I had a lot of problems with H2O: Footprints in the Sand, including the way that the main character, Takuma, got into his rather pathetic state by the end of the series in the first place. However, the show resolves this story arc in a sudden and shocking fashion.
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Hayami getting killed by a train was tragic in many respects, including the fact that she had just been accepted by the town and that I don’t recall the story hinting anything like that was going to happen, making the viewer feel like things were becoming alright (except for Takuma’s condition) before it occured, and the fact that Takuma realizes that the same thing happened to his mother. It was a very bright spot in the writing for a series which was otherwise rather lackluster.
However, this event, which is a top contender for “most shocking event of the year” puts it on the list of 12 Moments of Anime, even if it isn’t a particularly happy moment.
The 12 Moments of Anime project is the brainchild of CCY.
12 Moments of Anime Day 12 – The Tragic Life of Yuuko Amamiya
In a way, I hate to wrap up this project with this episode, especially with this post going out on Christmas Day (which itself is rather ironic if you know Yuuko’s story), but I found episode 6 of ef – a tale of melodies to probably have the single most impactful moment in any anime series in 2008 that I’ve seen, and thus wanted to save it for last.
Watching the series, I knew for a while that Yuuko wasn’t telling Yuu something, and that something was probably up between Yuuko and her adoptive brother. However, to have it plopped down like it was in such a bare and upfront manner just made a shocking story all that much more disturbing. This episode probably single-handedly made ef – a tale of melodies the best series of the year, with many of the other excellent episodes being icing on top.
The shocking and disturbing nature of the scene and the overall writing and way it was presented, put into the show in the way that it was, makes the tale of the Tragic Life of Yuuko Amamiya my final, and top, of the 12 Moments of Anime in 2008.
The 12 Moments of Anime project is the brainchild of CCY.