(CR) H2O ~footprints In The Sand~

[grey_moon]

Originally Posted by Sinestra

HA pricless that was great. Ill throw is some doe for that we can create a brand new reality show where Takano travels the world researching F*** up villages.

Yah, I was doing my best to be open minded about the whole thing, but the teacher's reaction made me want open up a can of Takano onto them

I hate bullying, but when I teacher did nothing I was just oO

[mandarb916]

The full OP is pretty nice, though admittedly, hearing Sakakiura whispering in one of the verses is a little...odd...in particular i think the instrumentals are done very well.

[Keruri]

I've been anticipating this release!

I agree, the opening song has meaningful and fitting lyrics that beautifully reflect the storyline. Not only is the singing fabulous (as expected), but the instrumentals alone are stunning and extremely gorgeous.

Overall, I find the song to be quite elegant and very melodious. It's a pleasant listen, and is by far my favourite opening song out of all of this season's new anime. The title alone is enough to intrigue me. <3

Episode 4 was very cute as well!

[Kaoru Chujo]

Well, I didn't like ep4 any better than ep3, but never mind that. There are a couple of things I wanted to mention. First, that was some of the better fanservice of its kind that I've seen lately. And second, Yukiji, the young girl, was played by Katou Emiri, who was Kagami in Lucky Star. She also played the younger girl (the rival) in the recent OVA Candy Boy. Here's hoping her career is taking off.

[Deathkillz]

ep 4 ~

Spoiler:

Some may have already known this (like me who was unfortunatly spoiled by a big mouth friend ) but yea, Hamaji is a HE. I Repeat, the super cute, super moe, super high pitched whine Hamaji is a fine male specimen no matter how feminine she seems. That means that if you have fallen for him, you have fallen for a trap (though I don't regret it one bit ).

As expected, this wasa side story focusing on one of the supporting characters. But whilst I was worried about that transition between the "kiss" and this beach episode, it turns out that Takuma conviently didn't even see Hayami on the bridge that night. Nor does he know about her walking off in the other direction with the feeling of betrayal. Only Hinata knows and she is doing a great job at hiding her the full truth from Takuma (the fact that Hayami saw them).

Hamaji turns out to have a highly possessive sister who looks up to him as a mother figure seen as it was revealed that their mother died when she was still young. Perhaps this was what turned Hamaji from a male to a female (kinda).

One important lesson for this episode is that lolis are unforgiving and can certainly get away with murder. Fortunatly, it was Yui who took all the abuse rather than the intended Takuma...when karma hits, it hits HARD (god bless karma!).

Well even when it seems that Yuki went too far with her final prank, Takuma still saves her from drowning even though he can't swim. Though this sacrifice was more than worth it seen as he recieved mouth to mouth with Hamaji. One point of view this makes Takuma a happy yaro, though the truth is that he would have to go into a mental house if he enjoyed it. What a dilemma.

Otoha shows up again as a comedy factor. She is getting cuter and cuter everytime we see her ^^

However, even if it did seem that nothing else would come from this episode, it does end in a cliffhanger (sort of). Takuma bumps into Hayami who so happens to be swimming on the same beach. As well as this, Hinata materialised out of thin air and here we have yet another confrontation. Too convient if you ask me .

Not a bad episode but it does suffers from being random. Though hearing Hamaji is enough to lift my spirits on this

P.S. Hamaji maybe a guy, but he has chests

[Klashikari]

Episode 4 almost made me cringe, as it pushed on a lot of wrong buttons...

Spoiler for rough opinion:

The first big issue was the complete lack of meaningfulness of it, aside of blunt and merciless fanservice, which was very ridiculous on various part (inflat chest syndrome hits Hinata extremely hard. No seriously, either she has a very compressing bra with her usual clothes, or the animators just had fun........ I pick the second choice).
This was even more exhausted by a severe drop in animation (not quality though), giving lots of static camera pan and choppy movements (that said it isn't anything worse than episode 2), so it is kinda conflicting with the fanservice "purpose" of this episode.

