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

[Pellissier]

Episode 1 freebie avatars:

[Haak]

Originally Posted by Pellissier

Episode 1 freebie avatars:

Hot damn. Claimed!

[ZODDGUTS]

While I found the first ep to be really good I would put it below Hana saku Iroha because I think this series is going to be predicable as to where the drama is heading. Overall still a great ep. Menma annoyed me a bit though with her Otaku moeness pandering. Couldn't help themselves I guess. -_-

[deadite]

Originally Posted by lordshadowisle

I had some expectations for this, but from what I see so far it's not quite there yet, though of course there's a lot of promise.

One of the more interesting points were the characters; though little time was spent on each character, from what was shown they are complex characters, with overt and hidden aspects. It makes me want to know more about what happened those few years, and how they each came to change.

Unfortunately Menma was a bit too annoying for me; I hope that she's not going to spend a few minutes making a fuss in each episode. I think it'll get better though, there's room for character development there.

Generally for the pilot it does feel a bit mopey and angsty, but given the ending (as well as the premise of the promise) I think the tone of the show will get more optimistic as it goes on.

Lastly, really like the ED music. Beautiful and especially suits the show.

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

[Jerseykid]

enjoyable and epic razor commercial at the end

[felix]

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.

According to the show this version of her is older.

[0utf0xZer0]

The "importance of friends/community" vibe this is giving off reminded me a lot of Clannad, but the show reminded me of something else too. Then it hit me: the physical interaction with someone who isn't there... the "what's with you man" from onlookers...

So basically, Menma is a moeblob version of Tyler Durden and this anime is like a cross between Clannad and Fight Club.

That said, I'm not liking this show nearly as much as Hana-Saku Iroha for two reasons. First, because I tend to dislike the childish airhead type. The exceptions to that rule (such as Akira from Yosuga no Sora) tend to be clever types who simply come across as airheads, and I don't think Menma fits that bill. Second, there's something about Hana-Saku Iroha - perhaps something about Ohana herself - that makes almost every little scene in that show a joy to watch. I end up with like a score of "I liked that!" moments every episode when I watch HSI. That didn't happen here.

However, I'm pretty pumped for where this show is going, as I expect that I'm going to get much more interested once the main character's relationships with the other club members come into focus and start playing a role in the story. And its not like every show of this type I've liked has been a hit from episode 1 anyway (I think it took me until episode 3 to start liking EF).

[Reckoner]

Well I'm going to offer a bit of a weight of a comparison between this show and Hanu-Saku Iroha and explain a little of why I think this show in a way, upstaged it.

Hanu-Saku Iroha certainly has a touch better visuals. The main protagonist is a very likable one, and it is beautifully executed. But one thing it doesn't quite have right now is large emotional impact. Not many people are able to necessarily relate to such an irresponsible mother, or having to be sent off to such a distant place like a random resort to be under a patriarchal grandmother with such unfriendly people around you. The main character herself is relateable, but she is built that way. Evidently, while the show is enjoyable to watch and its been a rather entertaining coming of age story without any real "moe bait" getting in the way of this drama, it hasn't hit anyone's specific "heart strings" yet.

Usually great dramas/coming of age stories focus on being able to relate the situation to the viewer or tug at their emotions with events that seem all too real to them. What Ano Hana has managed to do is just that. A lot of people can relate to the idea of friends changing and splitting ways as they grow up. Often times its depressing, and I for one know just how much stuff like that sucks having gone through several good friends like that. The premise is something entirely all too real and emotional. Further compacted in this drama is the fact that their friend died and this is the reason they split apart, as she seems to have been a sort of glue for their group of friends.

The main character has been acting like a recluse and we wonder why, since it doesn't seem like he's a bad guy, and we realize the incredible guilt that was placed on him over something which was quite silly, but very sad at the same time. The girl's death is further explored with a scnee of their family, which showed real emotions and real life situations well with how her brother even proclaims angrily "she's dead" while her other berieved with the death of her child sitll holds so mcuh devotion to her to even continue to hold that little shrine for her after all these years.

This is followed up by the powerful cartharsis of the main character which more or less summed up the episode, as he is struggling with his guilt and realizes that all he wanted to do was ot apologize to her.

And guess what? This is merely the first episode!

[Wakan Tanka]

Too many transitions..

[fertygo]

Just watching the 1 eps... oh my that just wonderful... Dammit I cried a bit when the insert song playing
And the premise n script is just too damn strong. Mari Okada did it again.

[Raiga]

Originally Posted by felix

According to the show this version of her is older.

Her image is physically older, but she still didn't live out those intervening years and grow older mentally as a result.

In any case they haven't really revealed the nature of Menma as a spirit, so it's all just speculation. But I'm for the "acts like a child because that's when she died" explanation. Especially because the point is that, while everyone else in their friend group has changed drastically, she still remains the same (that was paraphrased straight from the summary on the official site).

[TurkeyPotPie]

Good first episode although Menma was a bit annoying. I liked the juxtaposition of Jinta and Poppo there at the end. I wonder if their roles as children will be reversed now with Poppo being more of the leader and helping Jinta overcome his guilt?

