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

[Student no.0]

Spoiler for Ep 1:

Wow I almost felt like tearing up a bit, and the OP and ED really helped with that Reminds me of Clannad with that whole situation with Fuuko, except Menma died and people still remember her. Can't wait to see where the plot will be going in future episodes. If handled right, this may be one of the most memorable shows of the season and more inner nostalgia than Angel Beats did for me (not that I didn't like it though).

I have somewhat an idea on how the last episode could be like... but I think I'll keep it to myself till the end.

[Reckoner]

You're making it seem like I'm not giving Hanu-Saku Iroha enough accolades. I've praised that show enough already. Sure, the visuals are definitely better than Ano Hana. Is that margin of different good enough to your liking now?

I also do realize that Hanu-Saku Iroha still has much more time to deliver any emotional, or impactful punches since it is two cours. But from what I seen so far, i think the premise of this anime allows for better drama.

Not to say that being a tear jerker is Hanu-Saku Iroha's goal or anything. I think these animes are both very good, and it'll be interesting to see which one i like more in the end. I think it will probably end up being Hanu-Saku Iroha, merely based on the fact that it has two cours, but who knows?

[felix]

AnoHana visuals aren’t better then Iroha, Iroha has them more refined but overall I don’t see any reason to even compare the two. What can’t you watch them both? And are we seriously comparing male to female protagonist? Really?

Originally Posted by Westlo

I actually thought noitaminA had stuffed up not getting Iroha into their time slot thinking it was a perfect show for it. It looks like noitaminA had it covered with AnoHana though.. and hopefully next season's Bunny Drops keeps it up.

Fuck up bunny drop? If they manage that they deserve an award. Yes the show is that easy to get right.

[Westlo]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

You're making it seem like I'm not giving Hanu-Saku Iroha enough accolades.

No I don't think my post said that at all, all it said was one had better animation, more episodes to work with and was a different sort of show. And yes I would agree that this show has a better premise for drama but again that is because of the story it is telling compared to Iroha's. It also has a higher chance of falling off the tracks imo.. hopefully it doesn't... AnoHana looks to aim higher but could come down and crash hard...

Originally Posted by felix

but overall I don’t see any reason to even compare the two. What can’t you watch them both? And are we seriously comparing male to female protagonist? Really?

It's because the Mari Okada writing AnoHana is superior to the Mari Okada writing Iroha, pick a side.

Fuck up bunny drop? If they manage that they deserve an award. Yes the show is that easy to get right.

Good to hear, have they got enough episodes (11 i guess?) to pull it off.. all I know about the show is the manga covers and that seems like an interesting... uh "gap".

[DonQuigleone]

Menma is mai Waifu!

But seriously, she is ridiculously moe! Initially I wasn't sure how this would turn out. I initially thought "this would be kinda messed up if she didn't actually exist", and lo and behold the episode reveals this quite quickly. Also her childish behaviour also makes sense in the context of the plot as well.

All around I agree, this is a really good start. Personally I prefer a 1 cour length for drama series. 2 cour can often end out with filler or things getting drawn out, while shorter series are "punchier". Anyway they've really laid down a good foundation in this introductory episode.

This episode was way above my expectations for it. The whole deceased angle is quite novel and could have major drama wrung from it.

[winhlp32]

Story reminds me of Little Buster's 'Refrain'. Will keep an eye on how the story develops.

[germanturkey]

this has potential to be honey and clover esque. i'm excited. i've only watched like 5 mins, but i like it a lot already. it has a nice feel to it. but at the same time it feels completely different from iroha. i'm totally calling that she's a ghost. just based on what's shown in the op. if that's the case, and keeping this promise is a theme of the show, i think it'll be pretty dang emotional.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by germanturkey

this has potential to be honey and clover esque. i'm excited. i've only watched like 5 mins, but i like it a lot already. it has a nice feel to it. but at the same time it feels completely different from iroha. i'm totally calling that she's a ghost. just based on what's shown in the op. if that's the case, and keeping this promise is a theme of the show, i think it'll be pretty dang emotional.

My own view is that she is a ghost, but is nonetheless limited the same way that a corporeal being would be.

I think that she's a ghost, and not just a figment of Jinta's imagination, due to the scene where she's at her family's house, and Jinta is not in that scene.

Jinta is the only one who can see and hear her, and I think that's because what's keeping her from "moving on", as it were, is how Jinta is not able to move on yet.

I'd say that there's a good chance this anime will end with Jinta coming to terms with Menma's death in a big climatic emotional scene (probably involving bringing the whole gang back together), and then Menma will wish Jinta a final goodbye before fading away.

It'll be somewhat similar to what we saw in...

Spoiler for Clannad spoiler:

The Fuko arc of Clannad

It'll also be similar to what we saw a lot of in Angel Beats!, in my opinion.


That's just my guess, mind you.

