H2O Footprints in the Sand Review By Simon Taylor
Name: H2O Footprints in the Sand
Genre: Drama, Romance, Psychological
Episodes: 12 Episodes (24 minutes each)
Rating: 8.7/10
This anime story evolves around a boy named Takuma Hirose. He is blind and in junior high. The reason for his blindness is unknown but it was thought to be caused from the death of his mother, which happens a little while before this series takes place. After his mothers death Hirose was moved to his uncles house which was in a rural area, and enrolls in the junior high school. There he meets several new girls, but three of them he gets to know most about. They are, the firm and obstinate Hayami Kohinata, the kind and obliging Hinata Kagura, and the cheerful and mysterious Otoha. As Takuma interacts with these girls, his medical condition gradually begins to heal.
Characters:
Takuma Hirose is the main heroine in this story. He is blind and due to this he is usually quiet. He carries around a white can that he calls “Tomodachi sa” which means friend. After his mother committed suicide, it left a huge emotional scar in him. In order to fix this he is sent to live with his uncle in a rural area on the countryside. Takuma is naturally friendly and likes to befriend everyone he meets in his new town. There is a rift between the rich and the poor, with Takuma being on the former end of the divide.
Hayami Kohinata is another main character in this series. She has an unsociable personality and a sharp attitude towards others, not wanting to become friends. She is often bullied for this and has been given the nickname “cockcroach”. And for some reason when she is getting bullied she never fights back. Spiders are her biggest fear. She lives alone and is from a poor family. But she owns her own swimming suit but she nevers uses it because she doesnt know how to swim. Her family was once rich because they were doctor. But they charged to much for their services and wouldnt take anyone that couldnt pay the fees. Because of this her house was burnt down and her family was kicked out, all except for Hayami.
Hinata Kagura is another main character in this series. She is the grand daughter of the village elder and boss. She is the class representative and in Hirose’s class. She has a kind of obliging personality, and is popular in her school. She is clumsy and has a tendency to fall down. One time she fell down a flight of stairs but Hirose saved her. She likes to call Hirose “Hirose-sama”, which is really polite. Her real name is actually Hotaru Kagura, the younger twin sister of Hinata -known as Otoha in this series. When Hinata drowned way before this series takes place there grandfather forced Hotaru to take up Hinata’s name. Thus making it seem like Hotaru had drowned.
Otoha is another main character in this series. She seems like a normal girl but can only be seen by Hirose because she is a spirit. She is always cheerful, and will appear out of no where, clinging suddenly to Takuma. She thinks Hirose as the promised person. It is revealed later in the series that Otoha is Hinata Kagura the older twin sister of Hotaru Kagura. She feel into a river before this series took place and drowned. Just before she leaves she shows Hirose a weird vision, in this world he is her fiance. At this point she confesses her love for Hirose, but she says that he does not belong with her but with someone else.
My view of this anime is odd. It seems to be an interesting anime but it is hell confusing. For example, this is not a spoiler just an example, Hirose begins in the first episode blind. In episode 2 he can suddenly see. Then theres the idea on how Hayami gets beaten up alot but takes no damage, which i find very corny. Its hard to see the romance in the but its easy to see how this is a psychological anime because it is always playing with your head making you think. You will have to watch every single episode to get what this story means in my opinion. I find the animation it self was beautiful but the story just making it over the edge.