Ito wo Yoru – Episode 2 (EN)

This second OVA volume of Takayanagi Katsuya's "Ito o Yoru" (Twisting the Thread) presents two more vignettes exploring the blurred lines between loneliness, desire, and connection. In "On a Rainy Night," a disillusioned man meets Aine, a girl bar hostess. Their casual acquaintance shifts when he encounters her, drunk and unemployed, at a daytime bar. What begins as listening to her woes leads to an isolated, charged encounter in a park restroom. In "Summer," the stifling heat of a school pool sets the stage. A male student cleaning is joined by the female class representative. A sudden slip leaves her soaked, and a moment of shared understanding leads to a kiss. She confesses a desire to "try something," igniting a fleeting summer romance. Both stories masterfully use silence and implication, portraying sex not through explicitness but through emotional vulnerability and the haunting atmosphere of pivotal moments. The unique in-motion animation perfectly captures the manga's delicate, realistic, and psychologically intense artistry.