Art (7/10)
With much of the Toradora! staff returning to make Ano Hana, the art felt very familiar. Watching Ano Hana made me feel like watching Toradora! again as the scenery and characters have a unique style to them that I first noticed in Toradora! However, with this being made about three years after Toradora!, the lack of detail in some scenes disappointed me. I felt that, in some scenes, the faces of some of the characters looked very sloppy; like the job was rushed. The art for the OP and ED were well done though. Overall, decent artwork and definitely watchable.
Characters (9/10)
Having extremely well developed characters in only 11 episodes is tough to accomplish but Ano Hana stood up to this daunting task and delivered beautifully. From the first episode to the last, the main protagonist, Jinta, goes through some major personality changes - from a shut-in with an "I don't care about life" attitude to someone who goes out of his way to help his friends in any way he's able to. The other characters also start developing later in the show, demonstrating how the death of a close friend can change one's way of life. Furthermore, the interactions between the characters show how different each of them are. From the fashionable Anaru to the intelligent Tsuruko, each of them are unique in their own way, increasing the viewers' chances of being able to relate to one character.
Sound (9/10)
Starting with the OP, I thought it was a catchy and slightly upbeat song after listening to it for the first time. It fit in well as the introduction to each episode whether the mood was happy or sad. As for the ED, I found it better than the OP because it blended in perfectly with the dramatic mood set at the end of every episode. The way it starts off soft and builds up helps to emphasize the dramatic significance of the ending scenes of each episode. Moving on to the BGM, although it wasn't really noticeable as I was too enticed by the story to focus on it, I found that it fit in well with each one of the scenes. The BGM helped set the mood on several occasions, adding to my already excellent experience. Finally, the voice acting was quite good considering the difficulty of faking tears and sadness. I thought the aforementioned cases were voiced masterfully, with each one of the VAs doing their job extremely well (though some obviously better than others).
Story (10/10)
I'll try to keep this spoiler free but I'll apologize in advance in case I do spoil some things. So this is the story of five (actually six) childhood friends who reunite with one another after around ten years away from each other. During these ten years, each one of them had to cope with the death of their friend Honma "Menma" Meiko. And now, the one who was supposedly closest to Menma, Yadomi Jinta, has world turned upside down by the reappearance of Menma. As the story continues, all of the childhood friends, collectively known as the "Super Peace Busters", eventually come to learn of Menma's reappearance through Jinta and once again struggle with the guilt of feeling responsible for Menma's death. Through Menma, the five of them grow closer and closer together once again, relying on one another for support through this time of struggle. No matter the circumstances, these friends, at the end of the day, realize that their friendship with one another is the most important thing in the world to them.
Overall (9/10)
If you ever had to go through the death of a very good friend while you were still a child, this anime will definitely make you remember everything - both pleasant and unpleasant. From tears of joy to tears of sorrow, Ano Hana has it all. Every episode builds upon the previous one, easily captivating the viewer. Ano Hana is an anime that will remind you to value your life and friendships because you never know what will happen at the next moment. Definitely a must-see for drama lovers out there as this masterpiece will tug at your emotions and make you think more about your relationship with others. Give Ano Hana a try and I'm confident that you will enjoy it.
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