First Impressions / Series Introduction / Snapshots

OP Sequence:

OP: “ebullient future” by ELISA
Watch the OP!: Mirror 1, Mirror 2, Show Streaming ▼

「ever」
“ever”

First Glance:
A SHAFT sequel that really needs no introduction, ef – a tale of melodies. seemingly continues where ef – a tale of memories. left off, except this time the story revolves around some of the other characters. Referred to as “ef2” by minori, the story thus far appears to revolve around two separate tales, with one being Himura Yuu and Amamiya Yuuko‘s, and the other Kuze Shuuichi and Hayama Mizuki‘s. With Yuu and Shuuichi sharing a common past, it’ll be interesting to see how their stories intertwine, especially with a new character to the anime series—Hirono Hiro’s older sister, Nagi (…which probably explains where Hiro’s pen name “Shindou Nagi” came from). Voiced by Itou Shizuka and having a new take on nude art where the artist draws in the buff, Nagi has already become the most interesting character in my eyes. Thus far, she’s only been shown in Yuu and Shuuichi’s flashbacks though, so it’ll be interesting to see how much of a role she plays in the overall story. With Yuu and Yuuko’s mysterious presence being felt throughout the first series, I’m looking forward to seeing the story between those two as well. Shuuichi on the other hand is bearing a secret concerning his past as a professional violinist, hiding behind masks (figuratively speaking), and taking medication (supposedly). To hopefully uncover what his seemingly dark secret is Shindou Kei’s number one fan, Mizuki.

Visual-wise, we’re treated to backdrop after backdrop of jaw dropping sunsets and vast skies, but any source of light in ef seems to give off that surreal effect. Definitely no complaints in that department. Music-wise, TENMON and ELISA return to compose and sing the opening song respectively, so “ebullient future” sounds a lot like “euphoric field” at several parts. I would imagine this was done on purpose though, especially seeing how the words “euphoric” and “field” appear in the opening sequence. Personally, I love how the two songs tie together so well, since it makes this series really feel like a direct sequel in every aspect. The one different thing that I noticed though is how bold the girls are this time around, with Nagi baring it all in front of Yuu, and Mizuki willingly dressing up in Shuuichi’s strange collection of female uniforms. It works for me though as I really like the female characters in this series, so the more nude drawing and cosplaying the better. On a separate note, I was surprised to see Renji have a part here, as I thought him, Hiro, and Kyousuke wouldn’t show up this time around. However, I guess that can’t be avoided in Renji’s case, being Shuuichi’s neighbour and all. As such, I hope to see Hiro and Kyousuke sometime down the road (at least briefly), but we’ll have to wait and see if they show up at all. There was a paper airplane in Yuu’s past though, so perhaps they’ll tie in Hiro with Nagi somehow.

I think it’s only a given to follow this sequel if you were a fan of the first series, so it’s really a no-brainer in that regard. With SHAFT in charge of production and TENMON in charge of music, I feel rest assured that we’re in store for a surreal, emotional, roller coaster ride of a season again. The image of Yuu being crucified in the opening sequene is kind of severe, making me wonder if that’s supposed to be foreshadowing anything. Last but not least, the first episode title was “ever”, with the next one being “read”, so it doesn’t seem like they’re spelling out the opening song title “ebullient future” this time around. Any guesses as to what they’re going to spell out with the first letters of each episode title?

 

Notable Cast:
– Amamiya Yuuko (雨宮 優子) : Nakajima Yumiko (中島 裕美子)
– Himura Yuu (火村 夕) : Toochika Kouichi (遠近 孝一)
– Hayama Mizuki (羽山 ミズキ) : Gotou Mai (後藤 麻衣)
– Kuze Shuuichi (久瀬 修一) : Hamada Kenji (浜田 賢二)
– Hirono Nagi (広野 凪) : Itou Shizuka (伊藤 静)
– Amamiya Akira (雨宮 明良) : Furusawa Tooru (古澤 徹)
– Shindou Kei (新藤 景) : Okada Junko (岡田 純子)
– Shindou Chihiro (新藤 千尋) : Yanase Natsumi (やなせ なつみ)
– Asou Renji (麻生 蓮治) : Takagi Motoki (高城 元気)
– Asou Sumire (麻生 すみれ) : Aoki Sayaka (あおき さやか)
– Miyamura Miyako (宮村 みやこ) : Taguchi Hiroko (田口 宏子)
– Hirono Hiro (広野 紘) : Shimono Hiro (下野 紘)
– Himura Akane (火村 茜) : Shimeno Junko (〆野 潤子)
– Izumi Emi (泉 絵美) : Nobiki Kaori (野引 香里)

