(CR) H2O ~footprints In The Sand~

[Manji Midou]

Spoiler:

Great ep...the waterfall scene and what followed afterward was pure win. What has me curious is...can He be the only one to see otohona? She dissapeared when the 3 girls showed up....
I wonder what is Yui's beef wih Kohinata....and omg...whats wrong with that teacher too >_<....

[Tatiana Razajev]

Originally Posted by Manji Midou

Spoiler:

Great ep...the waterfall scene and what followed afterward was pure win. What has me curious is...can He be the only one to see otohona? She dissapeedpwhen the 3 girls showed up....
I wonder what is Yui's beef wih Kohinata....and omg...whats wrong with that teacher too >_<....

Spoiler:

It's rather nice to see how things will develop with Hayami. *Hopes for the best*. My main curiosity with Yui is this. Given that she's the one directly harassing Hayami with the help of her tools, I have to wonder if she or perhaps in fact her family has a lot of power in town.

[bbduece]

all i have to say is...."WTF" to the intro

Spoiler for ??:

this anime got my attention, i dont i ever watched an anime with the protagonist being blind

[serenade_beta]

Originally Posted by Manji Midou

Spoiler:

What has me curious is...can He be the only one to see otohona? She dissapeared when the 3 girls showed up....

I wonder what is Yui's beef wih Kohinata....and omg...whats wrong with that teacher too >_<....

Spoiler:

Highly likely.

*brings out torture tools*
Want one?

Spoiler for ep2:

OP really is pretty good after all~!

-spinspinspinspinspinspin

-Just how much time has passed since he regained his sight?...

-Some weird faces at times...

-Eyecatch

-Sudden comedy is good too.

-The plot is moving fast (in a good way)! It kind of surprises me that there are 10+ episodes left!

-The crows and atmosphere around some of the episode reminded me of Higurashi while the trailers reminded me of sola (heck, there's even a "demon").

Yui-She sounds like she's doing kabuki or something at times... It seems, thanks to her little outburst about not putting Hinata with Hayami, that those two are on the opposite ends of the stick in status... Well, kind of obvious though.
Irritating as ever, along with her goons...
Cockroach, ne...
BU-KOROSU, KONNO KUSOGAKKI!!!!!!!

Teacher-Failure of the education system there! Fire her! Syaaaaaaaa!
*prepares to give her the Higurashi treatment*

Hinata-Has she never learned that telling people not to go to mysterious places only makes them even more curious to go? Yare yare...
She constantly looks like she's forcing herself or is unhappy with the situation. Speak up please. Don't be your father's puppet, whatever he plans to do with Takuma. Well, considering how much Hinata tries to keep Takuma away from Hayami and how she tries to "get along" with Takuma, there definitely is abnormailty in the air...

Takuma-Happy yaro! This guy... He trespassed into her "home" without her permission!
Plus points for standing up like that to that brat!
Points for standing up in general! Good Job!
Not bad, I'm liking him!

Hayami-Hmm... Living all by herself in the forest with everyone hating her... I wonder if her family did something wrong to the village or something and was hated because of that or something. Apparently, according to Hinata, she's supposed to be avoided. Now why... Since it seemed to have started or gotten worse ever since the fire, that is definitely involved. And what's with kids and fires these days!?!?
Wow, she actually picked a fight... I'd like to be on her side here, but she did provoke those three, and she always gives up/runs away/leaves when everyone starts to gang up on her in the classroom.
Loved the scenes at the end with her and Takuma and the pinwheel!

Side character (those two) - Just side characters. Though they seem to be oblivious about the truth of the oni?

Next time - Hinata
Those chibis are amusing

[Dagger]

re: ep. 2, pretty much all the comments on Nico Nico can be distilled to either 1) complaints about the sakuga, or 2) Higurashi jokes. Which is pretty much how I felt... I hope the sakuga at least go back to the level of episode 1 instead of crumbling further.

[masama]

got extremely bored half way through ep2 before I switched it off. not that it's a bad just not my cup of tea.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Magus IX

re: ep. 2, pretty much all the comments on Nico Nico can be distilled to either 1) complaints about the sakuga, or 2) Higurashi jokes. Which is pretty much how I felt... I hope the sakuga at least go back to the level of episode 1 instead of crumbling further.

