The Anime Debate Center

First Impressions:

Animated by A-1 Pictures the animators of titles such as Fairy Tail, Sword Art Online and Ao no Exorcist which were all unimpressive for the most part. It just so happens that Ano Hana was their first real good title. This happened because the director was Tatsuyuki Nagai, whom directed Toradora! and Honey and Clover II previously. While not that amazing, they blow stuff like Sword Art Online away any day. My attention was brought to Ano Hana by a few friends who called it even better than Clannad ~After Story~ which I never fancied much on overall though it was solid. This made my interest in Ano Hana multiply tenfold and I had to see what all the rave was about and so I randomly picked it up one day...

Story:

The story is about five friends(Jintan, Anaru, Poppo, Yukiatsu and Tsuruko) who lost their childhood friend(Menma) to tragedy and are now separated only to be reunited later on by the spirit of said childhood friend. Their goal is to make Menma's wish come true so she can pass on peacefully. The catch however is that only Jintan can she her and this makes it harder for the rest of them to believe it initially excusing it as a delusion of his.

Though the storyline is basic, the themes of moving on, growing up, change, tension and animosity were presented in a very good, emotional fashion. I give it props for it's atmosphere and emotional trifles but it still felt rather light as a watch. The pacing is good for the most part and everything was built up very well with interesting and well placed plot twists. There isn't a boat load of depth, detail or expansion to the stories themes but that didn't hamper it much.

There are just a few issues that need to be pointed out though. For one Menma conveniently never remembered what her goal for Jintan was till the very end. This shouldn't be a problem since she's quite dim headed however she also never wrote in her diary till the very end when she was clearly able to cook as a ghost. This would have ended all the confusion between Jintan and co to be quite honest. Other than that, there aren't a lot of problems with Ano Hana. The conclusion to the series is quite emotionally impactful and very solid, resolving all necessary issues.

Characters:

The characters are the selling point of the series more than anything else. We have Jintan a boy who was once energetic and outgoing but eventually became reclusive and a hikikomori due to Menma's death. Menma who is a spirit was said to be very lively, energetic and positive person when she was alive and still is as a spirit. Anaru who comes off as cold mostly towards Jintan and is said to be easily persuaded and influenced by others. Poppo who is perhaps the most energetic of the bunch and equally as positive as Menma. Yukiatsu who is condescending and cocky. And Tsuruko who is also cocky but much more serious and stoic. This rounds up the core cast.

As far as characters go they are quite solid. Pretty realistic and relatable personalities with a few hints of archetypical behavior from Anaru(slight tsundere) in particular. Nothing to cry about though. They pass in most technical aspects from depth(not much but enough) to development(a bit overdramatic) and catharsis(also a bit overdramatic). They really did try to make the characters act as overdramatic as possible at times and really felt out of place at times. Once again on overall, a solid cast with something to each character.

Art:

The basic artwork and character design for Ano Hana is well, a bit generic but still good for what it was. The animation wasn't too great but it's A-1 Pictures what can I say? It's nothing to really complain about though. The backgrounds were nothing special either. Visuals were very nice though. Overall it gets alright in this aspect. I am no Animation wiz though, so take this part with a grain of salt as it's more how it 'felt' to me as a whole more than anything else.

Sound:

The voice actors first and foremost were good, bringing out the emotion of the characters properly though it does feel forced and once again over dramatic at times which I guess was the whole point. The sound effects were alright, nothing special. The music on the other hand was very good and also interesting. The opening theme and the soundtrack were good but the ending theme sold it for me in this section. Secret Base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~ (10 years after ver.) is interesting for the fact that the song was release ten years before the anime was made. It also took ten years before the friends reunited. Besides this the song itself captured the very essence of Ano Hana. Definitely an awesome job done in the sound section for sure.

Final Thoughts:

I thoroughly enjoyed this anime very much although I wouldn't call it 'great'. It's a very good anime to check out and I highly recommend it to Slice of Life and emotional people as well as non Slice of Life and non emotional people since it was put together well enough to have such a broad appeal. This anime is hereby certified Bronze by me. 

~By Mathew Perez