ef: A Tale of Melodies.

ef-a tale of melodies, i actually start watching the anime because i find the title very interesting.
The story line is quite complex as there are more than one main characters. I could say the genre is about "tragedy" and finally the main characters manage to overcome their problem. I couldn't say whether the ending is sad or happy. it's up to you gus to decide. But one thing for sure, it never fail to excite me and make me shock.

"Hey i just met you.. and this is crazy.... But here's the title so watch it maybe." LOll

Okay, as always I want to preface my review with the three things I’m looking for in an anime: I want a really good story (+5), I want really good dialogue (characters/character development, etc.)(+3), and I want really good “technicals” (style, sound, etc.)(+2). For this anime, I’ll be giving an independent review per season since, while they’re meant to go together, they can be watched independent of each other (Like Clannad/Clannad: After Story). So let’s get to it!

ef: A Tale of Melodies… This is, to me, the darker version of its predecessor, A Tale of Memories. Again, this anime describes what I call “love on ... the margins”, that is to say a love that is tragic and beautiful. There are two love stories this time around, one told present day and one told through the lens of the past. In my opinion, they’re both equal in terms of impact, unlike in A Tale of Memories, where I thought one stood above the rest. Also, unlike A Tale of Memories, these tales have a much more somber and sobering feel to them. This time around though, I felt some deus ex machina at work in the story, nothing too major, but…

Earning 3 points
----------------------------


No change in the quality of the dialogue or anything. Again, there are a lot of important messages being conveyed throughout the season about what it means to love another. And, you know what? The dialogue explained that there are TWO towns! Amazing! For that alone… A solid performance. It goes without saying that everything was on par with what I would expect from a romance/love story here.

Earning 2 points
---------------------


The technicals are still off the wall awesome here. Truly a work of art. I’m going to throw what might be considered a story element here in the technicals though. I really enjoyed how even though Tale of Memories is a “prequel” to Tale of Melodies, since Melodies focused on quite a bit of flashback storytelling, it actually felt like a prequel itself in a way. Almost like this infinite loop was being created between the two stories. I add it in technicals because the way it was expressed wasn’t exactly by story or dialogue, more like an art to me. Superb.

Earning 2 + 1 points
---------------------


Bonus points goes to… well, I’ve again already given a bonus point for technicals, but, extra bonus sketching stuff in the buff! All true art should be done naked in my opinion. It was another scene that ended too quickly though so…


Earning .5 points
--------------------


Add it all up and we have another score of 8.5! If you watched Tale of Memories, this will not disappoint in expanding the story for you. If you’re looking for a good love story(s), I would start with Tale of Memories because this one is a little more on the darker side of things. Then again, I’d love to see what someone thought of the whole series if they started with this anime and then watched Tale of Memories. Someone should do that!

As always, since I’m a critic, I’ll round down my score to a 8 because that’s just the way it goes. That way it’ll be better than expected when you watch it! Till next time

Warning this review may contain spoilers.

First impressions, so after watching tale of memories,
I decided to check out this out to see if it was as good or enjoyable as it,
And over all I wasn't that disappointed.
Because it still manage to keep to its quality up to a point.

Story, 7/10

So Ef tale of melodies tells the story of two romances,
... one of them is in the past and the other is in present day,
It's basically a prequel/ sequel to its predecessor Ef tale of memories,
So I am going to brake both of them up and talk about one at a time.

So let's start this story with
yuu himura an orphan high schooler who trying to persure his dreams.
One day while leaving school a paper plane hits him on the head form the school roof, after investing he encounters a girl who seems to know him,
But for the life of him he can't seem to remember,
While helping a school friend with her shopping he finds out that he as been followed by the girl who he meet on the roof, who is reviled to be yuuko amamiya
Who shared a close brother and sister like bond while they where in the orphanage together as kids,
So after that they decide to pick up where the left off especially since she still has feelings for him.
Which is kind of sweet you know old friends re kindling old bonds which is always a good thing to do.

