Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (あの日見た花の名前を僕達はまだ知らない。 Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai.^?, lit. "We Still Don't Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day.") is an 11-episode 2011 Japanese anime television series produced by A-1 Pictures and directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai. The anime aired in Fuji TV's noitaminA block between April and June 2011. The anime is licensed in North America by NIS America. An anime film will be released in summer 2013. A novelization by Mari Okada was serialized in Media Factory's Da Vinci magazine from March to July 2011. A manga adaptation illustrated by Mitsu Izumi began serialization in the May 2012 issue of Shueisha's Jump Square magazine. A visual novel adaptation for the PlayStation Portable was released by 5pb. in August 2012.

Plot

A group of six childhood friends drift apart after one of them, Meiko "Menma" Honma, dies in an accident. Ten years after the incident, the leader of the group, Jinta Yadomi, has withdrawn from society and lives as a recluse. One summer day, the ghost of an older looking Menma appears before him and asks to have a wish granted, reasoning that she cannot pass on into the afterlife until it is fulfilled. Since Menma does not remember what her wish is, Jinta gathers his estranged friends together once again, believing that they are the key to resolving this problem. However, hidden feelings, internal conflicts, and lingering feelings of bitterness from Menma's parents result in complications for the group as they struggle to help not only Menma move on, but themselves as well.

Characters

Jinta "Jintan" Yadomi (宿海 仁太 Yadomi Jinta^?)

Voiced by: Miyu Irino / Mutsumi Tamura (Childhood)

Jinta is a childhood friend of Naruko, Atsumu, Chiriko, Meiko and Tetsudo. As a child, Jinta was the de facto leader of the self-proclaimed Super Peace Busters. Jinta was energetic and outgoing during his childhood, but has become withdrawn and isolated due to the deaths of Meiko and his mother. After Meiko's death in an accident, the group of friends drifted apart, and Jinta eventually became a hikikomori, refusing to go to school and confining himself to his home. As a child, he had a crush on Meiko but refused to admit it when asked. This started the chain of events that led to her accidental death. He believes that the Meiko that appears to him is not a ghost, but rather a manifestation of his stress, calling her "the beast of summer". He eventually becomes hesitant to grant her wish out of fear that she will vanish again. Nonetheless, Meiko's appearance encourages him to venture outside and reconnect with the members of the Super Peace Busters. He is a natural leader with his friends always following him.

Meiko "Menma" Honma (本間 芽衣子 Honma Meiko^?)

Voiced by: Ai Kayano

Meiko died in an accident as a child, but appears before Jinta on a summer day. Although she is aware of her death, Meiko is talkative and lively. She greatly values the childhood memories and friendship she once shared with the others, and has very few memories other than recollections of her friends and family, including that she had once made a request to Jinta. When she appears to Jinta, she has aged somewhat, but still retains childlike speech patterns and tendencies. She is also clothed in the dress she was wearing the day that she died. Though only Jinta has the ability to see or hear her, Meiko appears to be able to interact with the world around her: opening doors, cooking food, eating, and even playing video games, with many of these activities shown in scenes without Jinta present. Characters that she embraces often feel that the air is heavier. She held Jinta in special regard when she was alive and still worries about his current state. The others call her by her childhood nickname 'Menma', and she similarly refers to the Super Peace Busters by their childhood nicknames. Jinta has stated that she is selfless, only crying when others are hurt. Meiko holds no grudges towards her friends for the accident. She hopes to pass on so that she can be reincarnated and once more be in the same world as her friends. She is of mixed Russian and Japanese ancestry. She has feelings for Jinta and even when she came back she still held those feelings. In the last episode, he reads her letter to him that said her kind of "like" was the like where she wanted to be his bride.

Naruko "Anaru" Anjō (安城 鳴子 Anjō Naruko^?)

Voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu

A childhood friend of Jinta, Atsumu, Chiriko, Tetsudo and Meiko. Naruko displays a cold attitude towards Jinta, especially while in front of her friends, but is secretly worried about his wellbeing. Naruko is described as a person easily influenced by others, hanging out with and playing along with the actions of other girls around her even when she doesn't agree with them. She had admired Meiko, and strove to be like her when they were children, though she was simultaneously envious of her relationship with Jinta. She attends the same high school as Jinta and is closest to him at the start of the series, even dropping off homework for him while he refuses to attend class. She tells him that she is disappointed by his current lifestyle, but still shows lingering feelings, even painting her nails before she goes to see him. She doubts Meiko's return, but remains jealous of the fact that Jinta still looks only at her, as well as guilt for asking the question that led to Meiko drowning. Atsumu states that both of them were left behind and are trapped by their unrequited feelings for Jinta and Meiko.

Atsumu "Yukiatsu" Matsuyuki (松雪 集 Matsuyuki Atsumu^?)

