Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day



When someone close to you dies--be it a friend, a classmate, a significant other, or a family member--it strikes a chord. Things change. Close friends drift apart. Some move on, and some stay firmly rooted in the past.

Such is the case with Jinta "Jintan" Yadomi, a high school-aged Hikikomori. After the death of Meiko "Menma" Honma, Jintan and their four other friends--Naruko "Anaru" Anjo, Atsumu "Yukiatsu" Matsuyuki, Chiriko "Tsuruko" Tsurumi, and Tetsudo "Poppo" Hisakawa--begin to lose touch with each other and move on with their lives. Five years later, Menma's ghost pays him a visit, asking him to help her fulfill a wish. Just what that wish is, she doesn't completely remember, but getting the old gang back together is a start.

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai. ("We Still Don't Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day."), also known as AnoHana for short, is a Spring 2011 Anime First series shown on NoitaminA and produced by A-1 Pictures. It has been licensed for North American release by NIS America in July 2012. -

Ano-Hana provides examples of:

 * The Ace: Yukiatsu. However, he begrudgingly acknowledges that even now Jintan has a certain persuasive charisma.
 * All Love Is Unrequited/Love Dodecahedron: Tsuruko has a crush on Yukiatsu, but he is obsessed with Menma and later considers Anaru to be his Replacement Love Interest. Anaru is in love with Jintan, but the latter is also obsessed with Menma. Menma does like Jinta back, but due to her being deceased, she cannot be with him. The only one among the gang who doesn't seem to be part of the romantic loop is Poppo, but being The Big Guy, it is likely that he will get the short end of the stick.
 * Alpha Bitch: Anaru's friends Aki and Haruna.
 * Anguished Declaration of Love:
 * Animation Bump: Menma's movements rocket up to rotoscope-smooth at the end of Episode 10.
 * Bishounen: Yukiatsu. He's not shy about mentioning this himself.
 * Bland-Name Product:
 * Just from Episode 2, there's the Nindendo DZ, Dojimon, WcDonald's, and Nokemon.
 * Rocky anyone?
 * Less obvious to viewers outside of Japan is Giselle McBee.
 * Anaru and Jintan's game store stocks Quiz Age.
 * Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The three girls of the group--Menma (blonde), Anaru (redhead), and Tsuruko (brunette).
 * Blush Sticker: Poppo as a child.
 * But Not Too Foreign: Menma is half-Russian.
 * By the Eyes of the Blind: Only Jintan can see or hear Menma.
 * Catch Phrase: Jinta's dad divides all the world's aspects into cute and not cute.
 * Childhood Friend Romance: Jintan and Menma have mutual feelings for each other, but Jintan was never able to confess to her. Anaru and Yukiatsu have unrequited lingering feelings for Jintan and Menma respectively. Yukiatsu lampshades their unrequited positions in Episodes 5 and 9. Tsuruko also has feelings for Yukiatsu.
 * Childhood Friends: The entire main cast.
 * Cute Ghost Girl: Menma.
 * Date Rape Averted: For Anaru in Episode 5
 * A Date with Rosie Palms:
 * Poppo's definitely been keeping himself company at the clubhouse.
 * Two words: Man Juice.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Yukiatsu can be quite the snarker when he's in a lighthearted mood.
 * Death by Newbery Medal: Menma's death actually occurs before the current storyline, but it plays out all the same.
 * Does Not Like Shoes: Menma doesn't wear them, though she did when she was alive. It may be an example of Jacob Marley Apparel, considering she's shown to have lost her shoes when she drowned and she's wearing the same dress from back then.
 * Does This Remind You of Anything?: In Episode 3, Menma expresses her desire for Jintan to go back to school whilst straddling him and bouncing. It's innocent on her part. Probably not so much on the animator's.
 * Do-It-Yourself Theme Tune: The ending theme is performed by the voice actresses of the three girls of the main cast.
 * Enjo Kosai: Anaru's friends set up a group date with older men in Episode 5. When Anaru looks like she wants to back out early, one of the men walks her out and tries taking her to a Love Hotel.
 * Expy: Menma, especially as a child, looks exactly like Flonne. The fact that their dress is almost identical makes it even more apparent. Their airheadedness is almost on the same level and though Menma is not as fanatical a Love Freak as Flonne, she would definitely go out of her way to make it so everyone would get along.
 * Evil Phone:
 * Fiery Redhead: Anaru.
 * Fighting the Lancer: It never escalates to an all-out brawl, but Jintan and Yukiatsu's relationship is constantly on-edge for the majority of the series, with Yukiatsu even strangling Jintan at one point.
 * Five-Man Band:
 * The Hero: Jintan
 * The Lancer: Yukiatsu
 * The Big Guy: Poppo
 * The Smart Guy: Tsuruko
 * The Chick: Anaru and Menma
 * Though after Menma dies and comes back as a ghost she can also been seen as a Sixth Ranger to the current group.
