Forum - View topicREVIEW: anohana Blu-Ray + DVD
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Alexis.Anagram
 Posts: 278 Location: Mishopshno |
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One of my good friends recommended this show to me, promising it would make me cry. After five episodes, I haven't, and my baseline impression thus far is that AnoHana is a lot like that UK show Skins without the fun party-sex scenes.
I do, however, LOVE the animation and character designs, and spoiler[Jintan is a really interesting protagonist who basically makes the show for me. Menma is as irritating as every anime ghost girl seems to be, and the fact that she can't really interact with any of the characters (aside from Jintan) just means she's there for a lot of the show, not doing anything. And then there's Yukiatsu, who basically ruins the show for me. I hated the character's execution from episode one, and that whole cross-dressing/crazy schtick isn't doing anything to impress me emotionally or otherwise.] So right now it's kind of a mixed bag that's just not hitting the right notes for me. I do plan to stick with it, though, and maybe it'll turn around majorly towards the end. I do have to say the prospect of a rushed and melodramatic ending isn't exactly the kind of improvement I would have in mind. |
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amagee
 Posts: 333 Location: Orlando, FL |
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I'm going to have to disagree with this. The medium of animation's natural distortion of the human form doesn't inherently mean that human emotion is impossible to include. The writing and delivery are the key to the creation of genuinely impacting emotions as opposed to anything else in the production process. In the case of anime, like other forms of visual media, the writers and actors are human and thus, they can definitely deliver human emotion. Is this done consistently and often in any visual medium? Absolutely not. Is it possible? Certainly.
There is a tendency towards disliking anything that gouges at peoples' emotional heart-strings too greatly. While I agree that the final episode does hit hard on the emotional level, I would say that it isn't debilitating in any fashion; I thoroughly enjoyed the ending and cried like a baby. The thing is, anime fans tends to be more cynical than most so it is easy to understand why many don't like AnoHana. People on these forums are merely quite honest about their feelings on a show. The bluntness can seem a little off-putting when it doesn't need or mean to be. My only issue so far is that, for something like AnoHana, unless you are very privy to the tastes of someone, it can be a little haughty to say whether or not they will like it as some have done here. If you haven't seen it, this review will probably be your best starting point. If the review peaks your interest, give it a try; if not, I might try something else. |
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Chagen46
 Posts: 4377 |
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Really? It seems like anime fans flock to anime like Anohana like flies to honey. |
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Kit-Tsukasa
Posts: 930 |
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Actually, I'm pretty sure this one slipped off the radar of many prior to its airing and the fact that it wasn't simulcasted. Then the people, myself included, who actually watched it while it was airing made a big fuss about it thereby starting the whole ordeal of it going "mainstream." In Japan this is a different story. Most people watched this for two reasons: 1) Toradora! staff and 2) return of Secret Base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~, which was a very famous song from 2001 by ZONE, who also (partially) reunited during the middle of the series after disbanding in 2005. So the "10 years after" is more than just a reference to the show but also to a happening in real life/the industry. I'm also sure more people flocked to Tiger & Bunny, Hanasaku Iroha, Gintama', Steins;Gate, Kaiji 2, A Channel, Nichijou, Kami Nomi 2, Deadman Wonderland, Ao no Exorcist, and Denpa Onna before coming to Ano Hana when looking outside of Japan. This is also not forgetting that GOSICK was ongoing from the previous season and Madoka's final 2 episodes were delayed due to Japan's earthquake. |
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amagee
Posts: 333 Location: Orlando, FL |
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I know dozens of people who have not enjoyed AnoHana. On the other hand, I know an equivalent number who loved it. Amongst the folks I know, cynicism towards the emotional aspects of the show tends to be the greatest contributing factor to their distaste. |
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Red Fox of Fire
 Posts: 345 |
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Yeah, pretty much. I liked the show overall (my score for it is 7/10), but it tried way too hard to make the audience cry. That kind of killed any emotion the ending might have had for me, and I wasn't particularly attached to any of the characters otherwise.
On this note, in case there's any suspicion of people like me not liking it as much due to hype backlash, I also watched it as it aired. |
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Cecilthedarkknight_234
 Posts: 3820 Location: Louisville, KY |
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Why was last year such a good year for anime? |
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marie-antoinette
 Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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I enjoyed AnoHana but I agree that there were lots of parts of it that didn't quite work for me. I honestly don't completely remember the ending, which probably isn't a good sign. I do remember that in the middle episodes the plot seemed to get stuck in mud and just started spinning its wheels and going nowhere. Also there were too many "wishes" which were obviously not the right one.
I really like the concept of a group of childhood friends reuniting after drifting apart and this is the best execution I've seen of it ... but I don't think it's something I'll be going out and buying myself because I don't feel the need to watch it again. |
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maaya
Posts: 976 |
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No, not that unlikely at all. From the reactions I've seen there are quite a lot of people for whom the ending was ridiculous and too over the top. And you most definitely don't need a heart of stone for that. The ending simply wasn't well written or executed imho. But for me, that is also true for a large portion of the whole series, which ultimately ended up a big disappointment. It tried way too hard too many times. The only time I found the emotion to have been presented subtly in a touching way was in the very first episode actually ...
