Ef - A tale of memories Plot:

The story revolves around the protagonist Hirono Hiro, a poor high school boy who draws shoujo manga for his living. One cold Christmas night after meeting a very strange woman in a church, who tells him that he's going to meet someone he has to meet, his bike gets stolen by another strange girl. He runs after her and finds her collapsed on the street. Her name is Miyamura Miyako and her bag got stolen by a man on a motorbike. Soon after, they start hanging out together, enjoying highschool life. Miyako falls for Hiro pretty quickly but naturally finds a rival in his childhood friend, Shindou Kei, who has been dictating Hiro's life since ever.

Alternative Titles
English: ef - a tale of memories
Japanese: エフ ア テイル オブ メモリーズ

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 12
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Oct 6, 2007 to Dec 23, 2007
Producers: Shaft, Rondo Robe
Genres: Mystery, Drama, Romance, Seinen
Duration: 24 min. per episode
Rating: R - 17+ (violence & profanity)


Ef - A tale of memories review


Story 10/10
And just like that I became a hypocrite. Though SHAFT stands out really well in the technical aspects for this series, let us not forget that the main driving force for any anime is not in technicalities alone - it is the story it is telling. Technicalities are there to help tell the story, but the story itself should be superb to be deserving of a 10. However cliché some people might say, I think minori invested very well (took almost all of their profits from the past and put them into this game) into writing a breathtaking story and its individually excellent scenarios that mingle well with the others. [Though I have not played Wind yet, I'm sure they exceeded it here.] ef makes use of many metaphors and symbols to emphasize its main theme of finding goals and its secondary theme of art (manga artist, filming enthusiast, and novel writer). Though the story is VERY tedious with its long dialogues, do not avert your eyes or ears! Though you don't need most of these lines to understand the story, it is necessary to get them all in other to fully enjoy what the writers intended you to feel. Some of the more easily grasped metaphors include the sheep in a circle and finding colours, but the harder but more rewarding ones come from Chihiro's novel and possibly Kyosuke's movie. It may be like they are writing along with some flow, but behind that is an amazing web full of connections with each route's elements and deeper meaning behind something that seems obvious.

The course of the routes are more typical, though. Kei's and Miyako's routes are part of the same story, as they make a love triangle in the presence of a stereotypical setup. The more original and serious one comes from Chihiro's route which deals with anterograde amnesia, and is the "main" story of the series. Though it is sort of predictable what happens in the end, is it not how to get there that is the most entertaining part? ef certainly has the script to tell such a tale, evoking tears and pulling heartstrings as if they were bathroom taps and harp strings.

What would have been the fourth route, is substituted by giving those characters the supporting role. Throughout the story, a mysterious nun descends from time to time giving helpful advice when the main characters are in distress. Just a friendly note not to expect anything from this element that is the closest thing to being supernatural in this series.


Art 10/10
The art of Ef - A Tale Of Memories is a very big pluspoint! This anime has a very unique art that's well made. In some scenes something changes, I don't really know how to explain this because I'm dutch, just watch it for yourself. But I never seen something like this before, like I said, it's just unique. Maybe I'll see this as the anime with the best art from 2007, maybe also the best story.


Sound 10/10
It's hard to say something about this. The songs are awesome, the sound is how it needs to be, and that's everything I can say. But I'm sure that the sound isn't the most important thing for watching a anime.

Character 10/10
I am getting VERY tired out by now. I have been on a roll of not describing this category enough, so bare with me.

The characters in ef have some of the most developed personalities I have seen in a long time. Actually, the male leads are some of the most promising and likable in this genre filled with wimps and soft-spoken nice guys (although Renji comes close to this archetype). While I initially liked the Kyosuke and Hirono pair for being "side characters brought into the main spotlight", I really grew on Renji as it becomes apparent that he has the hardest time out of all the guys going through Chihiro's route. Like the usual protagonist played by the player, Renji has to grasp hold on his situation and find a solution to his never-ending problem of trying to hold on. While retrospectively he plays out like a visual novel protagonist, he still grows into his own person through his individualism of his actions to avert his ultimate tragedy. On the other side, Kyosuke stays mostly pretty cool throughout the series; Hirono sort of turns into your typical male archetype later on, which lessened the impacts of his route when it came. Funny how that turned out...

As for the girls, two are the usual archetypes and one is unique, but they all grow into their own individual category. Miyako suffers a bit from this, but I really commend her character for the mask she puts on everyday just to go on in the world (no, no yanderes here; no Nice Boats either, just to note). Kei has the most pitied role of all as being the childhood friend with a crush. They both have the best "to root for" stories in the series, but that does not stop them from making a good tale themselves. However, the spotlight stealer here is Chihiro, the most featured main heroine. Complete with a cute voice and character design, her route is the most captivating and cathartic of all three, dealing with an issue that seems so rare so seriously. Her together with Renji make up one of the most "equally good main path" routes in the love/romance genre.

Character designs courtesy of the guy who did ones for the Da Capo series and sola. While I don't find Da Capo's designs very good (especially considering all the negative hype around it), the ones in sola were really good and attractive. Here, the designs are still good considering the males. Chihiro wins extra points for her eyepatch.



Value 10/10
Not only is the tale good, but the presentation pushes new levels in anime as a form of art. Truly can there be more gems like ef ~a tale of memories~ out there? Highly rewatchable, especially for those who missed the dialogues the first time around (it is VERY tedious I know) and for the animation. Highly collectible, too. Which is why I give ef a 10 in value (I only give 10's to stuff I think are classics or should be classics) - a stunning experiment of telling a love/romance story that should become better known when future seasons come.