61 Comments

  6. yea im watching this to see the final 4 people pair up, which would then finsih covering both ef. games although from the first one they did not show much of kei and Kyosuke and how they ended up… it was kinda given… well this one will be great and unique like the first to so bring this on.

    Chimasternmay
    Reply

  7. About time. I’ve been listening to entire Ef music collection when I found what day this is release. I still can’t get enough of the music, I could listen to this all day. The PV music was driving me nuts already.

    winters1942
    Reply

  9. seeing how the words “euphoric” and “field” appear in the opening sequence.

    Don’t forget “eternal feather”, “emotional flutter” and “ever forever”, they are the song use in the game and their first letter in each song combine is “ef”

    hayate
    Reply

  10. shh227:
    I’m pretty undecided about blogging anything this season to be honest. Omni already has SOUL EATER on Mondays though, so if I leave it to him, he’ll probably choose between Vampire Knight Guilty or this, rather than being overly ambitious like me last season and blogging 3-4 shows in a single day.

    divine
    Reply

  11. Finally, ef is out. Well, it’s quiet obvious that Yuu will be pairing up with Yuuko – last season final scene. Goodbye, Nagi…
    As for the episode title, I’m guessing it is the reverse way of writing the song title. However, the title of the opening song got 15 char. Kinda long.

    tylon
    Reply

  15. yes ! some more german in anime I guess i’ll read all of it and after that i’ll start laughing until I die cuz german in anime is even worse than engrish in almost every case.

    Sturmwind
    Reply

  16. I have a feeling something REALLY bad will happen to Yuu and Yuuko. That’s the only way to explain why they’re like freakin’ romance shamans in the first seasons and Yuuko was basically a ghost.

    Shippoyasha
    Reply

  18. well, this season is amazing. So many good shows after only one episode ><

    why not get another regular blogger if it’s too much for you two? There are so many good series this season, so I guess it will be hard to decide …

    although I’d be surprised if Onmi choses Vampire Knight over ef … I had the feeling he liked the first season of ef a lot more than VK?

    And Nagi looks so much like Kei oO;

    minikui
    Reply

  20. well after reading almost everything I guess I was quite wrong. This is not even comparable in any way i could think of. It’s almost perfect German and even the content is pretty good I think it totally fits to the impression I got while watching the first season. Well at times like this I’m really happy that I was born in Germany. Opladen ftw ! ^^

    Sturmwind
    Reply

  22. Spelling the song name backwards works I guess. With “ebullient future” being 15 characters long like everyone’s mentioned, they could combine some to bring the count down to 12-13, like they in the last episode of memories for L and D (the epilogue).

    minikui:
    If you know of anyone that…
    1.) is pretty semi/completely fluent in Japanese,
    2.) is completely fluent in English,
    3.) writes well,
    4.) has an avid interest in all things anime,
    5.) has time for weekly commitments,
    6.) and won’t disappear when things get hectic

    … let me know. 🙂

    divine
    Reply

  24. wow i didnt realize the episode titles spelled that @_@ and hayate’s comment: “Don’t forget “eternal feather”, “emotional flutter” and “ever forever”, they are the song use in the game and their first letter in each song combine is “ef””

    wow. damn. good observations!

    corroded
    Reply

  26. I really can’t wait for this. I’ll probably just watch it raw because I’m so excited about it. I’m pretty sure most of the season 1 characters will appear because they’re all connected. Hiro and Kei are Mizuki’s friends. Miyako might appear because she’ll be with Hiro, same with Kyosuke and Kei. Renji is Shuuichi’s neighbour and Chihiro lives with Yuu. So it was really inevitable. I really like them all so I hope they appear more.

