Anohana
Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day is a Japanese anime television series created by Super Peace Busters, an artist collective consisting of director Tatsuyuki Nagai, screenwriter Mari Okada, and character designer Masayoshi Tanaka. The anime was produced by A-1 Pictures and aired in Fuji TV's Noitamina block between April and June 2011. It has been licensed in North America by Aniplex of America.
A novelization by Okada was serialized in Media Factory's Da Vinci magazine from March to July 2011. A manga adaptation illustrated by Mitsu Izumi was serialized in Shueisha's Jump Square magazine from April 2012 to April 2013. A visual novel adaptation for the PlayStation Portable was released by 5pb. in August 2012. An anime film sequel that takes place one year after the series was released in Japanese theaters in August 2013. A live action television film adaptation premiered in September 2015 on Fuji TV. A stage reading that takes place ten years after the main story, written by Okada, was performed by the original cast for the series' tenth anniversary in Chichibu, Saitama on August 28, 2021; it was also released on CD, included in the "10 Years After" Blu-ray box set, on December 29 of that same year.
Plot
In Chichibu, Saitama, a group of six fifth-grade-age childhood friends drift apart after one of them, Meiko "Menma" Honma, dies in an accident. Five years after the incident, the leader of the group, Jinta Yadomi, has withdrawn from society, does not attend high school, and lives as a recluse. One summer day, the ghost of an older-looking Menma appears beside him and asks to have a wish granted, reasoning that she cannot pass on into the afterlife until it is fulfilled. At first, he only tries to help her minimally because he thinks he is hallucinating. But since Menma does not remember what her wish is, Jinta gathers his estranged friends together once again, believing that they are the key to solving this problem. All of the group joins him, though most of them do so reluctantly. However, things grow increasingly complicated when his friends accuse him of not being able to get over Menma's death, as they cannot see nor hear her and believe Jinta is hallucinating. Menma shows her presence to the group in order to prove that she is indeed real. All the group members eventually wish to shoulder the blame for Menma's death and long-hidden feelings among the group are rekindled. The group struggles as they grow from trying to help Menma move on and help each other move on as well.Characters
; Jinta "Jintan" Yadomi; Meiko "Menma" Honma
; Naruko "Anaru" Anjo
; Atsumu "Yukiatsu" Matsuyuki
; Chiriko "Tsuruko" Tsurumi
; Tetsudo "Poppo" Hisakawa
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 were published under Media Factory's MF Bunko Da Vinci imprint on July 25, 2011. A manga adaptation illustrated by Mitsu Izumi began serialization in Shueisha's Jump Square magazine on April 4, 2012, and ended on April 4, 2013, Its chapters were collected in three tankōbon volumes, released from September 4, 2012, to May 2, 2013.Anime
The 11-episode Anohana anime television series directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai and produced by A-1 Pictures aired in Japan between April 14 and June 23, 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 of Magic Capsule, and the anime's music was produced by Remedios. NIS America licensed the series for release in North America with English subtitles, and released the anime on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in a two-disc compilation on July 3, 2012. Aniplex of America announced they would re-release the series with an English dub at their Sakura-Con panel on April 16, 2017, and it was released on October 31, 2017. It has been licensed by Muse Communication in Southeast Asia.The series uses two pieces of theme music. The opening theme is "Aoi Shiori" by Galileo Galilei, and the ending theme is "Secret Base ", 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, subtitled Menma e no Tegami, was released in Japanese theaters on August 31, 2013. The film is set during school summer break a year after the anime. The surviving Super Peace Busters have agreed to each write a letter to Menma, then meet at the secret base to send those letters. Chiriko Tsurumi wrote her letter first and calls to remind and encourage the others. During the film there are many memory bits of the joys and trauma they went through and flashbacks, many to the events in the anime series, some new or expanding on what was previously shown. Appearing one year afterwards are the five surviving Super Peace Busters, Menma's brother Satoshi, her mother Irene, and the owner of the game store where Jinta works. Jinta's father is shown in a flashback set after the anime series. The film's theme song is "Circle Game" by Galileo Galilei. The song is also used for an alternate opening for the anime's rerun on Noitamina starting in July 2013. Aniplex of America released the film in standard edition DVD and Blu-ray Disc sets and a limited edition BD/DVD combo pack on July 15, 2014. Muse Communication holds the license to the film in Southeast Asia.
Visual novel
A visual novel adaptation developed by Guyzware for the PlayStation Portable was published by 5pb. on August 30, 2012.Live-action drama
A live action Japanese television drama film adaptation premiered on Fuji TV on September 21, 2015. The theme song is a cover of "Secret Base " performed by Silent Siren.Reception
In a quarterly financial report, Fuji Media Holdings singles out Anohana as one of their top anime properties, calling it a "big hit" and announcing that the first DVD volume sold 56,000 copies.The film grossed US$10.2 million and was the 14th highest-grossing anime film in Japan in 2013.
Anohana has received positive critical reception and has been considered one of the best anime of the 2010s by Polygon; writer Julia Lee highlighted how "Anohana has turned the toughest people into crying puddles on the floor, not only because the entire premise is built around a tragedy, but because it’s a reminder that friends grow apart and people change". Crunchyroll also included it in such a list; reviewer Daryl Harding commented that the anime "blew the tear buds of people all around the world" and that "Somehow the team can just pull at your heartstrings so much that even nearly a decade on, I still feel those tugs". Writing for Forbes, Lauren Orsini considered it to be one of the five best anime of 2011; she wrote, "Anohana is a moving journey about the ties that bind even beyond the grave that will leave you misty-eyed". Both Harding and Orsini stated the anime was a fundamental milestone in Mari Okada's career.