The characters of the anime series Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day.
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The Super Peace Busters
In General
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The three female members are the silver-haired Menma, the dark blue-haired Tsuruko, and the redheaded Anaru.
- Childhood Friends: They were close friends in elementary school, but drifted apart after Menma died. The return of Menma as a ghost leads the way for them to slowly reconnect.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble:
- Jintan is Leukine — Arguably the most balanced of the group, by merit of being The Hero.
- Menma is Supine — The friendly, non-confrontational Nice Girl who's very Prone to Tears.
- Anaru is Phlegmatic — Easily influenced by others and insecure, but overall a Nice Girl.
- Yukiatsu is Choleric — Model student on the outside, self-deprecating, resentful, and obsessive teen on the inside.
- Tsuruko is Melancholic — A smart girl who is critical of her friends, but also comfortable on her own.
- Poppo is Sanguine — The most fun-loving out of all the Super Peace Busters.
- In-Series Nickname: Each of them has a nickname given to them in their childhood. In most cases, the nickname mixes their given name with their family name.
- Love Dodecahedron: Jintan and Yukiatsu had a crush on Menma, but she only liked Jintan in the same way. Meanwhile, Anaru likes Jintan and Tsuruko likes Yukiatsu, but they're still only thinking about Menma despite her death.
- Moving Beyond Bereavement: Menma's death affected all of her friends to varying degrees. With the return of Menma as a ghost, the group eventually works together to make her wish come true, which allows them to admit and work through the guilt and feelings they still have about her.
- Nice Mean And In Between: For the guys, Poppo's the nice, Yukiatsu is the mean and Jintan is the in-between. For the girls, Menma is the nice, Tsuruko is the mean and Anaru is the in-between.
- Puppy Love: The aforementioned Love Dodecahedron started when the members were in elementary school.
- Putting the Band Back Together: After Menma died, it didn't take long for the group to disband. Five years later, the sudden appearance of Menma's ghost gradually brings the group back together.
Jinta "Jintan" Yadomi
Click here to see his appearance in the movie.
Voiced by: Mutsumi Tamura (child) and Miyu Irino (teenager) (Japanese), Tara Sands (child) and Griffin Burns (teenager) (English)
De facto leader of the "Super Peace Busters", a six-person gang of True Companions that tragically dissolved after Menma's death. Once an energetic boy, he has since withdrawn into himself after Menma's and his mother's deaths.
- Always Someone Better: In Yukiatsu's opinion, Jintan surpassed him at everything, be it the games they played or earning Menma's affection.
- Anger Born of Worry: In Episode 4, Anaru slips near the place where Menma drowned. Jintan catches her arm and holds her from behind only to tighten his grip on her arms and berate her for almost repeating the incident.
- Betty and Veronica: The Archie for Menma's "Veronica" (Cute Ghost Girl First Love) and Anaru's "Betty" (Girl Next Door Hopeless Suitor). Jintan and Menma were each other's First Love, more so for Jintan since Menma died when they were kids, while Anaru had feelings for Jintan but he didn't reciprocate. By the end, Jintan and Menma manage to confess his feelings for each other before she disappears for good. And the epilogue implies that Anaru and Jintan may get together one day. The 10th Anniversary short story later confirms that the two finally undergoes a Relationship Upgrade.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Jintan is pretty smart and can pick up new information pretty quickly, but he's so apathetic and lazy he'd rather shut himself in than deal with school.
- By the Eyes of the Blind: Jintan is the only one of his friends, or anybody, who can see and hear Menma.
- Cannot Spit It Out: When he was a kid, he refused to admit he liked Menma. Even in the present, he doesn't want to admit it, until Episode 10.
- Classical Anti-Hero: He starts the series as a recluse who isolated himself from society after the girl he liked died, soon followed by his mother.
- Deadpan Snarker: Has his moments of showing his dry wit.
- Defrosting Ice King: Happens as he starts spending more time with his old friends. It is for this very purpose that Menma returned in the first place.
- Guilt Complex: Not quite as evident as Anaru or Yukiatsu, but it's still there.
- Hikikomori: Zigzagged. Jintan has a reputation as one with his classmates because he withdrew from society, but once he shakes the rust he's actually pretty sociable and takes to getting work rather easily.
- Hot-Blooded: It's repressed, but it's still there. He was this way mostly as a child, but whenever he gets worked up he tends to yell and raise his voice and speak pretty passionately.
- Hypocrisy Nod: He admits that it's hypocritical of him to tell Anaru not to skip class given how much time he spent not going to school, but says that while skipping class is tempting, it's difficult to go back once you start down that road. While he says he's not in any position to talk, Anaru gets his point.
- I Let Gwen Stacy Die: Menma's death has haunted him for years.
- I See Dead People: He is the only one who can see Menma's ghost.
- Jade-Colored Glasses: Definitely the most jaded out of the whole cast at the beginning, save for maybe Yukiatsu. Ends up going through Character Development in the series to be more of a Knight in Sour Armor.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While Jintan is surly, sarcastic, and prefers to be left alone, it's later shown that he has a heroic and sweet side.
- Keet: As a child, he was energetic and lively.
- Knight in Sour Armor: Becomes this by the end of the series.
- The Leader: The Super Peace Busters followed his lead because of his charisma.
- Loners Are Freaks: According to Anaru's friends, he's just a weird shut-in that she shouldn't bother dealing with.
- Magnetic Hero: Yukiatsu even grudgingly admits that even now he still has the charm he possessed as a child.
- Maybe Ever After: The epilogue hints that there's potential for Jintan to end up with Anaru in the future, now that Menma passed on.
- The Mourning After: He hasn't gotten over his feelings for Menma and his biggest regret is never telling her he had a crush on her. Anaru knows this and hates that she can't replace Menma for him.
- My Girl Is Not a Slut: Defended Anaru from her classmates' slander, even though the two were not even a couple. Though, touching as it was, he didn't pass up the chance to berate her, revealing in the process some of her more embarrassing hobbies.