Totally. That was a big plot hole I couldn't help be bothered by. Made a lot of the drama seem forced.
but she was moving things around all the time?
Credit for that goes to Zone (who imho are much better singers than the voice actors). It's a beautiful, nostalgic song. Last edited by maaya on Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:00 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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Chagen46
Posts: 4377 |
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Man, screw it. I guess I'll watch this on crunchyroll or something. I'm a wimpy kind of person who bawls at anything even remotely sad, so I'll probably drown myself watching this, but oh well.
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Radrappy
Posts: 77 |
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I'm all for a tear jerker but it has to be earned. Despite this show's top notch production design the story was constantly overly melodramatic and eye roll worthy. It was hard to watch and keep a straight face especially when it was often too clear what reaction it was the creators were trying to get out of you. I much prefer a slow, steady emotional build to one that tries to touch you profoundly EVERY SINGLE EPISODE. You cried at the end of the Iron giant, not the whole way through.
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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Oh, absolutely beautiful, no doubt about it. I know that more than most since the song's been stuck in my head for the PAST BLOODY YEAR. I think I'm going insane . . .
To be fair, I personally didn't have a problem with the emotional tone of the first eight or so episodes. Even episodes nine and ten were alright, by and large. A couple of over-wrought moments but nothing too egregious It was just episode eleven where I felt the series went from 'trying too hard' to 'unintentional comedy'.
Or, you'll laugh so hard you'll crack some ribs. Either way, if you go missing from the Forums for a while I will at least know why.
Whatever you say, troll. If being calm, collected and objective when analysing Anime is a crime then I'm guilty as charged. |
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drale
 Posts: 41 |
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I see a lot of people hating on this anime, and I can't help but feel its just people trying to be cool by hating what's popular. I can't understand how anyone (unless they were born without a heart) could dislike this anime.
I might not be the best to judge, however. A really good friend of mine had passed away about a month before I watched this series. Her death was still pretty fresh in my mind when I was watching. I am pretty sure I ended up crying during ever single episode of this series. Granted it wasn't the same level of on the floor bawling that Clannad gave me, but it still struck me on a deeply emotional level. It was strange, when I finished this series I actually found myself much closer to a personal catharsis over my friend's death. Maybe I just allow my emotions to be swayed too much by the television I watch, but I don't know that that is a bad thing. PS: Karl your reviews seem to be getting better the more I read them. (a good review is one I agree with;p ) |
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Veers
 Posts: 1197 Location: Texas |
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I don't mind an emotional ride. In fact, if something doesn't get me emotionally invested, I tend to lose interest, but for me to get emotionally invested in something the characters have to be emotionally invested in something that I don't think is ridiculous. Some other shows mentioned in this thread like ef (memories, not melodies) I really enjoyed because it felt like the characters were emotional about things that actually mattered, plus in ef's case there were some other interesting facets to the show with the different characters' motivations and more universal issues (meta or in-narrative) that helped me get enraged. In AnoHana, we have a bunch of people who can't get over the fact that their friend died and they chose to let that undermine their entire lives. These people are emotionally invested in something that, to me, is ridiculous. I mean, I've had people I know die and it's not fun, but this cast takes it to a crazy extreme and the show expects me to buy into it (while adding an annoying and prevalent ghost girl element)? If the show had been set right after Menma had died, it would have been fine (or at least different) and I could have sympathized with the cast much better, but the fact that it was years after the fact and they were still hung up on it like to the point where they've self-flagellated themselves so much they're literally festering with negative emotion--to me that's just an immediate turnoff. These characters haven't healed because they've chosen not to. It's great that they get over it and reconcile in the end, but I don't want to watch that journey. Characters with that kind of attitude, just like people with that kind of attitude, aren't interesting, they're just frustrating to watch/be around. The characters in AnoHana are, at least for a while (too long) just fine with stewing in their own shit rather than, say, ef characters or Angel Beats characters which are maybe going through some crap but are at least trying to do something about it. My problem with AnoHana isn't the fact that it is trying to be a tearjerker, my problem is how it goes about it. It was just too forced; too much (not all, mind you, but enough) of the drama originated from the premise of the story rather than from stuff that happened in the story, which made things just feel cheap and forced rather than earned. Tragedy works best when good intentions come crashing down; it's not very engaging when the characters are being bullheadedly foolish and petty (or when scenes rely on ghost girl shenanigans). Recent good example of doing emotional buildup the right way? Rin route in Katawa Shoujo, anyone? |
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maaya
Posts: 976 |
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drale, very sorry for your loss. and it's wonderful if this show has helped you.
unfortunately that's not it at all. The "negative" reactions (different from "hating on") have been there from back when the show was airing. And usually you don't expect much of a hype for noitamina shows, quite on the contrary. |
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