Ano Hana is a compelling anime. It is one about loss and traumatic events--and about coping and recovering from them.
The story is centered around Meiko Honma (Menma), a ‘summer beast’ that has started appearing in Jinta Yadomi’s vision. Menma was a girl that was part of his friend group ten years ago that died tragically by falling into a river. Back then, Jinta was the energetic de-facto leader of the friend group (the ‘Super Peace Busters’), but now today he is a reclusive NEET. While he originally believes that Menma is just a manifestation of his mind, Menma proves that she is ‘real’ by being able to do daily tasks like cooking. Menma tells Jinta that he needs to fulfill her ‘wish’, although they both do not know what that ‘wish’ is. When that wish is granted, Menma believes that she will finally be able to go to heaven.
In trying to grant Menma’s wish, Jinta re-connects with everyone that was part of the Super Peace Busters. He first runs into Tetsudo Hisakawa (Poppo), who lives in the shack that the friend group used to hang out in. Poppo now goes on trips around the world and has not attended school in years. The second friend Jinta reconnects with is Naruko Anjou (Anaru). She goes to the same school that Jinta is enrolled in and is the ‘closest’ to him before Jinta starts reconnecting. He also contacts Atsumu Matsuyuki (Yukihatsu) and Chiriko Tsurumi (Tsuruko), who go to a more prestigious school as Jinta and Anaru. Both are friends with each other and have a pompous air around them (especially Yukihatsu towards Jinta). While the conditions of their rebudding friendships are tenuous, they come together due to Menma.
While they do not show it at the start, the tragic passing of Menma still greatly affects their lives. Vivid memories of that day has stunted their emotional and mental development as young adults. While none of them except Jinta can communicate with ghost Menma, they all want to fulfill her wish. They still feel guilty about what happened that day ten years ago and are still dealing with the consequences of it--having her go to heaven will finally give them some closure and help them push forward.
As for the story itself, it definitely does enough to pull you in. For an anime like Ano Hana, it is worthless to watch if you do not care about the characters. Even if I do not like some of the characters, I still care for them. Ano Hana delicately creates an ecosphere where all of the main characters rely on each other, with Menma being the glue that holds it all together.
That being said, Ano Hana definitely has its issues. The main one is on the part of how long it takes for everyone else to actually understand that Menma is a real ghost, and not something that Jinta made up. While this might seem trivial reading this, it really annoyed me while watching how Menma was being talked about like an illusion and not as a real phenomenon, and how long it took for Jinta and her to prove them wrong.
Is Ano Hana worth watching? Definitely. If you are a fan of tear-jerkers and coming-of-age anime, then Ano Hana is right up your alley. Even if you are not a fan, I would still recommend it. Ano Hana is not great per se, but it is moving and captivating. It is an anime that might be best consumed in one night (although that might mess you up emotionally the next day if it hits you hard).