Thoughts on ef ~ A Tale of Memories ~
This is part of the “an effing post” series being done by ABC. Other, most likely more insightful, posts on ef are being done by The BigN, JRoxas, DS,
Moogy, Owen S, J.Valdez, and Martin.
There seems to be a variety of mixed opinions on ef ~ A Tale of Memories ~ in the blogosphere: some saying it’s a brilliant piece of art and others it’s a bad story with nonsensical visuals. In my opinion it’s a decent romance with excellent animation. It’s the best of SHAFT’s unique directorial flair; just enough to make the show unique and interesting to watch without the visuals making everything incromprehensible. Lest us forget how the crack addict animation of Negima!? dragged that show into the ground. An eroge adaption with normal animation, let alone QUALITY animation, is barely tolerable at best, so I’m glad ef got the most artsy adaption of them all.
The whole conversation at the beginning of episode 6 over the train tracks was just brilliant to me. Perfectly amping up the tension between the two while foreshadowing events to come. Certain other effects, like the glow around the girls that mirrors the game CG and the stain glass circle used to portray Chihiro’s imprisonment, I also enjoy. I love the background visuals just as much as anything else. SHAFT has really captured the beauty of Makoto Shinkai’s work on the original ef OP. The location of ef, a town that is neither past or future, also adds to the whole fantastical element of the show.
Right now the story is enjoyable enough that I can look forward to new episodes. Honestly, the first few episodes were a drag to get through. I blame this mostly on following Chihiro’s story too much from the get go. Chihiro doesn’t get interesting until after her memory secret is out, until then she’s more annoying. So I can see why they put her at the beginning in order to make her more enjoyable later on, but it’s still putting the most annoying part at the beginning. It doesn’t help that any viewer with half an IQ can guess her problem from the get go. Still looks cute in a police uniform, though.
The real star of the story is obviously the harem showdown between Kei and Miyako. Miyako obviously has a few screws loose, as if the disappearing into nothing visual isn’t clue enough, but Kei’s hardly mentally sound either. Personally, I don’t trust any non-blood related girl who still uses Onii-chan in high school. Yes, I’m just like Sasahara; can’t stand little sister characters. Anyways, Kei also has the mental baggage of Chihiro’s injury to deal with it. At this point Kei will probably end up with Kyosuke, because this is still an eroge and things end up cleanly like that, but I’m really interested in seeing how she gets over Hiro. Miyako could end up with Hiro, but I really don’t want her too. That girl’s too unstable for anyone. Or they could all kill each other, but I’ve never heard of ef having a Nice Boat ending. Also interested in the secrets behind Yuko and Yu aka. mysterious church people. If this was KEY I would say they’re ghosts with their bodies in a coma, but Minori may be more creative.
No matter the pros and cons of ef’s soap opera story, its visuals have definately set a bar for eroge adaptions to come, one which I think it will be hard for them to reach. I’ll save final judgments on ef till after the final episode, things can still go the way of the train wreck after all. One thing’s for sure, though: Euphoric Field effing ROCKS!
[...] Comments Otakuism » Thoughts on ef ~ A Tale of Memories ~ on A second, closer look at ef - a tale of memoriesXerox on Some more random rambling.Owen S on Some more random rambling.ttfn on A Look at WatchingHabits: “Every Week” vs. “Marathon”rollchan on More quick impression tidbits. [...]
Pingback on November 18, 2007 @ 10:38 pm
MegaDaijoubu 1.15: ef ~ A Tale of Memories…
To read some real discussion of ef ~ a tale of memories, check out Drastic My Anime Blog, End of the World, a stone and a small ripple, Otakuism, Moogy
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Trackback on November 18, 2007 @ 11:44 pm
> Or they could all kill each other…
I don’t see that happening. I’m holding my opinion with regard to that and Myself;Yourself. That show definitely has nice-boat potential.
Comment on November 19, 2007 @ 3:34 am
[...] This is another Anime Blogging Collective™ joint blogging effort brought to you by TheBigN, Roxas, CCYoshi, Moogy, Damien, and Martin. As ef is the Lucky Star of the season in that it’s a severely misunderstood anime that’s getting bad press due to badly written, snap judgement opinions that prefer to brand it the misunderstood problem child from a couple of episodes, we thought that a feature like this was severely overdue. [...]
Pingback on November 19, 2007 @ 4:19 am
[...] What a Captivating ef Up We Have Here Published November 18, 2007 fanboy spiel , musings Tags: ef, ef ~ a tale of memories~ More random ef fun elsewhere. [...]
Pingback on November 19, 2007 @ 7:35 am
I actually don’t like the Miyako/Kei/Hiro story as much as everyone else seems to. I just find it really cliched, and Chihiro comes off as more interesting to me (though I was turned off by the squeaky voice at first too). I wouldn’t say that this is setting the standard, because I doubt any other teams have the guts to do the same. Bishoujo will continue to be animated normally, and they’ll get a wider audience. That doesn’t mean they’ll be good!
I also love Euphoric Field, but it needs the epic animation to go with it to be good. Listening to the full version just isn’t as great for me.
Comment on November 19, 2007 @ 11:32 am
It’s weird, but I didn’t really warm to the Chihiro/Renji pairing for the first couple of episodes - by ep #6 or so there’s a nice balance in screen time between the three separate threads. I’ve no idea how it could end…I’m expecting a Gainax-esque ending now, which may or may not be fitting, depending on what course it takes in its second half.
You’re onto something with Miyako though - what’s with the “I’m going to disappear again” mentality? It should be an interesting plot point later on.
Comment on November 19, 2007 @ 4:45 pm
[...] I still maintain the fact that it has no substance. Three episodes in, I grew weary of the visuals and the plot was moving a snail’s pace. Then, episode seven hit with the freakishly intense voicemail scene and I’m beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Honestly, I think I, along with my fellow bloggers, are just overdoing it a little on the analyzation. Damien, from Otakuism pretty much hit the nail on the head, all visuals and what not aside, ef is just a “decent romance with excellent animation.” Truth to tell, it’s not my cup of tea at all, but seeing how I’m already halfway into it, I’ll see this little escapade through. In the end, I’m still stuck in no man’s land, not truly impressed by what ef had to offer and not truly ready to dismiss it as just another eroge adaptation. [...]
Pingback on November 24, 2007 @ 9:20 pm