ef - a tale of memories - 08
Don’t give up on your dreams.
Summary:
Finding that none of her calls have reached Hiro, Miyako throws her cellphone into a nearby fountain. Kei takes a shower after dealing with Miyako’s messages, and she hears the doorbell while inside. She looks out to find Miyako, and deceives her by saying that Hiro is currently sleeping inside. Kei denies Miyako’s permission to talk to him, as she declares that she will always be by his side. When Renji meets Chihiro, she excitedly wonders what he has prepared for lunch. Chihiro expresses that she always looks forward to his lunches, and that she would like for him to teach her how to cook. Hiro finds that he cannot reach Miyako’s phone at school, when Kei arrives for him to take home. Hiro finds that Kei cannot participate in basketball for awhile, so he decides to lighten his own workload as well. At the school, Miyako desperately tries to open the door to the school rooftop which she cannot unlock. In the continuation of Chihiro’s story, the girl has thought a lot about the boy in the painting. She wonders if she should marry him, as she has read of the subject in her books. Bringing up his future plans again, Chihiro suggests that it would be nice if Renji would write novels. Renji expresses that there is a need for talent which he does not have, but Chihiro states that this is not true. Chihiro brings up that it was Renji who taught her that she should do what she is able to do, and that she was able to write her novel despite her disability because of this. Chihiro then begs Renji not to give up on a dream if he has one. As Renji begins fixing parts of a nearby sandcastle, he is surprised to find that Chihiro corrects parts of it.
Miyako wonders why she is so troubled when she simply went back to the way she was before. Yuuko appears next to her above the wreckage, warning her that this is not a place for her to come. With this, Miyako wonders where she should go. When Yuuko gives Miyako the location that she should be aware of, Miyako falls into Yuuko’s arms in tears. Renji visits Yu and excitedly expresses that Chihiro’s memory has gotten better. Yu replies that this is impossible, and that it would be a miracle for her memories to recover. Yu wonders if Renji remembers what he had told him, but he decides that it may already be too late. Hiro is still having trouble contacting Miyako, but he is soon called over the intercom. Miyako is called as well, but Kei is relieved when she finds that she had skipped school and did not make it. Kei worries when Hiro gets a phone call on the way home, but she is relieved to find that it is for work. Her mood changes when Hiro accepts the proposed job, however, and she begins walking back towards the school for club. Hiro warns Kei that she would be unable to continue basketball if she really broke her leg, and she replies by saying that he would be unable to write manga if he further injured his wrist. Chihiro panics when she finds that she has fallen asleep, and gets the amount of time from Renji. Renji suggests that Chihiro sleep if she is tired, but she denies that she is. Kei ends up getting a ride home from Kyosuke, while expressing her anger towards Hiro. After hearing about the wonderful feeling Kei has while playing basketball, Kyosuke describes that he has the same feeling when shooting with his camera. He suggests that Hiro is the same, but gets scolded by Kei when he starts making strange comparisons to animals. Despite Kei’s thoughts, Kyosuke assures her that he can see everything through his viewfinder.
Kuse begins playing a violin, while Kei takes another look through a dvd at home. Elsewhere, everyone else spends time sharing similar feelings of euphoria. Yu catches Chihiro deep in thought over dinner, and she recalls everything that has happened in the day while in the bath. With three hours left at 12, Chihiro declares that she can still remember. Yu enters Chihiro’s room as she opens her diary, wondering what she is doing. Chihiro describes her method of remembering, and shocks Yu when she relates this to Renji. Yu takes the diary from Chihiro in order to prevent meaningless actions, but Chihiro quickly convinces him to give it back. The next time Chihiro sees Renji, she asks what she was like when he first met her. Renji describes that she was looking at the sky, making Chihiro state that she prefers looking forward now. Renji almost believes that Chihiro is going to ask to kiss again, but she only requests to hold his hand. Renji agrees, but he panics when Chihiro faints in front of him. In Chihiro’s story, the girl had gone through all of the wedding ceremony procedures in order to marry the boy in the painting. When Renji visits Yu later, he finds that Chihiro had collapsed from exhaustion. Watching her wake in her room, Renji is shocked to find that she does not know who he is. Chihiro goes on to wonder why she is there, and panics at the sight she sees in the nearby mirror. When she takes off her eye patch, she is horrified. Yu tells Renji that this is who Chihiro is, a girl that can only live 13 hours at a time for eternity. Hiro finally receives a call from Miyako at night, and she declares that she has not yet disappeared.