[totoum]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

I noticed a lot of things that reminded me of Cross Game. Starting from the seiyuu of the 3 main CG characters being here, Tomatsu Haruka (Aoba there, Anaru here), Irino Miyu (Kou, Jintan), Sakurai Takahiro (Azuma, Yukiatsu). But also the plot:

Spoiler for do not read if you've not seen Cross Game episode 1 or read the manga:

Similarities:

- Kids using to hang out together and starting having crushes betwen them.
- A little girl died, it seems in the same way. Drowned.
- The main character was in love with the girl who's dead, and he was not the only one.
- There's a tangible feeling of loss and mourning on the characters.
- There's the feeling that time has frozen for several years and now starts to move again.

Of course, there were consistent differences in Cross Game:

- Love between the protagonist and the deceased girl was already mutual and "established" at the time she died.
- Friendships weren't affected by the happening. No senses of guilt, also because no one was responsible of anything.
- Characters didn't significantly change when grown up.

All in all, a great watch.

The thought of having Irino Miyu and Tomatsu Hakura interact together again is making me quite happy.

I'd like to add a couple things

Spoiler for cross game:

Another similarity:in cross game Kou set out to fulfill Wakaba's last dream,here Jinta's going to set out and try to fulfill Memma's wish,the dream and wish have nothing to do with one another though.
And another difference is that we've got a real ghost here,that wasn't the case with Wakaba

As for the comparaison with Hanasaku Iroha ,well here's Okada Mari's reaction to the debate:



Whichever one you preffer she can't lose since she wrote both.

I say we wait a bit until we compare,one is 11 episodes the other 26 so Anasaku Iroha has more time to set itself up for a climax that I feel we havn't come close to yet while here we dive right into things.
But I really hope both sell well on DVD/Blu-ray (along with "C" while we're at it but I've got less hope) because we've already had Madoka earlier this year so if producers starts seeing anime original selling well then we might start seeing more of them instead of a random adaptation of a mediocre manga/light novel.

[OpenDoors]

During the scene with Menma's family various scenarios on how Jinta can reveal/reunite Menma's ghost with her family... Then it hit me. Is it actually more cruel to the family to do so?

From that scene, it seems both the father and brother are over the death of Menma. Reintroducing them to Menma again would throw them back into the heart-wrenching time. Imagining what the mother would go through if she reunited with Menma's ghost alone makes me sick. With no chance of a happy ending (can't revive her - normally), is it better to look the other way.. or even to prevent her family from finding out the more humane thing to do?

Then again, if I were a parent that lost a child I would almost do anything to see him/her again.. Even if I know that I will be devastated once the ghost move on/disappear.

What would you guys do, if in Jinta's position?

[ars89]

Wow, props to Mari Okoda, 2 great scripts in the same season. Didn't expect it to be this good, very emotional. Nice to see it's getting the respect it deserves.

[Kouvley]

Coming out of lurker mode to chime in with the praise of the first episode.

I must admit though, I rolled my eyes a little when I read the synopsis - the direction of the melodrama sounded way too predictable but ep1 was so expertly executed that it doesn't matter.

It also helps that production values are solid and they chose a very appropriate ending song lyrics wise which happens to be an old fav of mine.

Let's hope they can keep this up, my body is ready for the waterworks.

[DragoZERO]

Excellent... that was, excellent. They could have made things much sadder but they didn't, and I am thankful for that because I would have cried.

So many good shows this season.

[Anupam]

Just finished watching the episode, another great anime directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai

Poppo looks like the usual fat bro and Anjō Naruko is my new Tsundere waifu

[Triple_R]

Truly outstanding first episode.

This first episode had almost everything I could possibly ask for in a slice of life/drama anime's first episode.

It introduced the core characters with deft precision, it told us everything that we needed to know about the central ideas behind the anime, it handled its present tense-to-past tense-to present again transitions with amazingly astute aplomb, and it had exceptionally exquisite emotional impact for an opening episode.

Jinta's character is fairly easy to relate to, and his situation is doubly so. Nostalgia for more carefree and innocent times is something that many anime works tend to be masterfully mesmerizing maestros at effectively conveying to the audience, and Anohana is no exception.

In fact, I like the slight irony in how Anohana applies its overarching sense of nostalgia. Many animes play up a sort of idealized form of high school life, leaving its adult viewership in what could be called a state of nostalgia for what could have been.

But here in this anime, we see teenage characters that are nostalgic for an even earlier point in life, for their pre-teen childhood. It's an interesting way to make teenage characters more directly relatable to adult viewers, while nonetheless maintaining an overarching sense of nostalgia.


I also like how Menma's character is being handled so far.


So, on the whole, I have to agree with Reckoner. I think this show did upstage Hana-Saku Iroha slightly.

10/10 for an absolutely rock solid first episode.


I am very much looking forward to the second episode of this.

[Westlo]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

Hanu-Saku Iroha certainly has a touch better visuals. The main protagonist is a very likable one, and it is beautifully executed. But one thing it doesn't quite have right now is large emotional impact.

First things first, while AnoHana is certainly no slouch in the animation department and a good deal better than most, Iroha is not just a touch better, considerably better really...

And yes Iroha has lacked the emotional impact of AnoHana but it also has an extra 15 episodes to work with compared to AnoHana. Iroha having 26 episodes to AnoHana's 11 could be an advantage or disadvantage.. it all depends on the writing for both shows.. which of course is by the same person, which makes the entire Iroha Vs AnoHana thing a bit amusing... AnoHana needs to do more with less time and the actual show itself is on quite a different track. As mentioned before while both are definitely slice of life drama's, AnoHana is much more on the tragedy side of things while Iroha is coming of age.

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.