[germanturkey]

well, this will be horribly depressing. i can already sense it. it had such a hook. it actively made me want to know what happened to each character. the scene with the family definitely was emotional. i kind of wanted it to be emotional to the point of getting tears, but that didn't happen. it'll be interesting to see if things run parallel to cross game.

[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.

[lordshadowisle]

Originally Posted by deadite

You have to realize though that Menma acts like a child because she died as a child and never grew into maturity.

Of course that's true, but it's not strictly necessary to give much focus on her acting annoying. Furthermore a child doesn't necessarily have to be clingy.

Admittedly for the first episode it serves to highlight the fact that Menma's mentality is that of a child, but having made that point I hope that in future episodes they'll move on to other aspects of her child personality, or have her character develop in response to the revelations that everything has changed.

[FlareKnight]

Originally Posted by germanturkey

well, this will be horribly depressing. i can already sense it. it had such a hook. it actively made me want to know what happened to each character. the scene with the family definitely was emotional. i kind of wanted it to be emotional to the point of getting tears, but that didn't happen. it'll be interesting to see if things run parallel to cross game.

I'm not sure if it will be horribly depressing. After all seems like the series will be about rebuilding their friendships which should be positive. Sure we'll probably see more about how they've drifted and Menma is dead, but should be room for some optimism. Could have a bittersweet ending if they are finally able to move forward as a group and Menma can pass on.

[Forsaken_Infinity]

Actually, regarding HanaSaku Iroha vs AnoHana,

I quite honestly agree with whoever it was that posted that HanaSaku Iroha is at best a weak drama and had it been a live action series, nobody would have paid a second attention to it. The number of drama shows that best HanaSaku Iroha that I have seen over the ages is beyond counts. Yeah yeah its a breath of fresh air in anime scene as of late bla bla. But honestly, that's saying more about how low anime have gotten lately than how good the show is. Of course, it's not a live action series and the visuals are breathtaking. Thus its a good show. But that doesn't mean its oh so beyond everything.

Of course, this show isn't beyond everything either. But it has decent visuals and, comparing only the first episodes, a stronger story.

It makes much more sense to compare the first episode of this show with something like Cross Game's first episode than HanaSaku Iroha's. HanaSaku Iroha may end up pulling off a better story, especially given how it has the same writer but longer runtime, but what we have so far isn't really in the same league as AnoHana.

Regarding this being depressing, it'd completely depend on how the group comes together, if at all. I am predicting a bittersweet "life goes on" ending and those are actually more along the lines of inspiring than depressing unless the viewer is already depressed

Of course, the ride is more important than the destination.

[Master_Yoma]

I think this is going to be like Air in reverse

[Pocari_Sweat]

Originally Posted by Forsaken_Infinity

Actually, regarding HanaSaku Iroha vs AnoHana,

I quite honestly agree with whoever it was that posted that HanaSaku Iroha is at best a weak drama and had it been a live action series, nobody would have paid a second attention to it. The number of drama shows that best HanaSaku Iroha that I have seen over the ages is beyond counts. Yeah yeah its a breath of fresh air in anime scene as of late bla bla. But honestly, that's saying more about how low anime have gotten lately than how good the show is. Of course, it's not a live action series and the visuals are breathtaking. Thus its a good show. But that doesn't mean its oh so beyond everything.

I believe that person was TJR and I agree with with it to some extent, but not fully. Coming from a Korean background, I know very well what the quality of Asian dramas are like (I have a mother who is a housewife that eats it up, and several female university friends that are obsessed with it), and you are very much overestimating the quality. Despite their immense and growing popularity of K-dramas, the formula and quality of them has not hardly changed. The writing in still overall over-sappy, cheesy and hammy. Imagine if 90% of K-dramas was a of style akin to Clannad After Story (but not the quality) - you're bound to get backlash just like anime is in regards to moeblobs and fanservice.

Granted, I've pretty much stopped watching K-dramas bar a few titles here and there, and the last Blockbuster style one I've seen was the Iris franchise. And a few historical ones (Saguk) here and there.

Granted Asian dramas are solely targeted at the late teen to adult female demographic, so they cater towards their needs... which is also why there's also a lot of emphasis on picking actors - they must first be eye appealing... In fact I would argue that a large reason for the the popularity of Asian dramas (particularly K-dramas) is not because of the quality of the shows themselves, but because of the actors.

But you are completely right in saying that the level of quality in anime in regards to drama has been pretty abysmal. However, Mari Okada has recently given it a huge boost which is why people are impressed, and there's a fair people who come from Asian drama backgrounds like myself that agree.

[Blue-kun]

Spoiler for 1:

That was pretty neat. I'd say story-wise I still prefer the first episode of Iroha, because Ohana was/is stealing the show there and she's easily one of the most likeable female characters in a good while for me. Here, we don't have anyone who left me with such an impression, but the overall set up was quite pleasant. Being someone who moved around a lot, I can sort of relate to Jinta, and I can only imagine how much of a burden it must be to get in touch with a group of friends who you haven't seen/talked to in forever. And that's even without Menma's (or anyone else's) death. People change far too much and it's hard to get back together a decade after and expect each other to get along perfectly.