Now, the other problem was the complete harem and "rival" archtype they gave. I don't expect originality and so forth, but the formula didn't hit well with this franchise, and trust me, I almost wished that Yukiji would drown for good (and I'm the usual watcher who has hard time to hate a character, let alone who was just introduced).
This was really ridiculous as you might note that Takuma invited Yui in the pack, and I don't think it is quitelogic nor consistent to invite the "almighty bully" who was about to treat him just like hayami.

Another note, I was already spoiled about Hamaji, and the execution was obnoxious: the overdramatization of the CPR, which was just an attempt to give emphasis on a possible "harem +1", and the way how Hamaji reveals his gender. Seriously, I can't see how the girls never mentioned about him. Obviously, I don't have a silly clue why they used such absurd demonstration, despite everything was the opposite (his thights, shape and all are nothing near of a guy. but alas, it is the usual insane and irrational part of trap fest, and the anime shouldn't be blamed for that as some animes did worse... who said Jun?).

At the very least this episode resumed the plot about the "triangle" in the end, which will avoid it to be a completely random episodic "arc".

But surely, it is the worst episode of H2O and I hope it will be for the rest of the series.

[relentlessflame]

Maybe I'm just slow, but it took me until this episode to realize that the logo in the OP changes with every episode based on the character being profiled (except the first episode). They also made another small fix to the OP for something that had actually bothered me every time I watched it (see if you can spot it!).

Spoiler for Episode 4:

Overall, they did what I thought they would do by spreading the realization/impact of episode 3's closing scene over the episode, but they didn't totally leave us hanging by giving us the opening segment. It's certainly a beach episode and I suppose that's sort of self-explanatory, but I liked how they took the opportunity to flesh out one of the side-characters a bit in the process.

The whole "saving someone who dislikes you to gain their affection" thing has been done, of course, many times, but it's a bit more important given the symbolism of episode 1's beach scene. "You can do it, you only think you can't." His attitude, compared to the first episode, has definitely changed a lot.

The whole over-dramatization of the CPR scene was just too funny. It's almost "first kiss no hito!" from SnH, except I suppose that'd make this his second "kiss". Maybe he'll have a chance to kiss all the "heroines" before he can finally get with the one he's really after... And the "big reveal"... hahaha! Like everyone else, I already knew, but still...

Hayami coming there is definitely not a "just so happened to be there" matter though. She knew that they'd be at that beach, because he had invited her. Hence the "You came after all..." reply. She also knew that Hinata would be there, of course (but may not have been counting on that particular timing...). Basically, Hayami came knowing that this might happen, and so wants to know what Takuma's true feelings are. While this is certainly good in the "keeping the plot moving forward" sense, it's also a bit of a bold move for Hayami, since she's standing up to Hinata, who had clearly "staked her claim" (that's what that kiss was all about). But I wonder if Hayami may be pushing a bit too hard too fast -- I'm not sure that Takuma loves Hayami yet, but he certainly wants to be her friend. What sort of answer is she expecting by asking a guy how he feels about her like that? Troubling...

Edit: With the next episode entitled "Otoha", I wonder how that's going to factor into everything? Is he running out of time, or maybe we'll find out more about why she calls him the Destined One? I guess we'll see... I swear the next episode was listed as Otoha before, but Kagura probably makes more sense anyway. Episode 6's title is now listed as "Yui", which also makes sense...

[serenade_beta]

Spoiler for ep4:

-Gotta love how the first part of the OP changes.

