Some anime series, such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, do this in a cheap way that makes you feel cheated out of an ending. Other series will make you think about the ending and reflect upon what you just saw for a deeper understanding. H20 aims for the latter, but I don't think it accomplishes it too well. There just isn't a way to look at the entire series in a different way with that plot twist at the end. It worked in Fight Club, but not here. If he wasn't miraculously and unquestionably cured, then there's no way he could've done all the stuff he did (such as noticing a suspension bridge in the distance). I can't accept that the entire series was a meaningless lie and that he was just crazy. A few moments could've been understandable, but not the entire series.
Some points in the plot were pretty predictable since they were similar/the same as things I'd seen in other anime. The characters all had annoyingly high pitched voices, which the opening theme also suffered from. I'm not one to complain about that, but they really went overboard. It was hard to get attached to the characters since they all felt so typical, really.
However, I think this was my first time seeing a girl being beaten up so unfairly and without fighting back or having anyone protect her. That was an interesting point; the degree to which she was shunned and hated could make you feel some hatred towards the people bullying her. She just acts like a sandbag and takes the hate and beatings as if it's her responsibility; there's a lack of satisfying results there. The villains of the series never really come to understand or forgive her (not that she's to blame in the first place), they don't get punished... nothing happens. What good is it to make us hate certain characters if they don't let us release that feeling somehow? As if I'd be content with some last second apology from just two of the villains. They were onto something when one of them felt they were going too far at one point, but, all in all, they were total bastards that got off the hook.
It feels like this anime was trying to get some sort of message across, something to do with being able to do impossible stuff if you believe in yourself, but I think the message was lost on me. They weren't very clear on things and gave an ending that was too ambiguous. They did a better job of hammering into our heads some message about candy being happiness and blossoming some sort of flower in your mouth.
There are some ups and downs, but it's all subpar overall. Despite the "wtf ending" and slow start, the story did develop pretty decently... and the characters to a lesser extent. Takuma is a bitch.
