[Rewatch][Spoilers] AnoHana: The Flower We Saw That Day - Episode 11 (Discussion)

First time watcher. I fucking cried.

The scene where they start to read Menma's letters and Secret base starts playing always gets me, one of my favorite moments in anime.

"I love you, the kind of love where I want to marry you"

I didn't even watch this today and I'm getting seriously misty-eyed on my lunch break just remembering it.

Watch.

Finish. Sit down. Try not to cry a lot. Go into hysterics and bawl like a baby for a few hours.

This anime is seriously so powerful when binged I commend people do it. But the crowning achievement is probably the OP and ED. Both of which are the emotional powerhouse/triggers for this anime.

Didn't rewatch because I can't handle it, but interested in seeing peoples reactions to this episode!

Anohana really breaks into one of the saddest final moments in a TV show for me. It is not the most subtle or pretty in how the charters break down, but it was much needed. All of Jinta's friends have put up a facade of emotional stability or even emotional coldness for so long, they really needed to let it all out and let Menma know what they were feeling all along. It broke my heart into pieces because it was the outpouring of four characters all at once. Jinta was the one who had to deal with Menma's spirit all along but it it was terrible watching Yukiatsu and Tsuruko finally break down like that. Popo as well, due to his crushing sense of guilt at the incident that led to Menma's death.

Really nice for Menma's letter finally reaching all her friends and for them to finally support Jinta and help him move on with his life, all with memory of Menma going into the future. One of the most satisfying passing of a character I have ever seen. Jinta having all his friends ultimately mattered a lot. If it weren't for them, he might have completely broken.

I cry

I'm still struggling to parse all of my thoughts into words. I watched the episode last night, and I'm still trying to work out exactly how I feel about it. If nothing else, I can say with confidence that this series is unforgettable - I feel like those final moments will be lingering in the back of my mind for months to come. Since there's still the movie to watch, I think I'll wait until the final discussion to fully elaborate on my feelings - so here's just a few random thoughts specific to this episode:

Firstly, I will say right off the bat that I was a bit disappointed by the emotional impact of the series. Maybe it's because I went in with expectations of it being super sad. I feel like the fact that the entire plot revolves around getting Menma to pass on removes any mystery or suddenness from what transpires in the final episode. As well done as her final moments were in this episode, the only point in the entire series that got me misty-eyed was when everyone was reading the personalized notes she wrote them.

It's weird, because even though I think all of the characters in the series are realistic and sympathetic, I was never really moved by their tears. And believe me, I tend to be an emotional softy - as I mentioned in the YuYuYu rewatch, there's quite a few shows I've watched that brought tears to my eyes. But for some reason, I always felt just detached enough throughout AnoHana that it never hit me that hard. I don't really know if this was something the series did wrong, or if it was more the result of personal expectations, as I mentioned before.

It's a little weird that we had to wait until this, the final episode, to make sense of the show's title.

I don't entirely understand Menma's wish. If her wish was simply to make Jinta cry, that happened way back in Episode 6 (possibly earlier), so why did she stick around as long as she did? I understand the obvious "wanting everyone to be friends again" but that was never once presented as being part of her wish, which everything in the show leads you to believe is the only thing keeping her from passing on.

I expect u/hedgefrogs will be more satisfied by the events in this episode, as they specifically address a lot of the concerns she brought up yesterday (Anjou and Tsurumi not caring about Menma).

I always find plots that revolve around the concept of reincarnation to be extremely depressing. Yes, it's immortality in one sense, but you never retain your memories of your previous lives. Let's say, for example, that Menma does happen to come back as a person who befriends Jinta and co., and they live happy, fulfilling lives together. Then what? They die, and get reincarnated as something else with no memories of those events ever having happened. I guess this isn't so much a complaint about AnoHana specifically, but it's something that made the ending a bit more depressing for me.

The fact that Menma's death was never actually shown disappoints me a little. I understand that they probably wanted to preserve her dignity, and showing a drowning child would be exceptionally dark, but I just feel like there's too many unanswered questions regarding why she ended up in the river in the first place, and why no one (except Poppo) was around to attempt to save her.

I'm still somewhat uncomfortable with the whole concept of Jinta and ghost Menma being in love with each other, primarily because the way she's portrayed seems nothing like a high schooler (both in appearance and the way she acts).

I have no idea what the movie is going to be about. I feel like any plot that brings Menma back would completely undermine the ending to this series. My best guess is that it will revolve heavily around flashbacks, showing more events that occurred while Menma was still alive.

Anyway, that's all I can think of right now. I know it sounds mostly negative, but don't get the wrong impression - I definitely enjoyed the series. I'm just finding it easier to talk about the things that disappointed me than how the show succeeded right now. See you all for the movie discussion in two days!

Me at 15:00 Alright, hold it together, we might actually make it out of this series without shedding a tear. To think, me, an "emotionally fragile" female, stronger than all those guys going on about MANLY TEARS and onions and shit. I got this, I'm fine.

Me at 17:00 I… can’t read these subtitles… something is clouding my vision...Why is my face wet? ^I ^^love ^^^you ^^^^Menma

Tears aside, execution wise: This episode was perfect, it was tight and everything was intentional. There was space for moments that needed to breathe, we got just the right sense of urgency to those panicked scenes.