- Never Got to Say Goodbye: He always regretted not being able to apologize to Menma for calling her ugly and confess his feelings for her.
- No Social Skills: As a teen, he is very awkward when dealing with people and often can't speak properly with anyone outside his old social circle.
- Not What It Looks Like: On more than one occasion with Anaru.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Wears a cap and Purely Aesthetic Glasses when he goes out in public.
- Parting-Words Regret: He deeply regrets that he called Menma ugly during their last moment together when she was alive.
- Single-Target Sexuality: Menma is the only girl he feels attracted to, even after she has become a ghost, which an endless source of frustration and jealousy for Anaru.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: With Menma. They liked each other when they were kids, but Jintan refused to admit it and regrets it to this day. Menma then died in an accident and years later, she comes back to him as a ghost, but her death means that they can't be together.
- Stopped Caring: Gave up on life after the death of Menma.
- Troubled, but Cute: Jintan is rather handsome when he's not depressed over Menma's death.
- Tsundere: Towards Menma and Anaru. He acts quite harsh and seemingly uncaring to their problems, but later proves to by his actions how much he deeply cares for them.
- Unable to Cry: For both Menma and his mother. In Episode 8 he, with Menma's help, was finally able to mourn his mother, and in Episode 11 he finally sheds tears for Menma as he and the rest of the True Companions bid their final farewells to her.
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: With Menma and Anaru. With Menma it was due to her death, while with Anaru, it was because he just saw her as a friend. By the epilogue, he and Menma convey their feelings for each other; and with Anaru, there's possibility that they may get together.
- Used to Be More Social: When he was a kid, Jintan was very charismatic and sociable, even being The Leader of his group of friends. After Menma and his mother died, Jintan's grief caused him to become withdrawn and socially awkward.
Meiko "Menma" Honma
Click here to see her appearance in the movie.
Voiced by: Ai Kayano (Japanese), Xanthe Huynh (English)
A girl who died in an accident five years ago, only to reappear as a ghost only Jintan can see. She says she has a wish she wants everyone to fulfill so she can move on to the afterlife, but she can't remember what it was. Despite aging in real-time, she retains her cheerful, childlike disposition, and wears the same white one-piece sundress she wore the day she drowned.
- Adaptational Dye-Job: In the anime, Menma has silver hair and blue eyes due to being half Russian. In the live action drama, her actress has dark hair and dark eyes.
- All-Loving Heroine: She loves her friends very dearly.
- Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Menma had light blue eyes, pale skin, white hair, and wore a white dress... all before she died.
- Betty and Veronica: The "Veronica" (Cute Ghost Girl First Love) to Anaru's "Betty" (Patient Childhood Love Interest) for Jintan's "Archie". By the end, Jintan and Anaru manage to confess his feelings for each other before she disappears for good. And the epilogue implies that Anaru and Jintan may get together one day.
- But Not Too Foreign: She is half-Russian, from her mother Irene's side. Her mixed ancestry is discussed in the movie. Menma had no friends before meeting the rest of the Super Peace Busters, and she believed that it was because other people didn't think of her as a Japanese.
- Cheerful Child: She has a cheerful and sunny disposition.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Appears very scatterbrained and almost in her own world at times, but it has to be considered that though her ghost form might appear aged, her mind is still that of the child that died many years ago, so when set against her friends who've all grown up she ends up seeming more naive and child-like in comparison.
- Cool Big Sis: Her younger brother Satoshi can't remember much about her because he was very young when she died, but the few memories he has of her let him know Menma was a nice sister and he wanted to play with her along her friends more.
- Cute Ghost Girl: She's a spirit of the same adorable, friendly girl that Jintan fell for.
- The Cutie: She's adorable, friendly, loving, and cares for her friends.
- Dead Hat Shot: Early episodes show a brief clip of a single sandal drifting in the water whenever Menma's death was mentioned.
- Dead to Begin With: Her death happens long before the main story, she spends the story proper as a Cute Ghost Girl.
- Death of a Child: She died when she was in elementary school, and the repercussions of her death drive the plot forward.
- Death of the Hypotenuse: With Menma's death, Anaru and Tsuruko technically were left with no love rival for Jintan and Yukiatsu, respectively. However, Jintan and Yukiatsu haven't move on from her five years later, making Anaru and Tsuruko feel like they're still losing to Menma even after she became a ghost.
- Devoted to You: Even though she has been dead for years, Jintan and Yukiatsu can't forget about her and are still very affected by her death. They also ignore their other potential love interests as to them, they can't replace Menma.
- Dissonant Serenity: At the end of Episode 8, the rest of the gang call bullshit on Jintan's claims of being able to see Menma, and Yukiatsu is ready to beat him up when Menma calmly enters, walks over to the table, writes in her diary, and softly drops it once she's done — all the while wearing a smile.
- Dying Declaration of Love: Before she disappears for good, Menma leaves a letter for Jintan to tell him she liked him and wanted to marry him if she had grown older with him.
- Ethereal White Dress: She wears the white dress she wore the day she died, befitting her status as a ghost who died as an innocent child.
- First Love: She was the first love for Jintan and Yukiatsu. Menma setting a very high standard for a love interest is an endless source of frustration for their respective potential Second Loves, Anaru and Tsuruko.
- Friendly Ghost: Even as a ghost, she's still the same sweet and cheerful girl she was when alive.
- Gamer Chick: Is a die-hard fan of the "Nokemon" game series and is frequently seen playing the one that Jintan buys for her. She also took interest in what game Jintan was playing in the series' first scene and made a reference to Mario and Luigi when a second Menma was thought to exist, even saying it'd be funny if the "Menmaluigi" had "Player Two colors."
- Genki Girl: Very cheerful and upbeat.
