Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai (generic thread)

[BaKaBaKaOtaKu]

depressing first episode although i think it toppled my impression on hanaIro in the drama department. first episode's so emotionally powerful that left me almost in tears. DX i'm already expecting this series would end as bittersweet. DX

[0utf0xZer0]

Originally Posted by DragoonKain3

While it might be too early to tell, but the feeling I get from the first episode was actually all about moving on from childhood/adolescence (not reliving it); that dwelling in the past (especially traumatic experiences) is childish and that moving forward is the adult thing to do. Or at least, that's the direction I think the series is going towards to. I mean, what other direction can Jinta go when his current self is still all emo about the past, about not being able to say sorry to Menma before she died?

So yeah, if anything, AnoHana is actually trying to convey the exact opposite of what you think it is trying to tell us.

This is pretty much exactly how I read the first episode as well. The show seems more about subverting genre conventions than following them.

Good thing, too... if not for the subversive elements, I think this show would be reminding me why I didn't care much for Air despite being a huge moe fan (I didn't like how bland and childish most of Air's characters were. At least in Kyoto's version, I liked them more in the movie and the bits I read of the manga.).

Originally Posted by acejem

Since Otakus are primarily character driven when it comes to buying anime-related merchandise, maybe they were drawn to Menma's moeness... but who knows.

I'm not sure I'd consider that a good thing, as she struck me as rather bland and airheaded thus far.

Hoping that there's enough of a market for both this and Hana-Saku Iroha at the same time... I'd hate to see one (probably HSI) bomb due to having to compete with the other.

Also, surprised that nobody commented on how I thought this was like Clannad crossed with Fight Club.

[ahelo]

Originally Posted by applejuice

Well, I can pretty much say that impact of this first episode almost equals the impact of Madoka 3rd episode. Character hasn't even introduced properly yet, and recent trend proves that Otaku isn't mindless jerks who only buys something with moe, but something with moe + quality.

Really, what about Infinite Stratos? Or are you talking about animation quality?

[totoum]

Originally Posted by ahelo

Really, what about Infinite Stratos? O

See the blog post he linked to in his sig for his thoughts on the subject.

[Pellissier]

Free signature I made if anyone wants it (username can be added if requested).

[Pocari_Sweat]

Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0

I'm not sure I'd consider that a good thing, as she struck me as rather bland and airheaded thus far.

It was more a joke . Though I too am intrigued why preorders are so high.

Hoping that there's enough of a market for both this and Hana-Saku Iroha at the same time... I'd hate to see one (probably HSI) bomb due to having to compete with the other.

Which is a complete shame and I predict this as well. The target audience for these shows would be typically teenage girls (outside of male otaku), but teenage girls don't usually watch anime as they are more interested in pop idols and dramas involving handsome looking guys.

[Z3120]

Originally Posted by acejem

It's almost more unbelievable that both are anime originals which have their script/story/screenplay written by Mari Okada, who is of True Tears, Toradora and Wandering Son fame.

Ah, yes. It truly is a sight.

Originally Posted by mysterious

Moe or not, I am very annoyed with how Menma constantly bothered Jinta and being hyper active throughout the episode. Is she back in her mature body but with a child mentality? Anyway, I will follow this until it gets too depressing for me.

The more astonishing question is she appears in an adult body. Saying she's "back in her mature body" sounds like you're saying she died at that age, but it contradicts what Episode 1 implies that happened: that she died the day "the tomorrow which never came," which Jinta regrets. I think you read that wrong.

Originally Posted by Malkuth

You know, I am not sure whether they tried to hide it or not, that's why I am worried; if I was certain, I would be sarcastically bashing it, not having much appreciation for the studio

It looked more like they were hammering in the fact than anything else in the beginning.

1.) Jinta's surprised look when he noticed who he was talking to inside his room.
2.) He continually ignores Menma and think she's part of his imagination while preparing ramen and even refers to her as a "Summer Beast."
3.) When Jinta's Dad asks him to cook him some ramen too, Jinta stares behind his back at Menma in disbelief when his father doesn't notice her, yet Jinta still tries to ignore her and refrains from talking to her.
4.) Pellissier's second fact about her reflection although it's probably arguable.
5.) Jinta's Dad still hasn't noticed her at the dinner table when he and Jinta eat.