So after this hanging out again like old times and starting to rekindle that bond,we find out that she become the victim of bullying which she doesn't seem to care much about it, it is then reveled that she is actually being sexually and physically abused her adopted older brother and that the school bullying was actually her doing in order to get back at yuu For rejecting her offer to be his sister which had her end up in the situation she in now.

So I thought this whole drama with the brother was kind of interesting and something I Haven't seen that much of before,
But I also felt it was played a little to hammy for my taste personally.
I also didn't really like the part where yuuko was fakeing the school bullying to get back at yuu,
Which I found quite pitty,
But don't get me wrong Like I understand the reasoning behind it,
But I am just thinking to myself oh you bitch,
Like I know you blame him and i like the idea of his past actions coming to bite him in the ass,
But come on he was like small Kid around the time the made that choice do you honestly think he could of predicted that this would happen.
Plus people make mistakes especially children.

So he decides to run away with her in order to get her away from her abuser,
Which works as well as you think as she returns back to her brother shortly afterward,
Which I liked because I don't think it's going to work out especially if you have no job or money to keep your going.
which leaves both of them time to reflect on the consequences of what they both done to each other and who they can make it right.
Which I really liked because both of them realized that both of them have fucked up hard and that need to forgive each other.
Which though a series of events leads to the older brother killing himself by setting himself and the house a blaze,
Which I thought of kind of a bit to over the top,
But I guess that had to solve it one way or another.

With her brother now gone both of them can now be together.
But there happiness doesn't last long Which doesn't last for long as one day while waiting for yuu,
yuuko get hit by a car while saving a small child and dies,
Which yuu still hasn't gotten over even In present day,
I thought this part of generally tragic because after what they been though together and how much effort it took to get there was just taking in a second
It's like life decided we haven't had these people suffer enough we need to stick the knife in deeper and twist it.

But yuuko hasn't given up yet either as her spirit is still waiting for him,
In Which they finally meet another again in order to spend one last day together before she fully passes on.
Which I thought was very touching and sweet,
But it kind of rueing the impact of her death.




The second is in present day that starts off with mizuki hayama an outgoing high schooler who is staying with relatives for the winter holidays,
While staying there she hears a violin playing in the background and is I entranced by it sound.
After asking her relatives she find out it came from there next door neighbor kuze shichi a middle aged play boy who is a professional musician,
After being introduced to one another they decide to hang out during the holidays.
While hanging out together a few times mizuki starts to becoming even closer and closer to kuze and is developing feelings for him,
Ok this is kind of different I wonder how there going to handle this massive age gap.
she starts noticing that something is wrong with kuze with him at times passing out or that there somethings he not telling her,
she finds out that kuze has got a terminal heart illness that will kill him in about a year with him suffering from depression because of it.
Now I found this kind of interesting but also quite mallow dramatic at the same time
After finding this out she decides to try's to save him from his depression and make his last days on earth as happy as possible,
Which at first doesn't really go that well especially since he in a very dark place and he isn't willing to allow people to help him especially mizuki.
I found this part quite realistic at less of what happens to a person suffering from depression and the fear of death as your body just slowly starts to shut down.
But though consent persistence and her love for him she manages to get though to him and convince him to go through the operation that can prolong his life for a few more years.
But the operation could also kill him as well,
So giving it all or nothing kuze decide to go though the operation for mizuki with it working So after the operation both of them begin there relationship together
While it lasts.
I thought this was also very sweet and did bring the feels,
But I think this could have been more tragic and it's already crossing on the fine line where you know this isn't going to have a happy ending at the end of the day unless they have some sort of ass pull

So while I compare the two romances together,

I really like that one between kuze and mizuki more then yuu and yuuko,

Because I personally found there one more relatable,
Even though found it a little pedo-ish.
Because I can relate to the whole depression thing and it being related to some sort of terminal illness,
Like the struggle you go through, the ups and down of it all.
Is something that I have experienced myself and it's definitely more interesting and relatable to me when compared to childhood friend in a abusive relationship Which is probably also quite relate to quite a few people,
But personally I couldn't really bye into it.