My reaction to Hamaji's secret is the same as Takuma's. I mean... the voice, his chest at times, everything, and add it together and you can't get boy... But she... he is!
Overall, it was a pointless episode, but I still liked it because it was funny at least. Also, Yui gets some divine punishment dealt upon her. (I hoped the cement would hit her, but it didn't...)
Some fanservice comes back after being absent since the first episode as well.
If this was a brainless harem comedy like Rosario+Vampire, Takuma would have gotten "+1 to harem" here, but this isn't such a show. Though I admit that the whole episode was pretty much a typical harem episode, 1 guy and a whole bunch of females (not including Hamaji).
Hinata didn't see Hayami when she kissed Takuma, but in the end, she just went further... And Hayami gets pissed off at Takuma. But in the end, she goes to where Takuma and co. are which results in a meeting of the three...
The next episode looks like it could be an improvement.

Preview: Kagura; perhaps they will give a reason to why those villagers act like that?
Hamaji and Yukiji are odd in the head. So girls as cute as Hamaji can't be girls?

Random thought:

-ichigo-pantsu
-Otoha panty-shot
-Eyecatch! "Natsu da!! Umi da!!"
-Hinata=Has the biggest breasts of the whole group and wins by quite an amount...
-Overdramatic CPR...

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

They also made another small fix to the OP for something that had actually bothered me every time I watched it (see if you can spot it!).

Spoiler for Episode 4:

With the next episode entitled "Otoha", I wonder how that's going to factor into everything? Is he running out of time, or maybe we'll find out more about why she calls him the Destined One? I guess we'll see...

What is it?
Besides the character in the title, the only other change I could see was the moving water in the title.

Spoiler for ep4:

Next episode is Kagura.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

Spoiler for ep4:

Next episode is Kagura.

Spoiler:

Yes, you're right. I swear it was listed as Otoha in one of the preview listings, but I guess it was changed. This makes more sense anyway.

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

What is it?
Besides the character in the title, the only other change I could see was the moving water in the title.

Spoiler for in case someone else is bored and wants to try to spot it on their own...:

The scene were Hamaji appears now how as some basic motion (the characters slide), where as before it was the only scene in the entire OP that was completely static for that length of time (and I always thought it stood out in a bad way for that -- now it seems to flow better).

[serenade_beta]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Spoiler for in case someone else is bored and wants to try to spot it on their own...:

The scene were Hamaji appears now how as some basic motion (the characters slide), where as before it was the only scene in the entire OP that was completely static for that length of time (and I always thought it stood out in a bad way for that -- now it seems to flow better).

Ah, I see. That part. I forgot about it after the first time I looked through it.


And, a nico nico video focusing on Hamaji~

Spoiler for link plus spoilers on Hamaji, it's a bit more okay if you have watched episode 4 though (video includes game CGs):

I think the images are from the game, though I could be wrong.

All I can say after watching this is that I really want to deny the fact that Hamaji is a guy, and that the image at 0:05-0:10 with hair-cutted Hamaji was just stunning in the most disturbing way...
Hamaji... truly fearsome!

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm2094279

[mandarb916]

man...what a horrible episode...i don't even understand why it was necessary....the fan service wasn't that great either...

[monir]

Dear god!!! WHY!!?? I haven't been that naughty to be punished like that. I looked at that butt. *shudders*

[Deathkillz]

^

Spoiler for ep4:

Amazing how relaxed he felt when seeing that hamaji has the distinctive feature that makes him a he

edit: And oh yea...full OP is godly

[Manji Midou]

This was a very boring episode for most part of it...the only entertaining bits where the revelation of hamaji and the confrontation at the end. Not enough Hayami damn it!!!

Spoiler:

Hopefully Takuma can set things straight on the next ep and Hinata gets caught in her evil deeds

[cynicalicious]

Hmm.. 4 eps in, and my soul is hardly rocked at all. I get the feeling I'm going to be freeing up some HD space soon, too.

And Hamaji has to have the most annoying voice ever... dolphins, dogs, and bats think it's annoying.