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai / Asami Seto (Childhood)

A childhood friend of Jinta, Naruko, Chiriko, Tetsudo and Meiko. In the present, Atsumu holds a condescending and hateful attitude towards Jinta. He becomes agitated whenever Meiko is mentioned and tries to hide that he is still distraught over her death. He and Chiriko attend the same elite high school, which Jinta was unable to enter due to failing the entrance exams. Atsumu is handsome, athletic, and popular, but still trapped by the memory of Meiko, keeping a white sundress similar to hers in his closet. He claimed that he could also see Meiko's spirit, and even spoke on her behalf, but this 'ghost' turned out to be Atsumu himself, who would wander the forests at night dressed in a wig and the white sundress. He took blame for Meiko's death, as he'd confessed feelings to her on the day of her accident, and says that he is the one that should be haunted by Meiko's ghost because of this. Although he stops crossdressing after he is caught, he is still tormented by the idea of Meiko's spirit appearing only to Jinta. Atsumu confides in Naruko on how they are both left behind by their unrequited feelings for Jinta and Meiko, saying that they are kindred spirits. Atsumu has a dark, manipulative side driven by both his affection for Meiko and his inferiority complex from childhood.

Chiriko "Tsuruko" Tsurumi (鶴見 知利子 Tsurumi Chiriko^?)

Voiced by: Saori Hayami

A childhood friend of Jinta, Naruko, Asumu, Tetsudo and Meiko. Chiriko is the quiet observer of the group and has an extremely serious and logical personality. She and Atsumu are the only two that remain close friends as the years pass and attend the same elite high school. The two are seen together so often that they are mistaken for lovers by their classmates and a shopkeeper. She has feelings for Atsumu, as she shows contempt whenever she sees that he has not gotten over Meiko's death. She keeps the hairpin Atsumu threw away after being rejected by Meiko, even wearing it when alone. At times, she plays the voice of reason for Atsumu as well as the role of a guardian. She knew of his guilt over Meiko's death and suspected that he was crossdressing as a means of coping. She can be critical of others, and in particular scolds Naruko for her habit of following others. She often sketches while idle, even doodling Atsumu wearing Meiko's sundress. Chiriko still feels indifferent over Meiko's return, doubting what her intentions are or if she has truly forgiven everyone. However, like all the other characters, she loves her and is deeply sad about her death as a child, because they were good friends. She admits to Naruko that she is in love with Atsumu, but believes that he will never love her back because she cannot win against Meiko. Chiriko feels that he is irreplaceable to her, thus she aids the effort to have Meiko achieve nirvana. In the series finale, after all find out that each one of them had secret selfish reasons for helping Meiko achieve Nirvana, she, like all, decides to help Meiko only because she loves her.

Tetsudō "Poppo" Hisakawa (久川 鉄道 Hisakawa Tetsudō^?)

Voiced by: Takayuki Kondō / Aki Toyosaki (Childhood)

A childhood friend of Jinta, Naruko, Asumu, Chiriko and Meiko. During their childhood, he had great admiration for Jinta and frequently called him 'amazing' or 'cool'. He admits that he was always grateful to the group for including him as he was an awkward child. Although he has dropped out of school, he is a world traveler that earns money by taking various part-time jobs and lives in the old secret base when not abroad. Tetsudo is worldly and mellow. He is eager to see the Super Peace Busters get back together, believing instantly that Jinta could see and talk to Meiko. He is the first to directly tell Meiko that he will fulfill her wish and help her spirit pass on. When the group fights, he is often the one that takes initiative to smooth things out. However, it is revealed later in the series that Tetsudo hides the deep guilt he feels over his role in Meiko's accident underneath his happy-go-lucky personality.

 

Media

Printed media

A novel adaptation of the anime written by Mari Okada was serialized in Media Factory's Da Vinci magazine between the March and July 2011 issues. The first of two volumes was published under Media Factory's MF Bunko Da Vinci imprint on July 25, 2011.^[1] A manga adaptation illustrated by Mitsu Izumi began serialization in the May 2012 issue of Shueisha's Jump Square magazine from April 4, 2012.

Anime

The 11-episode Anohana anime TV series directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai and produced by A-1 Pictures^[3] aired in Japan between April 15 and June 24, 2011 on Fuji TV's noitaminA programming block. The screenplay was written by Mari Okada, and chief animator Masayoshi Tanaka also designed the characters. The sound director is Jin Aketagawa, and the anime's music was produced by Remedios. NIS America licensed the series for release in North America with English subtitles, and will be releasing the anime on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in a two-disc compilation on July 3, 2012.^[4] This series was broadcast in Italy on Rai 4.
The series uses two pieces of theme music: one opening and one ending. The opening theme is "Aoi Shiori" (青い栞 Blue Bookmark^?) by Galileo Galilei, while the ending theme is "Secret Base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~ (10 years after Ver.)" (Secret Base ～君がくれたもの～ (10 years after Ver.) Secret Base ~The Thing you Gave Me~ (10 years after Ver.)^?), a cover of the 2001 single by Zone, performed by Ai Kayano, Haruka Tomatsu, and Saori Hayami. The anime's original soundtrack was released on December 21, 2011.
An anime film will be released in Japanese theaters in summer 2013. The film will be a retelling of the anime's story from Menma's point of view.