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

[tsunade666]

Even if the girl is not dead or alive. Sniffing a dress of an opposite sex is already not normal. If the girl is dead it could be he is remembering her but still the dress is from the past and they are still kids back then. That one alone is kinda wrong and if the girl is alive and your sniffing her used dress. Its more abnormal.

[minagoroshi-hen]

Originally Posted by felix

Normal people simply need to look at it, or just pray. You then have the issue of time, it’s been a good number of years since then whatever smell there was has been inhaled by the creep in the first year, or simply went away already by natural means. And even if say there was a smell, what exactly is it? blood? sweat? No matter how you look at it that was creepy, and it’s only purpose seems to have been to set him up as the antagonist. Let’s hope there is no boat around.

You're acting as if real people are flawless. I agree that it was a bit creepy but (hopefully) this doesn't have shounen-like characters with everything painted in black and white. He has his flaws just like everyone else in the show. They wouldn't be realistic if they weren't flawed. People are making too much of this.

It's abnormal, I agree. However, we shouldn't judge him yet. It's easy to hate on him without knowing the circumstances.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by CWW

What was Anaru supposed to say? Jinta is absent from school for a long period after all. She even bemoaned him in the first episode for playing hooky and rightly so. As much of a trauma it was, it's five years ago. He needs to pick himself up and think about his future. So what if people have preconceptions of you? These things happen whether he likes it or not.

Yes. But if it was your friend they were badmouthing, would you feel like staying there to hear it?

[ars89]

Spoiler for ep 2:

Poppo hasn't changed a bit, he's the best.

Tsuruko seems to be the most interesting and changed one of them all.

Yukiatsu is totally a creeper. I feel he'll be the last to convert.

Naruko seems to not have changed at all, as noted by Menma.

Jinta actually had fun in a long time. Hopefully Menma's reappearance gets him out of his hole.

I feel Menma is more than just a ghost. She's able to interact with the world even though she can't be seen. Maybe she came back to bring everyone together again.

Pokemon reference was so nostalgic.

[hero147]

Am I the only one who was not grossed out by Yukiatsu's smelling scene? I understand the gesture and the same concept was applied in Clannad as well. The only thing creepy about the scene is how he got Menma's dress.

[felix]

Originally Posted by minagoroshi-hen

It's abnormal, I agree. However, we shouldn't judge him yet. It's easy to hate on him without knowing the circumstances.

I’m not judging him yet, I said “antagonist” not “bad guy”. And he and the others are plenty flawed as is, the scene was not really necessary if that was the point. Well, anyway, time will tell.

[Westlo]

I'm struggling to remember the first two episodes of an anime that has impressed me as much as this has.

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

Yes. But if it was your friend they were badmouthing, would you feel like staying there to hear it?

Well I think she was too distracted to say anything by the thought of Jinta having wet dreams about her lol. I really don't fault Tsuruko's behavior at all, from her perspective Naruko half heartily defended one insult (I think she did enough) and than said nothing (since she was uh blushing lol, but Tsuruko didn't see that) to another and had enough. What she said about Naruko was also correct, harsh but correct.

I think most people assume that Tsuruko has feelings for dress sniffer, but I wouldn't be surprised if they mix it up and it's actually Jinta she has feelings for. Apart from the incident in this episode she clearly didn't like the way Yukiatsu was talking to Jinta in the first episode. It also keeps up her resentment for Menma and people not getting over her as well as another factor in why she blasted Naruko. Not likely but I wouldn't be surprised....

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by hero147

Am I the only one who was not grossed out by Yukiatsu's smelling scene? I understand the gesture and the same concept was applied in Clannad as well. The only thing creepy about the scene is how he got Menma's dress.

No, I'm pretty much the same. I think I'd feel differently if Menma was alive and he'd stolen her laundry, but as it is...

Originally Posted by Westlo

I think most people assume that Tsuruko has feelings for dress sniffer, but I wouldn't be surprised if they mix it up and it's actually Jinta she has feelings for. Apart from the incident in this episode she clearly didn't like the way Yukiatsu was talking to Jinta in the first episode. It also keeps up her resentment for Menma and people not getting over her as well as another factor in why she blasted Naruko. Not likely but I wouldn't be surprised....

Yeah, in the first ep, I thought she liked Jinta too. Now, I'm not sure.

