10 More Programs With Heartwarming & Saddening Scenarios!
Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day is a gut-wrenching, unforgettable series. It involves our male protagonist Junta reuniting with her former friends to help send their deceased companion Menma to the afterlife. Losing a friend is a heartbreaking experience for everyone to sit through and Anohana handles that topic with proper care. It’s an anime that will make many folks cry and ponder what they’d do if they found themselves in a similar predicament.
Fear not if you’re having trouble finding anime similar to Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day! We’ve discovered 10 alternate shows that’ll give you a similar experience as Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day.
Additionally, for each anime we’ve reviewed, we’ve included a link that allows you to view our full thoughts about the series to see if it’s worth your time.
So without further ado, we present 10 TV shows/anime that should whet your appetite when you’ve finished streaming Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day!
Angel Beats
Similarities – Themes & Tone
Imagine dying and finding yourself in a realm between life and death. You’d be in a similar situation as Otonashi from Angel Beats. In this realm, Otonashi meets a group of students who refer to themselves as the Afterlife Battlefront. They want to murder their student council president Angel. After spending quality time with Angel, Otonashi vows to establish peace between this group and her.
Both anime feature groups of individuals who have unfinished business. The characters in Angel Beats are stuck in a purgatory-like setting and cannot move on to the afterlife until they resolved their issues. As for Junta and his friends, they struggle to connect with each other and must find a way to help their deceased friend Menma reach heaven.
This “unresolved issue” theme helps elevate both anime’s melancholic tone and sets people up for their heartfelt scenes to come. Each character in Angel Beats has an interesting backstory that’s delved into in different episodes. Some of their tales will hit home with you while others will have you bawling on the floor. If you want to experience pain and sadness again, check out Angel Beats.
Your Lie In April
Similarities – Characters & Drama
Your Lie In April offers you a story that will motivate you to pursue your passions. Like Anohana, it handles loss well and shows how much of an impact it can have on anyone who’s experienced it. This anime follows Kousei, a pianist who doesn’t want anything to do with music anymore because of his mother’s death. Yet, when Kousei meets a talented violinist named Kaori, things turn up for him.
Like Junta and his friends, it’ll take Kousei some time to get back on his feet due to his experience with death. However, he’ll meet a female that’ll force him to confront his past and help him retrieve his love for music. Kaori and Kousei’s bond is heartfelt and alluring. You’ll adore seeing these two interact with each other throughout the anime.
The side characters in both anime also have their share of past traumas they’ll need to overcome. Both series shed light on their issues and give these additional characters time to overcome and cope with their problems. Although Your Lie In April has a tighter focus on music than Anohana, both anime use music as a communication tool, bringing people together and helping them express themselves.
Clannad After Story
Similarities –Drama & Themes
Clannad After Story is a phenomenal follow-up to Clannad and bears many similarities with Anohana. In this season, we follow Tomoya and his friends as they tackle the adult world. Tomoya will succumb to many struggles from a family member falling ill to having difficulties scoring a well-paying job. It portrays life wonderfully and shows how tough it can be for teenagers to transition to adult life.
Like Anohana, this anime touches upon grief and loss in a profound manner. Clannad After Story handles death with full integrity and shows how it can have a long-term impact on everyone around them. You’ll see friends break apart and forge opinions that won’t sit right with you. Tomoya and his friends receive incredible development throughout After Story.
While the predicaments they find themselves in are cruel and saddening, these issues will assist them in becoming stronger and wiser adults. Clannad After Story and Anohana also highlight why it’s important to establish tight-knit connections with your friends since you never know what they could do or say to get you through extremely challenging situations.
Orange
Similarities – Drama
After learning about the plot of Orange, Junta would wish he had the same know-how as its protagonist Naho. Orange centers around Naho, a woman who receives a strange letter from her future self. Her future self warns her about a transfer student named Kakeru’s demise. To change her and others’ fates, Naho will use future Naho’s intel to rewrite the future.
Like Anohana, Orange is another anime that delves into concepts concerning unfinished business and regret. As Naho reads her future version’s letters, she’ll sense her guilt and helplessness oozing from the words on the paper. Similarly, Junta and his companions are plagued by shame over Menma’s death. To move forward, they must resolve whatever trauma or bad blood they had during the time.
Time is an aspect shared between Anohana and Orange. While Menma’s death continues to lurk over her friends’ heads, Naho’s knowledge of future events will put intense pressure on her to make thoughtful decisions. If you’re looking for a romance anime with a unique use of time, check out Orange.
Kokoro Connect
Similarities – Slice-of-Life & Drama
Kokoro Connect is a bizarre and emotional anime for fans of romance and slice-of-life series. Our tale follows five culture club buddies who find themselves trapped inside the other’s bodies. While they work toward a solution, these five friends will uncover hidden secrets they kept from each other that will test their unbreakable bonds.