But I found both of them where handled in the proper way,
Especially when it came To the subject matter that they both tackle.

I also found both of the dramas interesting and different from what i usefully see,

But I think that both how they end are kind of ass pullish,
Because your girlfriend is waiting for you as a ghost in order to send one last day with you,
I probably would have liked more is that he dies and then meet her in the after life
But hay that just me.

Also your boyfriend with the heart disease living past a operation that had I high chance of killing him or not working.
But those are my only nick picks.

But guess my major problem with it is that it kind of ideal for its own good I guess,

But You know this was based on a porn game so I guess that the reason why.



Characters, 6/10

Yuu and kuze.
I thought yuu was kind of bland character especially in his high school days,
I mean the only thing he pretty much had going for him as that he was very independent person and he was a orphan,
But I did think he was a bit more interesting in his adult years,
Because he kind like this mentor character or something along those lines.

Kuze had a bit more going for him especially what was going on,
Because he was acting quite human
But other than that he was kind of just the playboy kind of character.


yuuko and mizuki.

When it came to yuuko I thought she was a kind of bland character,
Intill the thing with her brother was found out,
Because under that happy outside was a girl who pretty much thinks of her self as damaged goods,and it takes yuu to show her that she more than that.
So I give credit where credit is due
Mizuki I found was just the happy girl and nothing really else to her,
Other than the fact she just happen to have a lot of wisdom on life which I thought came out of nowhere.

Side character are pretty average,

Also all the old characters are back as well,
So we get to see what there up to as well.
Which is quite nice.
But nothing Really happened that much with them.
There just kind of there.


Art, 7/10

The animtion looks very nice,
Very crip and clean
The background also look very detailed as well,
There also a very nice color scheme.

It has this generic v.n style to it especially or VN standards

It also uses a lot of symbolism in some scenes of importance,
It basically shaft being shaft.

The character designs are also generic as well.

Sound, 6/10

I thought the op and ending where all right,
I found them relaxing
I thought the ost was on point for very scene it was used.
But it didn't really stand out that much to me.



Enjoyment, 6/10

I quite enjoyed this,
I found the drama interesting and even though i find it quite generic and kind to ideal for its own good and all my other my nick picks,
It probably still one of my favorite rom com shows that I like to watch every now then.


Overall, 7/10

If you like romcom or just fans of the VN them probably watch this,
It's fine for what it is,

But if didn't like the first one or don't like these types in general then probably stay a way.

So, I gave this series a seven, while the majority gave it a perfect ten. I will explain why.

Story:

The story is nothing too unique, but not too stereotyped, either. There is quite a bit of drama, which gets turned into over-done melodrama. Not the plot's fault, but the characters', which I'll explain further down.

Animation:

The animation was pretty good. Nothing else to say on that.

... Art:

Now, this is something that is also over-done. They try too hard to make this show artsy at points, and go too far with it. Repeating questions over and over and having them written over the screen for several minutes is done a few times. I sat and just prayed it would end. They couldn't cut down on the decoration, and it would have made it not so annoying, in my opinion.

Sound:

Voices were nice. Songs were nice. Nothing to complain about.

Character:

The characters were well thought out. That isn't the problem I had. It's just when they wrote the characters making bad decisions and suddenly having personality changes just to make it melodramatic that I had a problem with. I'd explain in further detail, but it'd spoil things.

Enjoyment:

I would've given this a higher score if not for all the needless, repetitive, artsy-fartsy stuff, and the bouts of melodrama. If you can ignore those two things, you'll love the series.

First off I am not one for hate reviews. But I have never wanted to rid of a character's existence before, not even in School Days, until now.

Okay, so this is a sequel to Ef: a tale of memories. Which I found pleasant; sure it was a bit forceful with the emotions at times, but all in all at the end of the emotional roller coaster I felt satisfied. But Ef: a tale of melodies was way too pushy and on top of that had one character in particular who wouldn't just shut his mouth. It's like they want me to feel bad for some ... arrogant, deprived, indecisive, (I can't think of another word) ass-HOLE. He's constantly whining and talking about how "everyone is wearing a mask". Good grief, it's like he's an over dramatic 15 year old girl. Oh wait, he's in his twenties....And because of him being so unfortunate he disregards everyone who cares for him and out of his self loathing somehow manages to steal a poor high school girl's heart. It made me sick. I wished for his death so many times while watching this anime.

