(L) ef - a tale of melodies

[Used Can]

Originally Posted by Shinji103

But that's what hit and runs, or rather car accidents in general, are. You don't see them coming. It would be seriously stupid if they spent a minute or so showing a random unnamed character getting drunk and getting in his car, etc. It's intended to be entirely random and out of nowhere, because it is. When life doesn't want you to be happy.....you don't be happy.

Yes, but the fact that it can happen in real life doesn't mean it'll look good in fiction. In fact, there are many, many ways in which someone can die in real life, that would look simply ridiculous in a fictional setting.

Anyway, I'm calling it forced drama because they had already finished the arc's main issue (which already involved loads, and loads of drama). Adding that scene out of nowhere just to give them a sad end seemed forced (even if something like that can (and does) happen in real life).

[SuperKnuckles]

On a lighter note, remember Minami-ke? One of its running gags was that its soap-opera TV show had the demonic, Killer Deus Ex Car™. It's almost become something a bit funny to observe, no matter what the vehicle. It truly is the most fitting definition of a deus ex plot device.

That said, to stick up for the show, it just shows that with Yuuko, there really was no way to go up. Literally. I think the back message is more important than maybe the actual presentation this time around.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Despite a minor/major plot device, this was still a strong episode.

Spoiler for ep10:

The accident was shockingly limp. Not that it needed to be built up to so much as that it didn't seem very forceful when it did happen. I can imagine something weirdly low-key being appropriate to this show, but this didn't seem to work to me.

But that aside, I still got a lot from this episode, if only to actually feel Yuuko's love and happiness. And who is that little girl, besides their daughter in spirit?

As was mentioned earlier, if Yuuko wasn't dead from the crash, she'd be dead from being flopped around by Yu as he carried her. But this is anime, so maybe.... But from the scenes in season one, I don't think she's alive.

Will Yu get together with Nagi now...? Will Kuze die, too? I just realized that for Yu, Chihiro was like a substitute for his little sister, as Yuuko was, too, I guess. Anyway, it;s now pretty understandable why he was such a negative guy in season one: besides being a basically negative personality, he had lost both his siser and Yuuko.

[Deathkillz]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

Wakame activates a trap card!
MICHIZURE!

Spoiler for ep10:

What... the hell...?

No... seriously... I'm not in shock about the events that happened in a good way. There was way too many things wrong with the last car scene.

1. What happened to the driver that ran her over? They just ran off? Isn't this a crime?
2. Yuu... Apparently, the guy is an idiot and a wimp. He finds Yuuko, heavily injured (actually, dead, but he has no way to figure that out at that moment), and runs up and SHAKES her.
3. Guess what? He doesn't call the police or ambulence. And guess what? He CARRIES her and CALMLY walks like an idiot. Let's use more logic here, please. Seriously... This guy is in high school, right?
4. Is there no one around................?
5. Yuuko sure seemed to have the energy left to sing after being run over, huh? And how did she get where she was?

Not only that, but this whole episode was rather dull, spending 18 minutes spending daily life with a young girl Mikki, who is definitely Mizuki. To follow it up, most of the episode is done in monochrome/sepia color, so the dullness is upped.
And while everything is calm...
ALL OF A SUDDEN, a car just comes running down Yuuko!

Hah?!
What kind of development is that?...

And Kuze can add Lolicon to his list of deeds now, including being a emo for several episodes...

I guess this proves 1 thing... One of the major factors of the show that kept the tension up was Wakame. Now that he's gone, we are left with this, as the anime SLOWLY reveals how Mikki met Yuuko/Yuu and Yuuko died in some comedic fashion.
Oh... and it didn't help that she died from a car... So cliched and simple. As expected of cars, they sure do their jobs.

*clap**clap*

And now, Yuuko will be joining my beloved Wakame in the underworld. Adieu~

Wow... I'm so disappointed in Shaft. It seems they aren't following the events from the novel directly, from what some people said?
Which makes sense, since this development was some grim comedy. I laughed, oh I laughed... Even though I was supposed to be crying... (-_-)

Pretty much said everything I wanted to say...

ep 10

Spoiler:

The whole death scene was completely underwhelming and made me laugh instead of cry for reasons noted above.

