Snapshot: ef - a tale of melodies. - 01 October 7
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)
Heartofadeadpoet at 3:28 am on October 7th, 2008
FIRST! lol
ChaCha at 3:30 am on October 7th, 2008
I have been waiting for this. I hope this is going to be as good as memories
oTAKu at 3:34 am on October 7th, 2008
Yes, yes, YES! It’s here!
Putang at 3:34 am on October 7th, 2008
Boobs…. O_O
Kaitune at 3:38 am on October 7th, 2008
BOOOOBBB!
Ahem… what’s a pretty pair of boobs it is… Seriously.
Chimasternmay at 3:51 am on October 7th, 2008
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.
winters1942 at 3:52 am on October 7th, 2008
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.
shh227 at 3:57 am on October 7th, 2008
THe opening theme was better than the first!
@ Divine
Are you going to blog ef this time or is omni is?
hayate at 3:59 am on October 7th, 2008
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”
divine at 4:12 am on October 7th, 2008
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.
tylon at 4:20 am on October 7th, 2008
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.
vldl at 4:26 am on October 7th, 2008
maybe this time, they will spell it from the back?
ruffles at 4:27 am on October 7th, 2008
aaahhh, my sky porn is back.
Kresnik at 4:35 am on October 7th, 2008
It’s sad to know already that there will be no justice for Nagi.
Sturmwind at 4:40 am on October 7th, 2008
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.
Shippoyasha at 4:41 am on October 7th, 2008
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.
aki-san at 4:45 am on October 7th, 2008
@vldl
possibility, but i doubt they’re gonna show 15eps because there are 15 letters in the opening song title unless i could be wrong.
minikui at 4:52 am on October 7th, 2008
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;
shh227 at 4:54 am on October 7th, 2008
@ aki-san
well the first seies left the last letter D I think.
Sturmwind at 4:56 am on October 7th, 2008
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 ! ^^