Ano hi mita hana no namae o bokutachi wa mada shiranai (or Anohana in short) as an anime was something i chanced upon, and needless to say, i fell in love with it. What that had drawn me in the most about the story is the way in which the fragile yet lasting aspect of friendship is portrayed, as well as the selflessness of Menma who interestingly acts as both the catalyst and the deus ex machina for the dissolution of Super Peace Busters.

Story:
I personally found Anohana as a live action to have met and well-exceeded my expectations of what i thought the drama would be like. Some fans may complain that the plot is not followed to the T, but that is exactly what i appreciated the most. An 11 episodes anime squeezed into 2 hours is quite an incredible feat by itself, and i am impressed the essence (friendship and portrayal of Menma) still remains. Kudos to the production team. The live action is well-executed and is as realistic as it can get given the supernatural-ness that surrounds the whole story. The only complaint is that the characters are not being developed enough to show us how different each of them are from one another and how Menma's death affected them, that It kind of became plot-driven. Still amazing nonetheless.

Acting/Cast:
The cast is awesome. There is no other way to describe how great the cast work to portray the originality of the characters (i felt that they did their homework, and they aced it). However, it is a tad disturbing/uncomfortable when you see tears and more tears as the story progressed. I mean i am impressed how much the actors could cry and the whole point is to be tear-jerking. Yet especially in the second half of the movie, it felt as if the story could not continue without any tears. Like seriously? I do believe however that the young actors/actresses are quite new for i never heard/watched them before. They are definitely worth looking out for :)

Music:
For the whole duration of the movie, there is only one song playing from what i have heard -- ''secret base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~ (10 years after ver.)''. It was the ending song for the anime. This is my bias-ness speaking for this very song is one of my few favorite Japanese songs ever, but it does fits perfectly into the whole atmosphere of the live action. I love how both the original song and the instrumental version are played.

Emotional? Check.
Beautiful friendship? Check.
Selfless Menma? Check.
What more can one ask for? But be forewarned: prepare a (or a few) box full of tissues before you start watching because you would need it (my tears flowed like a dam throughout the entire movie).

Definitely highly recommended! :)

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Wasted Potential

If the plot and pacing could be on par with its characters building and their acting, this will be my top drama of all time.

Acting: The chemistry between the two main leads is really great! Their acting is wonderful, and I really enjoyed watching them interact. The supporting characters' acting are good, with some better than others.

Storyline: Pretty good, but some plot points and dialogue can be predictable at times.

The tiny nuggets of comedy (accompanied by the impeccable sound effects timing) in the drama are gold, highlighting the characters' relationship and personalities.

The first half of the show makes this my new favorite c-drama, while the second half is a big let down. The pacing was thrown off and the plot became messy. The story became rushed and I find myself unable to enjoy it as much. I feel that it became needlessly too heavy, with things happening (character deaths) seemingly for the sake of it and served no true purpose.

The beauty of this drama lies in its characters and yet the chemistry between the characters are butchered and lost in the plot and pacing of the second half. Such wasted potential of incredible characters and their personalities and acting.

Rewatch value: 100/10 for the first half, 3/10 for the second. That being said, I would still recommend this drama if you are looking to experience some romance, laughter and tears. Hope that you will fall in love with the characters, main or supporting, just like I did.

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