We still don't know the name of the flower we saw that day. Anohana, or "Anohana" for short, was first broadcast in 2011 and became a huge hit with its moving story and direction that evoked memories of one's youth. Following its success, it was made into a movie in 2013 and then a live-action drama, making it a masterpiece that has been highly praised by people other than anime fans as well. We'd like to give you a brief summary of the plot of each episode of Anohana!
Episode 1: Super Peace Busters
After failing his high school entrance exams, Jintan Yadomi (Jintan) is living a reclusive life. His childhood friend, Meiko Honma (Menma), who died in an accident, appears before him. The heat and the stress of a depressing life are destroying his brain, and finally, a summer beast appears. Menma appears out of nowhere and intrudes into Jinta's life, asking him to grant her a wish. This forces Jinta to confront his own trauma, whether he likes it or not.
Anjou Naruko, for short...
Then Jintan's childhood friend from the same high school, Anjou Naruko, appears before him. When she arrives to deliver Jintan's summer homework, she shows concern for Jintan, who has become practically a recluse, and scolds him, but Jintan is not in the mood to respond. Since Menma's death, the five childhood friends—Jintan, Anaru, Yukiatsu, Chiriko, and Poppo—have become estranged, with no trace of their former selves as the "Super Peace Busters." Jinta initially attempts to visit Anaru as Menma instructed, but ends up running into his childhood friends, Yukiatsu Matsuyuki and Tsuruko Tsurumi, on the way and leaves Menma behind.
Bustering Peace...
Back when Jintan was still called Jintan, and the six of them decided to call themselves the "Super Peace Busters." When Jintan asks Anaru, "You like Menma, don't you?", Anaru blushes and replies, "Who told you to be so ugly?" and runs away. "I can just apologize tomorrow." That's what Jintan thought, but that tomorrow never came.
Who was at the secret base?
Jintan had gone home once, but he couldn't stay still any longer and went to a place he remembered. He went to the secret base they used to use together, but for some reason the lights were on and inside he found some obsessive pornographic books. There he found his childhood friend, Hisakawa Tetsudo (Poppo).
Episode 2: Menma the Warrior
Poppo, once a small boy, has now grown into a well-built man. Poppo readily believes Menma's story about being able to see ghosts and is happy to help make Menma's wish come true. Poppo recalls that she once said she wanted a rare Nokemon monster from a game they were all addicted to, so Jintan decides to buy one. Anaru works part-time at the game shop Jintan visits.
Just like the old days
However, since the rare monster could only be obtained through trading, Jintan and Poppo head to Anaru. Despite everything, Anaru has not changed since the old days, and after a few hours of tapping, they finally get the rare monster. However, this was not what Menma wanted. Still, Menma says she's glad the three of them have become friends again.
Episode 3: The Search for Menma
Jintan is told by Anaru and Menma to go to school, but after being teased by his classmates, he ends up fleeing to his secret base instead. However, there he finds a suspicious-looking Poppo, who claims to have seen Menma. When Jintan returns home, he finds the kitchen a mess. Menma struggles to recreate the steamed buns that Jintan's mother used to make for him, but the results aren't very good. Jintan is reminded of his late mother.
A Barbecue for Everyone
For some reason, Poppo plans a barbecue for everyone. Jintan, who finds it difficult to face everyone, feels like running away, but he's half-persuaded by Menma to join. Even though he didn't think anyone would come, Tsuruko and Yukiatsu join in too. However, Yukiatsu says he saw Menma too.
Episode 4: White, Ribbon Dress
Yukiatsu says Menma said, "Please stop making a fuss." Menma, who can only be seen by Jintan, denies it as best he can, but no one else can hear him. Jintan brings out the steamed buns Menma made and explains that Menma said she'd be happy if everyone gathered together and that she'd be happy if everyone remembered, but no one believes him. Yukiatsu leaves, saying, "It's pathetic that you're still obsessed with Menma," and leaves. Jintan leaves as well.
The Man-bear that Poppo Saw
Poppo, Tsuruko, and Anaru remained behind. Then, Tsuruko asked Poppo, "What was it like seeing the man-bear that Hisakawa saw?" Poppo didn't remember very well, but Tsuruko seemed to have some idea. Meanwhile, Jintan was in agony, realizing that he looked incredibly pathetic to others.
Buster the False Peace!
The next day, an unexpected visitor arrives at Jintan's house. That person is Tsuruko. It seems that Tsuruko's reason for coming to Jintan's house is for a specific purpose... She asks Jintan for a favor. Tsuruko says it's to "bust the false peace." Convinced by Tsuruko's words, Jintan approaches Yukiatsu, emphasizing that he's "my Menma." Yukiatsu then vents his quiet anger, says what he wants to say, and leaves... but in reality, he's not calm at all. Yukiatsu returns home, clearly shaken and acting suspiciously...