    Hikari
    Reply

  27. https://randomc.net/image/Snapshots/ef%20-%20a%20tale%20of%20melodies%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2008.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Snapshots/ef%20-%20a%20tale%20of%20melodies%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2010.jpg

    Whoa. While nude art is quite normal (and I’ve seen tons of such work in person and in books), the artist himself/herself drawing them while in the nude is another matter :D. Perhaps Nagi is trying to “connect” with her work? (or maybe make.. um.. nevermind)

    Sailor Enlil
    Reply

  32. As to an answer to the title spelling, they might be doing a backwards thing. If you look at the first letter of “ever” and “read”, you get “e and r”, and “ebullient future” ends with an “r and an e.” So it is possible they might do it that way. We won’t find out until later though if that’s true. So what do you think? Interesting way to think about the title, no? =^_^= Thanks for blogging!

    OtakuLeader
    Reply

  33. That was quite an intro. I like it much more than the first season’s op. The part where there’s a guy crucified and how the guy’s trying to remove his hands from the nails along with the two girls doing that despair thing is kickass. The running girl bursting into a bunch of feathers was also great.

    This is my most anticipated anime this season. Who’s subbing this time around?

    Haha
    Reply

  35. can somebody explain to me how this is linked to the previous season???

    is this a direct sequel(in time,too)

    after seeing the white haired guy i thought, that this is a flashback, when he was younger.

    and what’s with the two main protagonists in the first season, will they appear with their girl? as i remember from the first seasons end, they are now in deep relationships.

    i’m not fond of the names anymore, so to all who like to share their knowledge about this anime – spit it out! 🙂

    tommykn
    Reply

  38. @tommykn
    If you look at this from an extremely broad perspective and encompass the game from which this is originally made from, the title of the franchise is ef – a Fairy Tale of the Two. The “two” in question is Yu and Yuuko meeting in the church and talking to each other, telling each other two stories from which each of them had a hand in influencing. What we get from the game and from the anime is the stories these two people are telling each other, hence why they take place in the same town and feature a reoccurring cast. If there are any “main” characters for ef as a whole, then it would be Yu and Yuuko.

    This second game (from which the anime is loosely based off of) isn’t a sequel in the traditional sense where the story picks up after the previous one, but rather it’s a continuation of the stories that Yu and Yuuko are telling each other in the church. Since the first anime covered Miyako/Hiro, Kei/Kyouske to a lesser degree, and Chihiro/Renji (which is actually part of the second game), this second anime is covering the remaining story in the ef – a Fairy Tale of the Two, which happen to be Mizuki/Shuui.

    As someone who hasn’t played the game, this next part is purely speculation:
    It is in Yu and Yuuko’s story telling that their own past is revealed and we (supposedly) get the overall encompassing meaning behind ef. This is the final story and in essence, the story of ef, and it is being presented to us in this second installment of the anime. If you watch the opening of the second game, you can see that Mizuki and Yuuko do have some sort of connecting story, and the fact that Shuuichi was someone from Yu and Yuuko’s past and is now playing an active role in Mizuki’s “present-day” story, it’s logical to place these two stories together.

    Nanatsuya
    Reply

  39. yuu himura is the white haired guy with the glasses in the first season, he is one of the story teller but yuko was involved,too. didn’t both of them knew the “fairytale” of the first season?

    isn’t it like in the first season yuu tells the story and in the second season yuko tells the story ???

    btw. is the white haired boy in the screenshots Yuu, too??? why does he look so young, is it a flashback ??? i didn’t see the episode yet.

    a reappearence of chidori+renji and hiro+miyako won’t happen, right? even if they are in the same town and so on.

    tommykn
    Reply

  40. Well chidori+renji and hiro+miyako and kei+kyosuke I am sure all of them will at one time appear since Renji has had some screen time with his cousin Mizuki, in this first episode. I don’t know if we will see them as couples but I am assume that they will be couples since their stories are finnished already.

