|
View Poll Results: AnoHana - Episode 8 Rating | |||
Perfect 10 | 86 | 72.27% | |
9 out of 10 : Excellent | 15 | 12.61% | |
8 out of 10 : Very Good | 10 | 8.40% | |
7 out of 10 : Good | 5 | 4.20% | |
6 out of 10 : Average | 1 | 0.84% | |
5 out of 10 : Below Average | 1 | 0.84% | |
4 out of 10 : Poor | 0 | 0% | |
3 out of 10 : Bad | 0 | 0% | |
2 out of 10 : Very Bad | 0 | 0% | |
1 out of 10 : Painful | 1 | 0.84% | |
Voters: 119. You may not vote on this poll |
|
Thread Tools |
2011-06-04, 00:30 | Link #121 | |
Japanese Culture Fan
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Planet Earth
Age: 33
|
I learned to stop worrying about Menma proving her existence after the 3rd episode or so. It's an acceptable break from plausibility for me, like how most people accept temporal paradoxes in time travel stories. Besides, the excellent drama and characterization that transpired in the last 8 episodes has more than made up for that 'problem'. By the time Menma finally did reveal herself, I was surprised since I was so absorbed in the plot that I didn't expect her to drop the bomb at that moment.
This episode was so heavy with plot, full of not one but several emotional explosions, yet it didn't feel the least bit rushed. This was perfection of pacing on the same level of Madoka Magica's episode 10. And as for the drama, it was just as good as it was in the rest of the series: awesome. Quote:
|
|
2011-06-04, 00:45 | Link #122 |
Le fou, c'est moi
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Age: 34
|
...I...wow...this episode. It hits and it doesn't stop.
First it was Menmama's revealing her broken self, then Anaru's all or nothing guilt-driven confession, then it's Jinta's finally breaking down, hard, and Menma intervening at last, showing her tearless, quiet, encouraging smile that encapsulates everything about her feelings for her friends and why she once came to mean so much to everyone. Flawless. Just...flawless. |
2011-06-04, 01:02 | Link #123 | |
Mou Nakanai~
Fansubber
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Moon (where Feena at <3)
|
Damn it.
Damn it that the show is clearly going for "Menma is a ghost that really exists" direction. Not that I mind, 'cause damn it they did such a good job this episode that I feel the show can end pretty well this way, even though I thought hallucination would serve the show better. Damn it that the episode is so powerful. How many times have I used that word in this series' forum now? Without any overdramatic element, without any forced climax, this episode did it again. I might be exaggerating, but I think this show will become a role model for some future dramas to come. About Menma's mom: am I the only one who see that she was obviously doing it to the kids on purpose, so that they would stop "messing around"? If she hated them that much, if she really couldn't pass up anything of her beloved daughter as Satoshi implied, why would she give them her diary? So that the kids could do something silly to provoke herself after reading it? Either way, at least we know for sure now it's Menma's dad who stopped the firework guy, which fits his image as appeared in the earlier episode. Quote:
|
|
2011-06-04, 01:21 | Link #124 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
|
Quote:
|
|
2011-06-04, 01:41 | Link #125 |
Le fou, c'est moi
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Age: 34
|
^This show is, to an extent, utilizing magical realism. You just accept it, because the plausibility isn't about physical logic, as would be the case for a proper hard sci-fi, but in the humans populating the story.
That said, it *is* the duty of the author(s) to convince you to just accept it, by subtle tones, by focusing on the more important things, and sometimes simply by ignoring the "logical question" altogether. Consequently, readers have various levels of response to magical realist techniques. It didn't even cross my mind that it was "unnatural" when, for example, I was reading One Hundred Years of Solitude and it rained continuously for seven years. I was far, far too absorbed to care. I suspect some other readers might be more "aware" and complain about such an implausibility. Likewise, in AnoHana the only reason I even "think" about the questions you and many others raise is because people keep discussing and complaining about it so much; left alone I would have -- and I actually do -- accept it unconditionally as part of the magical realist conceit. She will reveal herself in the decisive moment, or maybe not at all, and that's all that needs to be said. And of course this episode proves that the moment has already been well planned by the story's writers, with extraordinary results. It couldn't have been handled better. TL;DR no you're not crazy or alone. My personal recommendation however is simply not to think about it. |
2011-06-04, 01:52 | Link #126 | |
(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2006
|
Quote:
It is a logical leap for us to wonder why none of the characters ever thought about trying to prove Menma's "realness" as a ghost, but I don't think it was the intention of the story to leave that impression, or to go down that route unless it had to. Episode eight, and the others before it, strongly imply/show that no one really believed Jintan, and probably wouldn't have believed him right away either. Even Poppo was mainly doing it more to help Jintan than having an actual belief that Menma was real. The timing of her "reveal" works here because it's the point where all the doubt of the cast is pushed to the surface, not just about Menma, but everything else surrounding their relationships with each other. I realize that won't be good enough for some people, because they do not like the ghost angle and/or how it is used in an otherwise serious drama. And yes, I say serious drama. There's a sentimental/nostalgic feel in the atmosphere of the show, but the characters wrestle with some complicated things. I can relate to Menma's mother's depression, her son's loneliness, Menma's father having her stuff packed so he's not reminded as much of her death, Anaru's long crush/love for Jintan, Yukiatsu and Jintan's crush/love for Menma, the way the show gives us a look at parent/child relationships, etc. This may sound like high praise, and maybe it is. I can understand why others might feel otherwise though.
