AnoHana Episode Six: Remembrance…

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

And so the puzzle begins to come together, a clear image arises as new pieces enter the picture, and soon there will be a much clearer picture. “Anohana” episode six reveals a number of key plot points, without actually saying anything out loud, and, as is likely to follow in the episodes to come, Menma will have to deal with her own guilt about over leaving those who remember her. With that being said, let us get started.

Going to School and the Aftermath

When faced with the wishes of the spirit of a dead friend, it becomes hard to go against them. As such, Jintan once again attempts to return to school, with the hope that this might actually still be what her wish was. At the same time, everyone at the school becomes aware of the fact that Anjo (supposedly) went to a love hotel. Despite the fact that Jintan has only been to school once in the last few months, Anjo becomes the talk of the town. This makes Anjo incredibly anxious, to the point where she even begins crying at her desk, and when Yadomi notices the fact that she is crying for help in her notebook, he takes action to bring attention to himself.

Part of what makes this scene both somewhat funny as well as endearing is the legitimate expectation from Yadomi that he would be the center of attention as the kid whose never in class. This speaks both to his self-aware nature as well as identity as a recluse, an identity that is slowly changing, marked by the fact that the last time he went to school he did not even get in the door.

However, this scene also serves to highlight to other important traits about Yadomi. The first, of course, is his devotion to his dead friend and wanting to see her wish realized. The second, as contradictory as it may seem, is one that is as exclusive to Yadomi, but is nonetheless important: selfishness. As he as said from the beginning of the series, part of Yadomi wishes Menma would just disappear, so that he does not have to deal with seeing Menma continual, as she both literally and figuratively haunts him.

The Mom

Advertisements

After dealing with Anjo’s school problems, she, Yadomi and Poppo decide it best to visit Menma’s parents. For a moment, at least, Yadomi hesistates, anticipating Menma’s anger at having visited her family without her knowledge, but ultimately they go anyway. The three meet with Menma’s mom, at which point she gives them Menma’s diary, making one wonder if that is where they should have gone in the first place.

Though, it makes sense, considering the situation. Again, Yadomi hesitates, and despite the fact that they could have simply read through Menma’s diary right there, and potentially found out her wish, he leaves and forces Poppo to wait.

At the same time as this is all happening, Tsurumi and Yukiatsu take the train home together, when Yukiatsu informs Tsurumi of the others’ plan to visit Menma’s house. It is at this point, while remembering the events that day, that sad, unfortunate day, that they remembered it was Menma who called the group together, to tell them about something.

Yukiatsu very clearly resents Yadomi for bringing up Menma’s memory at all, and while his obsession with dressing up with her being revealed to everyone does not seem to phase him, he is still extremely angry about the whole ordeal. The two prep school students would much rather see all of this just go away, but more and more they realize that is not going to happen.

Menma’s Character

Near the tail end of the episode, Yadomi tries to casually reveal to Menma that the gang went to go see her mom, which, as he anticipated, Menma gets extremely upset about. Though, he in turn responds with anger, not because anything she did wrong in particular, but rather because of her self-sacrificial nature. Even in death, Menma would rather her mother forget her than have her memory bring her anymore suffering.

Yadomi eventually storms out, unable to deal with the explosion of emotions, hesitating. One girl, the source of so much pain, is the key the ending it all.

Conclusion

Realizations have certainly been made. The super peace busters are going to have to be quite literal in their name, as shattering the peace with the newfound information they have come across is the only way they can finally help put their dear friend to rest.

How do you all feel about this episode? Let me know in the comments below.

If you are interested in reading more from me, check under blog to read my most recent stuff, or look below for some related posts. Also, if you would like to support Animated Observations, consider donating on Ko-fi or through paypal, or pledging on Patreon. You can even support by just liking and sharing this post.