Impression:
Wow. There were too many good parts in this episode. I may also be feeling more satisfied for not having to wait as long to watch it. I love how Shaft seemingly kicks morons those who do not understand this show in the face by providing dialog that is parallel to the message of this show. I can’t stop appreciating the constant art talk that comes from Hiro and Kyosuke, and I could totally relate to having that euphoric feeling when doing something that I enjoy. It can be any kind of art that gives you these wonderful feelings, or like Kei, it could even be a sport. Like Kei looking back through the video she could not previously appreciate, people should take another look at what they thought (or still think) is pointless. Just that one short scene was enough to make me rate this episode highly, but it didn’t stop there.
After last week’s revealing of Miyako’s inner thoughts, she finally took some action. It was wonderful to see her struggle with her feelings, and the addition of the falling feathers was amazing. Just so everyone knows, I am a total sucker for destroyed building scenes. Added with another appearance from the “prophet” Yuuko, those scenes easily won me over. Kei is being more assertive with her relationship with Hiro, but I’m not sure how long that will go well for her. Her deceiving of Miyako in the beginning of the episode was really dirty. By even lying to Miyako, Kei is quickly becoming an antagonistic character. I’m not sure the psychopath Miyako is any better though. With the next episode title of “forget me not”, I suspect we will be seeing more of her soon.
Chihiro’s story is surpassing my expectations as it always does. Her struggling to keep her memories was very powerful, though she obviously suffered a lot from it. I loved watching her fight to get her diary back from Yu, as if it was as important as her own life. It was awesome to see how the “new” Chihiro acted in her wake, and I can only imagine how it would feel for Renji. But really, is that a realistic illness? From here on, I can’t wait to see how her novel develops, as it is directly related to her own life. My post for next week’s episode probably won’t be as timely, but I’m ready for more ef all the same.
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I seem to be the only one who was totally shocked and appalled by Yuu’s behavior towards Chihiro. He seems to think that he “owns” Chihiro because he is taking care of her for some reason. Yuu deserves as just as much of a comeuppance as Kei does.
I almost wonder if Yuu slapped Chihiro because he knew that the slap would reset her memories.
Ok, i only read a first few lines of ur Summary and Impression because i dont want to spoil myself.
It seems like Shaft is not holding back anything since episode 1. I will be back when I finished watching the sub.
The “complete reset” scene in the end is just… awesome. I’ve expected something like that after watching the first promo and second episode but didn’t expect it this fast. It would really be sad for Renji, even if she reads the diary and knows him; but she’ll never regain the feeling she had for him…
P.S. A little off-topic, today in Dengeki 15 Years Anniversary; “Shina Dark” anime has been announced and surprise! It’ll be done by SHAFT and Shinbo! I just can’t resist myself to comment it somewhere…
So I finally watched the episode and I have to say that Himura is my new favorite person to hate. He controls waaay to much of Chihiro’s life. I mean where does he get off trying to steal her diary? He’s just jealous of Renji…gah makes me mad.
Not much to say about the rest of the characters this time.
Ps. I still don’t like Kei XP
ARGHH, i wanna watch the episode, darn it!!!
CHIHIRO-CHAN~
Dave Baranyi: You probably aren’t the only one. I think he is doing what he believes to be the best course of action is, but it is definitely getting in the way between Chihiro and Renji. LOL at slap comment!
Siva: I’ll you see you on the other side!
Nai: I wouldn’t exactly call it fast, as this is only a 12 episode series. They’re just not wasting any time and getting straight to the point. I don’t have a clue what Shina Dark is, but it’s already an instant watch for me if it’s Shaft. XD
Orihime: “I ownz yor life so give meh taht diary!” Chihiro and Renji’s love power should be able to overcome this. Just wait till the novel ends!
Impz: has a eyepatch fetish.
Kei is such a schemer. I tend to keep shifting empathy from Kei and Miyako as the episodes pass… Maybe Hiro would be much better off by himself.
I’m also kinda looking forward to how Kyosuke’s storyline will progress and fit in with everything else.
Chihiro and Renji! Stay strong and don’t give up!
