[Categories: OAVs, Movies and Full Series]
ef -a tale of memories 10-12: End
It would have been hard for me to believe back when I started watching ef -a tale of memories that I would find it to be so profound, moving and extraordinary. During these twelve episodes I was baffled by the imagery and symbolism, only to gradually understand at least part of what the creators were trying to say; turning a dating sim/visual novel into one of the most powerful pieces of drama of 2007 amounts to the metaphorical act of making a diamond out of broken glass. At the end of the day I guess, origins and inspiration don’t matter in storytelling: people’s lives and feelings matter. If you’re able to take the age-old subjects of first love, rejection, reconciliation, deciding on your future and following your dreams in the most inventive and striking way possible, so much the better. ef -a tale of memories did just that.
The story is an ordinary one for the most part but the presentation, or more specifically, the way in which the presentation enhances the way in which the ideas and feelings are conveyed, makes it special. I wasn’t too keen on the character designs, the seiyuu’s voices were occasionally grating and there were one or two contrived moments that didn’t quite work; one the whole though it took very and well-trodden subject matter and made it feel fresh, cinematic and, dare I say it, sophisticated too.
When this series prompted me to call SHAFT the New Gainax I was deadly serious: I’d even go as far as to call what was on offer here Neo-Annoisms if I didn’t think it sounded pretentious to do so. My enjoyment of this series was two-fold: firstly there was the appreciation of the storytelling, which I’ll address in the rest of this review; the second was seeing a studio having the balls to make a show like this in the first place. Looking at the blogosphere, ef acquired a dedicated but relatively small following; for every viewer who was enthralled, there appeared to be one who was put off by the unusual approach and the idea that ‘ef’ stood for Excessive Filters. Because it took on a concept born from a visual novel, I was all the more surprised that the end product was of such high quality and originality so believe that it deserves recognition for this alone.
In trying to understand the messages behind a series like this I sometimes (but not always!) find answers in the title. The idea of ‘memories’ as a core theme is obvious enough, but in the case of the two main story arcs it takes on two slightly different meanings. In the case of Miyako, it’s trying to break free from the loneliness and rejection of childhood; showed to great effect in that telephone call scene that Anime Diet’s Mike picked up on so eloquently. Perhaps because my introduction to experimental anime drama is similar to his, the harrowing and painful nature of that scene resonated with me too.
The relationship between her and Hirono was the one that worked for me best actually, despite the fact that the love triangle was a little melodramatic at times. They and their situation felt so convincing and real - this is the sort of thing that happens to people in real life. The idea that Miyako and Hirono have to come to terms with their own insecurities before they can move on together says a lot about why relationships in general succeed or fail: he or she who cannot love oneself cannot love another, or words to that effect. The countdown, the return of colour and passionate embrace is up there with the best of them, and sure as hell beats everyone standing around and cheering “Congratulations!”.
The Renji/Chihiro arc in contrast felt more artificial - the dialogue felt forced early on, the setup was from the anime romance stock and I couldn’t relate to them as easily. It did however dramatise and more literally convey the ideas of memory and identity that the whole piece hinged on: by the end the resolution of their relationship was no less powerful, especially when those chains binding Chihiro’s existence finally fall away. Their story was more fantastical and symbolic than the realistic fiction of the other, using metaphors to great effect. The nihilistic conclusion to Chihiro’s semi-autobiographical tale of a girl alone on an island foretold tragedy for her and Renji which only turned out be temporary, but also ultimately showed how problems can be overcome with determination and compromise.
The final coda part did come across as a bit too cut-and-dried however even though it was on the whole a good ending, insofar as it drew a line under the events and didn’t leave important issues unaddressed. Since the characters all had their share of uncertainties and surprises, it was a little jarring to have everything neatly packaged and tied up with a bow - where was that edginess and angst that permeated every episode?
I couldn’t do a review of ef without mentioning Tenmon’s music, of course; it was after all the reason why I picked up this show in the first place. I wouldn’t say the soundtrack here is quite as good as those of Shinkai’s stuff but nevertheless when the situation demanded it, the melodies took a leap into the stratosphere and made up a significant part of my justification for called this series great. I was particularly impressed that he/she/they (I’m still not sure if Tenmon is a single artist or a group) was able to make use of synths and even acoustic guitars in addition to the usual choice of piano and strings, while maintaining that typically heart-rending Tenmon feel. The op theme too was really soaring; I loved the way in which the lyrics changed from Engrish to Japanese to suit the slightly altered animation sequence it accompanied.
In Summary
For some, ef was a gimmicky and pretentious show that tried to take the old romance thing and retell it with SHAFT’s characteristically eccentric visual style. For me, it actually succeeded at this, which is what I believe made it so outstanding; the lives of ordinary, flawed people (Miyako and Hirono) or those touched by a handicap that’s almost too improbable to be true (Chihiro and Renji) are made to feel so much more powerful when the plot devices and direction hit you in an unusual way. Yes, it was experimental and occasionally obtuse headtrip material of the Anno school and yes, it was also the rose-tinted soft-focus landscapes of Shinkai, but is that actually a bad thing? I still think it all looked beautiful.
Posted on December 30th, 2007 @ 5:00 am
Nice opening paragraph. You nailed it good. More and more people out there believe there are no longer any more original stories under the sun; but there are always new ways to recite them.
By the way, the Chihiro/Renji bit seemed artificial at first because it was suppose to. It’s just like how some folks initially complained that Chihiro’s voice sounded like she was about to cry…
It’s stuff like that which blows my mind.
Posted on December 30th, 2007 @ 9:45 pm
@Omo: cheers. I did still find Chihiro’s voice a bit annoying, but after a while conceded that the artificial nature of her story was intended to be the symbolic part of the series’ message - Miyako and Hirono’s arc was the more down-to-earth take on the show’s themes. Overall I’d say it was pretty special - something that sparks as much controversy as ef has to be doing something right.