Beautiful, and tragic all the same. Until the darkness manifested into a crow and flew away, like it was easing his burden, I was thinking it was just his shedding skin before the summer... and wondering what that had to do with anything? Turned it was a more metaphorical form of darkness consuming him. The backgrounds are beautifully drawn, the animation fluent, and the soundtrack subtle enough to just enforce the story without becoming a main focus. Flawless work!
-cd-