Menma's there! ...Huh?
Afterwards, everyone except Yukiatsu somehow ends up at the secret base. Then, Poppo and Menma start screaming, claiming to have seen Menma. Everyone rushes after her, and someone in a white dress comes into view. Tsuruko then exclaims, "Oh dear! Shaving your leg hair on a guy that big is a stretch! Yukiatsu!" Menma's true identity is Yukiatsu.
Episode 5: Tunnel
Menma's true identity was Yukiatsu!? Even though he usually behaves calmly, Yukiatsu still holds Menma's heart in his heart. He thought that if Menma were to show up, it would be because of his resentment, because he had caused her death with his own words. Jintan tells Yukiatsu the words he heard from Menma: "Thank you, snap, but I'm sorry." On the day Menma died, if Jintan hadn't stopped her and tried to give her the snap (hair clip), Menma might not have died. Yukiatsu has been haunted by this memory ever since.
Anaru's Close Call
Later, Anaru is invited to a group date by a friend. Anaru, who hadn't been socializing much recently, ends up not being able to refuse and ends up attending. Later, when Anaru is about to be taken to a love hotel by a stranger, it is Yukiatsu who saves her. Yukiatsu, who is not confident in his physical strength, skillfully chases the man away. On the train ride home, Yukiatsu asks Anaru, "Would you like to go out with me?", and it is unclear whether he is serious or joking, but Anaru responds like a virgin and says no! Both Jintan and Yukiatsu are still haunted by the past, and Anaru is also haunted by Jintan. After all that has happened, everyone is still haunted by the past.
Episode 6: Forget, Don't Forget
Jintan, thinking that Menma's request might be for him to go to school, arrives to find that Anaru has been falsely accused of going to a love hotel. Apparently, someone from the PTA saw them. Jintan can't bear to leave Anaru like that and screams. Everyone is stunned, and Anaru, unable to bear it, forcibly drags Jintan out. But Anaru's face remains beaming.
At Menma's House
At Poppo's suggestion, Jintan goes to Menma's house. There, Menma's mother lends him Menma's diary. However, Jintan holds off on reading its contents and tells Poppo not to look at it yet. Upon learning this, Menma bursts into tears, telling him not to do anything that will make her mother sad by remembering her. Jintan gets a nosebleed and is left distraught by Menma's attack. He heads to his secret base to cool his head and calm down, only to find Anaru there, who was supposed to have gone home.
Episode 7: A True Request
Poppo, Anaru, and Jintan check Menma's diary. It's a typical elementary school diary, filled with happy and fun stories. However, they suddenly remember Jintan trying to make a giant firework. Though it ultimately didn't come to fruition, the three believe this was Menma's wish. However, when the five of them get together later, they're confronted with the reality that fireworks aren't that easy to make or set off.
Jintan Starts a Part-Time Job
Jintan starts working part-time to save up for fireworks. He starts working at a construction site and a game shop. Menma puffs up at Jintan's suspicious behavior, especially when he comes home late. However, she soon learns that he's doing it to fulfill her "wish." Menma is pleased to see Jintan so lively. However, the craftsman she'd hired to make the fireworks suddenly finds himself unable to make them. He says he was stopped by a festival official, but that official turns out to be Menma's father?
Episode 8: I Wonder
The five of them came to Menma's house to discuss the fireworks. However, Menma's mother couldn't accept that everyone had grown up without Menma, and she harbored a hatred that had no outlet. Menma's mother let her emotions out. In the end, it was no longer enough to get approval for the fireworks, and Yukiatsu suggested canceling the plan.
Everyone is hopelessly trapped in the past
Jintan says he'll continue working part-time on his own, but pushes himself too hard and collapses. Anaru, who is there, confesses to Jintan about her feelings in the past and how she feels now. Jintan doesn't really understand his own feelings either. But he has a vague feeling that he must grant Menma's wish.
Menma and Jintan
When Jintan returns home, he remembers what Anaru told him: if he grants Menma's wish, Menma will disappear. What he's doing is full of contradictions, needlessly hurting himself and others. Jintan can't contain his emotions, and tears begin to flow. Menma worries, but Jintan desperately tries to cover it up. Seeing this, Menma remembers Jintan's mother and starts crying... Everyone is crying.
Is Menma Missing?
Afterwards, Jintan visits his mother's grave. Then, Tsuko and Yukiatsu receive a silent phone call from Jintan's house. When they arrive at the secret base, everyone is gathered there, and Yukiatsu berates Jintan for using Menma as an excuse to hurt everyone. At that moment, a message appears in Menma's diary. It's undoubtedly about what happened today.
