Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai

I will admit that loosing someone close to you is not an easy thing, especially at a young age. It leaves a scar that is very hard to heal, and the memories of that person will most likely haunt a person for a while. It's even harder loosing a person your own age, especially when you're all at an extremely young age. Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai, or AnoHana looks back on the death among a group of friends, and how one summer, it changes their lives forever.

Our story follows Yadomi Jinta, a normal truant high school student who seemingly does nothing. However, the ghost of his childhood friend, Honma Meiko, or Menma appears in front of him, asking him to fulfill her ast wish she she can go to heaven and be reborn. Jinta gathers all of his other childhood friends who were close to Menma in order to help her. However, they have all gone their separate ways, and getting them together might take a little bit more work than he had anticipated.

The story was almost set up for drama, and perhaps a bit of tear jerking parts. Menma was probably around the age of seven to ten when she died, and it just is a good drama story, even though it was rather depressing. Although I am not that fond of straight drama, but this anime was the acceptable type because it was profound, and it deals with a subject that eventually will hit all of us. The execution of the story was also well done, even though some parts made me want to facepalm, such as the end. Also, the story could almost be told in two parts: the presnet day and the past, and sometimes, that line becomes very blurred.  The story is very drama heavy, so those looking for the action, this one is not for you.

The characters were the strongest point of this anime, due it being character driven drama. Jinta is our main protagonist who just bums around his house, truanting from school until the ghost of his childhood friend, Menma, comes and visits him. Jinta's other friends, Anjou Naruko, Hisakawa Tetsudo, Matsuyuki Atsumu, and Tsurmi Chiriko, all have gone their separate ways, but yet, have not really changed that much from when they were kids. The characters all have distinct personalities, such and Anjou's tsundere character and Tsurimi's library girl like character. The characters' interactions were what really made this anime work, and you could actually feel some of the tension between them while they were trying to figure out Menma's wish.

The art for the series also very well done. The back grounds were vibrant and colorful and the characters were well designed. Perosnally, I think Menma was the best designed character due tot he fact she had white hair and for the fact that it was simple. Each characters' art work had a different vibe about them, however, they all still emulated the theme of loss and memories.

Overall, for any drama loving person, or even those that are just looking for any tear jerking anime, this one is the one for you. It had its ups and downs, but overall, this series was well rounded and generally down to earth.