 * Five Philosophy Ensemble
 * The Cynic: Yukiatsu
 * The Optimist: Poppo/Menma
 * The Realist: Tsuruko
 * The Apathetic: Jintan
 * The Conflicted: Anaru
 * Ghost Amnesia: Menma doesn't remember her wish.
 * Ghostly Goals: Menma reappears to Jintan to have him help her fulfill her wish.
 * Girlish Pigtails: Anaru.
 * Gratuitous English: Poppo peppers his speech with a few phrases every now and then, which should be of no surprise, considering that he's a traveler.
 * Green-Eyed Monster: Anaru and Yukiatsu have had their share of this when it comes to Jintan and Menma. Even Tsuruko has a bit of a moment when she eavesdrops on Yukiatsu comforting Anaru in Episode 9. In Episode 11, Tsuruko admits that the person that she's always been jealous of is Anaru for being his Replacement Love Interest and the person who understood Yukiatsu the most.
 * He Is Not My Boyfriend:
 * A shopkeeper mistakes Tsuruko for Yukiatsu's girlfriend. Her reaction is silent but strong nonetheless. Apparently their classmates also assume they're an item too, and Yukiatsu does little to dispel the misconception.
 * Anaru also says this about Jintan when her friends tease her about dating him. Jintan's response was to walk home.
 * Heroes Want Redheads: Inverted. It is the redheaded Anaru who has feelings for Jintan. Whether they stays inverted or gets played straight on Jintan's part remains to be seen, though they are both currently in UST territory. Yukiatsu, however, plays the trope straight as he asks Anaru out and has a few Ship Tease moments with her,
 * Hikikomori:
 * Jintan has a reputation of being this. He is obviously uncomfortable to go outside without glasses and a beanie.
 * , refuses to leave the house and doesn't want to see other people.
 * Hot Mom/Missing Mom: Jintan's late mother Toko.
 * Hypocrite: Yukiatsu accuses Jintan of being obsessed with Menma. Yukiatsu is much, much worse.
 * Important Haircut:
 * In-Series Nickname: Every member of the old group of friends has one.
 * Embarrassing Nickname: Anaru. In Japanese, l and r are pronounced identically, and n is the only consonant that doesn't need a vowel on the end. Jintan seems to realize it now; Menma doesn't.
 * Jacob Marley Apparel: Menma's appearance doesn't display signs of her death, but she's wearing the same outfit she drowned in (although it's larger, since her ghost looks older and is taller than she was at death) and wears no shoes (which were washed away by the river).
 * Jerkass: In his first modern-day appearance Yukiatsu has the gall to mock Jintan for not getting into a good high school and for mourning Menma. Then, in Episode 4, he tries to manipulate everyone into not working toward Menma's wish.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: His haughtiness gets broken in Episode 5 after he breaks down, blaming himself for Menma's death. In the same episode, he later rescues Anaru when she gets sexually harassed by a guy intending to take her to a love hotel.
 * Jerkass Facade: Anaru is surprisingly nice and pretty much a huge nerd under her jerkish Tsundere-isms.
 * Keet: Poppo.
 * Last-Name Basis: Some members of the group have stopped using their nicknames or given names with each other on the few occasions they meet. As the group is getting closer again, this might be reversed, however. For example, Poppo calls some attention to Anaru referring to him as "Jintan" when the latter isn't around in Episode 7 and Yukiatsu calls attention to her almost saying "Jintan" but changing to "Yadomi" in Episode 9.
 * Lawyer-Friendly Cameo:
 * Episode 2 has Jinta and Anaru trying to get a rare Nokemon.
 * And in Anaru's words: "Who the hell buys Nokemon Gold?"
 * Other famous titles, such as Dojimon and Bobobobo Bobobo show up in Anaru's manga and game collection.
 * Friendly or not, there are insanely blatant posters of Wandering Son, Sekirei, Sora no Woto, Black Butler, and Working in the shop Yadomi and Anaru work in.
 * Limited Wardrobe: Averted. There are school uniforms, of course, but the characters (barring Menma) have consistently worn different casual clothes.
 * Longing Look: Both Anaru and Yukiatsu still have feelings for Jintan and Menma respectively and are very obvious with their feelings (at least, to the viewers).
 * Love Hotels: A guy attempts to take Anaru to one in Episode 5.
 * Love Hurts
 * Male Gaze
 * Malicious Slander: Anaru suffers through this in Episode 6 when rumors leak out that she went to a love hotel with an upperclassman.
 * Man Child: Poppo is a bit younger than most, but the fact that he lives in his old clubhouse suggests that he hasn't really matured since the gang split up.
 * Maybe Ever After: The epilogue drops some hints for
 * Meganekko: Tsuruko. Anaru wore them as a child.
 * Doubles for Stoic Glasses for present Tsuruko and Nerd Glasses for young Anaru.
 * Melodrama: The final two episodes.
 * Multitasked Conversation: Menma talks and talks...
