Hotarubi no Mori e

Six-year-old Hotaru wanders into a secluded forest and meets a masked humanoid named Gin. He explains that he is bound to the forest and that any human touch could erase him forever. He guides Hotaru safely out, laying the groundwork for a fragile bond between human and spirit.

Their first meeting seeds a friendship that crosses the line between the spirit world and the human world. Gin makes sure Hotaru remains safe and unseen by others, while Hotaru learns the forest can be both home and barrier. The bond forms despite rules that keep them apart.

Over the next several summers, Hotaru returns to visit Gin, and their companionship grows despite the rules. Gin hardly ages as Hotaru matures physically, and their closeness teeters between innocent affection and something deeper. The forest becomes their shared sanctuary where time feels suspended.

Hotaru's feelings begin to blur the boundaries Gin has always lived within, while Gin longs to touch and hold the girl who has become a young woman. The forest becomes a living memory book of their summers together. Their tender closeness sits at the edge of what is permitted, always under the watchful trees.

With each summer, the forest absorbs their moments into a living memory. They navigate a relationship that cannot fully exist in daylight, preserving a delicate tension between closeness and secrecy. The trees stand as quiet witnesses to their quiet, aching bond.

Hotaru reaches high school and Gin takes her on a late-night visit to a festival hosted by spirits in the heart of the forest. Lanterns glow and whispers hint at promises, while danger lingers under the ritual light. The moment feels magical and dangerous at once.

During the festival, Gin accidentally touches a young boy who slips into sacred space, triggering a sudden shift. The contact triggers Gin's disappearance, shattering Hotaru's sense of safety and love. Hotaru is left to process a wound that runs deep as the forest itself.

Hotaru and Gin share a final, bittersweet embrace and confess their love for each other before Gin vanishes. Hotaru is left with a painful, precious memory of what they shared and what cannot be.

Special edition expands the story by offering Gin's perspective during Hotaru's teenage years. It adds depth to the ending, showing his inner conflict and longing and why their bond remains so intense. The expanded viewpoint deepens the mood and the sense of inexorable parting.

Hotaru, as a teenager, shares pudding with Gin before departing at the end of that summer. Afterward, the yōkai bring him persimmons, hoping to share next year, and Gin forgives Matsumino when he loses his way. These small acts reveal the tenderness underneath their impossible bond.

Gin dreams of preserving a persimmon by keeping ice from the highest peak, but there is no ice in that season. The quest ends in disappointment, yet the dream persists. He forgives Matsumino when he returns, acknowledging the shared longing.

Matsumino delivers the persimmon to Hotaru in Gin's stead, and Gin looks toward the next summer with a mix of hope and restraint. He wonders whether he will ever be able to reveal the depth of his feelings, knowing how fragile their bond remains. The memory of their summers carries Hotaru forward, a quiet promise of what could be again.