These images are rather bizarre, one such image containing a black and white photograph of a toy horse head with red "blood" splattered around the edge of the image. "H2O"'s story revolves around Takuma Hirose, a blind young male junior-high school student, though the cause for his blindness is undetermined. After his mother died unexpectedly, it left a deep emotional scar on him, which caused him to become very lonely and reserved. Due to this, Takuma and his uncle move from the city out into a rural area and Takuma is enrolled into a new junior-high school. At his new school, he meets several new girls, though three of whom he gets to know the most out of anyone else; 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 and he fully recovers. "H2O: Footprints in the Sand" was released as an adult game for the PC on June 23, 2006; an artbook came bundled with the game. A version for the PlayStation 2 entitled "H2O +" with adult content removed was released on April 24, 2008 by Kadokawa Shoten. The PS2 version contains new computer graphics and scenarios not seen in the original release. A manga adaptation illustrated by Kira Inugami was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's magazine "Comp Ace" between January 26, 2007 and February 26, 2008. Two "tankōbon" volumes were released: the first on December 26, 2007 and the second on March 26, 2008. A 12-episode anime adaptation produced by Zexcs, directed by Hideki Tachibana, and written by Jukki Hanada aired in Japan between January 4 and March 21, 2008 on the Fukui TV television network. A preview video was streamed on Kadokawa Shoten's official website for their magazine "Newtype" on December 19, 2007. Most notably, the video contains an English narration, a rarity for Japanese trailers. The first episode of the series was previewed on December 23, 2007 in Akihabara, Japan, and the final episode was previewed on March 20, 2008, in Machida, Japan. The first episode opens with a partial recitation of the poem "Footprints", and the end of the poem is recited in the second half of the final episode. The anime was licensed for release in English by Kadokawa USA, but its Kadokawa Pictures USA subsidiary later closed down, therefore canceling the release.