of your time on the internet, watching anime, playing games and ordering merchandise. I've been there, and let me tell you this: it is not the image that Danny Choo is trying to sell you.

All I'm saying is that this trick doesn't just apply to otakus. It's not what I'd call specifically otaku pandering which only works on otakus. It's something that has broad appeal. Usually, otaku pandering is something general audiences would find annoying due to lack of understanding, or even being offended by some of those elements.

Originally Posted by cyth

Why I categorize AnoHana as wish fulfillment is because it lets the relatable Jinta realize all of his former friends still have issues on the same topic of internal conflict as he has. Yukiatsu's crossdressing wasn't as shocking as it was grotesque in comparison to Jinta's problem. I can see the show playing out in the same manner for the rest of the cast, with Jinta as the main spectator of each character's breakdown.

And that's fine. I don't deny that this show is supposed to play up on that. It's emotionally appealing precisely because many people have experienced the distancing of old friends when they grow up. While the show surely goes to extremes to portray this (Yukiatu's cross dressing), the underlying thoughts are still there.

We still don't know how the rest of this show will play out, but I don't think anyone is as screwed up as Yukiatsu and Jintan (I certainly hope not). There's no real indication of that.