Reviewing Anime With Tinker

ef: A tale of memories

***Anime information***

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 12

Episode length: 24:00

Genre: Mystery, Drama, Romance

Viewers rating: 8/10

Opening: euphoric field

Ending: 1.) I'm here

2.) Kizamu Kisetsu

3.) Sora no Yume

4.) Yūkyū no Tsubasa

Plot: On Christmas Eve, Hiro Hirono runs into Miyako Miyamura, a frivolous girl who "borrows" his bicycle in order to chase down a purse thief. After Hiro finds his bicycle wrecked and Miyako unconscious, the two unexpectedly spend their Christmas Eve together, and when they discover they go to the same high school, their accidental relationship develops even further. This sparks the jealousy of Hiro's childhood friend Kei Shindou, whose pure approach to life catches the eye of Kyosuke Tsutsumi, a womanizing photographer searching for the perfect shot.

Elsewhere, Renji Asou, a boy who dreams of being a girl's knight in shining armor, has a chance encounter with Kei's twin sister-the overly shy Chihiro Shindou, who spends her time reading alone-at an abandoned train station. The two quickly become friends and eventually decide to write a novel together. However, when Renji discovers Chihiro's secret, a disability that causes her to have an eternally ephemeral memory, his childish ideals will be put to the test.

Guided by two mysterious adults, these youths' relationships intertwine in a heart-rending tale of love, rejection, acceptance, and memories.

***personal input***

Personal rating: 9/10

Opinion: I put this anime off for a long time, I wasn't sure what would come out of it, at best an average romance comedy. But I'm glad I decided to watch it, because this is hands down, one of the best romance anime I've seen. So, let's dig into the details! I present, ef: A tale of memories.

I found that there was one element of this anime's story that set it apart from any other I've seen. It was the fact that there were two protagonist, and two stories unraveling before me. This was something I'd never seen, and it certainly was interesting, odd at times, but it had a generally nice effect on the series.

Personally, I have a strange love for anime about manga artist, so there was an almost immediate attachment to one of the protagonist. I also came to like the other, as I came to relate quite a bit with him. It was a strange sense that is absent in many protagonist, and from that my loving for them stemmed.

The plot itself was...seemingly rushed. While both stories were nice, they were beautiful in fact. However, I feel that the anime needed much more time to fully bloom and allow for the extra detailing it needed. But just looking at what I do have for the plot, it was wonderful.

I came to take sides, pick favorites and hope the best and worst upon certain people. It was interesting seeing a relationship with amnesia at it's source unfold. It made things much more heart retching and a lot more dramatic. It also added a sweetness to the love between characters, as they struggled to find love in the absence of memory.