I guess the whole, "Hey, let's go hang out with the evil bully ringleader girl" idea just struck me as massive cognitive dissonance... or maybe it's just really poor writing. Or Hirose is just a total and utter weenie. Wasn't she calling him a cockroach 2 eps ago, and threating him with total social outcast status? He's hanging out with the same girl who had human waste dumped on Hayami? WTF? Ugh, this series gives me a headache.

The only, and I mean ONLY saving grace is Hayami, and her "Everyone can just go #### themselves" for the teaser for ep4 at the end of ep3. That was amusing. She's probably the only character I don't want to hit with a large heavy blunt object... except maybe Otoha, too. She's not offensive in any way I can think of off the top of my head. The rest can go sink in mud. Seriously. No redeeming value in any of them. And the writers, producer, and director can join them all. -_-

Gaaah. I want my 2 hours back.

[Ashlotte]

Well that was...a rather large waste of time.

They barrage us with drama and now all the sudden its "Beach time"...Riiight...I think with one episode they managed to torpedo any lingering respect I had for takuma. The guy I guess has no qualms going out having a good ol' time with one of Hayami's chief tormentors Yui...I mean heck knows I love a good swim with an incredible bitch whose idea of fun is getting a couple guys together and beating the hell out of the village scapegoat amirite?

Bleh they put together this very "Us vs. Them" situation and now all the sudden want the viewers to buy into everyone being buddy buddy...No thanks...Your gonna tackle a subject like bullying as your main focus in the story you don't flake out into generic harem beach episode territory like this.

Ofcourse the random poorly excuted trap revelation was just another thing to top off this gem. I like how they give him padding in the top area this whole time and then say "Aha its a guy"...yea...right...Sorry buddy your no Jun...try again...

One last thing was what in the world did they do to hinata's character design...She looked like a blow-up doll or something...Whatever she was I think it was as far removed from attractive as you can get...Mmm can't forget generic grouchy loli that has it out for the protagonist...

Ah ranting is fun...But ultimately unfulfilling since all you really want is for the show to not be painful and live up to its potential...

Oh well...I'll probably give it one more episode to redeem itself and get back on track...Otherwise this things on a path to crash and burn worse then M:Y haha...

[Jerseykid]

That was a cool outfit hirose had on at the end.

[Manji Midou]

Originally Posted by Kimichi

Oh well...I'll probably give it one more episode to redeem itself and get back on track...Otherwise this things on a path to crash and burn worse then M:Y haha...

Oh god no. hopefully this was one of a time slip up...ughh...myself;yourself was just painfull to watch in the finals eps not to mention how they crewed one character with a retarded plot twist...Seeing how this sorry excuse for an episode ended we can say the story can get back on track, now that it has gotten itself ridden of the generic 'Beach trip".

I find hamaji enjoyable, I wonder what made Hamaji be like that...hamaji is the third most enjoyable "female" character next to Hamayi and Oto....
....Hinata can go to hell.........

[Haruyasha]

That was... very disturbing.

Originally Posted by Kimichi

[FONT="Century Gothic"]Well that was...a rather large waste of time.

It's not so bad.. especially Yui's swimming suit as the camera panned up.. I happened to notice a fold.

Apart from the disturbing piece, everything else was good, especially the fan service. Not really sure what you guys don't like about episode 4.
It really caught me off guard, and it made me go 'wtf?' for a sec.. but actually I like that because it's quite funny.


You'd expect no less from a show that has such a weird sponsor clip.

[FatPianoBoy]

... WTF? Hamaji is a trap? Even the Admiral didn't see that one coming. I don't care how effeminate a guy is, there are things that a lady's bathing suit simply cannot hide - which are conspicuously missing if you look close enough (I was so flabbergasted by this development that I went back and checked). Although going by the voice, he may have once been intended to become an opera singer, but even then the mysterious shrinking chest cannot be explained, like, at all. I vote random, lame character twist in an attempt to try to keep the story's head above the swelling oceans of mediocrity. It's swimming about as well as Takuma at this point, though.