I am really enjoying this show, though, it took me a week or two to re-watch the first episode, since at first I wasn’t sure whether it was to my liking, but I can’t believe I almost passed off on this. Everything is well done and I especially love Chihiro and her story. The Kei/ Miyako/ Hiro is getting very interesting too.
“But really, is that a realistic illness?”
Have you heard of Clive Wearing? Wearing suffers from an even worse form of Chihiro’s disorder. His wife wrote a book about it, his memory only lasts maybe, like 5 minutes. And most of his long term memory was fuzzy too, though he could remember he loved his wife and music, he was a conductor.
They gave him a diary to keep his memories too, but since his memory only lasts for minutes the most he remembered was being awake, conscious of it so that was all he could write.
It’s interesting that he doesn’t suffer from forgetting when he is conducting/ playing music though he can’t remember how he learned it, (unfortunately when he finally stops he forgets everything that happened).
hazy: Yuuko and Kyosuke seem to be the two characters who are just put off to the side, while their stories still seem interesting enough for us to want to see more. Ha, I doubt Hiro will end up alone, but I would be avoiding the psycho chicks if I was in his shoes xD.
duck: Wow, I haven’t heard of that! That sounds like a really interesting story, and I kind of want to look more into it now; especially if it is a true story. I guess it is like they say, and that stories are based off true events.
hazy: Most of people might thought that Kei is such a schemer or whatever they want to call it but I don’t there is something wrong with her. Personally, I don’t really like her since episode 1 but I don’t really hate her either even until now.
duck: Before i started watching ef I never expected anything great came from it even when i was watching the first half of the first episode it was wiered until the second half I was like “wow what’s going on?” and thing is getting better and better until now.
Clive Wearing? wow! I am the same as you Totali and wikipedia says he is exist. What kind of painful did his wife got at the beginning?
Oh Goddess! I wish tomorrow they release the subbed.
in terms of H-game, Reiji probably realized that he screwed up the whole Chihiro scenario so he now has to start over. On the other hand the other side is doing a nice school days scenario here and i wish them well.
( x
Wearing’s history is part of what keeps me so glued to Chihiro and Renji’s story most. I remember that my class was asked to read a radio lab on memory and Wearing was mentioned and there was this part where his wife mentioned how she would visit him in the institution but the moment she left everything would be forgotten, and he would call her at their home repeatedly telling her he hoped she’d come that day.
The difference and what may make it more difficult for Renji and Chihiro in the end is that Chihiro’s memories don’t really include him. Wearing could not remember anything after the disease that gave him his disorder but he had loved his wife long before that and he had that to hold onto even if everything else was forgotten. Renji doesn’t have that with her, Chihiro’s re-meeting him every day of their lives, she only senses her feelings because of her diary and trying to remember too much leads to over exhausting herself and her memory resets. It’ll be very interesting if they can actually pull off any type of relationship with Chihiro, though I don’t think it’d be harmful for Kei or even Hiro to visit, she knew them before the accident but with Renji, it just seems more tragic because it might not end happy for them.
If Chihiro can find a way to be able to go past her disorder and be able to somewhere be able to keep and remember feelings for Renji even if she can’t remember him physically will most likely have to come through maybe her writing since like Wearing and music (in Wearing’s case actually stopping time for him so maybe something similar can happen with Chihiro) writing her story may help Chihiro get past her 13 hour chain and be able to be with Renji, how I don’t know, but from watching the show so far they could probably pull it off without making it too cheesy, or seeming like a cop out.
If you couldn’t tell already I really love Chihiro and Renji and their story seems the most suspenseful for me, though I still don’t see why Kei can’t visit her, I’d assume it’s her terrible guilt over the accident, that she just can’t face to physically see what has happened to her twin sister, something which, had she done, might have helped soften her possessiveness regarding Hiro presently, since it was that need to have Hiro for herself in the past that unfortunately caused Chihiro to go after them and get hit. Not that I blame her or hate her for it, but it’s something she has to face and get over.
I don’t doubt Hiro and Kei love each other, but that doesn’t mean that it should become romantic love. Not until they can resolve some of the issues in their current relationship. We have Hiro becoming a manga artist because of the twins and to make them happy since it seems they were his first friends ever. And Kei’s need to, I guess respond to that by trying to fill her life with something too, though she does seem to actually enjoy basketball, and maybe some scenes away from Hiro and with Kyosuke more/ alone may reveal a little more about her.
