Ano Hi Mita no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai – 10

Things don’t always turn out as expected eh?

God…this show. THIS SHOW. IT’S SO GOOD! I’m not kidding when I say that I’ll probably cry harder when this shows end than it actually made me cry while watching. I cannot believe that this is the penultimate episode – already! I don’t think it has hit me yet either. Damn. ‘OTL

Episode 10 starts off as Jinta drops off an invitation at the Honma household and Menma pays her respects at Jinmom’s shrine – the next day is when the firework will be set off. Meanwhile, Anaru is sulking in her room and receives a phone call from Yukiatsu about a get-together that Poppo has planned for that night. As he is on the phone, Tsuruko is confronted by Yukiatsu fangirls who clearly don’t understand how creepy he is. She deliberately lets slip his cross-dressing habit which upsets him and he grabs her to tell her off. He is shocked and forced to let go, however, as she sheds a tear and tells him that it hurts.

“He cross-dresses? Well…his face is quite pretty…It can’t possibly be THAT bad…”

Meanwhile, Poppo, Jinta and Menma are preparing for her farewell party. After acting silly for attention and only being able to watch as a child, Poppo is now motivated to be more directly involved in things. God, he is such a sweetheart. At the Honma household, Menma’s mom is upset about the invitation to the firework launching. To her surprise, Saa-kun has decided to go and, when asked why, he retorts with a question of his own: Does his mother even know how tall he is now? She falls to the ground and starts crying as her husband tries to reason with her. Well, now we know which side of the family Menma’s tear ducts come from…

Anaru and Yukiatsu have met by the station and discuss Menma’s impact. Anaru had always thought that, were Menma not there, she would be the closest to Jinta. It turned out that she was wrong and Menma’s presence actually brought them all together. At this time, Tsuruko calls Yukiatsu and gets on him for being a weakling, chickening out that Menma’s actually going to leave and using Anaru so as to not feel as though he is alone because, I mean, he IS excessively pathetic and he should just go jump off of a bridge because he’s a jerk and HE’S NOT EVEN A GOOD TRAP EITHER. GOSH! …Ok…So I may have slightly exaggerated what she actually said BUT IT WAS MY TRUE FEELINGS! Anyways, at the end of her phone call, Tsuruko mentions that Menma had wanted them to all get together that day because she wanted to do something for Jinta. She hangs up and Yukiatsu requests Anaru’s assistance for something.

That night, everybody shows up for the farewell party. Through her diary Menma is able to express her feelings of thanks towards all of them. Afterwards, Yukiatsu asks if there is any sort of entertainment seeing as all they’re doing is drinking and eating snacks. He then suggests that they do a reenactment of the day that Menma died. Jinta is completely shocked as Anaru starts off with the question that she asked that day. Surprisingly, Poppo joins in as well and it seems that Tsuruko is the only one who is opposed (ironically, her reaction mirrors what it was back then).  Jinta finally admits that he loves Menma and runs away before Poppo yells that if he leaves now it’ll end up the same as that day. He stops and turns around to find Menma crying.

Afterwards, Anaru and Tsuruko walk back home, the former in tears. Finally hearing that Jinta loves Menma was hard on her and Anaru claims that Tsuruko would never understand how it’s like for the one you love to never notice you. To her surprise, Tsuruko does understand seeing as she loves Yukiatsu. Tsuruko continues on to say that, for Anaru, once Menma is gone she still stands a chance with Jinta but Yukiatsu will just have Anaru for backup. Anaru assures Tsuruko that she would never be with Yukiatsu because, for her, Jinta is irreplaceable. Meanwhile, Menma and Jinta are headed home when she asks him whether his confession was true. It turns out that the feeling is entirely mutual. She wonders if they would have gotten married had she lived. This prompts Jinta to ask her to stay and to not go to heaven. Unfortunately for Jinta (and all of my hopes and dreams), Menma wants to go to heaven so she can be reborn again.

Back in Creepsville, Yukiatsu’s back to wigsniffing as he wonders what Menma’s response to Jinta was. He just wants her to go to heaven already. I can’t even begin to describe how awkward this scene was to watch. This guy just gives me the shivers.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! WHY ARE YOU SO CREEPY?!