While I suppose some complaints about the art/animation consistency are warranted (though, really, I can't say it was all that bad... I mean, what are you comparing it to?), my personal opinion is that Nico Nico comments should always be taken with a massive mound of salt. Sometimes it's like "mob mentality", or something...

Spoiler for Episode 2:

In any event, the show is keeping things moving at a very good rate. I actually didn't expect them to resolve that aspect of the story so quickly, as it felt like they were setting Hayami's persecution to be one of the major themes. That being said, even though the initial hurdle is crossed (breaking down the wall), there's still a long ways to go before they get the whole town on-board.

I thought that Hayami's gradual opening up (along with the flashbacks) was well-played. It was almost like she was finally able to be a kid again, after her childhood got so brutally cut-off by... whatever it was that happened, exactly. Seeing them working on the pinwheels together almost betrayed their real ages, but made sense in that context. She'd lost the entire concept of friendship as a child, so they had to start again at that level. (How did that go in the promo? "More cruel than childhood, more innocent than pure love"? Or was it the opposite? Either way, marketing nonsense or not, it at least seems to have something to do with something in the show. ) With Hinata's move at the school, I wonder if she'll be the next to gradually come to forgive and accept Hayami, even if it's only to stay close to Takuma at first. Obviously, with the next episode being in her name, I guess we'll find out soon enough!

It seems like Takuma's role as the "promised one" may be, at least in part, to re-unite the fractured community by (metaphorically) opening their eyes to the people and truth around them.

[Kefit]

The drop in art quality is annoying, but I don't really mind since it is still quite watchable and the music and directing are still good. Still, I do hope the dip in quality is temporary.

At this point I am guessing that Hayami is some sort of social/religious pariah. Nothing else can explain why an entire community of what otherwise seem like decently nice people would be so cruel to her. She's not bullied because she is unpopular, or because she or her family were responsible for something unfortunate in the past. She is bullied because she is to be bullied. It is simply her role in life. And given the flashbacks we saw in this episode, perhaps she is a pariah because she brings misfortune towards those that get close to her. Hinata tried to get close to her as a child, and as a result something terrible happened - and she doesn't want a similar fate to befall Takuma.

I'm loving this show so far, and can't wait for more. I could stand for a bit more Otoha though.

[Ashlotte]

I didn't notice any real drops in quality, but then again maybe I was enjoying just watching the show too much to really pay much mind to such things.

Either way im liking how fast the show is moving. So far they've done a good job of getting me hooked and wanting to know just what the heck one little girl could possibly do to deserve such hate. Really couldn't believe the teacher just sat there and shrugged...Would of chucked a book at her as I ran out if I was Takuma.

[tbl]

Spoiler for theory:

I'm guessing Hayami was hated since birth by the villagers, except Hinata, but then she burnt down that church for some reason, or was just blamed for it and then Hinata began to hate her as well.

Hinata was quite annoying in that episode IMO. She was all like "don't cross the bridge and stay away from Hayami, but I'm not going to tell you why, so just do it, kthnx."

This show is surprisingly interesting. Can't wait for the next episode.

[Eviltape]

Why oh why does Zexcs tease us so, cliffhanging every episode and inserting no calming filler whatsoever? This would make for a good marathon series suggestion since I see nothing but juicy plot and char. development. But dang, that sorta took long for Hayami to crack a smile, but at the same time it was in truth only the first 2 episodes of a series in which the main character cracks the antisocial harem candidate's shell! This series is moving along quickly.

Those comedy segments remind me of Kiminozo's little things. I'm thinking a homage or at least a headnod towards it.

Originally Posted by Kimichi

Really couldn't believe the teacher just sat there and shrugged...Would of chucked a book at her as I ran out if I was Takuma.

Think of it this way, now that he can see he can aim at things now!

[Manji Midou]

Originally Posted by tbl

Spoiler for theory:

I'm guessing Hayami was hated since birth by the villagers, except Hinata, but then she burnt down that church for some reason, or was just blamed for it and then Hinata began to hate her as well.

Hinata was quite annoying in that episode IMO. She was all like "don't cross the bridge and stay away from Hayami, but I'm not going to tell you why, so just do it, kthnx."

This show is surprisingly interesting. Can't wait for the next episode.

Yes Hinata has been getting on my nerves since episode 1, how she tries to lure him away from kohinata....
Hopefully next epsiode can redeem her somewhat...

