History Anime / AnoHanaTheFlowerWeSawThatDay

** Episode 6: Jintan is watching ''[[Anime/SeikimatsuOccultGakuin Occult Academy]]'' at the beginning of the episode. Anaru is shown to have carved a Anime/{{Hamtaro}} into one of the pillars of the clubhouse.

''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."), [[LongTitle also known as AnoHana for short]], is a [[Spring2011Anime Spring 2011]] AnimeFirst series shown on Creator/{{Noitamina}} and produced by Creator/A1Pictures. It has been licensed for North American release by [[NipponIchi NIS America]] in July 2012. There's also a movie of the same name licensed by AniplexUSA which retells the story one year later, which premiered on August 2013.

* DeathOfTheHypotenuse: Deconstructed. Back when they were children, Anaru liked Jintan and Tsuruko liked Yukiatsu, but both boys liked Menma and they knew they couldn't compete against her. When Menma died, it only made things worse for Anaru and Tsuruko since while now they can hang out more with the guy they like, Jintan and Yukiatsu have become obsessed with Menma and both are quite screwed up because of her death.

* DeconstructedTrope: The concept of PuritySue is ''smashed to pieces'' here. Not only was Menma ridiculously pure and innocent (and kinda ditzy) because she died as a child and thus got mentally/emotionally stuck as a little girl forever, but it's made brutally clear how much pressure that kind of character would put on her friends:. Tsuruko and Anaru remember Menma fondly but are also jealous and resentful of her because she (unintentionally) left an insanely high standard for them to meet when she kicked it; Jintan and Yukiatsu are very screwed up due to still loving her for a long time after her death, with Jintan unable to function in social situations and Yukiatsu cultivating an unhealthy obsession; and Poppo constantly has to put on a happy face in order to interact with others [[spoiler: due to his guilt after not being able to save her life]].

* [[spoiler:{{Crossdresser}}[=/=]CreepyCrossdresser: Yukiatsu, to the surprise of few. The hints used to foreshadow this were too large for a majority of the audience.]]

* {{Expy}}: Menma, especially as a child, looks exactly like [[VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness Flonne]]. The fact that their dress is almost identical makes it even more apparent. Their [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} airheadedness]] is almost on the same level and though Menma is not as fanatical a {{love freak}} as Flonne, she would definitely go out of her way to make it so everyone would get along.

* MaybeEverAfter: The epilogue drops some hints for [[spoiler:Jintan/Anaru and Tsuruko/Yukiatsu]].

* [[spoiler:SecondLove: Hinted at in the ending with Tsuruko for Yukiatsu and Anaru for Jintan.]]

** NotSoStoic: Ensues later, of course.

When someone close to you dies--be it a friend, a classmate, a significant other, or a family member--it strikes a chord. Things change. Close friends drift apart. Some move on, and some stay firmly rooted in the past.

Such is the case with Jinta "Jintan" Yadomi, a high school-aged {{Hikikomori}}. After the death of Meiko "Menma" Honma, Jintan and their four other friends--Naruko "Anaru" Anjo, Atsumu "Yukiatsu" Matsuyuki, Chiriko "Tsuruko" Tsurumi, and Tetsudo "Poppo" Hisakawa--begin to lose touch with each other and move on with their lives. Five years later, Menma's ghost pays him a visit, asking him to help her fulfill a wish. Just what that wish is, she doesn't completely remember, but getting the old gang back together is a start.

* FiveManBand:
** TheHero: Jintan.
** TheLancer: Yukiatsu.
** TheBigGuy: Poppo.
** TheSmartGuy: Tsuruko.
** TheChick: Anaru and Menma.
*** Though after Menma dies and comes back as a ghost she can also been seen as a {{Guest Star Party Member}} to the current group.

* MarketBasedTitle: The localized version of the series is called ''[=AnoHana=]'': The Flower We Saw That Day'', presumably due to the [[LongTitle ridiculously long original title]].

''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."), [[LongTitle also known as AnoHana for short]], is a [[Spring2011Anime Spring 2011]] AnimeFirst series shown on Creator/{{Noitamina}} and produced by Creator/A1Pictures. It has been licensed for North American release by [[NipponIchi NIS America]] in July 2012. There's also a movie of the same name which retells the story one year later, which premiered on August 2013.

* EvilPhone: [[spoiler:Not evil, but in Episode 8, Menma tries making phone calls to the gang to get them to believe in her. Seeing as only Jintan can perceive her, the most they hear is a vague scraping.]]