[CWW]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

Yes. But if it was your friend they were badmouthing, would you feel like staying there to hear it?

If I happen to agree, and Anaru seems to with slightly less harsh words, then yes.

Besides, it wasn't that bad to warrant a hissy fit. "He's a shut-in." Well, that's true I suppose. "I wouldn't want to be associated with him." You're free to. "He's probably fantasizing about you." Gosh, I am so outraged I am leaving right now! Begone, fiends!

Originally Posted by Westlo

Apart from the incident in this episode she clearly didn't like the way Yukiatsu was talking to Jinta in the first episode.

I got the opposite impression. The "What are you getting so worked up over?" makes her seem she didn't care one bit and just wanted to go home.

[tezu]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Just a short note to say that you're not alone. The whole device of a walking, talking ghost makes the drama a bit too far-fetched for me as well. It also cheapens the friends' healing process, I feel. Death is supposed to be final — that's what makes it devastating, after all. All the things you should have said and done but didn't, they are the reasons the regrets are so heavy and painful.

Well, I'm happy I'm not the only one who is somewhat sceptical about the ghost, then When I read the synopsis, there was no mention about Menma being dead/a ghost, so I was completely surprised when I watched the first episode...Imagine how brillant this series could've been without the ghost constantly chatting with Jintan...

Originally Posted by Kitten320

Besides without ghost I don't see why Jintan would try to intereact with them after such a long time. There should have been a push of some sort.

The only problem with the ghost I see is that she is way too realistic looking to the point that Jintan can actually feel her like if she was real. I think it would'vr been better if she was slightly more transperent.

That's exactly what my problem is: Jintan needs a ghost to push him. Everyone gets back together because of a ghost, not because they themselves are brave enough to reunite again. Slice-of-life series usually claim to be, well, about life, and having a ghost helping you is a little off. If Menma had appeared in a dream and asked Jinta to reconcile the gang, then her appearance could be explained as a psychological phenomenon. But she's always accompanying him and influencing others as well: Remember when she hugged Anaru in ep1? Anaru felt the weight. The puppy barked at her and she can open doors. She is almost like a half-materialized being, not a manifestation of Jintan's desire to return to normalcy. Menma is real and not a result of Jintan's stress. That's why, in spite of their interactions, I can't really feel any connection to Menma and Jintan which is sad, because the story revolves around these two.

[CWW]

Originally Posted by tezu

Slice-of-life series usually claim to be, well, about life, and having a ghost helping you is a little off.

This is a misconception. There are quite a a few slice of life series out there that have supernatural elements in them. Haruhi, Clannad, Kamichu, Dennou Coil and Natsume Yuujinchou to name a few have supernatural elements. Hell, Nichijou of the current season has a robot and a talking cat.

The journey is what's important and using a spirit as a cataclyst is a choice of the creator. Sometimes they use a doppleganger, like in Cross Game, which is a bit out of the realm of believable too. Personally, I think it's refreshing that they dabble into the supernatural and make no pretense about it.

You may disagree, and truth be told it was pretty weird to see Menma eat meat, but it works as storytelling.

[tezu]

Originally Posted by CWW

This is a misconception. There are quite a a few slice of life series out there that have supernatural elements in them. Haruhi, Clannad, Kamichu, Dennou Coil and Natsume Yuujinchou to name a few have supernatural elements. Hell, Nichijou of the current season has a robot and a talking cat.

The journey is what's important and using a spirit as a cataclyst is a choice of the creator. Sometimes they use a doppleganger, like in Cross Game, which is a bit out of the realm of believable too. Personally, I think it's refreshing that they dabble into the supernatural and make no pretense about it.

You may disagree, and truth be told it was pretty weird to see Menma eat meat, but it works as storytelling.