[SeedFreedom]

First impressions from first episode, i didn't think i could hate characters as much as i hated Shuu's father, but the guys are just disgusting. There is not good excuse to beat up on a woman.

So far, concept is interesting, and I'm gonna give it a few more episodes to wow me. The enormous amount of fan service in this show might be what drives me off, because it just seems unneeded and doesn't fit this type of show.

[Jerseykid]

Err why did the characters have absolutely zero response to Hirose now being able to see? It's like we skipped an episode.

[Willcrusher]

Originally Posted by Jerseykid

Err why did the characters have absolutely zero response to Hirose now being able to see? It's like we skipped an episode.

That's what I thought too. There should have been some "explanation" of sorts but I kind of doubt "Hey everyone! This spirit named Otoha that only I can see restored my eyesight for who knows how long!!" would work.

However, I guess if they did some sort of explanation, it would kill the flow/suspense of the series. But at the same time, not giving at explanation to everyone around Takama kind of IMO makes episode 1 semi-pointless, as one of the main reasons H2O sparked interest is that the main character is blind.

But then again, the length IS only 13 episodes. Can't do much explaining or else they'll be forced to go like 24 episodes instead.

[Shana]

Originally Posted by Jerseykid

Err why did the characters have absolutely zero response to Hirose now being able to see? It's like we skipped an episode.

Do you remember the villagers and Hinata called Takuma "Takuma's-last-name-sama"? I think it's because of that. Maybe Takuma's a God and he doesn't know but the villagers do and so they do not comment a thing about that.

[Grimkill7]

Hinata was my favorite character from episode 1, but due to her actions in episode 2, she has earned herself a cozy seat next to Yui and her chimps. She is incredibly controlling but gives no reasons or explanation for her actions. I don't know who she thinks she is. "Hirose-sama is not a cockroach! I will save him from Konihata!" Maybe he wants to be a cockroach?? Why don't you let the boy make his own decisions? I love how she treats him like he belongs to her. Classic.

Anyways, enough of that. The waterfall scene was greatness . The "cockroach" scene was awesome. The way Takuma hugged Hayami was golden. The aforementioned scene could have only been enhanced if he proceeded to beat down those thugs and then pimpslapped Yui.

And in related news, the teacher is a stupid b***h! Seriously, I don't know what kind of backwards town this is, but that is never ok.

Spoiler for The teacher's thoughts:

Well, sorry if my rant sounded pretty negative . That just means I find this show interesting.

[tbl]

Originally Posted by Grimkill7

Hinata was my favorite character from episode 1, but due to her actions in episode 2, she has earned herself a cozy seat next to Yui and her chimps. She is incredibly controlling but gives no reasons or explanation for her actions. I don't know who she thinks she is. "Hirose-sama is not a cockroach! I will save him from Konihata!" Maybe he wants to be a cockroach?? Why don't you let the boy make his own decisions? I love how she treats him like he belongs to her. Classic.

I don't think that's the problem, Hinata genuinely believes that she is protecting Takuma IMO. The problem isa lack of communication. Explain why he should stay away from Hayami, rather than saying some unexplained cryptic things about a bridge, a monster and cockroaches as well "subtly" trying to get Takuma away from Hayami by asking if he can be her partner for making the pin wheel.

As for the teacher (and of course, that term is used in the loosest way possible), I would say the entire town is like that, not just the teacher which explains (not justifies mind you) her inaction and indifference.

[Samanosuke]

so...hum H2O..what to say . It's been a long time since i watched a show that filled me with deep deep anger. Seeing all the people from the village getting on Hayami like that just piss me off . I was hoping Takuma would start being dude A and B , but then Bi- erm Hinata arrived , grrrr >_>

[Sorrow-K]

Ep 2

I didn't mind any of that. That was actually rather interesting.

The hook is obvious: finding out just exactly why everyone hates Hayami will almost certainly be what keeps my eyes glued to the screen until that question is answered. The characters, particularly the side characters, are a bit archetypal, but I think they're more there to support the plot than come into their own in any way. I really like Takuma, though. Here's someone I thought was going to be the standard, throwaway, spineless male lead, but he's actually turning out to be a strong and resolute character.

Good stuff. Not the best thing this season, but thankfully it's doing more than enough so far to separate itself from the standard throwaway visual novel conversion.