Other than that douche and his disgusting tale of "I want to die, no wait I want to live, please pay attention to me." There was another tale in the series that did touch my heart like its prequel. I'm glad I got to witness that story even if it did leave me a tad unfulfilled. However that ignoramus really ruined the entire experience for me. There, hate review done.

This anime is one of the most spellbinding. I was hooked from the first series and first episode. This series did not disappoint.
As a follow on from last series this series focuses on two different romances, a musician and a student and the friends that should have been.
The art style is amazing but does drop a once in a while, the sound track is fantastic and over all I cried enough to fill a bathtub. This story will take you to hell and back. I had to pause it a few times before I could carry on watching.
You'll carry on watching ... this because its just so compelling.

Story- 7
Art- 8
Sound- 9
Character- 9
Enjoyment- 9
____________
Overall- 9

Since this was only 12 episodes the story didn't really have enough time to develope and the creators had to rush it, but the story was still explained in a quick and understandable way. The story is basically about the main character who has been friends with a girl since childhood who was later on taken way from him and they later on met up again back in high school (story cut short so I don't have to spoil it).
The art is just as others have mentioned, its like a person's painting coming to life, which is pretty unique ... but wasn't my taste. The characters were well drawn but there were some minor flaws. The background was also drawn good too.
The sound was pretty good, the opening theme was nice and so was the music they played throughout the show. The violin that was played in this was perfect. When you listen to it you sorta feel as if your in an opera room.
The characters in this show were actually developed pretty good with the lack of episodes they had. Each of them having their special personality and also their own problems. The characters were one thing that stuck out in this anime.
Overall I dislike short animes that have only 12 episodes but I did really enjoy this one. There was a mixture of emotions in this and it will have it's twists and turns but I do recommend this to people who are looking for Romance and Drama.

Like the first series, I don't see how mystery and romance mix, nope, they don't mix at all.

Story :
The story was quite surprising in which the characters are switched to different places which makes a different story. Like some minor characters didn't showed up that much gets more air time. But still, I found this quite stressful to watch until I watch this whilst playing game so that I don't feel boring too much. But still, in the end I survived again watching this and thank God they have a good ending. But I didn't really expect a word of advice from all the characters ... at the end of the series. I give this a 7 since it's still good despite how stressful it is but having a good ending. I was like "Eh, why not right?"

Art, Sound, Character, Enjoyment :
I purposely put all these 4 together since I think it's pretty much the same as the first ef series.

Overall :
If you guys want to watch this, make sure you are really ready and try to have a strong heart. I don't want to say that this anime is bad, I believe this anime is good, I saw a lot of people rated this anime at least around 8-10. It's just that I'm not a fan of mystery or anything that stressful to watch anime, pretty much the reason why I gave this a 7 in overall

This series is often compared to Clannad, and I can see why. They are both about love, tragedy and little miracles that can happen amongst all that.

But I have to say, Ef, while a great anime in itself... Falls short. The series is made up of 12 episodes, the first season also 12. But I will talk about Melodies now, though many of the problems in Melodies, Memories also suffers from.

So the series is made up of 12 episodes. That is fair. Some of my favourite anime only have 12 episodes, and normally I would call that a strength of sorts. With Ef ... it couldn't be further from the truth. Ef focuses on more than one story, jumping from story to story, giving none the screen time to really bloom. It feels like most of the time each couple is given is for little more than furthering the plot, little of which is for the audience to connect with the characters. Making the whole mess feel forced and sometimes quite cold. There are points while watching where something tragic will be revealed or happen, and you will be left staring at the screen knowing this is meant to make you feel something... But instead you feel nothing, because not enough time has been given to really make you feel for them. And the end result is that it feels pushed in your face, out of place or worse it just takes you out of the anime all together.
Of course by the end episode or so the characters have all had just ENOUGH development time that you finally start to feel something more than shock when something happens... But that is just too late by then, the damage has been done, and it can't be repaired.