Haha yeah, where did the meat go to, anyway? And not to forget, ghost!Menma even took a bath and obviosly aged/matured while she was dead :/ (at least Jinta always emphasizes that)

Anyway, I think the ghost thing is just a matter of personal taste. I accept the fact that some people like it and some people dislike it. I also agree that there are slice-of-life series with supernatural elements. Series like Natsume Yuujinchou, or Mushishi and Aria are slice-of-life but the world they are set in is a different one from ours. Aria is set in an utopia, Mushishi and Natsume Yuujinchou in a world in which spirits officially exist. Events concerning these spirits can be applied to human emotions and relationships, it's a whole different level on which they approach life.
AnoHana however has that typical drama-vibe, the sort of drama that could happen in our own reality. It seems to approach life from the "normal" angle and is set in our ordinary world (with Pokemon references even!), yet it tries to add a supernatural element that in this context seems out of place. I guess that's what I was trying to express with "not slice-of-life like", I didn't mean that supernatural series can't be slice of life, but that there are certain slice-of-life "types" that don't go well with supernatural elements (imagine Honey and Clover or Toradora with ghosts)...but I am rambling. It's only how I personally feel though and I think we can agree to disagree here

[Proto]

Magical Realism. It has been around for more than 100 years now. I don't know what people keep getting uppity about.

[totoum]

I have no problem with Menma being a ghost though I can see where tezu is coming from but there's one thing I strongly disagree with

Jintan needs a ghost to push him. Everyone gets back together because of a ghostnot because they themselves are brave enough to reunite again.(...)If Menma had appeared in a dream and asked Jinta to reconcile the gang, then her appearance could be explained as a psychological phenomenon.

I can't quite figure out how to say this but I hope I'll make myself understandable.

You say Gintan needs a ghost to push him,I say that's not the case at all,because Gintan doesn't know she's a ghost,he assumes that it's a psychological phenomenon.So all of his actions have been the same as if Menma was just a delusion of his not because she's a ghost.
So so far Menma being a ghost or a delusion has had no effect on the character's decisions.

[DragoZERO]

Excellent episode, truly. I do agree that the dress thing is creepy.

Oh, and it looks like everyone liked each other but the only ones with common feelings were Menma and Gintan. I find it a little weird since they were so young, I don't think kids would develop those kinds of feelings at such a young age. Maybe things are different in Japan since the opposite usually had cooties at that age where I grew up.

[Kaoru Chujo]

All of us often need a push to get going or to do what is best. I don't think Menma being a ghost cheapens anything. Not for me, anyway.

I should add that although I am tentatively thinking she is a ghost, she might well just be a psychological phenomenon of Jintan's.

As for Yukiatsu's little treasure, I can't say I mind, although it was surprising and somewhat creepy to see him with it. I choose to think only of the fact that it shows his affection for Menma. As well as the contrast with his image as a straight student.

This reminds me of the news that Yuuki Aoi is contributing a dress to a charity auction for the earthquake. It's a dress she has worn on TV, but she makes the point in her blog that it has been cleaned and has no dirt or smells on it. In her 2channel thread, several posters have said that the dress having been washed reduces its value. I suspect Ao-chan occasionally braves the undoubted creepiness of that thread (too creepy for me to quote) and as a bit of an otaku herself, knows how some otaku can be.

[Texas84]

Great episode. Just finished Madoka Magica so I was kind of a mess when I started this. So I lost it when they showed the taped sticker. Totally lost it.

[germanturkey]

at the taped sticker, i was like dawwwwwwww. are you sure that's a dress and not just a towel?

[wandering-dreamer]

Aw, everyone is going crazy for the Pokemon reference but no one else noticed the Wandering Son posters in the game store?
Anyway, I'm also surprised at how fast the old gang is starting to come back together, although I think it'll take a little longer for Anaru to come around. Also, someone else pointed it out earlier, but I'm wondering if we'll have a big, mid-season twist that will set back all of Jinta's progress, the show clearly likes tugging on heartstrings so I'm half expecting a bit shock later on.

[kyouray]

Anaru getto !

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

I should add that although I am tentatively thinking she is a ghost, she might well just be a psychological phenomenon of Jintan's.

It should be something more complex since Anaru felt Menma's weight in the 1st episode.

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

This reminds me of the news that Yuuki Aoi is contributing a dress to a charity auction for the earthquake. It's a dress she has worn on TV, but she makes the point in her blog that it has been cleaned and has no dirt or smells on it. In her 2channel thread, several posters have said that the dress having been washed reduces its value. I suspect Ao-chan occasionally braves the undoubted creepiness of that thread (too creepy for me to quote) and as a bit of an otaku herself, knows how some otaku can be.

To my mind this scene doesn't bother me. As Anh_Minh said it'd be different if Menma was alive and he'd stolen her laundry. I mean Menma's dead and he only has her dress as memory he can cherish so sniffing isn't so weird.