Episode 9: Everyone's Menma
Menma makes steamed buns and serves them to everyone. However, no one can see her except Jintan, and the four of them are horrified. However, at this point, they have no choice but to believe. Yukiatsu decides to make fireworks to help Menma find peace, and goes to meet Menma's father. It was Menma's mother who pressured Yama-san, the fireworks maker. Yukiatsu's soul kneels down and begs, and the fireworks making resumes.
Is Jintan seeing Menma?
While helping make fireworks, Anaru becomes overwhelmed by her failure to beat Menma and disappears. Yukiatsu follows her. Anaru feels sympathy for Jintan, Yukiatsu for Menma, and Yukiatsu for Anaru. Tsuruko is watching the whole scene.
Searching for the Missing Menma
The seasons change, and students at school begin to wear winter clothes. Menma was supposed to be a summer beast, but it's been a long time since she arrived. When Jintan returns home from work, Menma is gone. He rushes out to look for her, and finds her calling out to him by the river. Remembering Menma's death at the river, Jintan can't help but run to Menma. He instinctively embraces Menma and tells her to stay here forever.
Episode 10: Fireworks
Everyone struggles, but little by little, they begin to face the past. Poppo planned a fireworks festival to see off Menma, and the rally is held to celebrate. As a sideshow, Yukiatsu suggests recreating that moment. First, Anaru asks, "Jintan, you love Menma, don't you?" Then, with a trembling voice, Poppo joins in, and Jintan quietly replies, "I love you," and tries to run away. But Poppo stops him, saying, "If you run away now, the same thing will happen again!" When Jintan turned around, he didn't see Menma smiling with a troubled expression, but Menma crying.
You Can't Replace Someone
Anaru is Jintan, Yukiatsu is Menma, Tsuruko is Yukiatsu, and Jintan is Menma. The feelings they each had for each other will never be reciprocated. No one can replace someone else. Menma knows Jintan wants to be his wife, and while Jintan tells her to stay where she is, she says she'll be reborn and "go to heaven."
She vanished into the sky...
Jintan was agonizing over whether to let Menma rest in peace by launching fireworks right up until the very end. He could stop it now, but... the fireworks still went off. Watched over by the Super Peace Busters, Menma's younger brother, and Menma's parents, who had actually come along... the fireworks went off beautifully. And then, Menma...surprisingly, she didn't disappear. It seems Menma's wish wasn't to set off fireworks. But Jintan felt a little relieved.
Episode 11: Flowers Blooming in That Summer
After Menma failed to pass on to the afterlife, Jintan was called by Yukiatsu. He revealed that everyone had been trying to help Menma pass on out of selfish desire. Anaru loves Jintan and wishes Menma were gone, Yukiatsu couldn't bear to see Menma near Jintan, and Tsuruko was always trying to stay by Yukiatsu's side. Even Poppo confesses that he witnessed Menma's death and fled overseas. As everyone poured out their feelings, Menma's body slowly began to disappear.
It's Hide and Seek
The Super Peace Busters return to their former selves, and after listening to Menma's story, everyone decides to help her find peace. Jintan returns home and tries to take Menma to the secret base, but Menma is no longer able to stand on her own. Jintan takes Menma and hurries to the secret base. However, by the time Jintan arrives at the secret base, Menma is no longer visible to him. Having disappeared, Menma says, "It's hide-and-seek!" and Jintan and the others go looking for her. Then, with the last of her strength, Menma leaves a letter for everyone.
I Found Menma
Menma is nowhere to be found. After desperately searching, just as dawn is about to break, Anaru uses a scrap of her diary to find a letter Menma left for everyone. Menma expresses her feelings to everyone and is about to disappear, but the five of them continue to call out, "Are you okay now?" Menma replies, "It's okay now!" and her voice reaches not only Jintan but everyone else. Everyone can see Menma now. Everyone tells Menma they love her, and as they see her off, they all say, "We found you, Menma!"
The Name of the Flower We Saw That Day
Menma shed tears, but still smiled, saying, "I've been found..." as she passed away, ready to be reborn. Afterward, Jintan goes to school with Anaru, and while Yukiatsu and Tsuruko seem to be going about their usual routine, it seems they've grown a little closer. Poppo has started studying to get her high school equivalency certificate. Jintan arrives at the secret base, and outside, the Super Peace Busters are gathered. The Super Peace Busters sign on the secret base has been updated with the words "Always Be Friends."
Anohana Summary
Anohana is perhaps the most tear-jerking anime of all time. There are many theories about the meaning of "Anohana." It could be the name of the flower that bloomed where Menma was, or, based on Jintan's final line, it could refer to Menma herself, who has been reborn. He also said that Jintan's mother might be reborn as a baby flower. What we don't know yet might be the name of the reborn Menma. There are many theories. Anyway, it was a truly tear-jerking and memorable work!
