Quote:
Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo
I think it's possible that everything is effectively a red herring - the fireworks, the wish, Menma's existence itself. Maybe the series is just a bunch of unhappy kids, Menma mysteriously appears to one of them, they rediscover their friendship and love of life through that mystery. The end. I'm sure the general reaction to that would be amusingly ballistic, but I'd personally love it...
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Speaking personally, I don't have a problem with a simple story. I don't have a problem with a story that's simply about friendship and love of life in a general sense. After all, I largely enjoyed K-On!!, and that's basically what that anime was about.
But then, if that's the simple story that the writer wants to tell, then I think that it's bad form to throw out persistent red herrings that
naturally cause viewers to expect more than that.
The premise and plot of a piece of fiction,
any piece of fiction, will tend to create a certain expectation level in the minds of readers or viewers.
What I mean by that, is that if you have an ever-present plot point of, say, "Who killed Mr. Jones?", then readers are naturally going to expect to have that question answered by the end, and for the answer to be something understandable and concrete.
In this anime, the plot point of "What is Menma's wish?" has become almost as ever-present as a "Who killed Mr. Jones?" sort of question is in a murder mystery novel.
So viewers are naturally going to expect an understandable and concrete answer to this almost ever-present plot point and question. Otherwise, many viewers will be disappointed and/or underwhelmed,
and it won't be their own fault.
No viewer chose to foist the "What is Menma's wish?" plot point unto Okada, and ask her to come up with a good answer to it. She herself chose to make that an almost ever-present plot point, and that's probably not something a writer should do unless they have a good resolution in store for a plot-driving mystery of their own creation and promotion.
So yes, I expect a good, concrete answer to "What is Menma's wish?". Okada has given every reason for viewers to expect a good, concrete answer to that question. Now, I don't expect the wish to be something beyond what a young girl could believably conceive of, so I'm fully prepared for it to be "down to Earth", so to speak. But a plot point of this frequency and significance should not be just hand-waved away into the ether. It calls for and deserves a good, concrete answer.
Now, I'm confident that Okada will deliver one. She is a very good writer, after all.
But if she doesn't, and some viewer disappointment arises from that, it won't be the fault of viewers for expecting something that they have been given every reason to expect.