Like Anohana, Kokoro Connect forces its protagonists to confront their past issues and emotions to grow and move forward. Themes of friendship and emotional growth are intertwined, creating charming character arcs and a rich ambiance of nostalgia for folks. Kokoro Connect also touches upon ideas like youth and coming-of-age, as characters struggle with growing up and moving from their past.
The characters are in their high-school years, so they’ll be dealing with issues most adolescents face at their age like romance. As our characters confront their inner demons, they learn to acknowledge the pains and joyous of growing up. This will remind folks of Junta and his friends’ struggles from moving on from their childhood since Menma’s death resulted in their group falling apart and losing charm. This adds a layer of emotional depth to both stories.
The Anthem of the Heart
Similarities – Themes & Atmosphere
The Anthem of the Heart is a great romance anime with deep messages and themes. It revolves around a girl who can’t seem to break away from her childlike habits. Her behavior causes her parents to divorce. To make matters worse, Jun loses his ability to speak after encountering a strange fairy egg. She must find a new way to convey her feelings to her lover and perform in the upcoming musical.
Like Anohana, The Anthem of the Heart revolves around the idea of healing, friendship, and redemption. Despite losing her voice, Jun must find a way to communicate with her friends while confronting terrible aspects of her past life. Both anime can feel heartwarming and emotional. They genuinely depict how friendship can help you cope and triumph over anything that stands in your way.
The Anthem of the Heart also has incredible music and animation. Both aspects combine to forge an atmosphere that pulls the audience into the character’s shoes and helps them experience each anime through their eyes. Give this a watch if you’re after an anime that’ll make you smile and cry.
A Silent Voice
Similarities – Themes
A Silent Voice is a well-beloved anime with a relatable cast. It delves into topics concerning grief, regret, and redemption. Like Junta, you’ll find numerous characters in this anime who are struggling to overcome the trauma and errors they made in the past. The characters in both anime carry immense guilt and must face the consequences of their actions head-on.
In A Silent Voice, we follow Shouya. He’s a school bully who picks on his classmate Shouko for being deaf. This results in her transferring schools, leading to many people shunning Shouya for his actions all the way into his high school years. To make amends for his mistakes, Shouya vows to reunite with Shouko and apologize for what he did to her in the past.
A Silent Voice and Anohana highlight why it’s important to form close connections with people, especially if you’ve experienced extreme isolation or have no want to talk to if you’re stuck in a tight spot. Through our characters’ relationships, they gain a sense of belonging and purpose. They’ll also heal all the internal wounds within themselves that’ll allow them to become stronger and wiser. In addition to having a great soundtrack and spectacular animation, A Silent Voice is a must-watch for any anime enthusiast.
Golden Time
Similarities – Storytelling Techniques & Themes
Golden Time is a 24-episode romantic comedy series with similar storytelling techniques and themes as Anohana. It centers around Banri, who suffers from amnesia and begins a new life at a Tokyo law school. Eventually, he meets Kouko, who’ll make his year a memorable one. In Golden Time, Banri must grapple with his past and learn to move forward like Junta and his companions.
He receives great character development and befriends multiple people who’ll lead him to become a better individual than he was in his previous life. Through their adventures, Banri and his friends gain new insight about one another and themselves, making them enjoyable to follow. Banri will also have to contend with some romantic quarrels in the anime to spice things up.
Between Kouko and his former lover Linda, he’ll need to navigate his feelings for the girl that’s right for him. This will remind people of Junta’s attachment to Menma. Give Golden Time a chance if you’re after an anime with great relationship dynamics and compelling themes.
Blue Spring Ride
Similarities – Complex Relationships & Themes
Blue Spring Ride follows Futaba, a popular girl who spends her time being noisy and graceless to avoid boys flocking to her. After learning that her former crush Kou is attending the same high school as her, Futaba plans to return to her old ways to win him over. Both anime showcase why it’s important to analyze our past lives and to step out of our comfort zones.
Anohana and Blue Spring Ride present viewers with incredible characters who are part of complex relationships. Futaba and Kou have their share of personal issues they’ll have to overcome to connect with each other and others on satisfactory levels. Blue Spring Ride touches upon sensitive mental health-related topics.
Despite being a talkative individual, Kou must cope with his parent’s divorce. This will hit home with others who are in a similar predicament as his character and will root for him to triumph over his issues concerning it.
Little Busters
Similarities – Themes
Little Busters follows the adventures of a heroic group called the Little Busters, who must recruit more people for their leader Kyousuke’s baseball team while solving the mysteries hidden in their world.
This anime is jam-packed with heavy-hitting emotional segments that will kickstart your tears flowing. It handles themes like romance, family, and friendship as well as Anohana. Each member of the Little Busters has great personalities, motivations, and background many will find interesting. These characters come with their own set of past traumas they’ll need to defeat.
This is where viewers will be hit the most with its touching scenes, especially their relatable fear of growing up and transforming into someone they don’t want to be. For those looking for an anime that will warm your core and make you drown in your own tears, check out Little Busters.
So there we have it, our 10 anime/TV show alternatives to watch when you’ve caught up with Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day!
What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!