* LongingLook: Both Anaru and Yukiatsu still have feelings for Jintan and Menma respectively and are very obvious with their feelings (at least, to the viewers). [[spoiler:Yukiatsu, however, leans toward the obsessive side with his gestures, such as [[SmellsSexy deeply inhaling the scent of one of Menma's old dresses]] and ''[[CreepyCrossdresser crossdressing as her]]''.]]

* MissingMom: Jintan's late mother Toko.

* RedHeadedHeroine: Anaru.
* [[spoiler:{{Reincarnation}}: The name of the anime is about this. Jintan's mother told Menma about how a person can be reincarnated as another creature (such as a cat or a flower) after they die, and this becomes Menma's objective after she remembers her original wish. She wants to be reincarnated so she can be in the same world where her friends are.]]

*** FridgeBrilliance hits when you realize that this is weird by ''Anglo'' standards, but not by Japanese ones. Japan has more ''sex therapists'' than it does counselors and psychologists - psych problems and mental illnesses are still taboo in Japan, doubly so for conditions that bring shame upon the family [[{{Hikikomori}} like being a shut-in]]. [[spoiler: The same goes to Mrs. Honma.]]

* WillTheyOrWontThey: The same above. [[spoiler:Jintan/Anaru and Yukiatsu/Tsuruko are [[MaybeEverAfter suggested but not confirmed in the ending]].]]

''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."), [[LongTitle also known as AnoHana for short]], is a [[Spring2011Anime Spring 2011]] AnimeFirst series shown on {{noitaminA}} and produced by Creator/A1Pictures. It has been licensed for North American release by [[NipponIchi NIS America]] in July 2012. There's also a movie of the same name which retells the story one year later, which premiered on August 2013.

Viewers in the US may watch this show legally on [[http://www.hulu.com/anohana-the-flower-we-saw-that-day Hulu]] or [[http://www.crunchyroll.com/anohana-the-flower-we-saw-that-day Crunchyroll.]]

* AllLoveIsUnrequited[=/=]LoveDodecahedron: Tsuruko has a crush on Yukiatsu, but he is obsessed with Menma and later considers Anaru to be his ReplacementLoveInterest. Anaru is in love with Jintan, but the latter is also obsessed with Menma. Menma does like Jintan back, but due to her being deceased, she cannot be with him. The only one among the gang who doesn't seem to be part of the romantic loop is Poppo, but being The {{Big Guy}}, it is likely that he will get the short end of the stick. [[spoiler:In the end, Jintan/Anaru and Yukiatsu/Tsuruko are given a MaybeEverAfter. This may change with the release of the upcoming movie.]]

* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: [[spoiler:Yukiatsu towards Menma when they were kids in a flashback in Episode 5. Anaru towards Jintan in Episode 8.]]
** Tsuruko does an indirect one towards Yukiatsu in episode 11 when she rants to Anaru. She [[LoveHurts wasn't happy]] that he had a ReplacementLoveInterest in Anaru when Menma disappeared.

** Anaru and Jintan's game store stocks ''[[BrainAge Quiz Age]]''.

** TheHero: Jintan
** TheLancer: Yukiatsu
** TheBigGuy: Poppo
** TheSmartGuy: Tsuruko
** TheChick: Anaru and Menma

* [[FourPhilosophyEnsemble Five Philosophy Ensemble]]
** The Cynic: Yukiatsu
** The Optimist: Poppo/Menma
** The Realist: Tsuruko
** The Apathetic: Jintan
** The Conflicted: Anaru

** EmbarrassingNickname: Anaru. In Japanese, ''l'' and ''r'' are pronounced identically, and ''n'' is the only consonant that doesn't need a vowel on the end. Jintan seems to realize it now; [[TheDitz Menma]] doesn't. [[spoiler: [[DontExplainTheJoke It sounds like "anal."]]]]

** And in Anaru's words: "Who the hell buys Nokemon [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Gold?]]"

** Episode 2: There are ''Manga/WanderingSon'' and ''Manga/{{Sekirei}}'' posters in Anaru's workplace register. The Sekirei one returns in episode 8.

** The Head: [[MagneticHero Jintan]]
** The Muscle: [[TheRival Yukiatsu]]
** The Quirk: [[ManChild Poppo]]
** The Pretty One: [[TheCutie Menma]]
** The Smart One: [[SugarAndIcePersonality Tsuruko]]
** The Wild One: [[FieryRedhead Anaru]]

* SurvivorGuilt: All of the main cast are lamenting and blaming themselves to some extent over the death of Menma, due to actions that occured on the day of her death. [[spoiler: Jintan and Menma had crushes on each other but both denied it. Tsuruko told Menma about Jintan's feelings, and then Yukiatsu and Anaru attempted to make Jintan confess his feelings about Menma in order to express their own feelings to the two, but Jintan ran off in denial. Yukiatsu then awkwardly confessed to Menma, but she runs after Jintan, before falling into a river and drowning, which was witnessed by Poppo.]]
* ThereAreNoTherapists: You'd think that someone would suggest that Jinta should see a therapist, being a shut-in who obsesses over a friend who died back when he was little and all.