It’s like Hiro and Kei are trying to live to these expectations they seem to have for each other now (which also makes me wonder if they feel compulsed to live like this in some way b/c of Chihiro, though I may just be trying to get Chihiro mixed in with their lives more than she is by this point), whereas with Miyako, I see Hiro more free since there really is no history yet/ expectations between them. I guess it’s a bit like Chihiro’s own chains but different. And being with someone like Miyako may be what he needs now, someone who he doesn’t feel like he could be making unhappy/ disappointing by not being able to be a student and artist.
In short I actually do wish to see more of Kei’s story (w/o Hiro) and more Kyosuke who may be very interesting but I never see enough of him to really get a feel for his character. It was nice how we got a reason to his love of filming and wanting to capture something beautiful, perfect, like when he saw his mother on film before she got whatever it was she became ill of.
This show always has me coming up with so much stuff to think about. To think I almost abandoned it because I thought it would not have a good story to tell for those great visuals! I hope this post isn’t too tl;dr :).
Well, for those of you who are just so quick to antagonize Yuu, just keep in mind that he was actually trying to prevent Chihiro’s memory reset.
Yuu knows Chihiro’s illness a lot better than anyone else, so he is already aware of the fact that she uses her diary to remember events. When he looked over her diary, he noticed that she had wrote so much in such a short period of time. He soon realizes that Chihiro had barely slept for the past few days and spent every waking moment writing down events in her diary because she wanted to remember every bit of the time she spent with Renji. She also kept writing on without sleep because this way she could constantly remind herself of Renji’s reaction to the kiss. Yuu knew that she would soon collapse completely if she kept going on like that, so he took away her diary to stop her from writing in hopes of her getting some much needed rest. But Chihiro didn’t take that so well and Yuu had no choice but to give in after seeing such a strong reaction. And consequently, Chihiro did eventually faint and lose all her memories up to that point.
Btw, Yuu is only a guardian-type character to Chihiro and harbors no romantic feelings towards her whatsoever. So he only acts out of pure concern for her health when he tries to stop her from writing more in her diary. How do I know this? Well, there are 2 characters in the series who are always looking over the rest of the cast and are both waiting for a specific person (each other), and one of those two is Yuu *hint hint*
duck: That was interesting to read. It seems like we have the same positive about Kei.
Since episode 1 I feel a little bit strange about wired attitude of Chihiro and after episode 2 we get to know about Chihiro has a memory defect I really want to see how they pull off a great and unexpected ending from it.
And now everything get into the turning point where Renji start to understand what is going on and Miyako is already at the end of the cliff. The most interesting part is here and we can only wait and see how are they going to resolve it. And the only one left is Kyosuke and what kind of move that he is going to make to win over Kei.
Dularc: Well, there was the Nice boat reference in the first episode. I really don’t know what I would say if they did go that route.
duck: woah tl; dr LOL jk. But seriously, that’s blog post worthy o.O I am one of the few who is very interested in Kyosuke’s story, maybe just from the artistic aspect of it.
lulu: Haha, nice observation! I noticed that too, but I guess I never thought to mention it. It’ll be interesting to see how that comes together, since we rarely see those two.
Siva: Yup, it’s hard to believe that the series is already nearing its end. Well, you could say this about a lot of the shows as the Winter season approaches in about a month.
…*explodes*
I. HATE. KEI!
I don’t know why I feel so strongly this time around, although I like her character I don’t have any particular attachment to Miya, nor do I really identify with her plight. But I hate Kei with such a burning passion, even though this underhanded behavior isn’t really anything new to anime or drama in general.
But seeing Miya break down, struggling to keep her ties with Hiro, especially in that scene at the rooftop door. All the while, the two just marginally missing each opportunity to meet each other. It pains me.
Stupid Kei.
Chihiro’s arc was pretty awesome this week as well, seeing her struggle against her circumstances to keep her memory intact, only to have the physical limitations of her body kick in and reset her memories. Harsh.
Bah, I wish I had picked this to blog this season, I could write essay-length posts on each of these episodes.
…actually, with finals around the corner, perhaps it’s for the best I didn’t, lol.
It would be so cool if Shaft were to release Chihiros diary after the show is done just so you could further see her struggle with finding hero memories. Was Chihiro able to remember at least part of Reiji or was there a complete reset every day and she just wrote “i met a new person today”. If reiji would get ahold of that diary would be even more gruesome! Having your heart ripped out every time you meet the one you love by her forgetting you every few hours. Thats just too painful to watch.