After the OP, Jinta acknowledges her presence and actually starts talking with her then, so I don't think they were hiding it anymore after that. It felt like AnoHana wanted the audience to sympathize with Menma more as we discover Naruko, Tsuruko, and Yukiatsu can't see her. And when Menma visits her house and ultimately confirms she is dead, the scene becomes a bit emotionally-laden as the realization comes to us as the audience as Menma herself acknowledges her death as well. I thought it was nicely done if that was their intention.

And because of that, I think there will be less of what people found annoying about Menma in the next episode. I wasn't bothered as much as everyone else with Menma this episode honestly.

[applejuice]

Originally Posted by ahelo

Really, what about Infinite Stratos? Or are you talking about animation quality?

I'm talking 'moe-only' is not really a sell-able idea now-a-days, it must too be 'supported' by something.

and for infinite stratos, there were bigger reason to its success than just moe.

[CWW]

Wait, noitamina is close to financially bankrupt? That is the saddest news.

Moreso since I'm liking this more than Hana-Saku Iroha so far, as it actually managed to pull on my heart strings. Plus, Jinta is a far more likable protagonist than Ohana. Ohana is your average happy-go-lucky teen overcoming her hardships, which I have seen a thousand times before. It's a tired old cliche at this point.

In Ano Hana, you actively want to root for Jinta to pull himself together. He had a promising future ahead of him before Menma's death and society decided to shun him after a fallback in academics. The not being able to apologize deal is a tad cliche too, but I'm able to overlook that since it's not the point of the story.

Moreover, the jerks in Ano Hana were/are his friends and not total strangers. It seems they simply grew apart instead of comforting each other after her death. That's what makes it both tragic and compelling. Enough rambling. I hope this and C will be hits for noitamina. It won't be the same without them.

[UltimaWolf]

Just watched the first episode. Really liked it, feels like it has the potential to be very good. I am looking forward to the next episode!

[MeoTwister5]

When We Were Friends.

Loss and regret are two very powerful emotional baggage and, as Cross Game’s Kitamura Kou personifies, can also be the most powerful driving factor towards one’s life. On the other end of the spectrum lies Jinta, a young man so tormented by his loss and regret for the last thing he had done to Menma that he has shunned the world and became a NEET. Medical jargon would call it Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but for everyone else it’s the effect of an event so devastating that it changes everything and everyone. Jinta has apparently become so shocked by what had happened, an event we don’t get to see in it’s entirety but only through vague representations, that he has not only shunned his own friends but society itself. Guilt seems to rule his heart, for not being able to apologize to her when he had the chance, and lives with the regret that he may have to live with this regret for the rest of his life.

As I may have mentioned before, guilt and regret can tear people apart. I’ve said that I can understand his and Kou position totally because I still live in such a state, and I understand how differently people can cope. It’s easy to blame Jinta for not man-ing it up and living with it, but it’s much harder to try and understand that what had happened between the two of them, just before she died, was such a major emotional event. Think about it, a personal insult from someone she was closest two and probably loved with all her heart, and this was the last thing she had heard before the universe deemed it necessary to take her life. If anything, she too was left with a deep seated regret just like Jinta.

And it was with death that left him scarred and tore a group of friends apart. It is also from this that we have our premise. A cliched premise to some, but a picture perfect execution allowed to unfold with such suspenseful clarity that you could only but empathize with him and all his old friends even if you knew what was happening. It’s so easy to use death as a central plot point and build everything from there, but so difficult to keep the pace up and keep the show from degenerating into a sappy emotional tearfest. Okada Mari has taken a page from Adachi Mitsuru, perhaps THE master of this premise, and shown that she too can do it with the same deft and careful touch that prevents everything from collapsing into melodrama. Adachi himself is getting on in years (he’s 60 this year), and if Okada can keep this up, we may be seeing his successor should he retire (I hope not!).

[karice67]

Originally Posted by CWW

Wait, noitamina is close to financially bankrupt? That is the saddest news.

noitaminA is the name of the timeslot, so I don't think you can talk about it being 'bankrupt'. Not to mention that one of the major sponsors of all(?) shows that have aired in this slot is Fuji Television...