*** FridgeBrilliance hits when you realize that this is weird by ''Anglo'' standards, but not by Japanese ones. Japan has more ''sex therapists'' than it does counsellors and psychologists - psych problems and mental illnesses are still taboo in Japan, doubly so for conditions that bring shame upon the family [[{{Hikikomori}} like being a shut-in]]. [[spoiler: The same goes to Mrs. Honma.]]

* TragicKeepsake: Yukiatsu's keepsake is [[spoiler:a pin just like the one he offered to Menma when he confessed. Tsuruko seems to have the actual one.]] At the end of the series [[spoiler:Tsuruko is shown wearing the new hairpin that Yukiatsu had, heavily implying that they are now dating and he gave it to her as a gift.]]

''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."), [[LongTitle also known as AnoHana for short]], is a [[Spring2011Anime Spring 2011]] AnimeFirst series shown on {{noitaminA}} and produced by Creator/A1Pictures. It has been licensed for North American release by [[NipponIchi NIS America]] in July 2012. There's also a movie of the same name which retells the story one year later, which premiered on August 2013.

Viewers in the US may watch this show legally on [[http://www.hulu.com/anohana-the-flower-we-saw-that-day Hulu]] or [[http://www.crunchyroll.com/anohana-the-flower-we-saw-that-day Crunchyroll.]]

* AllLoveIsUnrequited[=/=]LoveDodecahedron: Tsuruko has a crush on Yukiatsu, but he is obsessed with Menma and later considers Anaru to be his ReplacementLoveInterest. Anaru is in love with Jintan, but the latter is also obsessed with Menma. Menma does like Jintan back, but due to her being deceased, she cannot be with him. The only one among the gang who doesn't seem to be part of the romantic loop is Poppo, but being The {{Big Guy}}, it is likely that he will get the short end of the stick. [[spoiler:In the end, Jintan/Anaru and Yukiatsu/Tsuruko are given a MaybeEverAfter. This may change with the release of the upcoming movie.]]

* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: [[spoiler:Yukiatsu towards Menma when they were kids in a flashback in Episode 5. Anaru towards Jintan in Episode 8.]]
** Tsuruko does an indirect one towards Yukiatsu in episode 11 when she rants to Anaru. She [[LoveHurts wasn't happy]] that he had a ReplacementLoveInterest in Anaru when Menma disappeared.

** Anaru and Jintan's game store stocks ''[[BrainAge Quiz Age]]''.

** TheHero: Jintan
** TheLancer: Yukiatsu
** TheBigGuy: Poppo
** TheSmartGuy: Tsuruko
** TheChick: Anaru and Menma

* [[FourPhilosophyEnsemble Five Philosophy Ensemble]]
** The Cynic: Yukiatsu
** The Optimist: Poppo/Menma
** The Realist: Tsuruko
** The Apathetic: Jintan
** The Conflicted: Anaru

** EmbarrassingNickname: Anaru. In Japanese, ''l'' and ''r'' are pronounced identically, and ''n'' is the only consonant that doesn't need a vowel on the end. Jintan seems to realize it now; [[TheDitz Menma]] doesn't. [[spoiler: [[DontExplainTheJoke It sounds like "anal."]]]]

** And in Anaru's words: "Who the hell buys Nokemon [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Gold?]]"

** Episode 2: There are ''Manga/WanderingSon'' and ''Manga/{{Sekirei}}'' posters in Anaru's workplace register. The Sekirei one returns in episode 8.

** The Head: [[MagneticHero Jintan]]
** The Muscle: [[TheRival Yukiatsu]]
** The Quirk: [[ManChild Poppo]]
** The Pretty One: [[TheCutie Menma]]
** The Smart One: [[SugarAndIcePersonality Tsuruko]]
** The Wild One: [[FieryRedhead Anaru]]

* SurvivorGuilt: All of the main cast are lamenting and blaming themselves to some extent over the death of Menma, due to actions that occured on the day of her death. [[spoiler: Jintan and Menma had crushes on each other but both denied it. Tsuruko told Menma about Jintan's feelings, and then Yukiatsu and Anaru attempted to make Jintan confess his feelings about Menma in order to express their own feelings to the two, but Jintan ran off in denial. Yukiatsu then awkwardly confessed to Menma, but she runs after Jintan, before falling into a river and drowning, which was witnessed by Poppo.]]
* ThereAreNoTherapists: You'd think that someone would suggest that Jinta should see a therapist, being a shut-in who obsesses over a friend who died back when he was little and all.

