Ano Hana

     Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai, or Ano Hana for short, is a series built in a way to be relatable to all whom call themselves anime fanatics. If I was a plot and graphs man, I'd say the demographic average age of an anime fan is around 16-18. Giving you enough time to hopefully acquire a friend or two, have that friend go astray for some reason or another, to see them years down later in the human jungle, for you both to only walk by each other, and refuse to acknowledge the other's existence. You'll be taken back to your preadolescence years, when you were friends, and anxiety was the least of your worries, but eventually you'll be rejoined with the present, which in almost every case is grim and complexing compared to those younger days.
     The story begins with a teenager named Jintan, who has locked himself in from the outside world. His ex-friend proclaims he has Hikikomori, which is a diagnosis with the meaning a withdrawal from the society. It began with him not talking friends and gradually worsened, up until he dropped out of school without notice. Unemployed and a dropout, Jintan spends his days playing video games and cooking meals for his father, who uses a very hands-off parenting style.
     The Jintan of old and the Jintan of new couldn't be any more different. Once there was a time where Jintan always placed himself in the middle of adventures with his five closest friends. He acted as the leader of the Super Peace Busters, which was the title of the club they formed together. His friends use to look up to him, when he was still an outgoing person. What started this transformation into a boy that disguises himself in public, were the deaths of his best friend Menma and mother at relatively close times.
     Menma appears to him one summer as a hallucination. He labels her the "beast of the summer". Menma is a charasmatic girl, everyone seems to be drawn to her. Jintan's hallucination of Menma isn't from their preadolescence years, but rather a Menma that's "grown-up". Albeit her appearance, she still has the maturity of a little girl. Marked by the crying and nagging she's frequently doing.

     This anime will nearly bring tears to your eyes as you watch the struggle of friendships trying to reform themselves. I became so emotionally attached to Anohana, that I watched the entire 11 episode series in a single day. Since it was such a short series, there are no fillers, the sentimental parts of the anime build up well, with the exception of the very beginning of the last episode, which was a tad over dramatic on a couple of the character's parts. Another negative were the physical properties of Menma. There were times she could interact with the physical world, while there were other times it was suggested she couldn't. Any kind of art that arises as much emotions as this one, is deserving of top-shelf anime recognition. So, keep a tissue box handy, because "we still don't know the name of the flower we saw that day."