- Ghostly Goals: She says she has a wish she wants Jintan to fulfill, but she can't remember what it was. Her wish is actually to help Jintan to cry and show emotions again, which she had promised to Jintan's now-also-dead mother when both were still alive, but it ends up extending to the rest of her friends in the Super Peace Busters, who never properly came to terms with her death.
- Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: She seems demure and feminine, but seems to share a lot of interests with her male friends. Mirrors Anaru's Tomboy with a Girly Streak.
- Go Out with a Smile: After her wish is fulfilled and she can properly say goodbye to all of her friends, Menma moves on to the afterlife with a smile.Jintan: In the end, Menma wore a smile after all.
- The Heart: She was the sweet Nice Girl who loved all the members of the Super Peace Busters and was loved by them in return, which is why they drifted apart after her death. Her return as a ghost is what eventually leads the group to bond again.
- The Ingenue: A sweet, innocent, and kind girl at heart.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: Her bright blue eyes fit into her Nice Girl personality.
- Innocent Fanservice Girl: She doesn't understand what's the problem with Jintan seeing her in nothing but a Modesty Towel.
- Invisible to Normals: Only Jintan can see and hear her, while she's still invisible to everyone else.
- Jacob Marley Apparel: Menma's appearance doesn't display signs of her death, but she's wearing the same outfit she drowned in (although it's larger, since her ghost looks older and is taller than she was at death) and wears no shoes (which were washed away by the river).
- Kiddie Kid: Despite being visibly older as a ghost, she still acts very childish and refers to herself in the third person as her preferred nickname. Justified since she died when she was a young child; even if she's aged physically, it seems she can never age mentally.
- The Lost Lenore: Jintan and Yukiatsu had a crush on Menma when they were kids. Both blamed themselves for her death and are still pining after her years later while ignoring their still living romantic options.
- Loved by All: All of Menma's friends and family adored her. Even Anaru and Tsuruko couldn't hate Menma despite seeing her as a love rival. Her death caused a huge emotional damage for all of them.
- Magical Girlfriend: Years after her death, Menma's ghost appears before the hikikomori Jintan and asks him to fulfill a wish she can't remember and helps him to get back on his feet and bond with their old friends.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Her cheerfulness has led Jintan out of his solitude and made him reconnect with his old gang.
- Mystical White Hair: A cute white-haired ghost girl. Being a ghost, her white hair denotes her as the only truly "mystical" aspect of a story that's in an otherwise mundane setting.
- Nice Girl: Menma is a sweet, kind girl who always think of her friends above herself and will always cry for them in sad moments. Jintan would agree with this trope.
- Oblivious to Love: She was oblivious to Yukiatsu's feelings until he confessed to her when they were children.
- Phenotype Stereotype: She's half Russian, and like many Russian characters in anime she has silver hair and blue eyes.
- Poltergeist: While she's a ghost, she can touch and move objects. To other characters except Jintan, it looks like paranormal activity with objects flying on their own.
- Posthumous Character: Zigzagged. She is technically dead, but her spirit is alive throughout most of the series.
- Prone to Tears: She very easily cries for others when they are sad or hurt.
- Puppy Love: Her feelings for Jintan were mutual. They still like each other despite her being a ghost, but her death means that they can't be together.
- Purity Sue: A deliberate in-universe deconstruction. She is selfless, innocent and loves everyone unconditionally. However, her purity and selflessness unintentionally puts a lot of pressure on her friends—especially her female friends Anaru and Tsuruko, who feel as though they can never measure up to her.
- Reincarnation: Menma's eventual goal, though both she and Jintan zigzag about the urgency of granting her wish. The gang succeed in sending her off happily in the end.
- Standing Between the Enemies: Tries this when Anaru and Tsuruko start fighting in Episode 2. It doesn't work since they can't see her, but it never escalates beyond catty remarks and yelling anyways.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: With Jintan. They liked each other when they were kids, but she died before he could properly tell her about his feelings.
- Talking with Signs: Since only Jintan can hear her, Menma can only communicate to the rest of their friends via writing in her diary. For some reason, she can't write in anything else.
- Tareme Eyes: Menma has the classic rounded innocent eye design, and is a very gentle-natured and optimistic person.
- Tearful Smile: She smiles while crying at different times, but most heart-breakingly when she finally passes on in the last episode.
- Third-Person Person: Usually refers to herself by her nickname, indicating how she still has a childlike mindset even when she comes back as older than she was when she died.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Died in a very young age from an accident.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Her mother states that curry was her favorite meal, though she also appears quite fond of ramen noodles and steamed bread.
- Tsundere: Sweet type towards Jintan. Menma is the sweetest girl ever, but does get annoyed when Jintan is rude to her.
- Undead Barefooter: It's all but confirmed her sandals washed away when she drowned, and now summoned in an older form, she is dressed in her final attire she wore among the living, leaving her barefoot as a ghost.
- Unrequited Tragic Maiden: Played With. She suffers a tragic death right after hearing Jintan deny having a crush on her. In reality, he returned her feelings while she was alive, and still liked her even when she was a ghost.
Naruko "Anaru" Anjou
Click here to see her appearance in the movie.
Voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu (Japanese), Erica Lindbeck (English)
A girl who idolized Menma, but at the same time was also jealous of her relationship with Jintan, with whom she kept in touch long after Menma's death. Both even attend the same high school, with Anaru often bringing homework to him whenever he's too lazy to go out.
- Anguished Declaration of Love: Sort of, towards Jintan in Episode 8. Specifically, she tells him that she's tormented by guilt over her jealousy towards Menma when they were kids. She starts to tell him that she still likes him, but he walks off before she finishes.
- Bespectacled Cutie: As a child, Anaru wore big glasses and looked adorable doing so.