*** FridgeBrilliance hits when you realize that this is weird by ''Anglo'' standards, but not by Japanese ones. Japan has more ''sex therapists'' than it does counsellors and psychologists - psych problems and mental illnesses are still taboo in Japan, doubly so for conditions that bring shame upon the family [[{{Hikikomori}} like being a shut-in]]. [[spoiler: The same goes to Mrs. Honma.]]

* TragicKeepsake: Yukiatsu's keepsake is [[spoiler:a pin just like the one he offered to Menma when he confessed. Tsuruko seems to have the actual one.]] At the end of the series [[spoiler:Tsuruko is shown wearing the new hairpin that Yukiatsu had, heavily implying that they are now dating and he gave it to her as a gift.]]

* ArmorPiercingQuestion: [[spoiler:Satoshi Homna is able to drive home to his mother how much she has become so absorbed in her grief for losing Menma that she has been failing to pay attention to him simply by asking one of these.]]
-->[[spoiler:Satoshi: I grew three whole centimeters this year Mom, did you know that?]]

* DateRapeAverted: For Anaru in Episode 5 [[spoiler:by Yukiatsu of all people.]]

* DeconstructedTrope: The concept of PuritySue is ''smashed to pieces'' here. Not only was Menma ridiculously pure and innocent (and kinda ditzy) because she died as a child and thus got mentally/emotionally stuck as a little girl forever, but it's made brutally clear how much pressure that kind of character would put on her friends:. Tsuruko and Anaru remember Menma fondly but are also jealous and resentful of her because she (unintentionally) left an insanely high standard for them to meet when she kicked it; Jintan and Yukiatsu are very screwed up due to still loving her for a long time after her death, with Jintan unable to function in social situations and Yukiatsu cultivating an unhealthy obsession; and Poppo constantly has to put on a happy face in order to interact with others [[spoiler: due to his guilt after not being able to save her life.]]

* EarnYourHappyEnding: After much angst and tribulation [[spoiler: in which the group vent their anger and express their true feelings to one another, they are finally able to overcome the psychological traumas each one of them acquired after Menma's death, and Menma's ghost is able to say one last tearful goodbye to all of them. Jintan stopped being a hikkikomori for good and started attending school regularly, and it's implied that he and Inaru will end up together as a couple eventually. It is also implied that Tsuruko and Yukiatsu are dating. Meanwhile, Poppo also has gone back to school (although he did not quit working at the construction site)]].

** Other famous titles, such as ''[[Franchise/{{Digimon}} Dojimon]]'' and ''BoboboboBobobo'' show up in Anaru's manga and game collection.
** Friendly or not, there are insanely blatant posters of ''WanderingSon'', ''{{Sekirei}}'', ''SoraNoWoto'', ''Manga/BlackButler'', and ''{{Working}}'' in the shop Yadomi and Anaru work in.

* MaybeEverAfter: The epilogue drops some hints for [[spoiler:Jintan/Anaru and Tsuruko/Yukiatsu.]]

* MyGirlIsNotASlut: Invoked by Jintan in Episode 6 [[spoiler:for Anaru, though they are not a couple.]]

* OfficialCouple: Though [[MaybeEverAfter not explicitly stated]], the ending hints at [[spoiler:Jintan/Anaru]] and [[spoiler:Yukiatsu/Tsuruko.]]

* PaletteSwap: Discussed. Menma wonders if Yukiatsu had really seen another apparition of her. And if so, would that make that apparition the [[SuperMarioBros "Menluigi" to her "Menmario"]], and if its possible she was wearing "Second player colors."

* ReplacementLoveInterest: In Episode 9, Anaru admits that she thought Jintan would like her best after Menma died, but he didn't, and Tsuruko loves Yukiatsu and believes that he will never feel the way because he sees Anaru as his "back-up."

* [[spoiler:Reincarnation: The name of the anime is about this. Jintan's mother told Menma about how a person can be reincarnated as another creature (such as a cat or a flower) after they die, and this becomes Menma's objective after she remembers her original wish. She wants to be reincarnated so she can be in the same world where her friends are.]]

