Info

Rating:

Total episodes: 12

Opening:
Katayoku no Icarus - Yui Sakakibara

Ending:
Kazahane - Haruka Shimotsuki

Official Site

AnimeNfo entry
ANN entry

H2O

And so H2O comes to an end. It's not clear, wether Hirose actually was able to see but it's not that important. All in all this show was not excellent, but still enjoyable to watch and I like the message: Everybody can achive happiness!

Though he wasn't able to see and he carried a heavy burden Hirose was strong enough to help everybody in the village and so they got strong enough to help him. Some characters, especially Hinata/Hotaru matured a lot and I love shows were you can see character development and...take alook into the future. Oh my God, Hirose's feet are so thin and long *giggle* The ending is kitschy, but still I like it and it makes me feel good. Over all a three star rating out of five!

2008年03月24日

Hirose

This show gets an awesome ending arc, I can't belive everything concerning his blindness was Hirose's imagination. We're coming back to the theme of a girl beaing beaten, now even by her closest friend. I wonder if Takuma will come back to normal and IF wether Hayami can forgive him.

2008年03月21日

Kohinata

This was quite a nice episode, as the story finally gets rounded up. I liked the symbolic use of the upcoming storm and that at long last Hirose's blindness is a central theme again. Two episodes last and with the hostile behaviour of the villagers I wonder wether there's a chance this could end good.

2008年03月16日

Hozumi

If it wouldn't have been for the episode's title, I guess, I woudln't have recognized Hozumi as a character again. So far I only saw him as a funny element, being Hirose's uncle, but dressing like a woman. This time I could see he cares about his nephew and even more important, he supports him.

While Hirose, Hayami and Hotaru are involved in problems they more or less can't understand and don't have to answer for, Hozumi was part of the original events, one generation before!

With episode 9 we come to the important Hotaru/Hayami decision and I have to admit I don't really care. I'm not very attached to the characters, Hirose is no man for me and I don't care wether he lives happily with Hotaru or Hayami. No matter what they are going to be in trouble with Hotaru's grandfatherd and the rest of the villagers.

2008年03月16日

Otoha

Perhaps I'm the problem, but after that very serious Hinata/Hotaru story this episode seemed too funny for my taste. I'm unsatisfied with last times ending, as I wrote I was not sure wether Hotaru only wished for that ending. It's not realistic everybody just accepted her new identity.

I must have been stupid not to recognize Otoha's true identity till Hirose asked her. Baka, baka!

2008年03月13日

Hotaru

I'm really suprised but also pleased there's more to the show than only the Hayami-arc, though Hotaru/Hinata's story is finished a little bit too fast. They could have done much more episodes for this rather important development. What I'm not sure about is the end, is this now reality and everybody accepted Hinata is Hotaru or was it only her dream?

2008年02月29日

Yui

As the episode title hints this time the story evolves around Yui. I wouldn't have expected her story is that much linked with Hayami's. That's also the reason we not only get to know Yui better but the truth behind Hayami's past. Yui stays an unbearable character after all, but she showed some heart and I felt the scene at the burned house when she was screaming and crying rather intensive and touching.
Actually I can't find any information about the number of episodes we can expect, but I think it's going to be about 12 or 13, which means we are halfway through and as mentioned hayami's story is revealed. So waht's going to come now? Otoha hinted Hirose's time is almost up, what else can he do for Hayami now she regained Hinata as a friend and at least a bit of Yui's respect?

2008年02月16日

Kagura

This episode with its drama was compensation for the last one! It's finally getting better!

2008年02月15日

Hamaji

My opinion:
With episode 1 and the protagonists being a girl that's beaten by her classmates and a blind boy who tries to help H2O ~Footprints in the Sand~ gave us a promise. A promise to be different, to be mature, interesting.

From time to time there are hints again what this show could be, for example with Hinata's dead little sister or her kiss with Hirose. In that moments the atmosphere of the show completley changes and I'm sitting in front of the TV thinking "yes, that's it! that's what you promised, give me more of it!" But then I get disappointed each and every episode again. This time we had the oh so typicall beach and swimsuit episode combined with the oh so typicall annoying "I want my brother/sister for me alone"-child!

I tried to take the show for a normal one, but than the humour isn't strong enough like in the scene with the knife. This was supposed to be funny, but it wasn't, I mean, it's a damn knife. Trying to kill someone is just NOT funny! And again to the end of every episode there's this awesome cliffhanger which makes me watch more of this stupid show, so I continue watching, and continue, and get annoyed every time again. Argh, it's a bother! So off to episode 5 for more Yui stupidity and unbearable out of place fanservice!

2008年02月10日

Hinata

My opinion:
I feel like the show can't decide wether to be mysterious or provide us with plenty of information. While the relationship between Hinata and Hayami as shildren was completely revealed, there's a new secret concerning Hinata's little sister. It's exactly that hint which keeps me watching, by the rest I'm more or less annoyed.

Takuma seemed so strong, though he was blind he stood up for Hayami. Now he's able to see and can't even go up against Hinata dragging him to school. Otoha-chan just appears to say "hello, just to remind you, I'm a spirit" and than she's gone again.

Still the most annoying character is Yui, she feels so out of place for me, like someone thought, a character like her HAS to be there, though it would work out fine without her. I wonder what's actually going on with Hinata. Is she really in love with Takuma or is her behaviour a grandfather-order.

