Sunday, 19 June, 2011
Jin-tan lives the life of a hikikomori, dropping out of high school and hardly ever leaving his house. Yet, when he was younger he was quite the lively and outgoing boy. That was untill the day Menma died right after he had a argument with her caused by his childish shyness. Today he has lost touch with his friends and pretty much everyone else besides Menma, who is still constantly with him as what he believes to be an imaginary product of his guilty conscience. However, there seems to be something more to his Menma. Maybe, if he reunites with his old friends and finds out about her last wish, they can help Menma move on and free themselves from this guilty weight they are still carrying with them.
Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai is the story about how a single tragic death can change the life of children forever. While everyone took a different path in life, they all still remember Menma and have their own guilty secrets and ways to live with them. As the story unfolds, we find out more about Menma and everyone of the old clique. While this show with its slightly above average animation quality and touching music is pretty entertaining to watch, I believe the real worth of this series will be decided by the quality of its finale.
Rating: 8,5/10
Thursday, 19 May, 2011
Since Makoto-kun’s parents are away on a business trip, he moves in with his aunt to a new home and a new school. There he meets his cousin Erio, who to his astonishment lives her life with her upper body wrapped tight into a futon mattress. From his aunt and his new friends at school he finds out Erio has been missing for half a year and has no memories of what happened during that time. After that incident she started behaving weirdly and now believes herself to be an alien visitor. Makoto takes it upon himself to help her regain her senses and ensure her way back into society.
The Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko anime is based on a light novel series. To me it seems this anime’s main appeal comes from Erio’s cute helplessness and moe behaviour. Yet I find it hard to categorize it: On the one hand Makoto’s quest to reveal Erio’s past and help her out of her misery introduces serious and dramatic elements to the show; on the other hand his interaction with the numerous female characters is quite similar to usual lighthearted harem/comedy shows. But as all characters are amazingly appealing and the animation quality is above average and very detailed, I can tell this anime will be very successful within the community (and it deserves to be).
Rating: 9/10