Ef would have been better as either a longer series, aka more episodes to each season... Or to focus more or soley on one story per season.

Ef is still a good anime however... And I recommend it a watch.

I have to say i'm not with the mass majority on this one. Everyone who recommended Ef to me said it fantastic and that the second season was better and more emotional. After watching Ef - a tale of memories I got exited and couldn't wait to watch it. But I have to say I don't feel the same about this one. I just felt let down after watching the first season. The first season made me love all the characters and made me feel thing I've never felt before. I even cried but this time around i felt nothing. I have to say I ... just didn't feel it this time around. It was good but after watching the first season I just feel let down.

Now don't get me wrong now it was a good story. Think about this, I felt "Ef - a tale of melodies" was like "The Dark Knight Rises" its good and perfect it its own ways with miner flaws, and amazing as a stand alone but "Ef - a tale of memories" was "The Dark Night". Just mind blowing, amazing and makes it hard to live up to and that's how I feel about "Melodies" its good but not as good.

It was kinda confusing to keep up with the story. Having to go back and forth trying to tell the two stories. Yuuko and Yuu story taking place in the past while Mizuki and Shuuichi took place in the present after the events in the first season. There was a balance in stories this time around with both relationships having to deal with their own problems dealing with betrayal and death. A lot of death this time around. It was hard picking my favorite from these two stories because there stories were strong but at the same time they weren't really that good. Unlike in "Ef - a tale of memories" which mines was, and I think everyone's else's favorite was Chihiro and Renji. But this time around I'm not really sure which one l like the most.

But toward the end I felt like I was dragging my feet to watch the rest. I got bored of this anime, when I was around episode 9 or 10 I felt like giving up but I'm not that kinda person so I finished it. I was expecting to cry even more this time around but nope not even one tear. To be honest I was getting kinda annoyed by everything toward the end. But I'm glad the ending was good. There were things about the ending I kinda hated but I wont write it down because of spoilers. If you want to know message me and ill tell you what was wrong with it.

Don't forget to hit that "Helpful button" if you found this helpful in any way so others can find this review. Don't be afraid to send me a message if you want to talk more about this anime or had any comments with my review. ^_^

ef: A Tale of Memories and Melodies. This will be for the first and second seasons of ef or pronounced f. Both ef and Baccano I'd rate the same about a 8.0 to 8.5. They're both very good anime series but fall short of true greatness. I'll tell you why plus why ef is a must watch like Baccano.

ef is a classic anime from a stand out studio Shaft, also known for Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Each story Memories and Melodies is a separate story with connected characters. My major complaint about the series is the story and characters ... were not in depth enough. They delve into backstories a little bit, but is it enough as main characters are swapped in the 2nd Season. On the flip side, all of the characters had challenges and it was good seeing their progress and laughter. It was also nice seeing some of the same characters carried over to the second season. The art was good and the sound was great. I thought the OP songs for the first and second seasons were excellent and set the tone for each.

I think ef is a classic or a must watch anime, because it does a good job at getting its message across. Such as the transcience of life, the importance of relationships, love, and being understood. It's also a visually appealing work with great sound and music.

It falls short of true greatness because of the story/characters, which is my major complaint. Another reason, perhaps minor is the half episode rant. If you watched it, you know what I mean. I believe that this was needed, but why did it have to be half an episode, seriously.

Overall, this was one of the better series I've seen. It was made a few years before Madoka Magica and like Madoka is a classic.

Story: This really is something else than your normal romance / drama series (not in the sense of school days). Of course, if you've seen the first series (tale of memories), you'll already know the gist of whats going to happen. A hefty sum of twists and turns to keep you watching throughout the whole 13 episodes.

Art: Once again, something different (in some aspects). Different style of graphics to make the art in this stunning.