__________________
|
|
2011-06-04, 02:06 | Link #127 | ||
Senior Member
Author
|
Quote:
So I think it's pretty clear that he really does believe that Jinta's Menma is real, and he sincerely believed Jinta. I found his easy acceptance of Jinta's story to be a bit too easy, but it is what it is. In fairness, it's probably good for at least one character to take a less skeptical viewpoint in order to provide balance to the cast. Quote:
"Serious" has an entirely different meaning from "believable". "Serious" is a question of mood and tone, moreso than believability. Gundam is frequently very serious, but it's not always easily believable even then. Calling something "serious drama" doesn't strike me as "high praise" in and of itself. It's simply a genre classification, imo. But yes, Anohana is appropriately put under that genre classification.
__________________
|
||
2011-06-04, 03:23 | Link #129 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
|
It would seem then, that the fault lies with me--mainly in part for approaching this series with completely wrong expectations. Because I'll admit, I went into this show with certain feelings and impressions of what I thought the show was about, where I thought it was going, and how things were going to be resolved. One of those things I thought would eventually be explained was Memma's presence (or rather the lack of it) to everyone but Jintan throughout most of the series if it had turned out that Memma was indeed not simply a mental construct of Jintan's mind. I was hoping for a clever explanation as to why Jintan or Memma didn't bother to try and prove her presence to even someone like Poppo (who's undoubtedly proven to be the most understanding and accepting of Jintan on the issue). And to an extent, part of me is still hoping for such an explanation now that the plot has established Memma is indeed a ghost.
Quote:
In closing, I apologize if the above came off as a rant. It wasn't meant to sound that way. Truthfully, the last few posts have really shed some informative insight on the issue, making it easier to move on and forget about it. I'm content simply knowing the issue clearly isn't limited to being my problem alone. |
|
2011-06-04, 04:32 | Link #131 |
Me, An Intellectual
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: UK
Age: 33
|
I think the reason Jintan didn't try to prove Menma's existence is because he thought it was just a hallucination at first, but after Yukiatsu's jackassery, he realised that it IS unfair for only him to be able to see Menma and no one else, especially Menma's mother. So he didn't want to essentially prove that he was more special to Menma than the others. After all, the others were all clearly hurt from Menma's death aswell and never fully recovered.
__________________
Last edited by Haak; 2011-06-04 at 15:04. Reason: typos |
2011-06-04, 05:12 | Link #132 |
Lurker
Join Date: Oct 2008
|
It's getting a bit Death Notey in here, in the sense of overanalyzing the plot.
Unlike Death Note however, this show doesn't have 37 episodes to work with. It has to do with less than 1/3 of the time. In that sense, it's only natural to leave explanations out. If you think about it, it's unreal how the writers use every ounce of available time to stuff in one episode. This episode alone, they managed to add, what, six impactful scenes, all of them with different characters? I suppose they could have spared a little time at the beginning to add a comical experimentation of Menma's workings as a ghost, but that's the only way it would have worked: a comical, throwaway scene. Not a scientific, long ass approach ala Death Note. Personally, I never like stories that spell it out for you instead of using your imagination, but hey, horses for courses. |
2011-06-04, 12:56 | Link #133 |
Part Time Translator
Join Date: May 2011
Location: East Coast
|
this series was not really my cup of tea, this type of genre...but after i started episode one today due to being recommended.... i'm completely wrong about my earlier assessment of lack of good series this season.
this series is a masterpiece. |
2011-06-04, 13:00 | Link #134 | ||||
(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2006
|
Quote:
You are right though, it is good to have at least one less skeptical viewpoint. I think Poppo played a big part in helping Jintan get everyone back together. Quote:
I've seen people post about how they can't understand the praise the show is getting and directly tie that into Menma's personality and her "uniqueness" as a ghost as a major reason why they don't think the show is as good as people are saying. Irenicus makes a good point about Suspension of Disbelief. Quote:
Quote:
Anyway, I try not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. There are some odd story decisions (why stop at the first thing in the diary, and not read the whole thing?), but at the same time I find myself so engrossed in each episode I don't really think about such things until afterwards, usually when others point it out.