- Betty and Veronica: The "Betty" (Patient Childhood Love Interest) to Menma's "Veronica" (Cute Ghost Girl First Love) for Jintan's "Archie". Jintan and Menma were each other's First Love, more so for Jintan since Menma died when they were kids, while Anaru had feelings for Jintan but he didn't reciprocate. By the end, Jintan and Anaru manage to confess his feelings for each other before she disappears for good. And the epilogue implies that Anaru and Jintan may get together one day.
- Cannot Spit It Out: By the movie, she hasn't yet told Jintan that she is still in love with him (he's only aware that she liked him when they were kids).
- Childhood Friend Romance: She still has a crush on her childhood friend Jintan, but the effects of Menma's death caused their relationship to get distant. The epilogue implies she may be developing a romance with him.
- Closet Geek: While she styles herself as a Gyaru Girl in the present day, she still loves video games and even works part-time at a video game store. She tends to get flustered when her love of video games and manga is exposed.
- Competing with a Corpse: In her childhood, Anaru felt she would never get Jintan with Menma around. Years after Menma's death, Anaru hasn't made any progress in her relationship with Jintan because they both feel guilty about what happened to Menma. Also, Anaru still feels she can't measure up to the impossible standard Menma left for the sort of girl Jintan would like. Even after Menma's ghost passes on, Anaru still decides that she's not ready to try and date Jintan, since he still carries a torch for Menma.
- Curtains Match the Window: She has brown hair and brown eyes. As a teen, she dyed her hair orange.
- Date Rape Averted: In Episode 5, an older guy on an Enjo Kosai date nearly forces her to go with him to a love hotel. She is saved by the timely arrival of Yukiatsu.
- Dogged Nice Girl: To Jintan, as she pines for him while he is still in love with Menma.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Her childhood nickname "Anaru" fuses her first and last names, but it sounds the same as Anal in Japanese. She hates being called that as a teenager, much to the innocent Menma's confusion.
- Fiery Redhead: Played With. Anaru dyed her hair orange and her natural hair color is brown. She still has the temperamental personality.
- Gamer Chick: She's been fond of video games since she was young, and she even works part-time at a game store.
- Girlish Pigtails: She ties her hair up into pigtails, giving her a jovial and somewhat immature look for a teenager.
- Girls Love Stuffed Animals: Insists that she can't sleep without one of her stuffed animals when she moves to the clubhouse.
- The Glasses Gotta Go: Anaru stopped wearing her glasses after the loss of Menma when she dyed her hair because she wanted to be more bold and thought the glasses made her look less attractive.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Since her childhood, she has been terribly jealous of Menma for being the girl Jintan likes.
- Guilt Complex: Menma's death constantly torments Anaru.
- Gyaru Girl: She paints her nails, styles her hair and dyes it red, wears false eyelashes, and probably uses her earnings from her part-time job to buy outfits.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: Blames herself for Menma's death, is easily influenced by others, and has quite the inferiority issues.
- Hopeless Suitor: To Jintan. From their childhood to current age, she has been in love with him while he is still carries a torch for Menma.
- Iconic Outfit: Her own white one piece dress, along with Letting Her Hair Down.
- I Just Want to Be Beautiful: She hated her curly hair and glasses when she was younger because she thought they made her unattractive. Even now she avoids wearing her glasses whenever as possible. It's heavily suggested that her fixation on fashion is due to her insecurity about her own looks.
- I Just Want to Be You: Envied Menma's looks and closer relationship with Jintan and wanted to take her place. Tsuruko even comments on how Anaru chooses to wear a white dress just like Menma's in order to appeal to Jintan
- Insecure Love Interest: Anaru feels like she cannot match up to the extremely high standards set by the pretty and kind Menma since her death, and feels that Jintan won't ever love her the way he loved Menma.
- Joshikousei: She's a high school student with a Sailor Fuku-style school uniform.
- Just Friends: With Jintan, as he only sees her as an old friend while she is in love with him.
- Kick Chick: Her response to Yukiatsu's teasing about how she handles boys is a kick to the side in Episode 9.
- Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Anaru is the sensitive, unconfident Light Feminine to Tsuruko's aloof, stoic Dark Feminine.
- Madonna-Whore Complex: Anaru is actually a rather prude virgin, but because of her appearance and a near-rape encounter at a love hotel, she earns a reputation among her classmates as an easy slut.
- Maybe Ever After: By the epilogue, there's the implication that Anaru will possibly develop a romance with Jintan, but it has yet to happen.
- Patient Childhood Love Interest: She has had a crush on Jintan since they were kids, but has never been able to gather the courage to make a move on him, mainly because she knows Jintan is still pining after Menma even long after her death.
- Psychological Projection: Since she knows about Tsuruko's feelings for Yukiatsu, Anaru presumes Tsuruko shares her feelings of jealousy for Menma and wants Menma's ghost gone to have Yukiatsu to herself, like Anaru wants Jintan. To her surprise, Tsuruko reveals she's never been jealous of Menma, but of Anaru because Yukiatsu has always seen her as his second option for romance while Tsuruko would be lucky if he even considered her as a Third-Option Love Interest.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The emotional and temperamental Red Oni to Tsuruko's cool and aloof Blue Oni.
- Running Away to Cry: In Episode 9, Anaru is pained to be aware that Jintan still only has eyes for Menma just like they were kids, causing her to run away and cry for a bit. Yukiatsu follows her to comfort her and ask her out again.
- Second Love: After Menma died, Anaru kinda hoped Jintan would finally notice her as a new love interest, but it hasn't happened because they're both held back by their guilt over Menma. Unexpectedly, Yukiatsu seems more willing to consider Anaru as a dating option in case he decides to move on from Menma.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: While Anaru isn't unattractive at all, she definitely put more effort than usual into looking nice in Episode 3, letting her hair down and wearing a white dress similar to Menma's.
- Single-Target Sexuality: Anaru insists that Jintan is irreplaceable to her when Tsuruko suggests that Yukiatsu is planning on hooking up with Anaru once Menma is sent to Heaven.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Anaru likes Jintan because of how kind he can be.
- Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Seems more on the tomboyish side both as a child and as a teenager, but definitely has a more feminine side that she indulges mainly due to her insecurity. Mirrors Menma's Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak. It's all but stated that she's been trying to shed this image from childhood, but is still very much the same girl from five years ago.
- Tsundere: Towards Jintan who actually acts quite Tsundere right back. She acts cold to him but deeply worries for his wellbeing.
- Tsurime Eyes: Her eyes slant upwards, marking her as a Tsundere.
- Unlimited Wardrobe: While all members of the Super Peace Busters sans Menma use this trope, special mention goes to Anaru, who has the most outfits and hairstyles. Also, slightly played with in that she'll mix and match pieces like shirts or boots to create different ensembles.
- Urban Legend Love Life: Her classmates spread vulgar rumors about her that accuse her of being a slut after she's taken to a love hotel and nearly raped.
- What Does She See in Him?: Yukiatsu asks her what good she still finds in Jintan, pointing out that he's not the same kid they knew. After pondering for a moment, Anaru admits she's not entirely sure that she still likes him in the same way as in the past, but can't stop worrying about him because he lost both Menma and his mother.
- Why Can't I Hate You?: Anaru actually feels guilty about being jealous of Menma, since Menma was always very nice to her and a really good friend. She later admits she feels horrible about having felt relieved when Jintan called Menma ugly.
Atsumu "Yukiatsu" Matsuyuki
Click here to see his appearance in the movie.
Voiced by: Asami Seto (child) and Takahiro Sakurai (teenager) (Japanese), Michelle Ruff (child) and Ray Chase (teenager) (English)
A handsome, popular student in a prestigious school with Tsuruko. He used to have a crush on Menma, and is resentful of her relationship with Jintan, especially the fact that only he can see her ghost.
- Beauty Is Bad: Downplayed. He's a handsome Chick Magnet, but also starts off as a jerkass to Jintan because of his jealousy of his relationship with Menma.
- Beta Couple: With Tsuruko in the movie. While they are not together yet, their relationship has vastly improved, and she tells Anaru that she plans on making a move on Yukiatsu soon. In contrast, it doesn't look like Jintan and Anaru are gonna make progress quickly, even though Menma passed on.
- Birds of a Feather: He considers himself this with Anaru — They both blame themselves for Menma's death, have inferiority issues (Anaru, in regards to Menma; Yukiatsu, in regards to Jintan), and are "kindred spirits" in unrequited love. This is why Yukiatsu asks her to go out with him.
- Book Smart: He excels in school, being the second of his class.
- Break the Haughty: In Episode 5, getting caught crossdressing as Menma by his childhood friends was the start of his ego being taken down a peg. His haughtiness gets broken, blaming himself for Menma's death.
- Broken Ace: On one hand he's handsome, extremely book-smart, very popular with girls, seen as very cool. On the other he blames himself for Menma's death, resents Jintan and his closeness to her, is unable to interact well with Tsuruko, the only person from the True Companions still close to him, and considered Anaru as his "backup" love interest.
- Chick Magnet: Besides Tsuruko, there are a number of girls who are attracted to him.
- Childhood Friend Romance: He offers his childhood friend Anaru to date him, so both can move on from their unrequited childhood crushes. Ironically, he doesn't know his other female childhood friend Tsuruko is carrying the torch for him until he learns about it in the end.
- Commonality Connection: Yukiatsu considers his and Anaru's shared pain over an unrequited love to be an ideal reason for why they should be a couple.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: The reason he hates Jintan so much is because he knows Jintan was the one Menma liked. He even starts strangling Jintan out of jealousy at one point.
- Creepy Crossdresser: Crossdresses as Menma to relieve his obsession of her.
- Foil: To Jintan. While the former is a lazy, shut-in who Menma fell in love with, Yukiatsu is a hardworking, outgoing student who has unrequited feelings for Menma.
- Hopeless Suitor: Towards Menma, as while he had a crush on her she had a mutual crush on Jintan.
- Hypocrite: He accuses Jintan of being obsessed over Menma when he himself is just as obsessed with her but handles it much worse. Arguably lampshaded by Tsuruko who says he's likely projecting himself to Jintan.
- I Let Gwen Stacy Die: He deeply blames himself for Menma's death and says that her ghost should be haunting him.
- Inferiority Superiority Complex: He's very prone to acknowledge how handsome, smart, and athletic he is, but constantly feels like he's Always Second Best to Jintan.
- Insult Backfire: You can try pissing him off about his crossdressing, but all you'll really get out of him is a smirk and snide acknowledgement.
- Jerkass: He's arrogant, selfish and manipulative, he treats Jintan with disdain out of resentment, and he only sees his female friends as potential backup love interests. The only person he seems to care about is Menma, but his feelings are far from healthy.
- Love Confession: In a flashback in Episode 5, it's revealed Yukiatsu confessed his feelings for Menma after Jintan called her ugly. She didn't outright reject him, but she still prioritized runing after Jintan, which felt the same as a direct rejection.
- Love Makes You Crazy: Downplayed. Yukiatsu isn't insane, but he has not been handling Menma's death in a healthy manner. He has spent five years obsessing over a dead girl who liked his rival better in the first place. To deal with this, he does some creepy things such as crossdressing as her.
- Love Revelation Epiphany: Implied in the final episode. Anaru forces Tsuruko to admit her feelings for Yukiatsu in front of the entire group. Yukiatsu doesn't give her an answer, but their last scene together makes it look like Yukiatsu is flirting with Tsuruko after learning how she feels about him.
- Manly Tears: While everyone else has their fair share of tearful moments, special mention goes to the otherwise snarky Yukiatsu, after confessing to his selfish reasons for fulfilling Menma's wish and hearing Poppo's own confession.
- Maybe Ever After: In the end, there are a few hints that Yukiatsu and Tsuruko may become an item in the future.
