A man loves a woman enough to destroy her, then leaves anyway. Berlin in the 1800s becomes a stage for the quiet catastrophe of wanting someone more than they want you back. The animation moves like watercolor bleeding into canvas, matching a story that knows passion and ruin are the same thing.
A lonely exchange student in 19th century Berlin falls into a passionate romance with a dancer. Their love is shadowed by the fact that he means to return home and build his life there, and when she learns this, she is driven to madness. Adapted from Mori Ogai's celebrated Meiji-era novel, this one-episode OVA is a Ga-nime production by Oku Shutaro, with Furuya Akisa handling the illustrations for its booklets, slide shows and animation. Against the backdrop of a foreign city, fresh artwork brings out the sorrowful, poetic feeling of this graceful tale of young love.
