You'd probably get A-1 Pictures AnoHana: The Flower We Saw that Day
AnoHana is the story of five high schoolers who used to be the best of friends in middle school, but have now drifted apart due to the tragic death of their friend, Menma, who died when they were all playing together. Jintan Yadomi has become a shut-in hikikomori recluse who hates society and doesn't even go to school. However, Jintan possesses something special: he can see Menma, for a reason which was explained closer to the end of the show. Menma remembers that she had a wish that she wanted to be fulfilled, however she died before it could be granted. She can only remember one thing about it: everyone of their friends has to be involved somehow. The rest of the show's 11 episodes (which by the way, isn't a negative in this case) is about Jintan reuniting with his friends and also coming to terms with what actually happened on that day many years ago, since Jintan - or most of his other friends - haven't gotten over Menma's death. AnoHana has often been described as a show where that you'll be in tears by the end of it, and while the show definitely tugs at your heart strings, it never made me break down like I did when I was watching Clannad After Story. The story and plot are well done, however, if you went into it with really high expectations and or are expecting a comedy, then you will be slightly disappointed. It's good, just not as good as people made it out to be. One thing I do like however is the way the show handles flashbacks, and how well they are integrated. One thing though that did really disappointed me was, we are never actually told what happened to Menma on that day. It is implied that she hit her head off of some rocks and then fell the river and proceeded to drown, but we are never actually told, and the only real reaction to the death we see is Jintan's. Quite annoying to be honest.
Like Death Note, Shingeki no Kyojin and Clannad After Story, AnoHana's real strength lies within it's characters. The cast is quite diverse and don't really fall under any tropes per se, and - for once - I like every single character in an anime.Every single person in this anime made me actually think about myself, very hard in fact. The amount of effort put into these guys is unreal. As per usual, I'll be talking about the main and my favourite.
Jintan Yadomi
Jintan is a hikikomori recluse. He doesn't care what society thinks of him, and he prefers being alone ever since the events of Menma's death. Until that is, Menma's spirit manifests itself as Menma herself, and only Jintan can see her. Jintan is determined no matter what to break away from his hikikomori self and try to grant Menma's wish, and to try and get along with his old friends again. Jintan grows in confidence and starts to become more social as the plot progresses, and we see that he does try really hard to grant Menma's wish (by finally going back to school and getting a few part time jobs.). He's one of my favourite male leads in anime, and one of the most touching too. He will make you think a lot about yourself.
Naruko Anjou
So, you can now add Naruko "Anaru" Anjou to the very very small list of Tsundere's that I actually like, and this is actually surprising since A-1 Pictures are responsible for Asuna Yuuki - The worst anime character since the dawn of time. But enough about that. Since the events of Menma's death, Anaru has drifted further from the group that anybody else except maybe Jintan. As a kid, Anaru always loved Jintan and always slightly hated Menma for the way she always spent more time with Jintan than she did. However, Anaru grew up hating herself for hating Menma, and so, she now tries her hardest to stay away from her old friends and tries to fit in as much as possible with her new ones. I find her character to be not generic at all, and considering she's a Tsundere that's quite an achievement. She's a reminder that you should never give up pursuing what you love though, as she never really did stop loving Jintan....*holds heart because of the feels*
The animation is probably the best work that A-1 Pictures has ever produced...which actually surprised me since Sword Art Online came out AFTER AnoHana yet it looks significantly worse. This show is pretty damn good, with a few nagging exceptions mind you. There are some points where half a characters face won't be present when you see them talking from a short distance away, and sometime the frame rate can be choppy but overall, the show looks very well done and again, this is the best work A-1 has ever made.
Musically, it's just kinda...meh. I love the opening and the ending, but the rest of the soundtrack is just kinda....there. It's alright, but it's not on the same level of rememberfulness as Shingeki no Kyojin, Death Note, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni or even Sword Art Online. The soundtrack marrs the show, and it is easily the worst thing about it. Not saying it's awful, just forgettable at times.
Overall, while it does have it's faults, AnoHana is an example of drama done right, although at the expense of a great soundtrack and some story and animation issues. I enjoyed it, and while I did feel that something was missing, I did think that the characters and the plot really make this show what it is. Sure, it may not be as emotional as people say, but it does tug on your heartstrings quite a bit.
Story: 8.5
Characters: 10
Animation: 8
Sound: 5.5
Personal Enjoyment: 9
FINAL SCORE FOR ANOHANA: THE FLOWER WE SAW THAT DAY: 8.2/10
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