- The Mourning After: Similar to Jintan, Yukiatsu hasn't gotten a girlfriend because he's still pining over the dead Menma. He does think he could move on with Anaru, but the ending implies he'll get together with Tsuruko after Menma passes on.
- Oblivious to Love: Despite Tsuruko always sticking close to him, he's pretty unaware of her feelings for him. He needs to hear it straight from Anaru and Tsuruko to finally become aware of how she feels.
- Pair the Spares: He tries to invoke this with Anaru. Since both got rejected by their respective childhood crushes, Yukiatsu thinks of getting together with Anaru so they can move on together. Ultimately subverted in the ending, where it's hinted that he may eventually end up with Tsuruko instead.
- Pet the Dog: In Episode 5, he rescues Anaru when she gets sexually harassed by a guy intending to take her to a love hotel.
- Pose of Supplication: He adopts this when begging Mr. Honma to let them go through with their fireworks plan.
- Rescue Romance: Plays with a thought of invoking this trope with Anaru, when he saves her from a prospect rapist.
- The Resenter: Yukiatsu is resentful to Jintan for being Menma's crush. After he's convinced of Menma's ghost being real, he once again grows to resent that fact that only Jintan can see her and talk to her.
- Sour Outside, Sad Inside: He's the most jerkish of Jintan's childhood friends, but blames himself for Menma's death just as much as him and has been handling his grief way worse than anyone in the group.
- Stepford Snarker: He uses sarcasm to cope with his inferiority complex towards Jintan and guilt over Menma's death.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: He's 5'11" with brown hair and is a Chick Magnet. He also counts for Tall, Dark, and Snarky because of his sharp tongue.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Tsuruko states that his favorite food is Yatsuhashi cookies.
- Tsurime Eyes: He's an arrogant and unpleasant character with sharp eyes.
- Unrequited Love Lasts Forever: He knows Menma had a crush on Jintan instead of him, but he's still unable to let go of his feelings for her long after she died. Though, thankfully, it's hinted that he may move on in the end with Tsuruko.
- Unwanted Harem: It is indicated that he is fairly popular with his female classmates, though he doesn't so much as bat an eye at them.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Tsuruko. They casually snark at each other, but haven't separated in five years while the rest of their friends became distant.
Chiriko "Tsuruko" Tsurumi
Click here to see her appearance in the movie.
Voiced by: Saori Hayami (Japanese), Erica Mendez (English)
A bespectacled, quiet girl who remained close with Yukiatsu long after the gang dissolved, both attending the same prestigious high school. She has had a crush on him for a long time, and is resentful of his fixation on Menma.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She's pretty, tall, dark-haired, and aloof.
- Anguished Declaration of Love: In Episode 11, after Anaru exposes her feelings for Yukiatsu to the entire group, Tsuruko breaks down in tears as she admits she did want Menma to pass on and Anaru to get together with Jintan, selfishly hoping Yukiatsu would be left with no choice but to get together with her.
- Beta Couple: With Yukiatsu in the movie. While they are not together yet, their relationship has vastly improved, and she tells Anaru that she plans on making a move on Yukiatsu soon. In contrast, it doesn't look like Jintan and Anaru are gonna make progress quickly, even though Menma passed on.
- Brainy Brunette: She has dark blue hair and is the most intellectual of the main group.
- Childhood Friend Romance: She has feelings for Yukiatsu, her childhood friend.
- Competing with a Corpse: Similar to Anaru with Jintan, Tsuruko has feelings for Yukiatsu, but he won't even consider her as a romantic option because no girl can replace Menma for him. Unlike Anaru, however, Tsuruko accepts she can't compete with Menma's memory, and is more jealous of Anaru because Yukiatsu is more inclined to pick her if he tried to move on from Menma's death.
- Curtains Match the Window: Blue hair and blue eyes.
- Deadpan Snarker: Never fails to mercilessly sum up others' (usually Yukiatsu's) foolish behavior in a few words.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Towards the end of the anime, she's acting less cold and more humane after hanging out with her old friends causes her to open up to the emotions she repressed for a long time.
- Dogged Nice Girl: She always hangs out with Yukiatsu and puts up with him because she has a crush on him, even though she knows she doesn't have a chance with him.
- Green-Eyed Monster: A mild case. However, she later reveals she isn't jealous of Menma, but of Anaru for being Yukiatsu's Replacement Goldfish and being able to understand him better.
- He Is Not My Boyfriend: Towards Yukiatsu when a shopkeeper assumes that she is his girlfriend, and later when two girls confront her twice about her relationship to him.
- Hopeless Suitor: She has liked Yukiatsu since they were children, but she knows he will never be really interested in her. However, the ending implies Tsuruko may have a chance with him after all.
- Humanizing Tears: She always shows herself as the most aloof and level-headed member of the group, but she finally breaks down in tears as she confesses to her selfish reasons for fulfilling Menma's wish.
- Idiot Hair: As a child, Tsuruko had a single hair sticking out at the left side to make her look more childish. As a teenager, she doesn't have it anymore because she has grown into the most serious of the main characters.
- Important Hair Accessory: She keeps the flower hair clip that Yukiatsu wanted to give to Menma and wears it in private, as an expression of her secret feelings for him. At the end of the last episode, Tsuruko is seen wearing a brand new flower hair clip when hanging out with Yukiatsu, implying that he gave it to her and they're a couple now or at least on their way there.
- Important Haircut: She cuts her hair short in Episode 10 following her coming to terms with her unrequited feelings.
- Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Tsuruko is the aloof, stoic Dark Feminine to Anaru's sensitive, unconfident Light Feminine.
- Love Martyr: She's well-aware of Yukiatsu's deep-rooted issues but sticks by him in spite of it.
- Maybe Ever After: The epilogue implies that Yukiatsu might finally start seeing Tsuruko as a love interest.
