After watching Memories, you probably asked yourself these questions:
- Why does Yuuko pop up out of nowhere and disappear before you can blink an eye?
- How do Yuuko and Yuu know each other?
- How do Renji and Chihiro; Hiro and Miyako; and Kyousuke and Kei's relationships continue?
ef: A Tale of Melodies will answer all of those questions as it introduces the background of vague characters from Memories: Mizuki, Yuuko, Yuu, Kuze, and Nagi. There is a brilliant connection between those characters and the ones from Memories. Just like in Memories, there's drama, psychological history in characters, brutal pasts, and everlasting romance resulting from someone refusing to let go of the person they love.
The anime shows three stories:
- Yuuko and Yuu have one of the most romantic histories in the series, mainly because they knew each other since childhood. They met each other in an orphanage when they were younger. Yuu lost his little sister in an earthquake in Japan, and he rejects Yuuko because of his grievance. Once they meet again in high school, Yuu regrets how he treated Yuuko after he finds out how brutal her life became after she left the orphanage. Determined to protect the woman he loves, he goes through all odds to hold onto her.
- While visiting her cousin Renji in Australia, Mizuki was introduced to Kuze by Renji's mom. Mizuki heard a beautiful song played by the violin one day, and Renji's mom insisted that Mizuki and Kuze spend time together. Mizuki and Kuze spend the next few days together in Kuze's nearly-empty house. After confessing her love for Kuze, their relationship began to blossom. Shortly, Kuze began pushing Mizuki away to avoid hurting her, even though he loved her, too. Despite Kuze's medical condition and his rejection, Mizuki is determined to stay by his side no matter what it takes. You should see all of the crazy yet romantic things she does to make him happy.
- Relationships from Memories continue...
Art and Sound: The art and sound fit perfectly together. It is more museum-like with the mirrored bodies and masks. As the art is displayed, dramatic music is played simultaneously. Kuze's violin piece and Yuuko's improvised lyrics fully explains the moral of the entire series. In order to avoid confusion, the anime presents footnotes at the end of each episode to describe certain terms and references mentioned in the episode. Also, it attaches the time so you can recall where you heard the reference.
Characters:
- Yuu is an artist and draws quite often. He never desired to join the Art Club, but he drew amazing landscapes and portraits, especially of Yuuko. His dream is to create a beautiful city filled with kind people, which is why he stayed in Australia.
- Yuuko was Yuu's lover in the past. She is now the magical advisor that appears before the main characters to bring happiness to them all. With the same dream as Yuu, she is located in Japan.
- Kuze is a famous violinist and Renji's next-door neighbor. He struggled with a personality disorder ever since he had a heart spasm during a concert. As he awaits for his death, he attempts to end all relationships in an attempt to make it so that he simply disappeared.
- Mizuki is Kei's close friend and appears off and on in Memories. She's quite energetic and refuses to shed a tear in front of others. After graduating from Otawa Academy, she moved to Australia to live with Renji (her cousin). There is when she met Kuze.
- Nagi is the elder sister of Hiro, Kei, and Chihiro. She used to crush on Yuu in high school but lost to Yuuko. She later became engaged to Kuze.
Just as Memories, you're in for some deep romantic stories.
