This anime is one that is hard to put into words. For starters, it opens to a scene with a girl being beat up in the rain by two guys. The main character is a blind boy named Hirose, and it doesn't take long to realize that there's something not quite right in this small village. For unknown reasons, Hirose is blind, though he has no known cause for his blindness. He also has a "ghost" girl that reveals herself to him from time to time named Otoha.
It all begins when Hirose enrolls in the school in the small village and quickly becomes friends with Hayami Kohinata. She is often referred to as the cockroach and is the village outcast due to her family's dark past. As the story progresses, Otoha grants Hirose the ability to see, which is when things really get interesting. He soon discovers that Hayami and the village elder's grand daughter, Hotaru, were once close friends, but their lives were destroyed by the older villagers hatred towards the Kohinatas. Hotaru was even forced to pretend to be her deceased sister for several years and was being instructed to try to marry Hirose due to his family's status.
Through Hirose's bravery, Hotaru is eventually able to stand up to her grandfather, and restore her friendship with Hayami, but refusing to let thing s be peaceful with the Kohinata family, he reveals to Hirose that the Kohinata family is responsible for his mother's untimely death. This shocking revelation stirs up old emotions in Hirose and he ends up attacking Hayami. Hayami, deciding to take responsibility for her past, begs him to let off of his rage out on her. Hirose forgives her after he calms down and acknowledges she had nothing to do with it.
I don't want to spoil the ending, because its one that is definitely worth seeing. This anime goes a long way to show that bearing the burden of your parents or ancestors' sins is not fair by any means, and old people stuck in their ways can easily poison and corrupt the younger generation. It tells a beautiful tale of how only love can extinguish the flames of hatred. If you're looking for a heartfelt anime, look no further. H2O footprints in the Sand is a gem of an anime, and the ending is sure to stir up emotions. just steer clear of that bizarre filler episode in the middle of everything.
