Spoilers ahead. Skip to the end for a short spoilerfree review 420http://i.ur.com/YOVUo96.gif Youre showing your honesty in the wrong place What initially garnered my interest in this show barring being created by Studio SHAFT was the multiplot story. ef is situated between two homestay romance premises the love triangle with tenseness that Guts couldnt hope to slice open and the boymeetsgirl clich alarmingly ripe with innocence. Though contrary to the clich nature of the premises all the more elevated by the dated 2000s character designs ef defies them with sincere characterization and poignancy. That is to say their heartstirring internal conflicts. Taking the most prominent and tragic as example Chihiros existential crisis derives from the fact that her memory resets itself every 13 hours resulting in a selfperception that she possesses no concrete identity no future no present. Eternally entrapped within a 12year circle her reach extending 13 hours. Forgetting people pains her but people forgetting her pains her more. Thus Chihiros heart opens just enough for books to seep in the only things that wont hurt her. Though comparatively mundane to Chihiros extreme situation the remaining cast possess heartfelt struggles as well. However I found the love triangle plot substantially weaker. In cohesion that is. Hiro Miyako and Kei worked well individualistically. Particularly Miyako had an especially amazing monologue that broke her character up to that point. Disappointingly the attempt in connecting their internal conflicts into a cohesive plot made for a laughably theatrical cesspool that love triangles are no strangers to. The symbolism of Miyako and Kei representing Hiros freedom and future turned into a complete failure of the Bechdel test that quite literally made me pause the episodes to pace around my room to cool down. Somehow rather than conveying the impressive pathos behind their internal conflicts the show chooses to render it all to melodramatic crying screaming and running like some poorlybudgeted chick flick. Though it occasionally works at times to execute the high intensity and emotional explosiveness of the characters its comedic all else where. https://www..com/watch?v=x1fV9Vdlok Miracles dont exist in this world Though saving graces are present in all other regards in ef to a degree. Shin Oonuma and his team stylized ef far removed from the headtilts and geometrical vector orgies usually associated with Studio SHAFT but the direction possesses a similar eccentricity yet comparatively subdued. The framing and cinematography stands out most prominently in regards to efs memorable direction. Camera angles switch jarringly between consecutive scenes though certainly effective and interesting to see. Visual symbolism and imagery are also a common reoccurrence sometimes elevated by striking effects like silhouetting a character into a blackandbackground mask. However this all certainly borders nauseatingly ostentatious once youre hit with desensitization to the visuals. I suppose in this regard it complements the justas ostentatious and nauseating plots as they progress downtheroad. 420https://theotakumeme.com/assets//all/IhXL4xjWkcTYe6sv.gif Conclusion ef gracefully waltzes and embarrassingly stumbles. Born out of clich premises all too welcomed in the romance genre are surprising intricacy in internal conflicts and walloping pathos. Though I found the two plots noticeably disproportionate in quality the individualism of the characters shine through. However the very intricacy that breathed life into the show also dilapidated it after some time. The complex intense rampant thoughts and emotions swirling in the characters minds vomit out in overdramatic blatantly laughable courses of actions and trainsofthoughts. While some scenes portray this extreme intensity well amazing even they unfortunately arent sufficient in compromising for the notsogood instances of highrunning emotionality. Though the characters were potently laced with intricate potential they find themselves acting out of irrationality as ef progresses. The visuals suffer from the same intense plague to a degree. Though unique and effective in conveying emotional intensity the charm falls apart when its intrigue becomes borderline ostentatious after some time. Still the visual direction alone made it slightlylessthanbearable to trudge through this show. For a show that prides itself with intricate characters through careful characterization it fails to fully blossom and instead ventures to deprecate them through frustratingly laughable melodrama. Including but not limited to obsessive girls fighting over a guy screaming at God at the beach running through the city to find ripped diary entries. Though I understand the intent of intensity its execution mostly comes off much too frustrating to appreciate how it complements the nature of the show. However the melodramatic romance market has always been one overripe with eager fans so I can certainly see the merits in ef. Unfortunately Im not part of that demographic. Oh but lets not forget the banger soundtrack. Bump that shit. https://www..com/watch?v=05fbwE5RMSs https://www..com/watch?v=P5EvZWE2gpc