** Episode 2: There are ''WanderingSon'' and ''{{Sekirei}}'' posters in Anaru's workplace register. The Sekirei one returns in episode 8.
** Episode 6: Jintan is watching ''OccultAcademy'' at the beginning of the episode. Anaru is shown to have carved a Anime/{{Hamtaro}} into one of the pillars of the clubhouse.
** Episode 7: Anaru's workplace has a ''{{Working}}'' poster near the register. A television show features a ''female'' pug named [[RoseOfVersailles Oscar]].

* StepfordSmiler: [[spoiler:Mrs. Honma]] and [[spoiler:Poppo.]]

** NotSoStoic ensues later, of course.

* TripleShifter: [[spoiler:Jintan works both during the day at the store with Anaru and at night as a construction worker. And this he does]] in order to save up the money [[spoiler:for the fireworks.]] The lagging school work issue is justified though, considering [[spoiler:he was a {{Hikikomori}} to begin with.]]

* DeconstructedTope: The concept of PuritySue is ''smashed to pieces'' here. Not only was Menma ridiculously pure and innocent (and kinda ditzy) because she died as a child and thus got mentally/emotionally stuck as a little girl forever, but it's made brutally clear how much pressure that kind of character would put on her friends:. Tsuruko and Anaru remember Menma fondly but are also jealous and resentful of her because she (unintentionally) left an insanely high standard for them to meet when she kicked it; Jintan and Yukiatsu are very screwed up due to still loving her for a long time after her death, with Jintan unable to function in social situations and Yukiatsu cultivating an unhealthy obsession; and Poppo constantly has to put on a happy face in order to interact with others [[spoiler: due to his guilt after not being able to save her life.]]

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: In Episode 3, Menma expresses her desire for Jintan to go back to school whilst straddling him and bouncing. It's innocent on her part. Probably not so much on the animator's.
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: The ending theme is performed by the voice actresses of the three girls of the main cast.

''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."), [[LongTitle also known as AnoHana for short]], is a [[Spring2011Anime Spring 2011]] AnimeFirst series shown on {{noitaminA}} and produced by Creator/A1Pictures. It has been licensed for North American release by [[NipponIchi NIS America]] in July 2012. There's also a movie of the same name which tells the story from Menma's point of view, which premiered on August 2013.

Viewers in the US may watch this show legally on [[http://www.crunchyroll.com/anohana-the-flower-we-saw-that-day Crunchyroll.]]

* {{Expy}}: Menma, especially as a child, looks exactly like [[{{Disgaea}} Flonne]]. The fact that their dress is almost identical makes it even more apparent. Their [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} airheadedness]] is almost on the same level and though Menma is not as fanatical a {{love freak}} as Flonne, she would definitely go out of her way to make it so everyone would get along.

* TearJerker: Several. Check the [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/TearJerker/AnoHanaTheFlowerWeSawThatDay Tearjerker subpage]] for more details.

* [[spoiler:Reincarnation: The name of the anime is about this. Jintan's mother told Menma about how a person can be reincarnated as another creature (such as a cat or a flower) after they die, and this becomes Menma's objective after she remembers her original wish. She wants to be reincarnated so she can ben in the same world where her friends are.]]

* HotMom[=/=]MissingMom: Jintan's late mother Toko.

* TearJerker: Several. See the Tearjeker subpage for more details.

* TearJerker: Several. Check the [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/TearJerker/AnoHanaTheFlowerWeSawThatDay Tearjerker subpage]] for more details.

* Tearjerker: Several. See the Tearjeker subpage for more details.

* Tearjerker: Several. Check the [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/TearJerker/AnoHanaTheFlowerWeSawThatDay Tearjerker subpage]] for more details.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: After much angst and tribulation [[spoiler: the group of friends are finally able to overcome their psycological traumas aquired after Menma's death, and Menma's ghost is able to say one last tearful goodbye for all of them. Jintan stopped being a hikkikomori for good and started attending school regularly, and it's implied that he and Inaru will end up together as a couple eventually. It is also implied that Tsuruko and Yukiatsu are dating. Meanwhile Poppo, although he did not quit working at the construction site, he also has gone back to school]].

* SurvivorGuilt: All of the main cast are lamenting and blaming themselves to some extent over the death of Menma, due to actions that occured on the day of her death. [[spoiler: Jintan and Menma had crushes on each other but both denied it. Tsuruko told Menma about Jintan's feelings, and then Yukiatsu and Anaru attempted Jintan to confess to Menma in order to express their own feelings to the two, but Jintan ran off in denial. Yukiatsu then awkwardly confessed to Menma, but she runs after Jintan, before falling into a river and drowning, which was witnessed by Poppo.]]