Sound: Tenmon. Same music makers as Place Promised in Our Early Days and 5 Centemeters Per Second. Fantastic use of violins and and some brass to make it very smooth and ... calm to rough and violent.

Character: Very believable. What people say, their reactions, and the space between talks is similar to how reality would be like.

Enjoyment: Great. To me, I enjoyed it very much. Most certainly wouldn't mind watching it again.

Overall: I would have rated it 10, but math compels me to put 9.

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CAN CONTAIN SPOILERS

ef: a tale of melodies (all lower cases; and from henceforth I shall refer to it as Melodies) is a very nice and welcome improvement over it's prequel - ef: a tale of memories (which shall be shortened to Memories from this point). Memories wasn't a bad show at all but it had a lot of annoying and boring parts due to the fact that it was an incredibly heavy melodrama where characters often did silly things seemingly for no reason just to further the storyline. It also felt somewhat generic and insubstantial. However, I loved the narrative and ... took a liking to the characters and the way the anime explored its themes through them and overall felt it was a well-executed show. Melodies offers a complete look into the world of ef and explores many of the questions that were brought up but never answered in Memories.

Melodies is very similar to its prequel. Like Memories, the anime tells us two different but related story lines at the same time often jumping from one to the other. Unlike Memories, however, the story lines this time are set in different times on either side of Memories' timeline allowing it to function as both a prequel and a sequel series. I'll be honest with you, Melodies (and Memories) are not particularly groundbreaking shows nor are their narratives particularly original and refreshing. They take fairly basic romance-drama/melodrama tropes and play them out fairly by-the-book on a narrative level. The thing that allows this series to rise above it's competition, however, is a combination of it's incredible art direction and narrative execution.

The animation and direction of the show sell the anime very well but there are some drawbacks. Various visual motifs are scattered throughout the series which range from clever and subtle (like the words appearing to tear the physical space between Mizuki and Shuuichi in episode 7) to levels where it feels a bit beat-over-the-head-ish (like the whole thing with the masks). The series definitely has a more artsy feel to it but I think it worked very well in covering for the absolutely huge amounts of dialogue spoken in the show. This show never tires the eyes yet is not so intrusive as to take attention from the actual plot and characters.

The events of Melodies happen at an incredibly natural pace and the director fully understood what it took to build up tension and drama before a large pay-off. This is in large part due to the show's respect of the characters. The MC's of the show are all part of a melodrama so there is always going to be over-the-top actions done and seemingly silly events happening around these characters. The show, however, fully understands these characters and never makes them feel unnatural. They each have their own roles to play and they play it very well. It managed to express them in subtle ways with great dialogue. Our two MC's for the A-part of the show are young!HimuraYuu and Amamiya Yuuko. Himura is played to be somewhat of an jerk with a good heart who suffered the tragedy of his sister's death in a major disaster years before the series' starts. The anime takes this basic character sketch and builds up a very solid and empathetic character through his internal monologues and clear, well-stated motivations. His actions never feel out-of-place for his personality even in the face of incredible melodramatic flairs like his confrontation with Amamiya Akira in episode 7. By the end of the series we can draw a clear connection between young!Himura and his older, mysterious self in the B-plot and Memories. Amamiya Yuuko is probably an even better written character than Himura. I loved the way the first half of the show portrayed her incredibly bleak and nihilistic outlook on life in pure actions and dialogue without giving away or subverting her genuine affable persona. Things like her contemplating the actions of her bullies to be a reflection of their own insecurities really sells her bleak yet thoughtful and observant attitude well. She genuinely felt like an intelligent yet emotionally-complex person. Her character development, along with that of young!Himura is slow yet notable and by the end they feel naturally more rounded and grown-up people. While she is ultimately a damsel-in-distress character she gets some of the best bits of dialogue and screen-time since Himura is more of a reactionary MC. Himura, however, does get good support from the side characters of the A-part like young!KuzeShuuichi and young!HironoNagi. I'm surprised the show managed to fit their own subplots to an already time-constrained arc and it's due to clever pacing and using the B-part to assist their character building. Hirono Nagi, in particular, has a great sub-plot where her unrequited feelings for young!Himura reflect in her inability to create and art she is satisfied with. This motif is actually quite important to the A-part where it is reflected by many of the major characters' insecurities and worries.