=====

Well...I haven't anything to say about how excellent this episode was that hasn't already been said.

Just a thought though: Menma's mother is Russian?

[applejuice]

Originally Posted by CWW

Wait, noitamina is close to financially bankrupt? That is the saddest news.

Bankrupt isn't a right word, but the time slot might get canceled. noitaminA is late-night animation, thus it also highly depends on DVD/BD sales. A lot of animation from this slot bombed, which means loss.

[Guardian Enzo]

Rather than choose sides in a shooting war between AnoHana and HanaIro, I'm rejoicing that there are two series like them airing at the same time - character-driven, smart and non-pandering. Sure there are major differences (clearly, AnoHana is more unabashedly sentimental and HanaIro aiming for more of a gritty realism and quirky humor) but it's not them vs. each other - it's them together against an ocean of predictable and derivative series.

[DragoonKain3]

Originally Posted by Pellissier

Free signature I made if anyone wants it (username can be added if requested).

Any chance for a smalller version? I kinda still want 2 text lines in my sig.

Thanks a million in advance.

[Proto]

Wow, I didn't expect them to use Secret Base. Nice homage there.

Anyway, excellent first episode. I can't believe that the good shows keep pilling up this season. This one seems to be a trip into the past type. Not my personal favorite, and the characters so far aren't the most likable out there, but still it has really interesting possibilities. I'm really looking forward to see where this is headed.

[Pellissier]

Originally Posted by DragoonKain3

Any chance for a smalller version? I kinda still want 2 text lines in my sig.

Thanks a million in advance.

Sure, the 160 px height comes as the standard version but it's always modifiable.



Did you also want your name by any chance?

[Anh_Minh]

I wish I'd known there was going to be a ghost before I started watching. I might not have risked it.

I mean... It was already too late for her before it started. No matter how much her friends grow up, learn to cope, whatever... she'll still be dead. Makes it hard to rejoice in their victories when all it'll mean is that she'll probably just get deader.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by DragoonKain3

To be honest guys, I don't see this show getting more depressing later on. I mean, someone already died. Pretty hard to top that.

Which isn't to say it can't be a tearjerker. It can still make you cry, but it's most certainly not because the story will take a sad turn.


While it might be too early to tell, but the feeling I get from the first episode was actually all about moving on from childhood/adolescence (not reliving it); that dwelling in the past (especially traumatic experiences) is childish and that moving forward is the adult thing to do. Or at least, that's the direction I think the series is going towards to. I mean, what other direction can Jinta go when his current self is still all emo about the past, about not being able to say sorry to Menma before she died?

So yeah, if anything, AnoHana is actually trying to convey the exact opposite of what you think it is trying to tell us. .

Well, they can kill somebody else!

I fully agree with your views on the show. The main theme of this series is obviously "moving on". It might be depressing at times, but I'm sure the story will eventually end up being positive and heartwarming.

I really, really don't get why people keep comparing this (to the point of putting them up against each other) to Hanasaku. Yes, AnoHana is more hard-hitting than Hanasaku and there is more drama, so what? Does the fact Hanasaku is simply an uplifting coming of age story that doesn't blatantly try to pull on your heartstrings make it less good than AnoHana? Not in my book. It's pointless to compare the two on this basis, as I'm pretty sure those two series are not going for the same thing. Just sit back and enjoy them. Both have great writing (from the same writer to boot), an interesting premise, solid characters and top tier production values (although Anohana is a notch below Hanasaku in this department), whether you like one more than the other is entirely a matter of preference, I think. In case you want to know, I enjoyed Hanasaku's first episode a lot more than AnoHana's.

[kagato3]

Originally Posted by Z3120

Ah, yes. It truly is a sight.


The more astonishing question is she appears in an adult body. Saying she's "back in her mature body" sounds like you're saying she died at that age, but it contradicts what Episode 1 implies that happened: that she died the day "the tomorrow which never came," which Jinta regrets. I think you read that wrong.

Thinking on that it may mean that she was in a coma for a while before she died.