Ef: A Tale of Memories stretches the artistic boundaries of anime by making you ask yourself "What just happened" at the end of every episode but also leaving you dumbfounded by the exquisite imagery. Ef follows 2 stories: the tale of Hiro the up and coming shoujo manga artist and the journey of Renji, a normal high school student with a passion for writing. Being a romance driven anime, Hiro is set up with Miyako, a frequently-absent girl with a mysterious past, and Kei, his childhood friend. On the other path, Renji encounters Chihiro, the twin sister of Kei, at an abandoned train station. He takes a fascination in this girl and soon meets up with her everyday at the same train station. As he gets closer to her, he realizes that Chihiro has a strange condition that throws a wrench into their relationship (hint: like One Week Friends).
Being that the anime follows two stories at once, it was confusing keeping track of whose story belonged to whom but as I grew closer to the characters, it was not difficult to follow. The story takes you on a wild, psychedelic rollercoaster ride. What I mean is picture your favourite feels story and on top of that, add Picasso's cubism artwork. In a way, the art serves as the main driver of the story and without it, the romance would have been like any other love triangle story.
The romance elicits the tears, the cheers, and the throwing-laptop-across-the-room feelings. However, although I enjoy watching stories with love triangles, Hiro's love triangle is not one that is very original. On the other hand, Chihiro's story is the one that will have you wondering where that onion-chopping ninja is hiding.
Ef has a solid cast of characters. All of them struggle to find their desires and inevitably, they find out that the process is gut-wrenching. My favourite character would have to be Miyako because I found her backstory the most appealing and also the most supportive of why she acts the way she does. Compared to the animation and background art, the character designs do feel underwhelming but nevertheless, they are very attractive to the eye.
The animation. Where do I begin? Shaft did an incredible job. If you showed this anime to someone who has only seen post-2010 shows, they wouldn't have guessed Ef: A Tale of Memories was made in 2007. Shaft's animation is similar to ufotable's action sequences: smooth, crisp, and meaningful. The only downside to Shaft's unique animation is that it is not for everyone. It is abstract and perhaps steals the spotlight from the story. If you prefer your anime to be very realistic, Ef is on the opposite side of your spectrum. Either way, you will remember the animation for a very long time.
The music was decent and the OP is pretty catchy. I would say the voice actors did a good job conveying the emotions of the characters, especially during tender, heart-breaking moments.
Overall, Ef: A Tale of Memories is a great anime. It's an anime whose art will always be remembered as bold and whose animation is modern. For any fans of romance and as well as anyone who appreciates great art, this is an anime to watch.