The B-plot deals with the violinist Kuze Shuuichi and Hayama Mizuki. I don't think the narrative of this part is anywhere near as compelling as the A-plot but it also does things simply. Mizuki is simply a wonderful character who you can cheer for. I liked how she was the connecting points for much of the characters in the series and it was fun seeing her seeking assistance by no less than four previous main characters. She just has the right amount of heart and endearing traits to carry a fairly heavy story through without losing a lot of pace. Kuze Shuuichi is probably the most generic character of the entire ef series. He plays his part well through but following his story sometimes felt a bit too tiring especially since not much happens when only he is in the picture. The show managed to capture his feeling of isolation within his own mind very well, though, and his interactions with Mizuki were great especially at their part's conclusion.

The actual plot of both parts are fairly standard. Nothing really goes out of the norm and everything is quite predictable. But this really doesn't matter. Melodies aims to bring the stories of the characters out to the light. It allows us to empathize with the characters so we can understand exactly what they're going through at all times. Shuuichi's constant anxiety over his impending demise, Young!Himura's and Mizuki's helplessness, Yuuko's contempt - they're all emotions the anime manages to both subtly seep its way into you as well as hammer it right into the heart. I'd say this series is comparable with Clannad; After Story in terms of pure emotional response. The characters frequently go on long diatribes against others where they use repetition to emphasize their points and, in seeking to alienate themselves from the other character they're talking to - as well as us, the audience - they expose themselves and allow us to understand their pain. For this is an anime about pain- dealing with it, living with it, obtaining the courage to ask others to help in soothing it.

Overall, I'd highly recommend checking out the ef series if you want something more heavy and personal. The unique visual direction displayed in this anime by Onuma Shin is something that I don't believe he has managed to fully recapture following his departure from Shaft. The plot is simple but the execution makes it work incredibly well. Other shows I'd recommend are all VN adaptations - H2O: Footprints in the Sand (but don't watch the last 2 minutes of the last episode), White Album 2, Clannad and Clannad; After Story, and Air.

Thanks for reading!

After watching the two seasons, I can say that this Anime is one of the best Anime in its genre yet extremely underrated. I can understand it being not everyone's cup of tea anyway.

The story is very complicated, it's hard to explain it. It doesn't make chronological sense which can be really confusing to some. The events are random that have nothing to do with one another, but I still love it. In fact, I find these kind of stories super interesting.

So to sum it all up: if you like complex and confusing love stories with a huge amount of drama, I highly recommend this, ... you'll love it.

Over all I'll rate it a 9/10, it was really interesting. I've always preferred dark romance anime and this was really good for its genre.

*this review has been adopted from my twitter account*

I want to share how great this series is that I've been watching for the past few days and it's called Melodies. It has been around for about 16 years now, and I can assure you, it is a real gem.

Now, if you know another series, The World God Only Knows, you are probably thinking that they have some points in common, but still, they are very different from each other. Initially, both shows may come off as a bit rough around the edges, but by the final season, they really take off.

The narrative is what I find to be the most appealing aspect about ... Melodies. It is so vast, allowing us to visit different places and times. The central character is a guy called Yuu, who has been through hell recently, and the series deals with his problems and hardships. Not only that, I think Yuu deserves a pat on the back for setting up this refuge for the homeless and orphans in Australia. Such a heartwarming thing!

Also, the animation is improved so much in comparison with the first season. The whole world seems so real and the details are incredible. Oh, and the soundtrack is awesome too! It feels like a rollercoaster ride for the soul, and the music helps to establish the right mood for every scene.

Voice acting?Aces. In short, the actors are like the wind in the characters' sails. And we cannot forget the characters! They are so well-developed and charismatic.Yuu and Yuuko?Absolute gems. However, even the secondary characters are a joy to watch.

Altogether, Melodies stands out as a beautiful and captivating show. Believe me, that it is worth each and every minute of your time.