__________________
|
||||
2011-06-04, 14:55 | Link #135 |
Banned
|
Based on a hunch that sprung from my watching about 5 minutes of this show at Anime North a week ago and not being immediately put off I decided to give this show a whirl. It was a bit of a rough start, but my goodness did this get good fast. It's finally happened, I've finally found a Slice of Life TV series I actually like again. The first since Welcome To The NHK. I've gone over in my head why this must be the case and come up with several reasons as of finishing this current episode 08 which I feel it's important for myself to lay out somewhere:
1. AnoHana has a strong emphasis on good drama and character development as opposed to wacky high school antics forming the backbone of the series appeal. I can't help but feel that if this show weren't a noitaminA and/or were done by a different studio/team like say Kyoto Animation or Shaft that this series would have instead been about the group as children doing their Super Peace Busters thing and that the emphasis would be on cute kids doing cute things instead as they go about their childhood. Also probably all of them but Jintan would have been female if that. Now while a popular medium and perfectly valid way of drawing interest from others, that sort of formula I listed above does little to nothing for me personally, and I've come to feel that it has come to define the Slice of Life genre a little too much over the past several years. As such I've been aching for some good drama and to get both Colorful and this show in the same year is something I consider a blessing. No idea if I'm seeing a return to form for the Slice of Life genre as I knew it (drama being the emphasis over comedy), but it gives me hope and if not I'm grateful to get at least 2 hits to go with all the misses I've been experiencing. I was about to give up on the whole idea of a Slice of Life genre that could do anything for me, but here we are with reason number 1 this show has been a hit with me. 2. Likeable and interesting and in some cases very complex characters. What's this? High schoolers who actually behave like high schoolers instead of elementary schoolers? You mean I'm going to be able to relate to these characters in some way other than how I relate to my kid cousin who is 10 and already more mature than your average anime high schooler? Is this a joke? Thankfully it's not and it's also nice to see characters that grow not only from past to present (as we see how different everybody is in both eras as a result of Menma's death) but in the present as well. I'm kinding of liking the role reversal of Jintan and Anaru over the last couple episodes for example. I also dig Yukiatsu's character and how he's been unveiled and want to see where he's going because he seems so conflicted and lost right now for someone who on the surface you'd think has it all going for him. Interesting characters are absolutely critical to good Slice of Life in my eyes and it's also imperative that they be defined by a clear personality yet still have some room for development. I find a lot of modern SOL series tend to try and define their characters through the gags they participate in and how those gags play off of other characters and I don't see that as valid character development or something that is going to get me interested in the cast. Thankfully AnoHana avoids that pitfall and that's reason number 2 why I find it to have been a hit with me so far. 3. Good pacing, writing, dialogue. Usually an 11 episode anime is a warning sign for me telling me to stay away because there is nothing to be seen and whatever does transpire will not amount to much because by the time you get into the show it'll all by over. Somehow AnoHana manages to make such good use of it's limited runtime that I was completely invested in it by episode 3. This I owe to the strong writing and mature dialogue and not wasting any time with any sort of unnecessary antics or wacky comedy that as I said above I feel plagues the SOL genre these days. When you maximize your time you have the greatest chance of generating and maintaining interest. Too short and you fail to get an audience before it's all over. Too long and you give the feeling of a show being drawn out and lose your audiences interest over time. So far this show gets it just right, and that's reason number 3 why this show has been a hit for me. 4. A strong opening and ending theme. Nothing gets me into a show faster than a show with a strong opening and ending to set the right tone. Thankfully the person in charge of OP/ED directing is someone who realizes that you don't need dancing in your opening and wacky visuals in your ending to draw in an audience, you just need a good song that ties into your theme, and looking at the lyrics of AnoHana's opening and ending they really couldn't have done much better. Both themes are pretty chill yet pensive in their own way and neither too loud nor too earshredding as some of them tend to be. You don't need to have gimmicks in your intro/outros, you just need visuals that give you a sense of what the show is about and what the characters are like and you need to set tone, and AnoHana handles this simple notiong very well and that's the final reason why I believe this show has been a hit for me while so many others have missed before it. As for the most recent episode, the fact that they established early on that people were recognizing weird stuff happening around Jinta and objects moving on their own was adequate preparation for the fact that there really is a ghost in this case. How they handle