Thanks to the streets being conveniently deserted at the time of the accident asides from the LOL-car and its hit and run driver, and then Yuuko managing to crawl god knows how far to the tree before dying after singing to herself, this seemed more like a melodrama comedy than a tragic story.

It didn't help that 3/4 of the episode was made of bore :/

Shame that I couldn't feel as emotional as some of you guys out there.

[Shinji103]

Originally Posted by Used Can

Yes, but the fact that it can happen in real life doesn't mean it'll look good in fiction. In fact, there are many, many ways in which someone can die in real life, that would look simply ridiculous in a fictional setting.

Neither does that mean it doesn't work in anime.

Anyway, I'm calling it forced drama because they had already finished the arc's main issue (which already involved loads, and loads of drama). Adding that scene out of nowhere just to give them a sad end seemed forced (even if something like that can (and does) happen in real life).

You're still missing the point. The point being, it is supposed to come from out of nowhere. That's the entire intention. No buildup. You think everybody is fine and safe. Then wham. Like I said, when life doesn't want you to be happy.....you don't be happy. Good fortune just didn't smile on these two, and it sucked. That's the entire point. Not every romance ends happily, sadly enough, whether it be because of a violent rapist, or because some guy mowed you down with his car and ran off.

[Avisch]

I thought the episode was fine.
But yeah I do see the complaints

Spoiler for episode 10:

Apparently Minori likes using cars to make tragedy
oh wait Serenade pointed that out

Oh... and it didn't help that she died from a car... So cliched and simple. As expected of cars, they sure do their jobs.

Well. Putting off my complaints. I do understand that Yuuko's death did do the job of giving the "Tragedy can quickly strike" message.

Miki is cute (god that expression when she said "YUUKO!" was just awesome), though I kind of was expecting another episode with her and Yuuko.

[destiny4everlove]

Episode 10

Spoiler for My review of the ep:

Why is life sometimes so unfair?!!! I’m heartbroken because this episode finally confirmed what I have been afraid of all along, that yes, Yuuko is in fact dead!! This episode was painful because both my favorite female character and favorite pairing of this season were killed with one hit, in an instant. As much as Yuuko’s death broke my heart, I must say I loved more than one thing in this episode:

-I loved all Yuuko x Yuu moments!! Yuuko and Yuu were finally able to experience happiness, especially Yuuko. They looked so cute and happy living together.

-I loved all the interactions between Yuuko and Miki. Yuuko knowing just how to reach and help Miki-chan made me like Yuuko even more than before. The scene of Yuuko, Miki and Yuu holding hands was so cute; they looked like a very adorable little family.

-Yuuko’s song was precious!! It really touched my heart.

I knew everything was pointing to Yuuko being dead, but I still had a tiny bit of hope that there could still be a happy ending for Yuuko and Yuu, but after this episode all my hope is gone.

Other important things to mention about this episode:

-Nagi is so cool. Great girl indeed!

-Since Miki-chan is an orphan, I guess this means she was adopted by Renji’s uncle and aunt.

-I finally fully understand the phrase from episode 6 of ef-memories. I’m referring to the song that Himura taught Kuze and that Kuze said to Chihiro in ep. 6. I wonder if that phrase had anything to do with Yuu moving to Australia.

-Yuu’s painful expression as soon as he sees Yuuko after the accident was so heartbreaking. Poor Yuuko!!!!!! Poor Yuu!!!

-Yuuko’s last wish before dying was to see Yuu one more time; I guess this is why her spirit hasn’t gone away yet.

-Yuu could not give Yuuko the flowers he bought for her; the scene when he drops the flowers was so painful!!

-Christmas is such a tragic day in Ef.

[Zippicus]

I don't necessarily mind when they have characters die and whatnot. I do somewhat object to the way they're using it though. I mean what exactly is the impact of a character death when said character is still interacting with people. It's like the author wants it both ways and with something generally considered absolute like death that's not a great idea IMO.

[gaoyuanyuan1]

what happended to Amamiya sensei? Just being a goner?

[Cruel]

I think we might have something like the H20 ending happen. I just remember Yuu, saying it wasn't over with Yuuko after Kuze went off on Nagi and him a few episodes ago. He's probably in denial. But, I'm sure that Yuuko has the ability to see Yuu whenever she wants I think.

