Being a year behind the curve and all, I’m not sure there’s much I can say about ef - a tale of memories that hasn’t already been said. But I’ll say it anyway.
Previously, I described the series as “fascinating, but absolutely boring”. I got part of it right, at least. The show is indeed fascinating, both from a presentation and material standpoint. I don’t think there’s any denying that. For some, it might have been a little too fascinating - the SHAFT style doesn’t tickle everyone’s fancy, obviously - but, it was something special and unique nonetheless. For that alone, it commands attention.
Was the show really all that boring, though? No, not really. Or, to take a more nuanced approach, I found it boring before I found it not boring. I voted against it before I voted for it. In other words, on my first attempt at watching the series when it first aired a year ago, I was indeed bored with. Upon my second attempt a year later, I was enthralled. What happened?
The simple answer, I think, is that, whereas I was stuck following the show on a weekly basis like most everyone else the first time around, I marathoned it over the course of only a few days the second. There’s an ebb and flow in the pace of the show that wasn’t particularly evident when I was watching it in half hour chunks once a week; this ebb and flow is painfully obvious, however, when the entirety of the show is watched in short order. A series of climaxes, breakdowns, and hairpin turns, it was a hell of a ride once I surrendered myself to the show’s pace. I’ve always felt that not all anime is meant to be watched in the same fashion, and my experience with ef - a tale of memories clearly supports that philosophy.
Mea culpa aside, what of the show’s content? All in all, the story (or stories, I suppose) isn’t all that original as far as visual novel adaptations go. There are some unique elements - Chihiro’s illness, for example - and those elements are treated more thoughtfully and carefully than one would expect, but as far as the core story goes, it’s been done before. The direction and production made all the difference in the world, however. It took what was, in many ways, a generic story and turned it into something remarkably compelling. The love triangle storyline, for example, was essentially every love triangle storyline I’ve seen before (I kept having flashbacks to Kiminozo at the most inopportune moments). And Chihiro’s storyline was little more than the typical “girl with a mystery” tragedy that are a dime a dozen in the medium.
Yet, the anime adaptation was remarkable. I’d be curious to know how the original game was received, given that it didn’t benefit from the same treatment as the anime series. It’s worth noting how anime fans often pan adaptations that stray too far from their original material. And with good reason. For example, much of the strength of the recent Key visual novel adaptations lies in Kyoto Animation’s reliance on and militant devotion to the original storylines and narratives. And the anime adaptations of popular manga series that most often get high marks are those that stick to the predetermined gameplan. Not all anime is cut from the same cloth, however, and there are indeed instances in which “different” is good. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of a different approach casting something in a pleasing light. Sometimes, it’s a matter of casting something in a better and more positive light. Sometimes, it’s a matter of saving something from itself.
I think ef - a tale of memories is the perfect example of each and every one of those outcomes. It could have been nothing special. Should of been. But, it wasn’t. Chalk one up for anime, eh?
Ever since giving up on the series way back when, I wrestled with the question of whether or not I gave it a raw deal. I always try to give any anime series that catches my eye a fair shake, and when something I’ve dropped turns out to impress people I know to have a similar eye for anime as I do, as was the case with ef - a tale of memories, I can’t help but try again. And with the second season of the series looming, the timing couldn’t have been any better. Of course, I now face a rather curious predicament: do I dive into the second season a month from now and risk tripping to a “fascinating, but absolutely boring” conclusion once again, or do I have patience and set aside a weekend in the future in which to down the series in one fell swoop?
Tough call. It’s a mighty fine predicament to be in, though.
ef a tale of memories is not based on any game. It’s like the Nadesico Blank of 3 Years, where the substance of the game stands alone yet it is a game that bridges two works of anime. Here you have an anime that bridges two games.
Unlike most game adaptations where an anime is made after game reaches some success, the ef anime was planned, developed within its own pre-designed niche like a well-financed multi-prong franchise. Except this is not.
Only if I can say the same about the next ef anime…
Same dilemma for me. I saw the show in a weekend and absolutely loved it. I also felt that it would’ve lost a lot of its punch if I’d watched it on a weekly basis. I think I’ll give the first few episodes a shot, and if it feels slow, I’ll save it up for a marathon.
Omo, I understand that ef - a tale of memories pulls from both games in the series, but to the best of my knowledge, the anime series was a fairly straight adaptation of existing material - including that for the second game, which had yet to be released, but the scenario for which had already been completed. Saying it’s “not based on any game” may be true from a literal standpoint, but it’s not true from a functional standpoint. And I’m under the impression that ef - a tale of melodies will simply address the remaining material that has yet to be animated and tie everything together.
Or perhaps I’m not parsing your comment correctly (it wouldn’t be the first time).
I think you pretty much nailed what I thought about the first series. I blogged it half to death at the time but like you it took a few episodes to really get into it and get a grasp on its unusual storytelling and use of imagery. Those ‘Shinbo-isms’ are unusual but work remarkably well…ironically I actually watched it because I discovered Tenmon worked on the music score.
Apparently it’s SHAFT, Tenmon and Shinbo involved in Tale of Melodies as before so I’m hoping the second series will delight me as much as the first one did. Then there’s the title - I might be putting two and two together to make five but I hope that the overriding theme of ‘memories’ will this time be that of music instead. Either that or I’ve been stuck in Macross Fanboy mode for the past few weeks…
The strength of Tale of Memories is not in its story but the way in which it was presented: the plot devices are all stuff we’ve seen before but it’s the way that it was told that made it so refreshing. I actually have all the eps still on my laptop so I might set myself the task of re-watching them all over the course of a weekend prior to …Melodies airing.
