ef: A Tale of Melodies.

In a story set years in the past, Himura Yuu is a studious and diligent young man intent solely on maintaining his top academic position at Otowa Academy. One day, he meets a mysterious girl named Amamiya Yuuko, who, to his surprise, recognizes him. Memories of a distant childhood, memories rather left forgotten... meeting Yuuko again will force Yuu to confront the regrets and sorrows of their collective pasts and presents.

In the present, Kuze Shuuichi may seem like a womanizer, but upon closer inspection, is a man who would rather be left alone. Hayama Mizuki, however, is not the type of girl who would let him be, especially after hearing the beautiful sounds of his violin performance. As Mizuki attempts to become closer to him, Kuze attempts to push her away—the tale of their budding relationship is darkened with undertones of an imminent tragedy.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Amamiya, Yuuko Main

Nakajima, Yumiko Japanese

Himura, Yuu Main

Toochika, Kouichi Japanese

Kuze, Shuuichi Main

Hamada, Kenji Japanese

Hayama, Mizuki Main

Gotou, Mai Japanese

Shindou, Chihiro ing

Yanase, Natsumi Japanese

Miyamura, Miyako ing

Taguchi, Hiroko Japanese

Asou, Renji ing

Takagi, Motoki Japanese

Hirono, Hiro ing

Shimono, Hiro Japanese

Shindou, Kei ing

Okada, Junko Japanese

Tsutsumi, Kyosuke ing

Tai, Yuuki Japanese

Kubota, Mitsutoshi Producer

Kananiwa, Kozue Producer

Matsuda, Akio Producer

Oonuma, Shin Director

Reviews

Mar 16, 2024

MxS7HGS

Recommended

I want to share how great this series is that I've been watching for the past few days and it's called Melodies. It has been around for about 16 years now, and I can assure you, it is a real gem.

Now, if you know another series, The World God Only Knows, you are probably thinking that they have some points in common, but still, they are very different from each other. Initially, both shows may come off as a bit rough around the edges, but by the final season, they really take off.

The narrative is what I find to be the most appealing aspect about ... Melodies. It is so vast, allowing us to visit different places and times. The central character is a guy called Yuu, who has been through hell recently, and the series deals with his problems and hardships. Not only that, I think Yuu deserves a pat on the back for setting up this refuge for the homeless and orphans in Australia. Such a heartwarming thing!

Also, the animation is improved so much in comparison with the first season. The whole world seems so real and the details are incredible. Oh, and the soundtrack is awesome too! It feels like a rollercoaster ride for the soul, and the music helps to establish the right mood for every scene.

Voice acting?Aces. In short, the actors are like the wind in the characters' sails. And we cannot forget the characters! They are so well-developed and charismatic.Yuu and Yuuko?Absolute gems. However, even the secondary characters are a joy to watch.

Altogether, Melodies stands out as a beautiful and captivating show. Believe me, that it is worth each and every minute of your time.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Aug 27, 2019

RyanSpring

Mixed Feelings

You shouldn't be watching this unless you've completed season 1 or a lot of things simply will not make sense and I can say very safely, since by and large the shows are very similar, if you enjoyed season 1 you'll enjoy season 2 and if you didn't you won't. I didn't particularly care for season 1 and as such, while this show isn't horrible and I liked it slightly better than its predecessor, I didn't particularly care for this either.

Most of the praises and complaints from my season 1 review are still applicable here. Like the previous season, you could easily skip the first ... four or five episodes here and miss little to nothing- it's a very slow, boring start. The visual presentation scores high marks for originality and artistic beauty and it's even better this time around. The story, as a whole, is lacking. There just isn't a lot of meat on the bone. At the end of it all, while very pretty, you're more or less viewing a bare bones story presented in the most artistic way possible.

If you're someone who enjoys abstract art I don't see how you'd not love this, as this show goes deep into that territory. I'm not one of those people, so I found many of those scenes simply weird as opposed to deep and compelling.

The plot also has some serious problems and conveniences. Did you know dropping a lit cigarette can set an entire mansion ablaze? I didn't either, but it happens in this show. Did you also know that a person can hit another person with a car on a busy street with zero witnesses, no inclination to get out and help or call an ambulance and no one will by or notice the victim bleeding out until the main character does? Did you also know that two people can have a deeply close, father/daughter type relationship for a decade but the entire time the father has no clue what the daughter's last name is? Dumb things like that made it hard for me to take the show seriously and absolutely detracted from my overall enjoyment.

The music was able but forgettable and the opening theme in particular felt lazy as it was more or less the same song from the first time around- same beat and all- but with different lyrics. Also, one of the characters is a "world renowned violinist" but until the second to last episode of the show he seems to know one, and only one, violin song.

All in all this might be a good watch for abstract art lovers or those who are easily touched by anything remotely in the realm of emotional but for me this was largely slow and boring and there just wasn't a whole heck of a lot of depth. Couple that with some plot problems and forced down your throat "moral of the story" moments and you're left with something mediocre that I'd not be interested in ever watching again.

OBJECTIVE RATING- 6.5-7
PERSONAL ENJOYMENT RATING- 6.5

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Aug 7, 2024

yoloswagger95

Not Recommended

I give this show an even lower rating than ef - a tale of memories and here is why:

In ef - a tale of melodies trauma and abuse are thrown around to spice up the drama in a really distasteful & misogynistic way. so one of the female characters traumatic abuse is presented - just to be 'saved' by one of the male main characters. I wonder why so many people 1) like this series in general 2) are able to identify or connect with those characters. they literally have no personality and abysmal communication skills. I feel like most of these "conflicts" between our ... protagonists could be avoided if the characters had a level of communication skill that would be normal for their age. The Yuuko arc panders to a pathological savior complex and -even if there is no effort to write her as a multifaceted and interesting character- is insulting to her. the way the show handled such a serious topic like physical/sexual abuse was very low and not nuanced at all. I know this is just a stupid show based on a stupid VN and I shouldn't be mad about it.

The only reason I don't give a 1/10 is because artwork and sound are way too good to be wasted on this project

Love yourself, don't watch this

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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