I'd say it's like Yuuko descends from heaven to be the guardian angel over the people she loves.

A note on episode 10. It wasn't as sad of a death for Yuuko as I thought. I figured someone would murder her or she'd commit suicide. It was better that it was a car in my opinion. Yuu can't really go on a revenge thing at least.

[germanturkey]

in the first season

Spoiler:

Yuu always was at the church saying he was waiting for someone. so i guess its logical to say that the two of them never met again.

and for ep 10

Spoiler:

wtf... the car came out of nowhere. and i knew a split second before it happened that it would happen. the song didn't really have as much of an impact as i thought it would. perhaps if the song was "better." but now after watching this ep the openings to the games make so much more sense now.

wahhhhh

oh and when they were talking about the Angel stairs

Spoiler:

i said to myself, they also represent an angel ascending into heaven too

[Leo_Otaku]

Just watched episode. I hven't played the game a it wasn't out when I wanted it *shakes fist at May 30th*

As for episode 10

Spoiler for episode 10:

I knew it was cming since I had seen the CG images. But WTF that wasn't playe out too well. Camera angles fell short on delivering a good blow. To answer poeple yeah hit and runds are a crime. My friend at work was hit by a car and the jerk drove away. People suck... anyway if you want to see this shit done right go to get Kyoani to animate it >.> I was excepting to bawl my eyes out KEY style and was left short. I did have my eyes water but not cry "cry". But the Angel stairs reminded me of the awe inspiring game OP when she decends from the stairs of heaven

I'm going to look at those CG images now >.> Wow ok I would like to tell people what really happens in the game way more emotional then what happened.

[Shiroth]

Rewatching this episode was rather painful.

Spoiler for Episode 10:

Rewatching this episode crushed me a little. It was a bit difficult to do so when you know what's going to happen at the end, though saying that i was able to see a few of the scenes in a new light --- especially the Yuuko and Miyuki scenes.

I still say that the scenes between Yuu and Nagi are some of the best we've seen from them in this series. The chemistry those two have works so well, they just bounce of one another.

I like Kuze and Mizuki's scene because it's something i didn't think was going to happen. Wasn't sure if they'd be able to pull it off without looking out of place, but boy was i wrong.

My favorite scene of the episode still is [size=-5]Yuuko's last scene before Yu and Miyuki appear.[/i] The BGM used at that scene truly is spectacular. I love that version of 'a moon filled sky'.

Kinda annoys me that i've been hearing people say they just laughed at the last 5 or so minutes of this episode. Some people just have no heart.

[Azure_Peregrine]

Okay, this one's gonna be a challenge for me, I want to make a post... that isn't multiple pages long. *Need to save all my writing for my exams today*

I thought this episode was brilliant, and thinking back on it now, it makes so much sense from a narrative standpoint.

Spoiler:

I don't intend to do my usual analysis of this episode (yet, anyways), but I do wanna point out that black and white are Yuuko and Yuu, respectively... so that's probably why they chose to do this episode in black and white, because, more so than any other episode, this one was really all about them... Yes, even though Miki was there.

I'm not sure there is much to analyze in this episode. This might've been another reason for the black and white, that SHAFT just wanted to have one color theme this time so as not to have any other symbolism they've set up get in the way of this episode. Seriously, I think this may be one case where all the meaning can be gleaned through simply rewatching and making sure you got all the symbolism about simulacra in previous episodes.

But I thought this episode was fantastic on multiple levels. Yes, I got bored watching it for a little bit, I felt like it dragged on, but in retrospect, it was actually a very succinct method of putting out there all the information they want the viewer to know, to get all the feelings they want to have between Yuu and Yuuko out there in full, and then portray the tragedy.

This episode also set Yuu up as the creator of the Australian Otowa, which makes so much sense. But what I found interesting was this: not only does the idea of the Australian Otowa as a simulacrum get proven in this episode, it MAKES the town itself biblical... A replacement for God. This seems to me like Man making God in his own image, which makes me smile.

