Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai – 07-08

EVERYBODY NEEDS TO STOP CRYING! I’M RUNNING OUT OF TISSUES!

Ah jeeze. Sorry about my posts being so late. It was graduation week so everything was so crazy and busy what with practices and celebrations. Sometimes I don’t understand what the big deal is – it’s just high school. I graduated though! xD That’s no excuse though so to make up for it; I shall double up this week on AnoHana. It really is one of the best shows I have ever seen. There is so much character development and the plot is not only emotionally gripping but also rather intriguing. Also, Episode 8 had me floored. It was AMAZING. Read on! xD

Episode 7 begins with as Anaru extends her stay at Poppo’s place. Jinta tries to lecture her about how she shouldn’t skip school which is pretty funny coming from Mister Pro Shut-in. Then again, as Anaru put it, he always cared for others no matter how difficult his circumstances may be. At this, Jinta thinks of Menma and mentions her and Anaru’s response suggests that she may not believe him about Menma. He decides to leave and Anaru falls while trying to stop them resulting in the hilariously compromising (and fangirl squeal inducing) position that Poppo finds them in.

Poppo exits with STYLE. Take note children.

Anaru, Poppo and Jinta break out Menma’s diary to figure out what her wish was. Her entries aren’t particularly profound (and remind me quite a bit of my own childhood diary. I used to write poetry.  I was such a brilliant child). They come across an entry that reminds them of their visits to Jinta’s mom and their plan to build a rocket to send a letter to God to ask for his mom to feel better. Perhaps this is Menma’s wish? Back at home, Menma waits for Jinta and falls on her head, cuing a flashback of his mom. Hmmm…

It turns out that it’s illegal to create fireworks on your own unless you’re of a certain age. The Super Peace Busters find an old plan of theirs to make fireworks which is HILARIOUS. Later on, as they all head back home, we find out that, the day that Menma died, she invited them all to the fort except for Jinta as she needed advice on something. Fortunately for Jinta, his dad knows somebody that makes fireworks, but UNfortunately, they’re super expensive. Thus, Poppo, Anaru and Jinta decide to work!

BEHOLD THE BRILLIANCE OF CHILDHOOD! These reactions are epic.

Jinta joins Anaru at her work at the gaming store – it was really nice to see their relationship improve. Meanwhile Tsuruko and Yadomi are on the phone discussing whether or not to raise money for the fireworks. Tsuruko’s wearing the hairclip again… Back at home, Menma’s getting super suspicious of Jinta’s behavior and finds out that he’s taken a part time job to help fund the firework rocket. She’s really surprised (in a good way!) and makes his mom’s muffins for him again when he comes home. Finally, when Anaru, Poppo and Jinta have raised enough money to make a down payment they find out that the festival supervisor is against it – Menma’s mom!

Episode 8 begins as the Super Peace Busters all get together to talk to Menma’s mom about letting them get the firework. Menma’s mom ends up flipping out at them for still being alive while Menma isn’t and seems to hate them for it. After they leave the Honma household Yukiatsu tells Jinta that they should stop the Menma’s wish business and that Jinta needs to stop putting his own pain on others. This triggers Jinta’s decision to fulfill Menma’s wish on his own. His reasoning is that if there isn’t an “all of us” anymore then it doesn’t matter whether or not he fulfills the wish on his own.

Naturally, fulfilling Menma’s wish on his own means that Jinta busts his ass working. He ends up passing out while at work with Anaru. When he wakes up she takes care of him and he tries to get straight back to work. She stops him and wants him to quit the whole Menma business as well. She explains how, on the day that Menma died, she was happy that he said that he didn’t like Menma (even though he actually loved her) and that, to this day, she feels guilty for feeling happy. And thus, Anaru confesses that she likes Jinta…and he proceeds to walk away. Ouch. That’s cold bro. As he leaves, Anaru reminds him that, if he does fulfill the wish, Menma will disappear.

Jinta…shame on you. Don’t just WALK AWAY! Poor Anaru…

Jinta gets back home and finds that Menma fell asleep waiting for him. She wakes up and cleans his nails because they’re dirty. He thinks about what Anaru said before about how Menma will probably disappear and he starts crying. Menma is surprised and tries to make him feel better and remembers his mom while doing so. Oh my gosh, this part is so…I started tearing up and I just…*sniffles*…brb, I need to get my tissue box. The next morning Jinta’s dad wakes him up so that they can go visit his mother’s grave. It was a nice sort of father and son moment for them.