 * My Girl Is Not a Slut: Invoked by Jintan in Episode 6
 * My Greatest Failure:
 * Narm: In-universe--in Episode 11, Anaru's false eyelashes detaching themselves is enough to cheer everyone up after their extremely tearful confessions.
 * Never Got to Say Goodbye: Menma died before Jintan could confess to her properly or apologize for lashing out at her when put on the spot.
 * Nosebleed: It was a normal nosebleed, but Jintan getting one gives Anaru the wrong idea.
 * Not-So-Imaginary Friend: Jinta thinks Menma is a figment of his imagination. She's not.
 * Not What It Looks Like: A classic one for UST purposes in Episode 7, where Anaru slips and falls into Jintan, dragging them into an intimate position. Then Poppo walks in, sees them... and promptly beats a retreat.
 * Official Couple: Though not explicitly stated, the ending hints at and
 * One Head Taller: Menma is much smaller than all the rest of the Super Peace Busters, allowing this to be invoked with any of them, though it's usually with Jintan.
 * Overly Long Title: The title translates to, "We Still Don't Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day."
 * Pair the Spares: During their childhood, Tsuruko saw this as probable scenario between Yukiatsu and Anaru after Jintan and Menma would get together. Five years later, Yukiatsu himself started to see it as good solution.
 * Patient Childhood Love Interest: Anaru, based on her attitude towards Jintan.
 * Portmanteau Couple Name: Used in-universe. Anaru invokes this by calling Yukiatsu/Tsuruko as Yukiatsuruko, though they're not a couple.
 * Putting the Band Back Together: Menma can't remember her wish but believes that it would be a step in the right direction for Jintan to pull this off.
 * Real Song Theme Tune: The ending theme is a cover of Zone's "secret base (Kimi ga Kureta Mono)" by the three leading ladies.
 * Replacement Love Interest: In Episode 9, Anaru admits that she thought Jintan would like her best after Menma died, but he didn't, and Tsuruko loves Yukiatsu and believes that he will never feel the way because he sees Anaru as his "back-up."
 * The Rival: Yukiatsu towards Jintan.
 * Red Headed Heroine: Anaru.
 * The Runaway:
 * Rule of Symbolism: The name of the flower they saw that day? Forget-me-nots. They adorn the OP and ED, and pop up frequently in the anime. It also makes Jintan's words about fulfilling the wishes of those flowers all the more meaningful.
 * Scary Shiny Glasses: Tsuruko gets them momentarily to intimidate Anaru away from the subject in Episode 9 when the latter comments that she never expected to hear Tsuruko talking about cute things.
 * Ship Tease: As children, Jintan and Menma had feelings for each other with Anaru crushing on the former and Yukiatsu crushing on the latter, and Tsuruko crushing on Yukiatsu. In the present, Jintan and Anaru share a bit of UST while Yukiatsu and Tsuruko are usually seen together and are once mistaken for a couple. Yukiatsu also attempts to pull the Pair the Spares route with Anaru by asking her out, and Poppo has declared a slight interest in Tsuruko too, which would make Love Dodecahedron complete.
 * Shout-Out:
 * Episode 2: There are Wandering Son and Sekirei posters in Anaru's workplace register. The Sekirei one returns in episode 8.
 * Episode 6: Jintan is watching Occult Academy at the beginning of the episode. Anaru is shown to have carved a Hamtaro into one of the pillars of the clubhouse.
 * Episode 7: Anaru's workplace has a Working poster near the register. A television show features a female pug named Oscar.
 * Six-Student Clique:
 * The Head: Jintan
 * The Muscle: Yukiatsu
 * The Quirk: Poppo
 * The Pretty One: Menma
 * The Smart One: Tsuruko
 * The Wild One: Anaru
 * Sleep Cute: Jintan and Menma in the second episode.
 * Stepford Smiler: and
 * The Stoic: Tsuruko.
 * Not So Stoic ensues later, of course.
 * Sugar and Ice Personality: Tsuruko has grown into one.
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: Tsuruko.
 * There Are No Therapists: You'd think that someone would suggest that Jinta should see a therapist, being a shut-in who obsesses over a friend who died back when he was little and all.
 * Third Person Person: Menma.
 * Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Menma was an unbelievably cute Cheerful Child who always put her friends before herself and rarely considered her own feelings.
 * Tragic Keepsake: Yukiatsu's keepsake is
 * Tsundere: Anaru. Jintan tsuns back at her quite a bit, as well.
 * Unresolved Sexual Tension: Jintan and Menma, Jintan and Anaru, Yukiatsu and Tsuruko, and Yukiatsu and Anaru.
 * Will They or Won't They?: The same above.
 * Walking the Earth: Seems to be Poppo's ambition. The mapping of his travels looks quite impressive.
 * We Were Your Team: The group drifted apart after Menma died and Jinta broke down.
 * White-Haired Pretty Girl: Menma.
 * Woman in White: Menma.
 * White-Haired Pretty Girl: Menma.
 * Woman in White: Menma.