Ano Hana at his club house.
The first thing that comes to mind with any and ALL tragedy-based anime is whether or not the drama feels forced or if it flows more naturally. I think that is largely a part of how the characters are designed and way they interact with one another. That said, Ano Hana still feels forced, but to a much lesser extent. Walking into the show, you know shit's gonna get real towards the end and with Ano Hana this is made entertaining because of the somewhat likable characters. Hell, one of the girls' nicknames is 'Anaru' or 'Anal!' Okay, okay. Back to the serious stuff.
"These fucking apples are off the hook!"
In part, I expected Menma's true wish to center around wanting to be reunited with the Super Peace Busters rather than getting Jinta to cry more. That was a let down for me as I felt that Menma's promise to Jinta's mom had a much lesser emotional impact than what the writer had surely intended. In a way it felt weak and of all things centering it around Jinta's emotional instabilities made me pity that asshat Yukiatsu more.
A 'flower' left behind by Menma.
Of course, the scene that bit tears into my subconscious was the sickeningly sad final moments Menma was able to share with the rest of the group. The game of hide-and-seek built on a weeping foundation of a sorrowful farewell actually made me feel both good and bad for the group. They were all final able to see her , but for the very last time. Something about emotional attachments between groups of friends like these really pull it in for me.
A tear-jerking farewell.
Highlights of the final episode? Well for some strange reason THIS scene (not animated here) had some intense animation to it:
Dat hand in dat hair.
For give me if I sound pretentious, but this was a powerful scene.
When the gang meets up at the shrine to discuss why Menma didn't pass was a great way to see the truth behind everyone's motive. Seeing tensions rise up suddenly and then just as quickly dispelled by humor was a good way to bind everyone together once more.
Good character, so why did they bother giving him weak inner turmoil.
But what of the weaknesses of the final episode? Okay, so here it comes. My favorite character Poppo has a terribly awkward HIGH TENSION moment. Seriously, when we found out he saw Menma's fall, it felt too unrealistic. Like the writer needed to have a reason to give Poppo some sort of emotional turmoil. In terms of drama and characterization alone, I felt that this little bit with him was handled very poorly. Sure, his frustration at being the 'background' character of the group was totally justified, but then suddenly adding that he also witnessed Menma's death just didn't sit well with me.
Dat table of mugs!
Overall though, I felt the series was treated as well as it could have been. It was cute, dramatic, and funny all at the same time and in the correct amounts of each. My few gripes mostly center around a handful of things that seem to come out of nowhere (like the info about Poppo witnessing the death). But it really did end as an enjoyable series.
Super Peace Busters
In a way, Ano Hana reminds me of a deconstruction of the super sentai genre. Seriously, just hear me out. Jinta acts as the Red Ranger, the leader of the group. Ultimately he is the one that needs the most salvation as the death of Menma affects him the most deeply. Yukiatsu's character falls right in line with the typical Blue Ranger. He is often jealous of Red and tries desperately to prove his worth by claiming superiority. However, when Jinta reveals that he can see Menma, it really sends Yukiatsu into a maddened haze. His redemption comes in the form of finally realizing he's an asshole and stopping it. Anaru is the Pink Ranger of the force. She's in love with Red even though he basically ignores her for awhile. She's a pretty normal girl, but with some deep insecurities and often times she's easily swayed by those around her. But Pink finally gets her chance in the end. Tsuruko is either the Yellow or Black Ranger, it's hard to tell with her. She's in love with always-second-best Blue and is perhaps the most logical and focused of the group. She realizes the dynamic between Pink and Blue, knowing who her true rival is. Even so, after the emotional fallout she ends up getting closer to her love Blue. Then there's Poppo or Broppo and it's no surprise that he's Green, the bro Ranger. Supportive and always willing to help, he aids Red perhaps in the most ways. With a lightly dotted background, Green has to help everyone from the backseat, which can be very frustrating for him. Even so, Green is still just as strong a member as anyone else. Finally, there's Menma the White Ranger. Born to die and scar the rest of the Rangers with guilt and self-loathing. Menma ends up as the key to reuniting the Super Peace Busters. See? I'm not fucking nuts! It's totally the super sentai dynamic! Everything is totally there!
Super Peace Busters Sentai
Hope you guys enjoyed that little rant and I'll see you guys in forever from now
