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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Rent | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | KBanger1 | # | ||
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I checked this title out because I thought it would be some type of comedy/harem series. H2O: FITS is far from it. After looking for something to watch, I ended up checking out the forums and read something from Xenoknight about this series. Out of sheer curiosity (and lack of anything else to do) I decided to take a chance. The story revolves around a young man, Takuma, who’s also blind. He ends up staying in a village from his home in Tokyo to live with his uncle. That’s because he’s trying to recover from a traumatic experience (his mom dying) and so he’s sent to his mom’s hometown (the village) to start anew. From there, I’d say watch it cause it gets a bit complicated. So far, the series story got me from the first episode. Not to spoil anything, it’s kind of hard to explain how someone who’s blind from trauma ends up seeing again by the end of the first episode. That’s where the real story begins. Just about every episode explains almost all the characters in the story. What it also did was reveal the story bit by bit without spoiling the entire plot. It also kept things interesting by having a little side story between two of the girls he meets, Kohinata and Hinata. That’s a separate story that melds the main plot together. Like I said, it doesn’t reveal much but just enough to keep your interest. I wouldn’t call it a harem type series because there wasn’t really a true harem approach to it. Although, it’s mostly girls surrounding themselves over one guy, there was no real interaction except between Kohinata and Hinata. The story between them is what can probably justify it being labeled as a harem. What I did find interesting was the title, H2O: Footprints in the Sand. If you’re not familiar with the title, it’s actually a poem. It’s recited in the first episode and recited again in the last, but the entire poem this time. The first time it stopped at a certain point. That actually was the hook for me. It just reveals the dilemma from the get go. It’s easy to spot if you pay attention to the first episode. The ending of the series I didn’t really feel at all. Instead of a realistic ending which was appropriate IMHO, it gave a happy ending, which was more like a gimme. It just doesn’t feel right because even for a story that ends in tragedy, it’s better to give more of realistic POV than make it a feel good ending. I know it’s part fantasy as well, but to do an ending like that really makes it a little too hard to except. All in all though, it was a good story from start to end and this would be probably my third series that I sat and watched the whole thing straight through without stopping in one setting. I’d rent this title if it ever came out on US soil dubbed to see if it can still be interesting. For harem freaks, this isn’t the series I would recommend but if you like deep and tragic stories, then give it a shot. Last updated Monday, September 22 2008. Created Monday, September 22 2008. | ||||||||
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| Buy | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | Xenoknight | # |
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<HONORABLE MENTION ANIME WINNER> A truly blessed anime series. Its brilliance can only be called a MASTERPIECE. The first couple of episodes was reason enough for me to claim this title as "Most enticing anime series" in my honorable mention anime winner list. The "high-caliber" story flow continues from there on. With episode 2 complete, I have to say I'm sold. This story is solid and there is already enough to clues to see this story will flourish beautifully down the line. This is a keeper for sure. It's rare to find a story that has such "enticing" qualities like this story. I'm talking Read or Die - TV, Code Geass Hangyaku no Lelouch, and Da Capo Second Season in terms of "extremely high-caliber" storyline. Every single episode was memorable and extremely interesting. Whether it be the naturally blind main lead, the school being allowed to abuse and physically assault one of the main female leads, or just how corrupt the village in which this story takes place in really is - this title is one that should stand above the average joes of anime and stand in the winner's circle of masterpieces. The entire first half of this title is like the whole last half of most animes today. We usually have a heart-warming beginning filled with getting to know the characters and having laughs with the usual (small-to-large) amount of fan-service just to reel in the fans, while the ending half is usually filled with drama and action. This title combines the ending half "high-level" drama while still giving the viewer the heart-warming intro. Truly an unprecedented move on the writer's part because now that the viewer is "hooked" and they have every intention of watching through to the end, they realize that there is still this title's ending half to consider!!! Drama in every essence of the word. Just how intense is this story allowed to get!? Episode 8 is an exception (thus taking away it's perfect episode story score) but even so, it made me "laugh out loud" with the sudden slap-stick comedy (even a title as strong as this one needs a chance to go wild with slap-stick) and by the last 30% of the ep, it came back to the story I love with an extremely well done ending that marks the new beginning of the main lead's journey now that a certain character is gone from his life. Episode 9 brings back the story with a vengeance!! This particular ep shows just how insane the story can get with the excellently portrayed foreshadowing while still showing the most heart-warming scene I've seen since Ai Yori Aoshi. It brought a tear to my eye to see that the most deserving person finally finds her happiness. The ending string of episodes proves just what I've been proclaiming. From