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So, this is my first review on this site, I apologize if it doesn't really make sense / if the sentences are incomprehensible. Anyway, Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai, or AnoHana for short, has been raved about in the anime community, and it's been hailed as a beautifully tragic tearjerker as one of my friends (of whom saw me watch the anime and subsequently enjoyed it) put it.

Well... It was a bit of a letdown, I have to say.

I was excited - star-studded cast and the main being voiced by one of my biases (Irino Miyu)? Sign me ... up! From what I'd seen before starting the series, it was met with generally positive reviews, the synopsis seemed interesting and hey - the art looked quite decent. So why not give it a shot?

Throughout my viewing of the anime, I have produced a list of pros and cons that will be easier to scan through rather than if I threw in an entire chunk of text.

PROS -
+ The voice acting was wonderfully done. The actors could really capture the emotion and the atmosphere that SHAFT probably wanted us to feel, and it really helped the anime a lot. Their voices just hold so much power, and they thankfully moulded the characters into what we were expecting, so kudos to you, seiyuus!
+ The character designs and most of their personalities. You remember all of their quirky behaviours and actions be it by seiyuu, actions or just appearance, which makes the characters all the more memorable and less flat.
+ The main character, Jinta. Let me just point out that his personality is quite unique and not the typical "likeable" type. No, we're talking about a NEET that's exhausted 24/7 that is sometimes long-winded and can be very stubborn. So some of the audience may turn out to dislike him. But in my case, I find his flaws to make him stand out more as his own character. He's not the generic dense main protagonist you might find prevalent in other series. He's so painfully average that it's just so true to him that I can hardly dislike him. Not to mention he is voiced by Irino-san, which may have resulted in him starting on an uneven playing field, unlike the other characters.

Now, cue the groans and complaints, because here comes...

CONS -
- Menma. I know we're all supposed to melt and gush over the moe moe kyun kyun characters in anime, and I admit I'm guilty of that. But above them, I like more serious girls that have immense character development throughout episodes of the anime they are in (e.g. Tenshi from Angel Beats!). But that doesn't mean I don't like adorable characters. However, Menma is a different story. I sort of got fed up with her clinging to Jinta when all the poor boy wants is to get by his life normally without the ghost of his dead childhood friend tailing him at any given moment squealing "Jintan!" at him all the time. When he sometimes snaps at her I don't blame him at all. Frankly, I wouldn't be able to take that much either. I get it, she's the tragic girl that wants her crush to reciprocate her undying love for them and so on. However, having an overboard annoying personality doesn't help her situation. It makes me go more "goddamn it Jintan, get exorcised already" rather than "goddamn it Jintan, just love her already", truth to be told.
- Yukiatsu's personality. Two words for him: Just no. He may be voiced by Takahiro Sakurai but, and I can't believe I'm saying this, Sakurai-san unfortunately couldn't make this son of a gun likeable. I get he's angsty and all that crap but dude?? Cut it out?? You're making the series worse as it goes on???
- "Jinta is insane", "Menma isn't there". The frustration fest. Cue the unbelieving stares and sneers directed at our poor main protagonist who is just trying his very best to satisfy everyone. He is a NEET, but goddamn it, NEETs can be trustworthy sometimes! It was just so frustrating to see everyone dismiss Jinta's claims as bullshit and treat him like a piece of worthless trash (except for you Poppo, you're a cool guy. And eventually Anaru too). Like, yes, I get why they might be skeptical of his claims - who suddenly starts spouting stories about their dead friend? - but Jinta has no reason to pull a practical joke on them! His personality doesn't make him that type of person to make up tall tales to get attention; he's a freaking NEET! And shouldn't it take you less than 10ish episodes of constant insisting to go: "Hey, let's all stop and listen to what Jinta has to say, maybe - and I'm gonna go out on a limb here - he's TELLING THE TRUTH"? Seriously, couldn't they have talked this through like rational people instead of yelling their feelings out?
- This anime... didn't really succeed at being the tearjerker of the century. Despite all its attempts at making its ending super emotional and beautiful yet heartfelt and sad, I shed only one tear. That was nothing compared to my reaction after watching Angel Beats - hell, I shed slightly more when watching a three to four minute AMV of Hotarubi no Mori E! So since it was supposed to be a "cry your eyes out" series I can tell why I don't rate it highly.

TL;DR: Menma is moe moe kyun kyun and may not be likeable and Jintan is subjectively awesome so watch at your own risk.