You see, I'm interested enough to keep watching, but it's so disappointing when a show starts off with a good frist episode, just to loose its charm completley the following weeks.

2008年02月01日

Hayami

Short Summary:
Takuma is now able to see. When his brother comes to wake him up in the morning Hirose is already up and prepares for a trip into the village, as Hinata and her friends want to show him around. On the way he meets Hayami, but as she did before she sends Takuma away and wants to be alone. For a moment otoha-chan comes to visit Takuma, but the minute he asks her to come along she's vanished.

Hirose spends the day with Hinata and Co and everything is fun, till they come to a bridge. Takuma is told there lives an oni (demon) behind the bridge and that he should avoid that place. Especially Hinata looks very serious about this!
Of course Takuma crosses the bridge and guess who lives there - it's Hayami! Hirose by accident observes the girl when she's taking a shower beneath a water fall. Hayami gets so angry she hangs the boy up a tree. In the end she frees him but she's angry he came to visit her.

When he leaves Hayami Hinata is waiting for him. She knew from her grandfather Hirose crossed the bridge and in panic she ran to fetch him. The more Takuma gets close to Hayami the more tortured Hinata looks. Next day ins chool the pupils are supposed to make pinwheels in a group of two. Instantly Takuma asks Hayami to be his partner and the rest of the calss is shocked. Hinata involves and begs him to be her partner. Hirose actually agrees, but he wants to build a group of three, including Hinata and Hayami.

That's the moment Yui gets crazy and together with two of her henchmen she leaves the classroom with Hayami to bully her again. Yui and the two buys beat Hayami and throw a buckjet with toilet water over her. About a hundred times they call her a cockroach. Finally Takuma appears and embraces Hayami. From now on he's seen as a cockroach, too but again Hinata involves and promises to keep Hirose away from Hayami.

Takuma doesn't care, he walks Hayami home, even hand in hand over the bridge. They make a pinwheel together and in the end they are sitting on a hill and Takuma says he would wish for a wind to blow the pinwheel. Hayami answers there's already a new wind blowing, that's going to blow away stagnant things.

My opinion:
I can't say exactly why, but I didn't enjoy this episode as much as the first one. Actually I leered at the clock from time to time. There were several factors that annoyed me: I couldn't stand Yui from the very beginning and this time she must have used the word "cockraoch" a hundred times. Nobody seems to care about the fact Takuma is able to see again. Not even his brother acted strange concerning that. I can cope with a portion illogicalness but that was too much. Also I'm longing for an explenation why everybody hates Hayami so much, I mean she's compared to an oni and even the teacher doesn't prevent Hayami from being bullied. There were some hints on her past with Hinata and a fire that burned down a house, but I would love to know a bit more.

2008年01月20日

Takuma

Short Summary:
While we can see Takuma Hirose - a blind boy - sitting desperately on the veranda of his house and Hayami Kohinata getting beaten up by two boys voices tell the famous story about the humans and gods footprints in the sand. While in happy times there were two rows of footprints in the human's sad time there was only one and the human felt abandoned.

After the opening Hirose is running from a boar with a cute girl called Otoha-chan, who says herself she's a spirit. Suddenly Otoha is gone and Hirose crashes into Kohinata. Because he's blind he touches her breast and Kohinata is angry. She shows him the way to school, but doesn't tell Takume her name. Hirose as a transfer student gets warmly greeted and ends up sitting next to Kohinata. Still she acts codly towards him. The student council president Hinata Kagura shows Hirose around till they meet Yui Tabata who thinks she's the queen of the campus. Yui easily gets angry and so a crash occures and Hirose has to be taken to the infirmary. Hinata accuses herself not be a good student council president and begs Hirose to stay in bed for a while, so she doesn't have to worry about him. Then she leaves for class. While she's away Otoha-chan appears and tells Takuma she's got the power to make him see and really for one second he's able to see her face.

At lunch break something with the portions goes wrong and Yui accuses Kohinata. As the girl doesn't give an anwser all think it's really her fault and two boys push her down on the table till Kohinata runs out and Takuma follows her. Of course Kohinata doesn't want to be followed but when Takuma almost falls down the stairs she catches him and the two start to talk. She bags Takuma to call her Hayami because she hates her surname. Also she's allergic to quite some food so she secretly prepares instant noodles. Takuma now understands it really wasn't Hayami who git the portions wrong and took more; he doesn't understand why she didn't simply say so.

Two of Yui's bully-boys finally find Hayami and Hirose and Hayami follows them, so they can beat her. Takuma is angry that he can't do anything. This evening Otoha appears in his room and when he awakes the next day he is able to see. It's going to be for only a short time, but Takuma decides to use it for Hayami.

My opinion:
H2O ~Footprints in the Sand~ starts off with some very impressing scene where Hayami gets beaten by some boys. It's not usual to show bullying and especially irritating if it is a girl thats beaten. Hirose seems to be weak due to his blindness, but his character is storng and he tries to help where he can. Animation is decent, all in all there's a Strawberry Panic charme to this first episode. I'm curious what's to come next, now that Hirose can see!

By the way, be prepared for a lots of fanservice :/

2008年01月05日