When Yuu dropped the flowers and the music started playing, I almost cried. I seriously got damn close, and for the record, never have I cried because of a movie or an anime... since I was at least five. I recall Mufasa dying made me bawl, but that was then. I honestly can't believe that so many people found the scene so weak, but that's their opinion, I guess.

As for the walking away with Yuuko's body, I take that to be artistic license. I doubt he actually did that, but it makes for a nice image... And even if he did actually do it, no way he carried her that long, it was just a nice repetitive motion for the ending credits.

It seems an odd comparison, but this episode felt a lot like "The Great Gatsby" to me, just because of how I felt about it. For the record, (if I recall the chapters correctly) I hated the first six chapters of that book, and absolutely adored the last three... And then after those last three, the first six made a lot more sense and felt a lot better.

Oh, also, we've gotta remember that this story is not over. We've still got Kuze and Mizuki to think about, and while the Yuu/Yuuko story has certainly been the more important one in this series, this episode serves to mesh Yuu into the future arc a little bit more... Give him a few more tie-ins and all that stuff. Besides this, we couldn't have this be the most climactic episode of the series with two episodes to go. While episode ten of Memories was fantastic and blew me away, it made the last two episodes look weaker by comparison. Hopefully this episode will serve as a bit of a space to get energy back so it can build to a really stirring ending this time around.

On a final note, Christmas sucks for Yuuko. And now the way she says "Merry Christmas" to Hiro in episode one of Melodies kinda gives me the creeps.... Huh, the characters in Melodies have horrible Christmas memories, while the characters in Memories have good stuff begin on Christmas. I wonder if we'll understand why that theme exists later on, or if it's just because the first season was supposed to represent a new beginning...

EDIT: Oh, right, I forgot to mention. I think people in the old Otowa just run over girls for fun. Seriously, there are never any cars on the street until a female happens to be in the road.

[Beo]

The lack of "things" in a anime is the normal. In most street scenes, there is a almost lack of people with only the main characters being shown. It allows the focus to be only on what is important in that scene; heavy car traffic would also be a distraction and its reduced in the scene.

But -

Viewers have gotten use to this lack of traffic and to all of sudden to be including it would be seen odd. There would have been numerous comments on why they are putting in so much car traffic and conjectures would then start.

So we end up with the car out of no-where.

[greyhawk]

Originally Posted by Beo

So we end up with the car out of no-where.

Given that lots of things in this show come out of nowhere, I'm not very surprised.
The only thing is that I've made a terrible mistake. I shouldn't have watched ef melodies on a weekly basis. Now that I know, I'll wait for the last 2 eps to come out, then I'll watch the whole season again. This kind of show deserves it, or rather, it's the only way to really appreciate it.

[Kristen]

You know... Every character in the anime has been linked to each other save Miyako. Maybe Miyako's mother was the driver of the car that hit both Chihiro and Yuuko?

[Leo_Otaku]

can we mentiwhjat happened in the game? Or would that be game spoilers? Imean it happened in the anime already the game is just a change in things. So no one is really being spoiled...

[Avisch]

Originally Posted by germanturkey

in the first season

Spoiler:

Yuu always was at the church saying he was waiting for someone. so i guess its logical to say that the two of them never met again.

You don't remember the VERY END?

Spoiler for ~tale of memories~ end:

Yuu opens the church doors and Yuuko greets him

There is alittle bit of nice magic.

Spoiler for :

This episode also set Yuu up as the creator of the Australian Otowa, which makes so much sense. But what I found interesting was this: not only is the idea of the Australian Otowa as a simulacrum get proven in this episode, it MAKES the town itself biblical... A replacement for God. This seems to me like Man making God in his own image, which makes me smile.

When Yuu dropped the flowers and the music started playing, I almost cried. I seriously got damn close, and for the record, never have I cried because of a movie or an anime... since I was at least five. I recall Mufasa dying made me bawl, but that was then. I honestly can't believe that so many people found the scene so weak, but that's their opinion, I guess.

Spoiler for Response to Azure:

That is a really cool interpretation. I can sort of imagine Yuu saying something like that aswell
"If god doesn't exist. I'll just make something to replace him"

And I'll be fair. I couldn't believe What happened to Yuuko at first.

[germanturkey]

^ apparently i don't remember the very end... haha