The tension is now escalating as we reach the 8th episode of Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai. The first part of the episode was a bit creepy one. They went to Menma’s house and they plan to ask her mother to let them do the fireworks for Menma. All of them went including Yukiatsu and Tsuruko. In the end, Menma’s mother acted like a complete psychopath as the five of them reopened the wound on her heart as she remembered her daughter. She was a bit creepy like the ones we see in Japanese horror films. Too bad for Tsuruko, she was the one targeted by the hatred of Menma’s mother. Only then did they realize how hurt she was and how much hatred she bore to the five of them due to Menma’s death.
After the events, the ever pessimistic Yukiatsu tries to discourage everyone and suggests that they should forget about Menma. To the surprise of Poppo and Anaru, Jinta decided by himself, that he must fulfill Menma’s wish alone. Jinta starts to work himself to death, working almost 24/7 without sleep, until he collapsed while on duty at the video game store. In this scene, Anaru revealed many things to him, her dirty little secrets. She even confessed to me! (I mean Jinta)! Anaru is so jealous with Menma since he still thinks about her even after her death. In the middle of her ranting, she asked what he’ll do after he grants her her wish, for sure Menma will disappear. In the end, it seems that Jinta chose Menma over Anaru.
Back at home, as Menma was cleaning Jinta’s fingernails, Jinta was crying over Patrasche from the Dog of Flanders. And of course, we all know how a crappy lie it was. As Menma saw his soft side, she comforts him, probably till he fell asleep.
In the morning, Jinta and his father went to Jinta’s mother’s grave since it was her death anniversary. It was then that Jinta had a realization about parent’s feelings, on how deep it could get, and how they would do anything to make their children happy. Later at the video game store, Anaru decided to take a day off, which we’re all sure that it was because of what happened between her and Jinta. Also, Menma seemed flustered when she knew what’s happening between the Super Peace Busters’ members.
Meanwhile, Tsuruko and Yukiatsu received silent phone calls coming from Jinta’s house. The high and almighty Yukiatsu concluded that the culprit was no other than Jinta, when in reality it was Menma on the line.
Back at the video game store, Jinta was greeted by Menma’s brother. They talked a while and Menma’s brother ranted about her mother, on how he’s being ignored. Afterwards, Jinta decided to go the the base to meet Anaru, probably to straighten things up between them, but then surprisingly greeted by all the members of the Super Peace Busters. They were all complaining about Jinta’s “obsession” with Menma, and implying that it’s going to far. Of course, Yukiatsu would be the first one to attack, whether verbally or physically. They want to clear up about the silent phone calls, the ghost of Menma at their house, and about Menma’s wish. At the midst of everything, at the heat of the moment, Menma arrived to save Jinta once more. Before getting punched straight to the nose, Menma dropped her diary from the table which took everyone’s attention. She wrote something to her diary to prove her existence and to free Jinta from their accusations.
At last, Menma reveals herself! So far, in my opinion, this was the most nerve-wracking episode from this series. The moment that Menma reveals her existence and the moment Anaru would admit her feeling to Jinta. On the other side, I’ve noticed recurring topics from this anime. I know I’ve mentioned this before, and here are some of them again:
- Everybody seemed to have changed although deep inside, they’re still the same.
- Everyone is fueled by their guilt from the loss of Menma and still can’t forgive themselves. All of them are stressed mentally due to this, except Jinta, where he mentioned that due to Menma’s appearance as a ghost, this saved him, unlike the others.
- The series tries to explain the feeling of a parent, of how they love their children deeply even though the children does not understand or feel the same way. Probably like Clannad, but more specific.
- Anaru has a great body and we must exploit this fact at least once every week.
This time, I really can’t wait to see the next episode. I want to know their reactions after what Menma has done. Will they truly believe Jinta now? Or will they just shove it and ignore?
