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

[Flower]

It is interesting to me that so many people have compared Ano Hana and Hanasaku to True Tears.

For me they are all pretty distinct "animals".

For me my fave genres ARE slice of life and coming of age, though, so it's prolly not a surprise that I have enjoyed this and Hanasaku as much as I have. To answer something Deconstructor mentioned, this kind of show is exactly the sort of thing I DO seek out, and I was delighted to find two offerings of the "type" in one season.

As the Russian saying goes "Every frog praises his own swamp."

[GreyFlcn]

Music video with a collection of clips so far in the series:

[Deconstructor]

Originally Posted by Flower

For me my fave genres ARE slice of life and coming of age, though, so it's prolly not a surprise that I have enjoyed this and Hanasaku as much as I have. To answer something Deconstructor mentioned, this kind of show is exactly the sort of thing I DO seek out, and I was delighted to find two offerings of the "type" in one season.

As the Russian saying goes "Every frog praises his own swamp."

I'm more of a shonen viewer myself (mainly because all they ever showed on Toonami was fighting) and I guess I am a little biased there.

Mmm... I find Anohana to have a more compelling effect. I feel Hanairo tries too hard in creating special stories, and sometimes the excess effort pays off. But with Anohana, there's a relaxed atmosphere in the flow of plot events. Whereas Hanairo is focused on creating a more mature, confident Ohana through her experiences at the inn, Anohana has no foreseeable path the characters must take. I didn't think Jinta, the lazy, anti-social shut-in, would be working multiple part-time jobs to build fireworks. He goes back to school briefly, but then accepts school isn't really for him (at least, for now). There isn't a coercive environment in Anohana - no pressure on the main characters to become better citizens. Most of all, there are no lessons the characters must learn by the ending. Instead, Jinta and his friends are simply living out their childhood dreams once more, making different choices from typical people. Strangely the lack of structure is what I like the most.

Now I know some people are going to say Tsuruko gets indirectly pressured by Yukiatsu to do well in school, who in turn is pressured by his past with Jinta and Menma. We only see a little bit of their suffering, however. With Anaru, she says she gets scolded by her mother, but we don't actually see the scolding take place. Most of the time, Anohana is rather chill. And I bet people really like something relaxing to watch. Indeed, as I look back on my rating spreadsheet (I keep records, don't look at me like that...) all of the lowest rated episodes seem to force the emotional issues onto me, as Hanairo does. Naturally, my favorite Hanairo episode is the one where Tomoe goes crazy on the survivalist gamers.

So I'm concluding by throwing out an idea of what people might like - easygoing, unpretentious stories that still manage to retain significance and meaning. I don't necessarily mean anime has to be simple, but it's easier to draw the general population of viewers in with casual events like playing video games or riding the train. And then, are the characters riding the train simply because they need to get from point A to B quickly, or are they just lying on the seats discussing some interesting things? Eh.

[SuperKnuckles]

Originally Posted by deadite

Uh it's pretty much confirmed that Menma is not a hallucination...

Duh. Doesn't matter terribly since that's how the other characters perceive her. It's just a plot device. Whether she is or not is kind of besides the point.

Of course, other shows using the 'specter of someone's childhood friend' thing was Cross Game. That show could have benefited from being longer, but what little they delved into the death and the trauma that followed was brilliant.

[Proto]

So I suggested this series to my brother, and he mentioned that the only thing he felt while watching this series is that he was wasting his time and he should go out and play with his childhood friends that he hadn't seen in a while instead. So he went and did that, dropped the series and got the old gang together.

Does that counts as a success or as a failure?

[Flower]

Originally Posted by Proto

So I suggested this series to my brother, and he mentioned that the only thing he felt while watching this series is that he was wasting his time and he should go out and play with his childhood friends that he hadn't seen in a while instead. So he went and did that, dropped the series and got the old gang together.

Does that counts as a success or as a failure?

Ummm ... yes?

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Proto

So I suggested this series to my brother, and he mentioned that the only thing he felt while watching this series is that he was wasting his time and he should go out and play with his childhood friends that he hadn't seen in a while instead. So he went and did that, dropped the series and got the old gang together.

Does that counts as a success or as a failure?

Depends. How old is your brother?

[totoum]

Originally Posted by Proto

So I suggested this series to my brother, and he mentioned that the only thing he felt while watching this series is that he was wasting his time and he should go out and play with his childhood friends that he hadn't seen in a while instead. So he went and did that, dropped the series and got the old gang together.

Does that counts as a success or as a failure?

Why choose?
I say he should have gotten the old band back together so that they all watch the anime together

[Malkuth]

I feel that AnoHana started dragging it's story after Yukiatsu was exposed. From that point on, I find speculation based on the previews way more interesting than the actual episodes.

[-Sho-]

Proto -> Well your bro is right , hanging around with his childhood friends & having fun with them , what's better ? Time is precious

[TAKOYAKI]

[wandering-dreamer]

This is rather cute, also didn't know there was a store devoted just to noitaminA series in Tokyo.

[Proto]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Depends. How old is your brother?

22 this year. Apparently he prefers lots of fantasy/sci-fi in his anime/books/media. He has a point when he says that he has enough of slice of life in real life.

[Guardian Enzo]

If it can get a 22 year-old (is there a more self-important age than that?) nostalgic enough to reconnect with his youth, I'd call it a success...

As cool as that AnoHana exhibit is, more than anything I'm pissed that I didn't know that NoitaminA shop existed when I was in Tokyo. I could be wearing a Hourou Musuko T-shirt right now...

[Kanon]

You can vote for your favorite outfit on the official website: http://www.anohana.jp/special/fashion.html

As expected, Manma is the most popular. Actually, Menma's the one with the most vote, but I reckon that's because she only has one outfit.

[Velsy]

Well after thinking this season was pretty dull and nothing really appealed to me. (seriously noone subbing Maria+Hoilic ?)

I just re-watched Toradora and noticed on MAL, Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae was listed right next to Toradora and Clannad on the reccomends. So I thought I'd give it a try. Here I am now 8 episodes later wanting to watch the next one. So far I rating it amung one of the great animes of the year (that I've seen)

Really has impressed me. But I sorta am depressed a little as its built on a depressing event (The death of a girl like her in a tragic accident noone seen coming)... but that might just be me.

[Flower]

Originally Posted by Kanon

You can vote for your favorite outfit on the official website: http://www.anohana.jp/special/fashion.html

As expected, Manma is the most popular. Actually, Menma's the one with the most vote, but I reckon that's because she only has one outfit.

They included one of Yukiatsu cross-dressing!

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Velsy

Well after thinking this season was pretty dull and nothing really appealed to me. (seriously noone subbing Maria+Hoilic ?)

I just re-watched Toradora and noticed on MAL, Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae was listed right next to Toradora and Clannad on the reccomends. So I thought I'd give it a try. Here I am now 8 episodes later wanting to watch the next one. So far I rating it amung one of the great animes of the year (that I've seen)

Same director (Tatsuyuki Nagai) as Toradora.

[Velsy]

I was thinking today.... I would've liked/loved to seen Memna join the Angel Beats crew O_o

Just putting that thought out there ^_^

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Same director (Tatsuyuki Nagai) as Toradora.

Ah, well I liking it as much as Clannad/Toradora. So, so far its lived up to that expectation. But its slightly different as they don't really involve going school as a common setting.

[spawnofthejudge]

Originally Posted by Velsy

Ah, well I liking it as much as Clannad/Toradora. So, so far its lived up to that expectation. But its slightly different as they don't really involve going school as a common setting.

In fact, the few times that the narrative takes us to the school, it feels extremely awkward.