Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (SP drama) - Final Thoughts

Title: あの日見た花の名前を僕達はまだ知らない | Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai 
Network: Fuji TV 
Director/Writer: Masaki Nishiura and Yoshihiro Izumi 
Adaptation (anime): written by Mari Okada
Theme songs: "Aoi Shiori (Blue Bookmark)" by Galileo Galilei & "Secret Base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono (What You Gave ME) ~” by Silent Siren
Official site 

The most anticipated adaption I've been really looking forward has finally arrived. They also used the same theme songs from the anime, which I thought it was a nice touch because it brings back memories of the anime. (The FEELS are killing me). I'm already familiar with this story, but this drama still manages to pull on my heart strings just as in the anime did.

The story is about a young boy named Jinta (Nijiro Murakami) who has become a shut-in due to the tragic death of his childhood friend, Menma (Minami Hamabe). But recently, he has been seeing and talking to Menma. He thinks that he has gone crazy because he's the only one who can see her. But Menma believes that she has an unfinished business she must complete before passing on. Menma doesn't remember what her wish was, so Jinta tries to help her remember.

As he does this, he reconnects with his other childhood friends, Poppo (Yuta Takahata), Yukiatsu (Jun Shison), Anaru (Airi Matsui), and Tsuruko (Marie Iitoyo). At first, his friends didn't believe him that he sees Menma's ghost, they all want to move on from their past. But Jinta learns that his friends are no different from him and that the death of Menma has affected everyone's personal lives.

 
I thought this was a really good adaptation. This type of story, it's easily adaptable into a live-action drama. But I do love the actors, most of them I've never heard of, but they did great job. I especially loved Mirakami as Jinta, he has the Jinta look. I don't know much about him, but I'd love to see him in more movies/dramas, I think he has potential as an actor. Also, Hamabe was so adorable as Menma. I just love her. As for the rest of the cast, I have no problems with, they all embodied the characters similar to anime.

My only issue with the drama is the uneven pacing. In the first half, it quickly tries to cram in everything, some things had to be cut short, so that the second part can slowly build up to the finale. It's been a while since I've seen the anime, but I do remember that it showed the character's confessions, regrets, and unrequited love much more in depth than what the SP showed. In the back of my mind, I thought that this would of been a great as tv series instead of a 1 episode special. But at least they did a good job summarizing the main parts of the story.

Other than that, I really enjoyed this adaptation. The reason why I love this series is because of the character's emotions and the experience of loss feels very real. For first time viewers, this SP is good start to get to know the series. But if you want to fully immerse yourself in the story, then I would also recommend watching the anime.