Instead of the underlying theme behind romance being memories, ef: A Tale of Melodies is true to its name. It the romance of this season is bolstered by the musical score or melodies. In this review I'll give my impression of this season as a serrate entity and end with commentary on how I think it stacks up as a sequel to ef: memories.


---Story---

I believe that this is where my opinion will dissent from most viewers. I have never watched a more manufactured and contrived story in my life (other than WW1984). The way in which this show utilizes the topics of love, heartbreak, forgiveness, ... lies, and overall pain aren't impactful in any sort of way. It feels like characters suffer for the sole point of pushing a narrative forward when it should be the other way around; narrative should make events feel natural and not forced. This season felt like a hodgepodge of different ideas all strung into one tapestry. I don't think it worked for the better. Characters just happen to know each other, we have a young girl that for some reason is in love with an older man (wtf), a dead girl that somehow appears to our characters (plot convenience), an evil dude that does nasty shit and gets away with it, people forcing blame on others when it their misfortune has nothing to do with them... etc. The story was very average. The only reason the score is higher than average is because the visuals carried it on its back.

Story Score: 6 (Fine)


---Art---

Shaft never really disappoints: they excel at creating visual masterpieces. As states above I believe the visuals were the only thing that made the story above average. There were some REALLY cool shots in this anime. Symbolism was awesome. Example: the metronome as the heart beat. There were a few scenes where I think shadows were used a bit too heavily but nothing to gripe about by far. The characters do have a very unique style with their large eyes and wide angular faces. It honestly makes all the characters look analogous in some shots. I don't love the character designs but they aren't bad. Compared to other shaft works this one holds up...it's no monogatari or madoka but it still looks pretty cool.

Art Score: 8 (Very Good)


---Sound---

I do not listen to classical music. Definitely not the violin. That being said I think the musical score in this anime is great. I feel like songs were placed very strategically within the narrative; there wasn't a single time I felt like music was misplaced. The OP was fantastic. ED was mid. Props to the team who worked on sound . The only reason this is not going to get full marks from me is that there wasn't a song present that I'll remember into the distant future.

Sound Score: 9 (Great)


---Character---

This show, along with its narrative, was the most average when it came to characters. I only liked the silver haired guy and black haired friend of his. Everyone else is strikingly annoying lol. Not to be harsh but I really can't find a reason to like these characters. Most of them say stupid things to make the audience feel sympathy or guilt, others do despicable acts and are put in place for narrative purpose. The reactions of characters often felt childish and devoid of wisdom/logic. The only characters with a shred of logic were the two I mentioned I liked as well as Renji's older sister. Oh yeah... I also didn't memorize any of the names of characters except for Renji because they were bland AF.

Character Score: 5 (Mediocre/Average)


---Enjoyment---

Despite the major flaws I found in this series the art and sound pulled it all together for me. Without those two working in tandem I would have given this show a scorching review. Shaft saved this narrative for sure. I finished this series in a single days time over the course of two days. If you value the speed at which you can watch an anime then I suppose that's a positive I got through it that quickly.

Enjoyment Score: 7 (Good)


---Ending remarks and score---

This series is the sequel to memories. Memories did not really leave much room for a sequel as I thought everything was wrapped up. Thus, everything that happens in this season doesn't really feel like a proper season 2. I honestly don't think this needed to be made at all. That being said: it was made. And thankfully it was made by shaft. If you were a fan of the original series then you will love this sequel. I give them both the same score.

Final Score: 7 (Good)

In ef - a tale of melodies trauma and abuse are thrown around to spice up the drama element in a really distasteful way. It would probably work if it wasn't for the shallow and forgettable characters you can't empathize with. Why do so many people 1) like this series 2) are somehow able to engage in those delusional scenarios. The Yuuko arc somehow panders to a pathological savior complex and is (even if there is little to no effort to make her a multifaceted and interesting character) insulting to her.

The only reason I don't give a 1/10 is because artwork and sound are way ... too good to be wasted on this plot.

Love yourself, don't watch this