Meanwhile, Menma runs into Poppo and finds out that the Super Peace Busters are not getting along too well. Later on, Tsuruko and Yukiatsu receive cold calls from Yadomi’s house. While at work, Jinta runs into Menma’s little brother and they talk about Menmom and memories of Menma. Saa-kun feels abandoned as his parents, particularly his mother, are still very much affected by Menma’s death. Jinta suggests that parents  have it very tough. Saa-kun then remembers how, when they were little, Menma told him to watch for the house as she was going to save the world with the Super Peace Busters. Jinta starts to ask something of Saa-kun but we don’t get to hear what it is. Boo. xD

Chibi Saa-kun might just beat Menma in terms of cuteness factor…

Afterwards, Jinta stops by the base and is confronted by Yukiatsu and the rest about the cold calls. He had been out all day so he suggests that it was Menma which angers Yukiatsu. Poppo seems to be the only one who’s at least willing to admit that he believes in Menma. The episode ends as Menma arrives and decides to make her presence known by writing in her diary and dropping it to the ground. The rest of the gang are shocked that Menma is in fact REAL. Man…Menma! You do realize that you could have done this earlier honeybun?

End Thoughts:

Oh my GOD, Episode 8 was by FAR the best episode of AnoHana! First off, it was waterworks central as Menma’s mother, Anaru, Yukiatsu, Menma and Jinta all cried. I did too but what’s new? xD There was also Anaru’s confession and MENMA FINALLY REVEALED HERSELF! I kid you not; I watched that entire last scene over ten times. I was that excited. You know? I think I’ll just start with that! As of now, it is 100% definite that Menma isn’t a figment of Jinta’s imagination and that she is a ghost. It was quite funny how the others were unwilling to admit that she might be real except for Poppo. For instance, Tsuruko, when she received the cold call, did not rule out the possibility that it wasn’t Jinta who called. Later on though, she got angry at Jinta for his “make-believe.” So yes, needless to say,  I was immensely pleased when Menma finally took the initiative to prove that she was real and to stop the Super Peace Busters from fighting.

Now I really wonder why Menma appeared only in front of Jinta. The most plausible theory would be that, perhaps, he needed her the most. In my opinion, out of all the Super Peace Busters, Jinta appears to have the greatest issues (though I am willing to change this viewpoint as we still do not know much about Poppo and Tsuruko). Seeing as his mother died and Menma’s loss hit him pretty hard this makes sense. Afterall, he used to be the leader of the group, very outgoing at that, and then he became a social recluse – that’s a significant change. I’m also thinking that there may be a link between her appearance before him and her wish. The fact that she called the Super Peace Busters together, without Jinta, to ask for advice and given the appearance of Jinta’s mother in her memories, it may be that his mother wanted her to do something for Jinta (Bass of Sekijitsu came up with this before me xD). I used to think that her wish was that the Super Peace Busters would become friends again but it makes more sense to me that she wanted them together to help fulfill her wish (that has something to do with his mother) of taking care of Jinta. Perhaps, she just involved him in the wish-fulfillment process on accident because she couldn’t remember what her wish was and it just so happens that the friendship of the Super Peace Busters is gradually being fixed along the way (a broader aspect of the plot).

Continuing on, Anaru’s confession was a definite stand out in Episode 8. I don’t think that Jinta handled it too well by just walking away like that and I feel bad for Anaru, but I can’t bring myself to be upset with him. After all, she was trying to stop him from fulfilling Menma’s wish which is something that he obviously feels strongly about. I’m not riding the Anaru x Jinta bandwagon as steadfast as I was before but I do find them very cute and I hope things end well for them. In other news, Tsuruko’s still wearing the hairclip. Hehe…I am seriously dying to find out what’s going through her head.

Finally, an interesting motif that I have noticed throughout AnoHana, particularly with these two episodes, is that of parents. Parents play a very important role in AnoHana, one that is very easy to overlook. First we have Menma’s parents who don’t seem to have moved on after her death. We see the big part they play in the show after Menmom flips out. They also did not want the kids to build the firework. Naturally, it is very hard on parents after the death of a child, but I find it very sad that they have taken the easy way out by constantly mourning for Menma as opposed to taking better care of their son. I don’t mean to be harsh but the fact that Saa-kun is feeling neglected is not suggestive of good parenting in my opinion. I definitely like Jinta’s father a lot – in his own way, he’s been pretty supportive of Jinta. Jinta’s mother is obviously significant seeing as her death has affected Jinta and her role may prove to be even more important than we expected given my aforementioned theory. xD

Seeing as I have practically written an essay, I would like end by gushing over the moment where Menma comforted Jinta while he was crying. A-1 Pictures, I think I love you. That was amazingly animated, the seiyuus did brilliant jobs and even the background music was wonderful. It was such a beautifully moving moment and I tear up every time I see it (Yes…I’ve watched it several times ;_;). I love this show so much.

Preview:

This means that we’ll find out more about Tsuruko right? RIGHT? PLEASE?!

About Zabobinator

Doesn't get enough sleep. Dork with a rather eclectic taste in manga and anime. Adores Studio Ghibli films.