- Not So Above It All:
- She looks down on the more immature behavior of her friends, especially Yukiatsu's treatment of Jintan due to his jealousy over Menma. However, she tends to act just as cold and critical towards Anaru, out of her own jealousy.
- Despite her promise not to spread it round, she reveals Yukiatsu's penchant for crossdressing to a few of his would-be suitors out of jealousy, after having seen him ask Anaru out a couple of times.
- Only Sane Woman: Looks at things practically when it comes to the gang's antics (a trait that goes back since childhood) and is a definite one in Episode 10 when she is the only one (other than Jintan) who is bothered and openly protests when everyone else puts Jintan on the spotlight and goads him to confess his feelings for Menma.
- Patient Childhood Love Interest: For Yukiatsu. Tsuruko has always pined over him since her childhood, but doesn't do anything to try and make him see her as a love interest because she'll always be his "third choice" at best.
- The Quiet One: The least talkative of her friends.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The cool and aloof Blue Oni to Anaru's emotional and temperamental Red Oni.
- Sarcastic Confession: When asked about Yukiatsu's interests and hobbies, she answers the following: "His hobby is crossdressing."
- Sarcastic Devotee: To Yukiatsu. Despite making sarcastic quips at his actions, she always follows him.
- Shipper with an Agenda: Near the end, she confessed that she was hoping that Jintan and Anaru would get together once Menma passed on to Heaven, as that would leave her as Yukiatsu's last choice for a girlfriend.
- The Spock: She's by far the most logical of the main characters and doesn't let her emotions control her actions, unlike her childhood friends.
- Stoic Spectacles: The only one of her friends to wear glasses and is also the least emotive among the group.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: She's serious, aloof and snarky, but she still cares about her old friends in her own way, especially Yukiatsu.
- Tall, Dark, and Snarky: She's 5'7" feet tall, dark-haired, and the snarkiest of the main characters.
- Third-Option Love Interest: To Yukiatsu. She's the last in line for Yukiatsu's feelings after Menma and Anaru, and Tsuruko is painfully aware of it.
- Vitriolic Best Buds:
- With Yukiatsu. She insults and snarks at him more than anyone, but is the only one of his old friends who is still close to him somehow.
- She later also becomes sort of this with Anaru. They argue over their respective issues with romance, but they have reconnected to a decent extent.
Tetsudou "Poppo" Hisakawa
Click here to see his appearance in the movie.
Voiced by: Aki Toyosaki (child) and Takayuki Kondō (teenager) (Japanese), Abby Trott (child) and Kaiji Tang (teenager) (English)
An awkward child who idolized Jintan for his "coolness" and joined the Super Peace Busters. After Menma's death he began traveling the world, funding it with his part-time jobs, and stays in their old hut when not abroad.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Poppo admits he always grateful to the Super Peace Club because even though he was an awkward child they befriended him.
- Big Beautiful Man: He's a huge, buff young man and also quite the hunk.
- Big Fun: He's the most muscular of his friends and is also the most fun-loving.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: Poppo has the thickest eyebrows of his friends.
- Blush Sticker: He had permanent blush marks on his cheeks when he was a child.
- Brain Bleach: Definitely not played for laughs, as his frequent world travels stem from his deep-seated urge to forget memories of witnessing Menma's death.
- Celibate Hero: While his friends are primarily preoccupied with their problem love lives, Poppo is the only one who has not mentioned such things.
- Curtains Match the Window: Brown hair and brown eyes.
- Guilt Complex: Which is why he participates in Anaru's and Yukiatsu's reenactment of the day Menma died.
- The Heart: He's often the first to try to defuse a tense situation between his old friends.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: Even when he was befriended by Jintan and the others, all he could do was "nothing but watch".
- Hidden Depths: Admits to Jintan that he used to act stupid in class just to get noticed.
- Hunk: A muscular, Big Beautiful Man.
- I Got Bigger: Jintan even lampshades how Poppo, who was the runt back in their time as kids, became the tallest of them now.
- Keet: Even as a young adult, Poppo is quite lively.
- Manchild: Despite being the same age as his friends, he tends to do and say the most childish things.
- Minor Living Alone: There is hardly any mention of his parents, he's a teenager like his friends, and he lives in their old secret base.
- My Greatest Failure: He saw Menma drowning, but could do nothing but watch her soon-to-be lifeless body slip away. This factors very much into his desire to see Menma's wish fulfilled, or else he thought Menma may not forgive him.
- Nice Guy: He's the sweetest and most thoughtful of his friends.
- Odd Name Out: Unlike his friends, his nickname doesn't come from a combination of his first and last name.
- Sad Clown: He tends to act as the comic relief, but it quickly becomes apparent that he's putting up a front.
- Survivor Guilt: While all of the main cast have this to some extent, he arguably has it the worst because he actually saw Menma drowning but couldn't save her, which makes him feel all the more guilty for being alive while Menma died.
- Tareme Eyes: His round eyes reflect his friendly and outwardly cheerful character.
- Walking the Earth: Spends his part-time job money by traveling. Turns out this was his way of forgetting bitter memories of seeing Menma drown and being unable to save her.
- Where It All Began: When not abroad, he resides in the gang's old hut.
Other Characters
Atsushi Yadomi
Voiced by: Mitsuru Ogata (Japanese), Kirk Thornton (English)
Jintan's father, who is very understanding of what his son sets out to do.
- Never Bareheaded: He's always seen wearing what appears to be a multicolored beanie with a zig-zag pattern.
- Open-Minded Parent: Despite Jintan becoming a recluse, his father doesn't bug him about it and believes in letting Jintan find his own course in life.
Touko Yadomi
Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara (Japanese), Laura Post (English)
Jintan's deceased mother, who appears to have a great connection to the story in the present time.
- Adaptational Dye-Job: She has light-brown hair in the anime and dark hair in the live action drama.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Despite her illness being serious enough to warrant extended hospitalization and eventually kill her, she never displays any symptoms or physical deterioration as a result.