Marathoning ef also had quite an impact on me. Perhaps there’s something good about this kind of anime watching after all. Your impression of the previous episodes certainly adds up, especially in this kind of drama-heavy show where the accumulative effect of a series of climaxes and plot twists is best felt.
Maybe I’d be better off watching Code Geass in this fashion? Just kidding, I’d die from all the suspense.
What are you talking about Jeff?
“[N]ot based on any game” is true from a functional standpoint but not a literal standpoint–obviously it’s based on the games, but it is not originally planned to be a straightforward adaptation. So functionally it isn’t really an adaptation of either first or second game, even if there are shared plot elements. Maybe by “based on” you mean adaptation?
However, as you pointed out, the anime came out first so that removes a huge psychological hurdle for most game->anime disappointments. Naturally hardcore fans of the game is the hardest to please. We don’t have any of those here.
Furthermore it blurs the line of what’s an adaptation of what. It would not be accurate to say the anime is an adaptation of the game unless you got that fact from Minori himself, and I get the feeling it’s more like both are spawned from the same set of scripts and ideas.
I mean Minori as them, oops.
Dude, when I say it’s “not based on a game” in the literal sense, I mean it’s “not based on any ONE game”. Literally. Obviously, the anime series was sourced from TWO separate, but closely related games. I made the statement in response to your initial comment about the anime being a bridge between the two games. I guess you meant something different?
I don’t understand your “the anime came first” comment, though. The first game, which contained the love triangle scenario, was released a full nine months before the first episode of the anime series aired. And in this interview with Miyako’s voice actress, it’s stated that the script writer for the anime series had read the completed script for the second game, which contained Chihiro’s scenario. I haven’t played the games, obviously, but everything I’ve read and heard about their stories suggest that the games and the content of the anime series are fairly similar, minus the scenarios that weren’t addressed. That sure sounds like an adaptation of the game to me.
Clearly, you disagree. Well, not so clearly, seeing as I still can’t figure out what your point is, other than that you take issue with my use of “adaptation” in place of “based on”. In which case, give me a break!
And I’m sorry to say that Minori never returns my calls.
Well I think my original point was that the games and anime are not an adaptation, they are co-productions in that the creative team (not the production committee…) has already had them in mind when they are working on whatever that is the “source” material. The distinction you make about video game adaptation is a blurry one, and not particularly meaningful.
As to the voice actress point, uh, let’s just say that she doesn’t voice every character in either the games or anime.
I thought this series tried too hard…
and relied too much on brilliant Makoto Shinkai’s style. It tried too hard to be symbolic, deep, abstract, and stylistic; the whole series could have been condensed into four or five episodes.
They also tried very hard to make the audience sympathize with the characters… I like the 2 minutes where she tears out her diary (aka. memories) - that was intense… but most of the other scenes were just eye candy.
Watching any anime on weekly basis can certainly cause devaluation, especially when it is filled with too many abstractions and slow-paced as most people’s lifestyles simply do not allow them to have such a leisure to digest. I was afraid that you would miss out on this unique anime; however, I am glad that you finally have the chance to finish it. When compared to True Tears, I have to say that ef - A Tale of Memories has more substance rather than fan service. In addition, True Tears has more episodes so any more condensation on ef - A Tale of Memories will be folly.
Im starting to get involved in this particular series. I dont know exactly why but I see it in many anime magazines, so I think it deserves a little chance.
It seems an interesting show, but only time will tell…
I can surely see how it would be better in one swoop. True Tears was the same for me. Rather than weekly watching, I think the effect was better felt as a chunk. Something about romance makes it marathon material, or simply better without delays. ^^
Totally agree that marathoning the series makes the difference with EF…..I think I would have lost patience on a week-to-week basis…..however, I picked it up out of boredom and when I found out (via Shirukii over at Anime Blog ga Ariamasu) about the “Nice Boat” reference in ep. 1
That was just pure brillance on SHAFT’s part :D
@ Helen:
I would agree with you that EF tried too hard in the beginning with all the WTF?!? artistic flair…..but after Miyako’s mental breakdown…I was hooked! That scene lasts what, like 5 minutes??? but it makes up for any flaws in the earlier episodes…..It rivals even Auska Langley from NGE……brilliant stuff :)
EF tries hard to be different, which in my eyes succeeded. It does things that not many series attempt because of the gamble involved but it’s truly only Shaft, who knows what it means to be different, that is the only studio who can do this. While EF’s concept is the same as any standard romance, it comes at you from an entirely different corner. The first seven episodes may look too abstract but it’s after that magic moment that you’ll realize what EF really means, what it really wants to tell and that hits you. That hits you hard. It changes the way you look at things, even if it’s just for the slight moment that you watch it.
It’s a series that I plan on getting back to watching in a marathon-style. I watched it weekly during it’s first run, and save for certain moments here and there (like Kyousuke and Hiro’s conversation in episode 6), I never really got into ef. Maybe viewing it via another method can change that. :/
Well, I marathoned School Days, and it’s one of my favorite shows ever as a result.
I was absolutely throttled by it in marathon form as well. Style seemed to be a really contentious issue for people (er, bloggers), but to say that ef was style without substance is to say (in my mind) that other VN adaptations lack both style and substance. Given the choice between one or neither, I’ll go with the style. Maybe I’m just not a fan of the genre, but that’s another point for ef — even without being a fan of the genre, I really dug the show.
I gave it two tries.
I tried following it on a weekly basis, and I found it boring. I waited.
When I tried to marathon it, I thought it was stupid and pretentious. The series was perhaps not just for me, because it was too bathetic. I was depressed after watching episode seven, and not in a good way. So for me, ef sucked.