The End of the World

[Anime Reviews]

ef -a Tale of Memories 4-6: memories are made of this

Posted by Martin  [Tags: ABC, ef -a Tale of Memories, Over-analysis]

ef -a tale of memories is already at its halfway point, which means that the premise is well and truly set in place so (I think) I have a pretty clear idea now as to where it’s heading. In my previous two appraisals of the show I never really paid much attention to the events and characters, instead trying to get a general overview of the concepts and ideas. This post is part of an informal mini joint-blogging exercise though, so if my views coincide with those of TheBigN, Demian, Moogy, J.Valdez, JRoxas, DS (in a roundabout way) and Owen S it’s merely a case of great minds thinking alike, ok? ^_^

The story is not taking the ‘intertwining arcs’ approach that I expected, at least not yet. Rather, the three situations are running parallel so while they’re connected in the sense that the characters are in a vaguely-defined social circle, they’re linked in more of an abstract and thematic kind of way. Maybe I’m just glad it didn’t turn out to be a harem show…at any rate, the respective ‘scenarios’ are all different angles on the same core themes.

Chihiro and Renji’s arc seemed a bit contrived to me at first but the tragic explanation as to why Chihiro is the way she is gives an interesting set-up to her relationship with him. It makes perfect sense, really, that he should suggest that she writes a novel to while away her free time; after all, she’s already doing the same thing in order to maintain a grasp of what’s going on in her own life. It’s the most obvious analogy to the idea of memories that permeates the whole show - whenever I’m a bit stuck with understanding a series, I turn to the title for inspiration; in this case I don’t really think it’s primarily a romance per se. Instead, I’m beginning to see it as an observation on, well, memories. Chihiro is trying to keep hold of pleasant memories of the time spent with Renji, as Kyousuke is trying to do in carrying his camera around everywhere in an effort to capture and hold onto a transient moment for posterity. As an aside, I thought naming Renji’s mother Sumire was a nice touch*.

Kyousuke is trying to recapture something, which links into what Hiro is trying to do. Thanks to an excellent scene near the beginning of ep #6, the two of them argue and discuss the creative process in a fashion that you only get from two very passionate and dedicated artists; the fields have their differences but also similarities. On a personal level too Kyousuke’s and Hiro’s choices have been decided by childhood experiences: Kyousuke is haunted by his departed mother starring in an old but deeply moving feature film; Hiro’s course as a manga-ka was set by hanging out with Kei and spending time sketching and reading graphic novels.

I can guess why so many people were put off by this show even though it offers all this to think about, be it intended to be interpreted in that particular way or not. The character designs don’t help (I thought I’d warm to them, but haven’t), but also I think that with all the generic commercial fare on offer this season, even when they are good examples of their type, none of us were fully prepared for a show that takes an ‘arty’ approach. The unusual camera angles and viewpoints that strategically draw attention to certain ideas while the characters are speaking (does this technique have a technical name?) are often used in serious and arthouse cinema; they are not however used frequently in animated TV shows - shows that still use moments of humour and clichés that we’ve come to expect from the genre, which could be where the problem lies. It’s trying to be a high school drama and arthouse piece at the same time, which is commendable enough but not without its problems: when it is aimed at two very different target audiences, both will feel baffled by the distinctive features included to appeal to the other.

ef -a tale of memories does after all present a more subjective take on what’s going on since it feels like less of a realistic portrayal of real life and a succession of events; it places more emphasis on the concepts and feelings. Shot through a lens coloured by personal bias and the blurring and selective nature of memory, it’s A ‘His and Her 5cm’ of sorts.

I’ll make no apologies for falling for the unconventional and quirky art style, mind. Aside from the fact that it appeals to my affinity for the Anno school there’s the fact that, if I wasn’t interested in pretty pictures, I wouldn’t be a fan of the animated medium in the first place. The frequency of odd filtering effects has been toned down slightly but there are still moments that convey the show’s more abstract themes and ideas with some interesting visual effects that feel like that cross between Anno and Shinkai - simply put, I think that it’s an effective way of conveying what the writers were trying to say. A picture tells a thousand words, or at least enough words to make the screencap captions (see below).

Good old monochrome part 1: Hiro tries to colour his world

Good old monochrome part 2: Chihiro’s old self fades in to the black and white of ink-on-paper, in comparison with her current self who is coloured by reality. She’s essentially and repeatedly becoming a character in her own story

A sandcastle as an analogy: you create something only for time and tide to wash it away, leaving no trace

Transparency: I’m interested to see in future episodes how she sees her existence as so slight. The sky-effect filter that’s so often used on her suggests to me that she’s a very transparent character…in what sense I’m not sure. It’ll be interesting to find out

*Sumire is possibly one of my favourite of HM’s characters ever - Sputnik Sweetheart wasn’t his best novel by a long shot but she has a vibrant personality that seems to jump out of the pages. Whether there’s anything more to this reference than just a name, I don’t know. It might be worth following up in later posts though.

[Filed under Anime Reviews]  [Tags: ABC, ef -a Tale of Memories, Over-analysis]

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