- Curtains Match the Window: Brown hair and eyes.
- Face Death with Dignity: She made peace with her impending death through her belief in reincarnation. Her only concern is seemingly that Jintan decidedly wasn't dealing with his emotions properly by constantly putting up a tough front, forming the basis of the promise she made with Menma.
- Last Request: She asked Menma to help Jintan express his emotions more openly, since she believed she wouldn't get to see him laugh or cry again before she died.
- Motherly Side Plait: Sports this hairdo in several flashbacks. In keeping with the infamy of the hairstyle, she's deceased by the time the anime starts proper.
- Posthumous Character: She is deceased by the time of the anime.
- The Promise: It turns out that she made one with Menma: to help Jintan to cry again and show emotions. It becomes the basis for Menma's Ghostly Goals.
- Soap Opera Disease: It is never specified what disease she has, and she never really shows any physical deterioration from it, but it was serious enough for extended hospitalization and eventually killed her.
Manabu Honma
Voiced by: Makoto Yasumura (Japanese), Christopher Corey Smith (English)
Menma's father and a businessman.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While he first comes off as a harsh and scary person, Manabu is only trying to help his traumatized wife move on from Menma's death and promises that she, him, and Satoshi can grieve together as a family.
- Outliving One's Offspring: His daughter, Menma, died when she was a child.
- Pet the Dog: He allows Menma's friends to create the rocket in honor of his daughter.
Irene Honma
Voiced by: Fuyuka Ōura (Japanese), Karen Strassman (English)
Menma's mother, a lady who is actually from Russia.
- Adaptational Dye-Job: She has blonde hair in the anime and dark hair in the live action drama.
- Excessive Mourning: It's implied that Irene, in her grief for the loss of Meiko, somewhat neglected Satoshi afterwards. It's implied that Irene's pain creates a block on Menma's ghostly capacity to directly leave messages to her family.
- Hidden Disdain Reveal: When the rest of the Super Peace Busters come over, Irene reveals that she's bitter that they survived while Menma died.
- Hikikomori: According to Satoshi, Irene refuses to leave the house or see other people.
- Housewife: She doesn't seem to have a job and just stays at the house while having her husband provide for the family.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Her daughter, Meiko, died when she was a child.
- Stepford Smiler: While she is genuinely friendly, Irene resents the rest of the Super Peace Busters for being able to grow up and leave Meiko behind. The movie shows that she got better, and no longer resents the Super Peace Busters. She even suggests Satoshi to invite them to visit their home.
- Strong Family Resemblance: An adult Menma would almost surely look a lot like Irene. Plus even when Satoshi resembles Manabu a bit more, he still has Irene's hair and eye colors.
- You Should Have Died Instead: A variant. She's not happy that her daughter's friends are alive while Menma is dead.
Satoshi Honma
Voiced by: Kaoru Mizuhara (Japanese), Marin Miller (English)
Menma's little brother.
- Adaptational Dye-Job: He has light-brown hair in the anime and dark hair in the live action drama.
- Armor-Piercing Question: He asks one of his mother, forcing her to realize how much she neglected him."Tell me something... do you have any idea how tall I am right now? (Irene gasps) I grew a bunch this year... not that you noticed."
- Curtains Match the Window: Gray eyes and gray hair.
- I Got Bigger: Menma notes on how big her little brother and by the movie, he is slightly taller than Jintan.
- In-Series Nickname: Menma called him "Saa-kun".
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While he first appears as bratty, Satoshi is a nice guy.
- The Un-Favourite: His parents, especially his mother, pay more attention to his dead older sister than they do to him.
Mrs. Anjou
Voiced by: Kimiko Saito (Japanese)
Anaru's mother, who enjoys teasing her in front of her friends, but can be quite a harsh disciplinarian, according to Anaru.
- Beware the Nice Ones: She is genuinely caring towards Jintan and Poppo when they visit her house, and implies that she missed seeing them when she remarked that it had been a long time since they last visited. However, she apparently chews Anaru out so much over the false rumors that Anaru decides to run away to the secret base.
- Curtains Match the Window: Brown hair and eyes.
- Good Parents: Although she treats her daughter pretty calmly and won't let herself get impressed by her attitude, she shares a close relationship with Naruko. Nevertheless, there sure is nothing Naruko is more afraid of than to attract the anger of her mother, because despite the freedom she allows herself to take, her mother knows, unlike Jinta's father, strict limits of what her child is allowed to do and what not.
- Unnamed Parent: Unlike the parents of Jintan and Menma, Anaru's mother doesn't have her actual name mentioned.
Aki and Haruna
Haruna (left) and Aki (right).
Voiced by: Yui Makino (Aki) and Kaoru Mizuhara (Haruna) (Japanese), Brianna Knickerbocker (Aki) and Cherami Leigh (Haruna) (English)
Anaru's so-called "friends," who could... be better people on the whole.
- The Cameo: They make a brief cameo in The Anthem of the Heart.
- Curtains Match the Window: Haruna has brown hair and eyes.
- Heel Realization: After Jintan, whom Aki and Haruno always mocked, actually stands up for Anaru and reveals just how much she knows about her, there is a shot of the two looking saddened and introspective, as they realize just how bad they look in comparison. This is what sparks their later Pet the Dog behavior, as they want to be better people now.
- Pet the Dog:
- They don't act malicious or nasty to Anaru when rumors start to spread about her.
- In the last episode, they try to protect her from Jintan when they think he is being a pervert towards her.
- Those Two Girls: They are always seen around Anaru and have no relevance to the plot, only existing to hang out with her.
- Toxic Friend Influence: Aki and Haruna belittle Jintan before Anaru and threaten her with ending their friendship to keep her in check, and once got her into serious trouble during trip to a karaoke bar with a couple of older men. Though the ending seems to suggest they're getting better, protectively guarding Anaru from Jintan. It looks like, post Heel Realization, they really are looking out for her best interests.
