The story of this anime follows a rather unorthodox method of storytelling. There isn't really one or two "main" characters, but rather several characters that each have their own unique story. It was quite refreshing to see an anime series that focused more on a whole group of characters and each of their stories rather than just a small set. It was also amazing to see how each character's story tied into the other, making you feel that these aren't just isolated, individual stories, but rather one giant story that's tied together by smaller subplots.
Overall, the story was great. There are two main storylines in this anime. The first revolves around love triangle that was formed between Hiro Hirono with Miyako Miyamura, a girl he met on Christmas in an unorthodox fashion, and Kei Shindou, a childhood friend of Hiro's who he was supposed to meet on Christmas but didn't due to getting tied up with Miyako. I found this storyline to be fascinating for a love triangle story arc. Usually when you get a storyline like this in an anime, it tends to be cheesy, forced, and has no dramatic tension whatsoever. Not with this anime. The dramatic tension between these three characters is intense and the emotions that these characters and how they are written do not feel fake or forced. The second main storyline revolves around Renji Asou and Chihiro Shindou, Kei's twin sister. Renji meets Chihiro for the first time at an abandoned rail station and they become friends. He discovers after meeting her a few times that she suffers from a rare form of amnesia, in which she forgets all of the events of the day before, thus she keeps a diary. This amnesia is due to being involved in a car accident when she was younger that also took her left eye. The main premise of this story is that Renji helps Chihiro write a novel that she couldn't previously do before due to her condition. The more Renji and Chihiro meet, the more you feel that their friendship goes beyond that of "just friends". Without going into more details due to spoilers, this story is absolutely fascinating and a tearjerker considering the pain and suffering Chihiro goes through.
Even the subplots and side characters of this anime are incredibly interesting, including Kyosuke's story, which is sort of a main storyline in this anime as well since it is so intertwined with Kei's story. Yuu Himura's character also plays quite an intricate role since he became Chihiro's guardian after her accident and he suffers the pain of taking care of her every day. Then, there's Yuuko Amamiya, whose mysterious appearances and disappearances throughout this anime leads to intrigue and interest about her role in this series. All-in-all, the side story and side characters tie very well to the overall portrait that this anime paints.
The animation/artwork of this anime is phenomenal. This anime was beautifully crafted and the artistic design that went into its creation is certainly brilliant. It sets the mood very well when tension builds. It does more than just "tells the story," it goes beyond and shows us visually what the characters might actually be thinking. The music was beautiful and somewhat depressing, but I mean that in a good way because it sets the tone of the anime extremely well.
The thing I loved most about this anime was how it made you build an emotional investment toward the characters. This isn't an anime where you're hooked into each character right from the get go, but as you watch the series, you start to understand each character and become invested in their story. I found it funny how I would laugh when they laughed and cried when they cried. You almost get the feel that you are somehow part of that character's story. As I mentioned before, another thing I absolutely loved about this anime is how it all came together. Several plots and sub-plots that came together to build a great ef universe. It was amazing how none of these sub-plots retracted from the overall story. There wasn't anything in this anime that felt like "it didn't fit" or "was forced in". Everyone and everything about this anime felt like it fit in the overall story.
I have to give props to ef-A Tale of Memories for going against the norm and try telling a story that didn't have one main plot. They pulled it off magnificently. If you're looking for an anime that you want to build some emotional investment in, with a love story and drama tension along the way, then this is one anime (along with its sequel, ef-A Tale of Melodies) that you have to watch.