it from here will obviously make a big difference, but given how things have gone so far I don't see much reason to worry about something like Menma getting magicked back to life coming along and ruining the otherwise grounded nature of the series. I can allow for magical elements in my show as long as they are pre-established and foreshadowed to an acceptable degree from the get go, and I feel that AnoHana has already long since taken care of doing just that. Also the fact that there's a brother in the equation now who feels neglected by his mom who only pays attention to Menma's altar adds an interesting new layer into the series. I can already see him playing a big part in all this and have to wonder if Menma's wish is not for him to cease being neglected and for her mother and friends to get past her death. That seems to be the only logical conclusion at this point. Lastly knowing exactly how Yukiatsu was going to handle the whole cold call thing and Jintan's answers to it with the threat of violence means that I've come to understand his pretty complex character to a startling degree. I love it when that happens. Another strong episode and I'm anticipating the next. Though if I had one complaint it's that there was a little too much crying in this episode and again it's centered around Anaru. Maybe her character is a little more melodramatic then I would have liked. |
2011-06-04, 15:05 | Link #136 | |
Lurker
Join Date: Oct 2008
|
Quote:
Then there are a few subtle hints, like how she thought that by being close to people would make them sad like her mother, as seen in Naruko's room. That she stays in Jinta's house for most of the day instead of bothering him by following him around and grab unwanted attention. Like I said earlier, Menma is a strong person, stronger than one would believe. She acts cheerful and innocent in front of Jinta, but she's actually considerate and thoughtful. She wants to help Jinta overcome his issues foremost, which is why there had been speculation that her wish involves Jinta's mother and she's merely a messenger. |
|
2011-06-04, 15:20 | Link #137 | |
On a mission
Author
|
Quote:
But yea Yukiatsu's descent into threatening violence really shows how far his character has fallen ever since Jintan starting mentioning he can see Menma. Yukiatsu's a bright person that is generally really logical, but from his point of view he just sees Jintan as taking it too far and it will not stop. Basically, the pain won't stop either. The last few episodes have really shown him breaking down in a rather realistic fashion. And while we have that guy felt like he was overlooked in favor of Jintan, we now have Menma's brother who feels like he was always overlooked in favor of Menma now, not to mention Anaru's own frustration that Jintan still places Menma first. It's a messed up world where even after all these years, they remain frozen in time.
__________________
|
|
2011-06-04, 15:29 | Link #138 |
Bittersweet Distractor
Join Date: Nov 2007
Age: 32
|
I totally agree with you. It's the show's main draw for me. Too many anime these days get caught up in comedy hijinks for many episodes straight and then randomly slap you across the face with some sort of drama.
__________________
|
2011-06-04, 23:40 | Link #139 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
|
Am I the only one who gotten mad at Menma for a few seconds when Yukiatsu and everyone was bitchin' at him to stop with the menma shit. I thought wtf why isnt she doing anything. BUT the end was nice. I was like Oh.. she was writing in the diary. Good shit. :thumbsup:
|
2011-06-04, 23:50 | Link #140 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
|
I see this show like a realistic point of view of life when we lose someone important to us. For myself, I did lose my parents in 2009 and I can easily see what the characters are feeling.
In my theory, if Jintan is the only one who can see Menma is that they've a special connection and a ''thing'' who isn't completed between them. I feel like those two have to be honest to each other and tell the other their feelings. They didn't be able to do it in the past and now, Menma's next to him to do it for good. I really hope that Jintan will be able to tell her the truth.... I hope to see a kiss between them before she disapears. You're talking about the parents responsabilities. As a mother, I can tell that I raise my daughter in a way that she will be able to make her choices in life. I think that the dad of Jintan was doing a good thing with his son. He lets him free to make him see the impacts of his own decisions and he don't make feel heavy the lost of his mother. I really think that parents aren't perfect but they really do their best to their child like the Jintan's dad. For Nanaru's confession, I was touched by it but I understand very much the reaction of Jintan. He loves Menma same if she's died. You know, he can see her right now same of that. He will never be able to forget her just like that 'cause she was his first love and a very strong one. I really think that he will feel more happier when he will confess for good to Menma and not be afraid of his feelings for her anymore. For the futur episodes, I hope to see more developments between the characters and I really want to see what happen when Jintan ran away (when he was a child) and when Menma ran to join him. Right now, we know that she droped into the river to death but what happen between the moment those two were running away ? In which moment Menma died in this ? I want to understand it more clearly. I'm a big fan of two !
__________________
|
|
|