    I think this series we are going to see a lot of past and present scenes.

    shh227
    Reply

  41. I’ll have to check this one out. I decided to watch the first ef series (back when it aired) because of the fact that it’s a non-harem dating sim series, which is interesting (at least more than the usual; I’m getting tired of harem series).

    Hmm. Maybe my memory is failing me, but I don’t recall fan-service in the first one.

    Totally off-topic mini-rant: I hate Naoki (Itazura na Kiss, which I’m currently watching); I want to smash his face in with a ratchet. 3/4 of the series is over, Show Spoiler ▼

    , and he still treats her like crap. Just watched the episode where Show Spoiler ▼

    , and at the end of the episode I’m thinking “That’s right, it’s just a lovers’ quarrel; she’ll simmer down in a day or two. It’s not like there’s some underlying cause that needs to be addressed, like the fact that he treats her like crap!”

    Justin Olbrantz (Quantam)
    Reply

  43. >Last but not least, the first episode title was “ever”, with the next one being “read”, so it doesn’t seem like they’re spelling out the opening song title “ebullient future” this time around. Any guesses as to what they’re going to spell out with the first letters of each episode title?

    “ebullient future” backwards? but they need 15 episodes to do that anyway.

    Random muser
    Reply

  45. o my god time to get the paper tissues, this is going to be intence, hearth breaking, and probably i will so depress for a month by the end of this T_T, chihiro and renji story pales in comparision to that of yuuko and yuu sniff,sniff T_T.

    lucky_huh?
    Reply

  50. it doesn’t make any sense for it to spell out memories although it does fit perfectly but we need to wait until they announce how long the series actually is or maybe they already announced it?

    Also I hope Chihiro doesn’t make an appearance 😛
    I hate her voice it makes me bleed from my ears

    Hei
    Reply

  53. @tommykn
    Your proposition of Yu telling the story in the first season and Yuuko telling the story in the second season, is somewhat correct in concept.

    Ef – The First Tale is told by Yuuko and it’s Miyako/Hiro’s story and Kei/Kyousuke’s story, and Ef – The Latter Tale is told by Yu and it’s Chihiro/Renji and Mizuki/Shuuichi’s story. The anime changed things up a little and tagged Chihiro/Renji’s story into Memories since there is no greater theme of memory than Chihiro’s story, this doesn’t mean that it’s Yuuko telling Chihiro’s story. The producers of the anime (for whatever reason) chose to change the motif for the two seasons for the anime, no longer is it about the “First Tale” and the “Latter Tale” but rather the memories and melodies theme, which is probably why Kei/Kyousuke’s story got tossed aside (I’m assuming it had little to do with the themes). It’s also safe to assume that the story of Ef, the game and anime, is still the same as it is still Yu and Yuuko telling each other stories, just the means of delivery are different.

    How Yu and Yuuko’s story is tied into The Latter Tale and Tale of Melodies is a slight mystery to me as I haven’t played the game, but the opening video to the game clearly shows Mizuki and Yuuko having met in the past at some point. Perhaps it’s a third story in The Latter Tale game, I really can’t say. You can find the videos on YouTube, Minori actually posted it there and has links to their website where you can DL a HQ version.

    Sorry if this is long winded, I’ve worked as a writer and editor so I tend to be detailed at times…

    Nanatsuya
    Reply

  55. thanks to the detailed explanation i now have a better understanding of the show.

    i just couldn’t figure out in which time which scene took place – i am still wondering how old yuuko and yuu are, and how much time has passed, between them meeting in the church and telling fairytales AND the actual happenings in the tales.

    tommykn
    Reply

  59. well regarding the german poem I have to say this the first time I have ever seen the correct usage(even rhetorical devices) of that language in an anime production … glad to see it because everytime I detect german or french phrases they are written in a weird way and thus gives me the creeps or the laughter xD… ah don’t misunderstand me this is not criticism rather I praise the production staff for doing a good job

    Seth
    Reply

  61. i guess i m a lil late to post comment n i think many of u alrdy know this but i wanted to tell u guys that the epi title were goin from right to left of the song title…. which mean they r goin bakward. i found out after watching epi 4 n look bak the title n it was rite!

    tun oak
    Reply

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