(that does´nt mean that im not continuing to watch it!)
Also “Forget me not” could also be contributed to Reiji not wanting Chihiro to forget him.
Finally the subbed is out and I am back.
First, Wow! Shaft is still handle everything pretty well without missing a screw.
Now it is time for Hiro to starts to learn what is going on. As for Renji, it is a bout time for him to fact and accept the truth and to overcome everything which he is going to face right now.
I dont know what to say about Miyako but only try to feel her pain which i couldn’t explain into word. I am impress of her character so far that she is able to keep up like that. 99 messages? I dont know if I could do it just 1/4 of it.
Seeing Chihiro struggle like that is so painful BUT thinking about what Renji is going face is even worst. That said, which one is the most painful being the one forget or being the one being forget?
Shirukii: “Bah, I wish I had picked this to blog this season, I could write essay-length posts on each of these episodes.” I knew that you would have gone crazy like that if you were to blog this series.
Dularc: “Also “Forget me not” could also be contributed to Reiji not wanting Chihiro to forget him.” I guess you pick the wrong one, and the most suitable persons should be Chihiro and Miyako. And the next episode will be an amazing one.
Wow, the ending about Chihiro forgot about Renji is very powerful and very painful to watch. Totali, now I understand why you interest in this couple more than Hiro/Kei/Miyako. The story about Renji and Chihiro starts very slow but very effective. It draws me in more and more every episode. I wonder how they are going resolve after what just happen.
As for the other couple, no wonder people hate Kei so much. I still like her. I mean without her, there won’t be any love conflict between them. Then again, every couple is already set from the beginning. It shouldn’t be any surprise in this series. I just want to know how well they are going to wrap up everything together in the next 4 episodes.
Totali: this has nothing to do with this story, but do you know whether someone will sub Rebuild of Evangelion the movie? It have been 2 months alerady since it release.
That was a shock on the memory reset thing (I think everyone agrees). At first I thought her exhaustion had severely damaged her memory and then I realized “Wow that makes no sense”.
I can sympathize the smallest bit with Kei around now. I understand she’s desperate but first she erases the messages (which is heartless) and then implies she’s romantic with Hiro to Miyako which harms Miyako even more.
I loved how the episode ended (with Miyako getting the call and saying “looks like I’m not forgotten”)
Kyosuke’s speech on how Hiro has gotten far was really nice. I enjoy the type of character Kyosuke is. He’s not very complicated. But still deep….actually you can pretty much describe most of the male cast like that. But I hope you get the idea.
I read abit the “ef - a tale of two” manga. and apparently Yuuko has a much longer conversation with Hiro. It’s pretty cute.
on the Yu hate. I also felt angry at him. Though I think we can all atleast understand what he was trying to do.
Shirukii: Haha, I feel the same way. I usually have to force myself to cut impressions off when it comes to this or other Shaft shows. Finals are just around the corner for me too. Luckily everything I have to do is project based xD.
Dularc: Wow, if they released something like that I would definitely be interested. Chihiro’s story is one of the most interesting parts of ef for me.
Siva: I dunno, I’ve seen some really fast textors for real. Miyako’s desperation is very dramatic, but it doesn’t feel to fake either. It’s so easy to become absorbed in this show, which proves what a wonderful job Shaft is doing.
kenshin514: The movie may have been released in theaters, but it will still be awhile before it is out on dvd. I’m assuming we’ll get to watch it around that time. I might even blog it. xD
Avisch: I do understand all the hate for Kei, but she’s doing what any other person would do. A rival girl was messaging the person she liked, so she simply erased the messages. I definitely think she is going to be punished by Miyako somehow though, especially where things are going now. I haven’t touched the manga, but I’m just an anime person.
Chihiro’s story actually surprised me. I never expected that much from it since a memory disorder isn’t that new of a topic (50 first dates)and I highly doubted if there was any room left for development. However, Ef did, which made me love this anime even more. After seeing Chihiro’s reaction when she woke up, I finally understand what her metaphor of being chained around the clock really really meant. Yu’s “永遠に” gave this a good touch also.
[…] forward to Shaft’s new summer work since a certain cool peep mentioned it in one of my ef posts awhile back. If you’re unfamiliar with the story, you can check the ANN page as usual. I […]