Serious Analysis: Ano Hana

AnoHana, short for Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai (We Still Don’t Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day) is probably the best anime to come out this season. Even then, I wouldn’t just preclude it to being great within its medium. Ano Hana is an enjoyable series that stands at about the same level as other great works of television, like Mad Men or Life on Mars.

For those who haven’t seen it, AnoHana is about the death of a very young girl, Menma, whose death causes her friends to separate. When she comes back as a spirit ten years later, they’re forced to come together again for her sake and to retrieve their own self-worth. AnoHana is a slice-of-life story about recovering confidence and faith in one’s self, while exploring the impact of trauma on children.