'Ef - A Tale of Memories'

(CREDIT: to the creators. duh.)

Rank: 5 out of 5 <-- Guess I'm not a heartless biatch after all. :P

The anime revolves around two protagonists, Hirono Hiro and Asou Renji. On Christmas Eve, Hiro meets a girl named Miyamura Miyako who was chasing a purse snatcher. He later finds out that Miyako also goes to the same school as he does and they start hanging out together, making Hiro's childhood friend Shindou Kei jealous.

Meanwhile, Asou Renji meets a girl named Shindou Chihiro at an abandoned train station. He soon learns that Chihiro suffers from a type of amnesia where her memory span only lasts for 13 hours. He also discovers Chihiro's dream of writing a novel and decides to help her fulfill it due to her condition.

(From Anime New Network.)

The anti-romantic Fangirl has been defeated again. No, more than that. I was stabbed in the heart, beaten to a bloody pulp, and left on the side of the road as a testament to all about what happens when someone disses romanticism. And to that, I apologize to the world... now, you must pay my medical bill. But let me say a few things before I get pummeled again. This show is so sappy, it's almost as bad as Titanic and The Notebook. Something like this should set me off, make me blow up every red heart [the shape - not the organ] on the face of this planet. I should complain about how wimpy the characters (especially the guys) were. BUT I CAN'T.

Ef - A Tale of Memories has pretty much left me almost nothing to say about it other than it was far better than I expected. I was only initially interested because Arkada mentioned the show TWICE in his Glass Reflection videos: once on a list of sad moments in anime and another on 10 anime that should be dubbed. If a guy admits that he enjoyed a romantic drama anime enough that he cried... yeah... a few points given already.

Yes, A Tale of Memories made me freaking cry a few times. It was wonderful to finally watch a show where there is no filler content whatsoever, the characters are likable, and the plot moves quickly, but smoothly. How Ef could tell two storylines in 12 episodes and deliver both of them so beautifully and emotionally is way beyond what my brain can wrap around. There were loads of moments where I should have made fun of the characters for being melodramatic, but those scenes would make my heart heavy instead.

Once I got a sense of where the story was going, everything about the show seemed nearly perfect. The overall soundtrack is very good as well with various opening and ending songs; although, it took a while for the music to grow on me. And the animation. Holy crap. Every scene is gorgeous and is truly an artistic feast, and I felt very content every time. The voice actors were phenomenal because almost every thing they said felt so raw and natural. I could go on and mention the memorable scenes for their music, imagery, and emotion, but I would take too long: A Tale of Memories is THAT good.

Complaints? ... ... ... 12 episodes is way too short. And it NEEDS to be dubbed in English. By professionals. None of that 4Kids quality garbage or else I will take back every nice thing I said about this show.

Because the scenes can be surrealistic and it's a romance drama, Ef - A Tale of Memories might be good to try out for some and not for others. But if romance or drama is up your alley... why the hell haven't you googled this show yet? I can't quite call this show a masterpiece, but if it can ever be distributed on the western hemisphere, I'd probably put this show on my shelf within seconds. I'll go back to watch the show again for sure, but for now, Ef - A Tale of Memories deserves a perfect 5 out of 5.

Are there memories you do not want to forget?