one extreme to the next, the story hits its peak at ep 10 and the issues presented there begin to spiral out of control. No one is safe from the dilemmas that present themselves and everyone gets involved one way or another. Just when all hope seems lost, the plot takes another shot at the viewer and delivers a final cryptic blow to the heart with one last situation that had me at the edge of my seat! Only one title comes to mind that represents such a beautifully written story "all the way through" like this one. The only comparison has to be Da Capo Second Season where every episode had me shocked, intrigued, and amazed just like this title has. This truly is a MASTERPIECE if I ever saw one. The ending was most certainly "forced" to a certain degree and I won't deny that but if the viewer keeps an open mind through it all, they will be rewarded with a scene that will surely spark those tears. Instead of just rushing an ending with little-to-no explaination or satisfaction like Chokotto Sister for instance, this title fills in every gap that would have been unfilled by some animes and the level of ending "satisfaction" was enough for me to give this anime a nearly perfect series score! I would love to rewatch this series again anytime with a friend or loved one after recommending it to them. This is a perfect "movie-style" anime where you can gather a group of people to enjoy it together on the big screen! One thing I should note as I guarantee 95% of the people who watch this will miss it: Hamaji is a guy, believe it or not! They hint at it in episode 4 and 12. Good luck figuring that one out! LOL I can only dream for the makers of this "diamond" of a series to make a sequel. I wouldn't mind a spin-off sequel either as long as the writers of this title never stop writting anime stories of this caliber. Encore...Bravo...Mag(so on and so on - indefinitely) | ||||||||
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| Watch | Stretch | # | ||||||
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(All episodes watched): I watched two new series of the Winter 2008 season last night, and whereas one seemed to be appallingly bad, I was initially left with mixed feelings about this one. I didn't write down anything, but here are a few impressions that remain in my mind. As I edited this first episode for burning onto a DVD, I got some glimpses of what to expect. Seeing the typical boy-and/or-girl-trip After watching a second episode, the single biggest question on my mind was why Kohinata seems to be at best ignored and at worst treated like crap by everybody else besides Hiro. Even more perplexing, why does she seem perfectly satisfied with this situation and refuse Hiro's help? The point at which Hiro declares his reasons for wanting to help her was surprisingly touching. I've got a feeling this will be one of those Kanon/Clannad sort of shows where there's a supernatural explanation to a mystery. Whatever the case may be, I'm fairly intrigued and just pray that the makers won't forget to offer some decent hints before too long, and some sort of credible answer sooner or later. Hinata engineering a scene that will trick Kohinata into thinking that Hiro is her boyfriend is certain to stir up trouble. I can't help sympathizing with Kohinata and hoping she's the girl Hiro chooses in the end. Episode four surprised me in that the show seems to have largely set the long-term plotline aside and gone for the usual goofy teens-at-the-beach episode. It was fairly amusing, but I liked things the way they were and don't know if this bodes well for H2O as a whole. The story seemed to get back on track at the end. It wasn't until episode six that the reason Kohinata has become an outcast is revealled; it makes some sense, but why didn't Hiro ask anybody what was going on? So far, H2O strikes me as a show which balances halfway between goofy teen romance and a deeper, dramatic series. It must be doing something right, because I look forward to new episodes. Hinata's admission that she's been living a lie in episode seven was intriguing and touching--it's a lot easier to sympathize with her all of a sudden. I'm pleasantly surprised with the way this show is keeping me interested and entertained. Otoha, who appears unexpectedly every now and then, is another fun character. Seeing as Hiro has just regained his sight after being blind for a good while, you'd think he'd be a little emotional about the beauty of the world around him. Episode eight was a riot as Hiro finds himself in some sort of alternate world, with Otoha as his guide. I thought he was dreaming at first, then I thought the H2O staff were blowing off some steam with a nonsensical (but hilarious) episode--except it made sense at the end. Definitely my favorite episode of the series so far. The fact that I'm writing so much about the series as a whole is indicative of how much I'm enjoying it. I liked the way H2O remained fairly unpredictable and intriguing most of the way through, but I was left confused at the end. Why did the village elder want Hiro to marry Hinata? Who or what was Otoha anyway? What was the deal with Hiro's psychosomatic blindness? Why did he revert to a childlike state of mind? To avoid the truth about his mother's death (which would have actually been more beneficial than harmful)? The measures taken by Hinata and her friends to deal with the paparazzi reporters seemed painfully corny. This show definitely found a strange way to pull a happy ending out of a hat, though it may seem a cop-out to some. So, did this show have deep spiritual significance, or was it a run-of-the-mill quasi-harem series? I don't know. It was worth a watch (I might even watch it again someday), but I can't see paying for it. Last updated Wednesday, March 26 2008. Created Sunday, January 06 2008. | ||||||||
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Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Japanese Series Web Site | http://anime.webnt.jp/h2o/ |
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