It’s like the cover of a horror movie.

The next morning Menma dreams of a conversation she had with Jinta’s mom. Jinta’s mom had been discussing reincarnation and how the fact that she could be reborn as something new made her feel better, but there was still something that was bothering her. Later on, the whole gang is getting ready for the firework launch. Tsuruko arrives late with a brand new haircut and, to Menma’s joy, Saa-kun also arrives to help out and watch the firework.

Finally, the firework is ready to launch and everyone, save Jinta, seems to be ready to for it. Yukiatsu in particular is determined not to let Jinta stop this, while Poppo just wants to ensure that Menma finds peace in heaven. Jinta, still not ready to let her go, is unable to stop the firework in time and can only watch as it explodes in the sky. To his surprise and relief, he hears Menma cheering and turns around to find that she’s still there!

End Thoughts:

Wow. That was actually a bit of a cliffhanger to leave off with. The firework wasn’t Menma’s wish after all huh?  I didn’t think it would be anyways. Either way, I don’t think that this development is going to sit too well with anybody, especially considering how much work went into ensuring that they could actually pull it off. The whole group, whether or not they are ready, need closure on the whole Menma deal and the firework was supposed to allow for that. Considering that this is last episode before the big finale, I would say that the failure of this plan was perfect. First off, there is way too much underlying tension in this group ranging from unanswered feelings to inferiority complexes and I quite honestly feel as though they were not ready for her to leave. Not only so, but it’s not actually her wish. I stick by my prior theory that her wish has something to do with Jinta’s mom, especially seeing as she had another flashback this episode. Also, Tsuruko remembered that Menma had wanted to do something for Jinta.

So, I am very pleased with what we’ve seen of Tsuruko this episode. First off, she TOTALLY owned Yukiatsu by letting the fangirls know that he cross-dresses and then she went off on him over the phone. What I love about Tsuruko is that, despite her feelings, she’s not afraid to be harsh on Yukiatsu. She knows him better than anyone and consequently deserves him better than anybody, wigsniffing and all. I don’t think he deserves her though. We also got to see how she really feels inside and I like that the relationship between her and Anaru is improving. Also, HER HAIRCUT. I’m not sure what to think of it. I feel as though there’s a deeper meaning to it because, given her quick conversation with Anaru, it wasn’t that she simply wanted a change. Forgive my reference to Naruto, but maybe she pulled a Sakura on us? Remember how Sakura grew her hair out because she thought that Sasuke preferred long hair? Well, Menma had long hair right? Perhaps Tsuruko grew hers out as a means to be closer to Yukiatsu’s ideal. Maybe? xD

I would also like to briefly touch on character growth, particularly that of Poppo. As a child, he usually just watched and followed along as Jinta and the others did things. He goofed off to get attention as well.  I was really happy to see how determined he was to play a more active role in the friendship and in Menma’s send off. Throughout the whole show, Poppo has been so supportive of Jinta (and Menma), and quite honestly, I feel as though he is the best friend out of all of them. I seriously love this guy. xD Jinta has displayed some growth as well as he is now able to express his true feelings about things.

I was also quite proud of Saa-kun and how he dealt with his mother. As I have mentioned in a previous post, I feel as though Menmom has taken it quite far. I don’t have kids, so I will not even pretend that I understand a parent’s feelings when their child is taken away from them. However, I do not think that she should be taking it out upon Menma’s friends for being alive nor do I believe that she should be so consumed in her grief that she forgets about her other child. If anything, she should cherish Saa-kun even more. So, I thought that his question to her about his height was perfect and I hope that she realized what she has been missing and quickly straightens out her act.

Also, did anybody notice Menma’s hands? Show ▼

They seemed to be fading out or something. It may simply be an animation glitch but, in my opinion, it was too noticeable to not be anything at all.  Perhaps this means that she is already disappearing? Interesting…

Ah jeeze. I am so nervous for the final episode. I have this list of things I want to see and things I want to happen, starting off with Menma’s actual wish. I have this weird sort of anticipation thing going on here. On one hand, I really want to know what happens while on the other hand I DON’T WANT IT TO END.

Preview:

How will it all end for the Super Peace Busters?

Also: Show ▼

About Zabobinator

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