Writing a flashback scene isn’t easy. They interrupt the flow of the current storyline, so they can come off as clunky and unnecessary if a few lines from one character could get the point across much more quickly, or if the same flashback is shown multiple times for no real reason. Likewise, the contents of the flashback must have some important effect on the main storyline (referred to as “reincorporation”) or else the entire thing feels useless.

That said, the medium of anime features some amazing flashback scenes that feature breathtakingly creative reincorporation. These can last multiple episodes or even just a few seconds, but they all show how a character’s past experiences affected who they are today. Let’s check out our five favorites!

This article was written for Honey’s Anime, so please read it on their site.