Literally every single one of my concerns last episode was addressed in that first group conversation. If it seemed like they were being selfish, it’s because they were. I realize now that the feeling of unease I got from episode 10 was probably intentional on the writers’ part. I really loved when everyone just… breaks open and puts themselves out there. I think Tsurumi’s caught me most off-guard, but it really fit her character, strategizing and setting up others in hopes that Yukiatsu will choose her. However… we I don’t think we got enough time spent on Poppo’s revelation. When he cracked it absolutely broke my heart, but I think we needed to meditate on that for a minute and just see him (and the rest of them) recover a bit.

The letters... That scene was what did it for me. For Menma to actually communicate to each of them “I love you (and I forgive you).” and finally allow them closure for their grief. This scene was so emotionally charged. I’m glad they had the chance to see her (though I wasn’t sure exactly how she revealed herself).

And the second verse of the OP comes in with a much more optimistic tone and we see the kids living their life. They’re sad, but they don’t harbor the same dark regrets they had about that day. What great closure for the characters as well as for us, the audience.

Didn't rewatch because I watched it for the first time fairly recently. But I have to say that this show is a 10/10 for me. Although, it didn't make me cry and nothing has in any medium before. It's not like I'm even trying to be a brick wall or anything, it just hasn't happened. I was even welcoming the tears during AnoHana, it was almost like I wanted to cry, like I wanted AnoHano to be the one to take my crying virginity, it was worthy of that. My eyes were all watery and shit but the tears just didn't want to come. Oh well, maybe another day.

Yo, u/SpikeyPT, you cry?

Fuck me sideways this is clannad all over again. Anime, why do you hurt me like this ? I wish we'd been given a little more closure concerning the ships - to ease the pain, so to speak.

Pretty sure I won't be the only one coming this thread to see first timer's reaction. Ahhh I remembered this episode made me tear up in my room at 5am. For the first timers, I feel you guys ;-;

That ending gets me every time, man. It's like Secret Base playing in those last few minutes shuts down all logical emotional processing in my head.

I watched along (for the first time) and have been lurking here for a couple weeks. Now that it's over I guess I'll post a couple thoughts. Overall I enjoyed this show quite a lot, but at the same time it left me feeling disappointed. I'll start off by saying I am a picky person and analytical (to a fault) when it comes to any story. It's just how my brain works. However I do love getting emotional, and often find myself emotional at shows or moments when I least expect it. Which brings me to my first problem with Anohana: It's just too obvious in its pathos and I found myself fighting the emotion rather than embracing it. I was certainly sad for the majority of this show, but I never felt it take me all the way like other dramas have. As soon as the characters started crying I felt myself pulling away from the anime, and I'm honestly not too sure why. For me I think this anime might be too "sad" I guess? I could see it coming from a mile away and I think I would have enjoyed it more if there was more balance between lighthearted humor and sadness.

I like all the characters, but I feel that they suffer from a lack of backstory. It would have been great to see one or two episodes solely devoted to flashback of when they were younger, maybe in a happier setting. This would have added some fantastic balance to the show. I rarely complain about anime being too short or not having enough episodes to flesh out the story and characters. I think any great writer should be able to fit a concise, closed, believable story into one cour. But I think Anohana is an exception, and is somewhat weighed down by its short 11 episode cour. It tries to fit as much as it can in and does a great job, but I still feel it missed a lot of world and setting building that I personally needed to get into the story more.

I just didn't get fully absorbed by this story and I can't pinpoint why exactly. It felt like a "story specifically designed to evoke emotion," which is fine, but I prefer more subtlety to things.

I'm aware I'll probably get downvoted but I hope to at least have a solid discussion about this anime. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying anything really negative about Anohana at all, it just wasn't my cup of tea. It's certainly better than most other dramas out there.

I didn't join in on the rewatch because I finished the series a couple days before this started, but I still remember this episode well. I teared up when they were at the shrine finally getting their feelings across to one another. Somehow I stayed composed during their hide n seek game after Jintan lost sight of Menma. What sent me into full blown hysterics with audible sobs was when the camera panned down to the letters under the tree. That one little thing broke me, that Menma cares about her friends so much that she used what little energy she had to give them the proper goodbye they needed. It's a good thing it was late at night in my room because I don't think I could easily explain why this reduced me to just pure tears from a focused stare as I watched the show. I'm scared that when I do watch the movie, which won't be for a while, I'll be broken down when that scene comes up again

I confess, I stopped at the 4th episode as I realized I haven't watched the film version yet.

I'll wait till 26/27 September (cos timezone) for the movie discussion. No idea what the new scenes will be like, so yeah.

If you like the OP(Aoi Shiori by Galileo Galileo), give that band a listen. There's a certain... charm to their music. I find them somewhat bittersweet (thanks to Anohana ), yet hopeful.

First timers, I know that feel. It's.... it's OK. We're here. I remember crying into my pillow and gasping for air. I'm tearing up as I type this, even though it's been many months, perhaps even a year, since I watched the last episode.

Edit: I'll just put this out in case: first timers, don't watch the film right after the anime series. Wait until you've forgotten most of what's going on in Anohana, then proceed with the film.

See this is one of the biggest problems with Anohana.

It's too hard to read the subtitles through all the tears.

;____;

This episode and the fireworks episode... this show may not be perfect, but dammit if it's not one of my favorites. Absolutely awesome direction. See you guys on Saturday for the film!

An absolutely beautiful show; definitely deserving of the 9/10 rating I gave it first time round.

Anohana has a fairly high rewatch value, as it's just as satisfying (and touching) the second time round. The movie which comes next is nothing special, but it's a decent round-off to a great show.

The worst part about me rewatching this is that my step brother is in the same room, and I cried my eyes out.

I'm glad I rewatched this.