Ef: A Tale of Memories on Blu-ray (anime review)
Ef: A Tale of Memories on Blu-ray
Director: Shin Onuma
Studio: Shaft
U.S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks/ Section 23
U. S. Release Date: Jan. 31st, 2012
Format: Blu-ray / 12 Episodes / 300 Minutes
Genre: Josen, Romance, Drama
Age Rating: TV MA
Overall Personal Rating: A+
Every once in a while you come across something new that has an instant effect that is both infectious and uplifting. For me, Ef: A Tale of Memories is just one of those things.
Synopsis:
Hiro Hirono is a student with a secret that has taken over his life. He is a manga artist and is trying to hide it from everyone, even his family. On Christmas, he was headed to a party being thrown by his close friend and guardian angel, Kei Shindo. On his way, a purse snatcher passes him on a bike. A few moments later, a girl named Miyako Miyamura comes running up and takes his bike in chase. Of course he begins to run her down and as fate would have it, she managed to wreck his bike and end up losing the chase to catch the thief. The two end up spending the rest of the night walking around town and becoming acquainted. At school, he soon discovered that Miyako was a classmate of his. This leads to them spending even more time together and sending Kei into a jealous rage against her. Come to find out, Kei was in love with her longtime friend and was not about to let this interloper to ruin her chance of having Hiro to herself. Kei on the other hand, had someone very interested in her.
Kyosuke Tsutsumi is an aspiring student film maker who has a very unique eye that not everyone understands. He is at a loss for the right subject until he catches a shot of Kei running down the street on Christmas night. He manages to find out who she is and enlists the help of Hiro to get her to agree to being his subject. This puts him in the position to see things that may not be obvious to others and when Hiro finally allows himself to love someone, his friendship with Kyosuke helps him understand how much he has hurt the one who may have been closest to him.
The other main focus of the series surrounds Renji Aso and Chihiro Shindo, who just happens to be Kei’s twin sister. Chihiro has anterograde amnesia due to an accident when she was 12. This condition only allows her to remember things for 13 hours and her life before the accident. The way that she is able to know what is going on in her life is by writing down her experiences in a note book and re-reading them the next day. Renji comes across her one day and slowly becomes her friend. He discovers her condition and finds out that she secretly wants to write a novel. With Renji’s help, Chihiro begins work on the story. As they work through the creation of this story, they become very close and Renji begins to believe that he is in love with her. It also happens that Chihiro has noted her affection toward Renji in her diary and it leads to an enviable connection.
Can all of these star crossed lovers get past their own baggage so that they can truly begin to love?
Commentary:
On the surface, this series appears to be just another one of those deep, dramatic love stories that will probably end in sorrow. To my absolute delight it was not one of those archetypal Josen stories, it gives us some very rich and wonderful characters that delight us and make us cry at the same time. The pacing of this short series is fantastic, I never thought I was left behind or being put to sleep. The only thing I would have done is make these characters college age or just a little bit older.
The one great thing about this series is the production and approach to telling this story. This should be held up as one of the best post-modern anime that I have ever seen. The deconstruction of the scenes and the use of text throughout the presentation had more of an impact than just allowing the characters to move through the scenes. The one scene that exemplifies this artistry is when Miyako is expecting Hiro for a date and he is called to an emergency. He leaves his phone at home and forgets to call her. His standing her up sends her into a panic and floods her with feelings that have been buried for some time. She recalls her parents’ split and how she slowly faded form their heart. Between the clips of her flashbacks, you see standing to one side and the white screen is gradually filled with the text of the messages that she leaves on Hiro’s phone. These messages run the gamut of understanding to spiteful to completely scared and depressed. This may possibly be the best portrayal of the human condition that I have ever seen. The seemingly innocent event shows how the things we do, or fail to do, have an impact on those around us. Kei had told her that she would drive her from Hiro’s heart and this situation felt like she was being forgotten again and the pain she felt from her parents was something that she count not bear again. By only giving us her voice and the text of her messages in differing font sizes help to emphasize the trauma she is experiencing. I was just blown away by this and was constantly given more of this emotional impact throughout the series just by the artist post-modern approach.
Overall Grade: A+
The overall blend of that typical shojo/Josen art style and the more cutting edge post-modern use of symbols to express the feeling make this series an absolute must see. There is something for everyone and even a mysterious sub-plot that is never completely revealed. On many levels Ef: A Tale of Memories covers the human condition in ways that I have almost never come across in anime or any other film medium. I have only seen this type of exploration in the world of fine art that is of museum quality. This series is meant for adults.
“In The Radius”:
The one other anime that I feel comes close to providing this type of relationship development is Air: The TV series, but it follows a much more typical pattern and has a very sad ending.
You can pick this up at Right Stuf.
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