Jinta himself seems to be in the pits, and for the most part he wasn't a very likeable character because of this, but it was nice seeing some growth already and how he seems to be bent on fulfilling Menma's wish, while, at the same time, trying to get out of what seems to be a pretty miserable lifestyle due to the trauma. I really liked that last scene, what with the ending playing and him running towards the shed. That's what youth is all about, anyway. Time where you can act like that and let stuff come out!

Menma herself was... well, I'm not sure how to talk about her. She's cute, but I also agree that she might have been a bit too hyperactive around Jinta and not realizing whatever he went through. In the end, though, it all worked out because she seems to have gotten to him, but it was a bit agonizing seeing how he struggled each time she acted like that in front of other people, in particular their old friends.

Everyone else, I don't know. We didn't get enough of them for me to have any opinion regarding those guys, aside from Anaru who... well, is acting like a teenager girl, I suppose. The way she acted seemed to imply she had feelings for Jinta, and all that rudeness towards the guy has to be the tsundere-ness getting through in her prime.

Overall, it was enjoyable and if the writing keeps up being good it could go pretty far. Nagai as a director is a good fit, too, if Honey and Clover 2 is any indicator he can deal with the more angsty moments in fantastic fashion. Another really good slice-of-life this season, or, rather, another really good show as a whole. Japan's off to kill me with the overload of interesting things popping up.

--

And by the way, on the whole debate about which show looks the best, I personally find both to be very attractive. If we're only talking about actual animation, I think Ano Hana takes the cake. Iroha is well animated, but I just don't see the same amount of different mannerisms for each character, nor do they simply flow as well as they do here. It's... hard to put it into words, but the characters in Ano Hana overall feel a lot more "life like". I guess for an example of what I mean, the scene with Jinta and Menma near the railway is okay. See when she's jumping around, or smelling the flowers, there's a very "realistic" touch to those motions. They feel natural. Same can be said on how she behaved at Jinta's house while he's cooking and so on. There's really always some movement going on, it's hard to spot moments where the characters aren't doing something. Of course, these movements are all very well done too, and they flow well. On the other hand, this comes at the price of having simplified character designs, and that's where Iroha is better. It looks far more "polished", if you want to use that word, while still being considerably well animated. So yeah, they're both really good, each in its own way. (And man, it really is hard to talk about animation. I never find myself able to express what I see into words properly, it's more about feeling than... well, I don't know!)

[Triple_R]

Maybe I've been somewhat desensitized through recently watching Madoka Magica, but I don't really get a downright depressing vibe from Anohana either.

It has a somewhat melancholic feel to it, but I think that Anohana will ultimately be about coping with loss and moving on from sadness, rather than being overwhelmed by it.

I agree with Forsaken_Identity that this anime will likely end up being more inspiring than depressing.

Sometimes for a story to be inspirational, it needs to have a sad beginning.

[Reckoner]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Maybe I've been somewhat desensitized through recently watching Madoka Magica, but I don't really get a downright depressing vibe from Anohana either.

It has a somewhat melancholic feel to it, but I think that Anohana will ultimately be about coping with loss and moving on from sadness, rather than being overwhelmed by it.

I agree with Forsaken_Identity that this anime will likely end up being more inspiring than depressing.

Sometimes for a story to be inspirational, it needs to have a sad beginning.

It will be more inspiring that anything, but I do think it will have a bit of a bittersweet ending. Because in the end, all 6 friends won't be able to reunite, just 5.

[brocko]

Yea I'm getting more bittersweet vibes from this than anything else. Got a feeling the show will wreck my shit so bad by the time it ends... T_T

[Guardian Enzo]

Blog of first episode (beware, gushing ahead):

For me the expectations were sky-high for this one, and they were largely met. It's odd but wonderful to see the Cross Game trio reunited in a series where there's a time skip from grade school to high school and the defining event is the death of a little girl - but there you go. They're all great, and Miyu-miyu has the emotional center of the series again. Thank goodness he's playing Jinta, because it's a crucial and difficult role.

There were many reasons to suspect this would be excellent - A-1 Pitcures may have the best track record of any studio for the last couple of years. NoitaminA certainly has an astonishing streak of high-quality efforts. And Mari Okada has stamped herself as one of the best writers around, both with adapted and original material. Between this and Hanasaku Iroha she's got the top two slots of the season for me at this point.

And all that appears to have delivered the goods. Despite a lack of information and not knowing much about most of the cast, it's already a highly emotional experience. The power of the premise is obvious - you can feel it like a telegraphed right hook to to gut, though the punch hasn't been delivered yet.

I disagree with the notion that this will be the show that saves NoitaminA, though. I'd be thrilled if it did, but I really don't see this being a ratings winner. It appears to be too sentimental, too thoughtful, and doesn't hit enough of the magic buttons that you seem to have to hit these days. If anything, I think "C" has a better chance to pull big numbers.