I’ve been watching an anime series recently, and I noticed that during its opening credits, each member of its main cast is briefly framed with a shot with a flower. This is a common trick to sneak in a hint about a character’s personality or arc, using Hanakotoba (Japanese flower language). I was curious, so I’d figure I’d take a shot at trying to interpret it. Of course, that’s easier said than done when one doesn’t know crap about flowers. So, does anybody want to take a crack at attempting to identify the flowers in these shots?
Up first is Ange. I really, really badly want to identify the flowers here as Sumire, despite the fact the number of petals is wrong, as my working theory hinges on this identification.
Next comes Beatrice with a heavily stylized flower. At first I was tempted to conclude that this wasn’t intended to represent a flower (you can make an argument that this fits given her background), but I’ve tentatively identified it as a peony.
Last we have Dorothy, and this one completely mystifies me. The flower looks an awful lot like a daffodil, but I hate that interpretation for three reasons. First, the number of petals is incorrect. Second, the leaves on the stem are completely wrong for a daffodil. Third, I can’t come up with a coherent interpretation of a daffodil in hanakotoba that fits the character.
The bonus round doesn’t contain any characters at all, and I’m not sure that this cut is actually meaningful. However, just in case I’ll throw it in. The red flower on the right is clearly a poppy. The yellow flower in front appears to be a buttercup. The white flower at the top left is giving me trouble. I’m tempted to call it a daisy, but the petals are too short and the middle is too big. Any other ideas?