Subculture Anime Blog

Ghost of xmas pa-…. My final impression is included.

Summary:

Yuu visits Yuuko’s grave, relaying what has been happening recently and leaving with the fact that he will not be able to stop by for awhile. As it is xmas day, all of the familiar couples spend their time together. This includes Mizuki and Kuze, who have been doing well with each other for quite awhile. When Nagi visits Yuu, having been in Japan until recently, she sees that he is drawing quite well as usual. After some idle talk, she takes the chance to question if he is still thinking about Yuuko. Yuu only answers with his usual belief that he has forgotten, however. When all of the friends in Australia gather, they sit to listen to Kuze’s violin and Mizuki’s song in the church.

When Yuu meets Kuze later, he listens as he recalls his belief that he wouldn’t last until another xmas. It had been one year since his operation. As Kuze has gotten a lot better since then, Yuu believes his job has finally ended. With this, he tells Kuze that he has something to make sure of in Japan. Kuze gives Yuu a charm in the form of the rooftop keys before he leaves, wishing him luck. Previously, Nagi had mentioned the strange things her brother had told her. This was that he had met Amamiya Yuuko.

Visiting the old church, Yuu finally meets Yuuko. He has come in search for someone, and she has always been waiting for someone. Yuu finally has the chance to give Yuuko flowers as a xmas gift, and although Yuuko does not believe she has anything in return, Yuu shows that he certainly has the scarf that she made him several years ago. The two sit down together to discuss how much has changed throughout the years, especially with Miki and their other acquaintances, and Yuu credits their ability to meet to the experiences that the other couples had gone through. Yuuko then mentions that she was once told that her duty was to continue to be happy, suggesting that it might have been a message from god. When Yuuko asks if Yuu still believes that god does not exist, he only expresses that he simply lives in his own way. Showing her the keys he has, Yuu eventually asks if Yuuko would come with her to the place where everything started.

Alone together on the rooftop, Yuu finally takes the chance to express his love for Yuuko. Unfortunately, Yuuko corrects him by saying that he loved her. Of course, this meant that Yuuko would finally have to leave. Trying to hold back his tears, Yuu confirms that he will be okay. After all, he has already come so far while being alone. As the clouds open up for her, Yuuko leaves with the wish that Yuu would continue to help people be happy. Finding that she is now gone, Yuu is no longer able to hide his sadness.

Observing the city with her later, Yuu finally tells Mizuki that his dream was to create a beautiful city. This brings the two to recall their belief that nothing will start without a dream. Mizuki goes on to tell Yuu that his dream is not a lie, as everyone’s feelings of happiness are in its creation. Mizuki finds that she has accidentally grasped onto Yuu’s hand after observing the city with him, but this only leads Yuu to wonder if she no longer sees frightening dreams anymore. Yuu mentions that he never properly learned Mizuk’s namei, so she confirms that she was once named “Miki.”

Insert: A full color OP, with happy endings replacing the usual characters bursting into feathers. In the end, Yuuko is revealed to be something of an angel.

ED: A happy ending in the true shaft/ef fashion. Everyone is shown living their everyday lives in a sketchy type style.

Impression:

Yuuko, you are a traitor to all atheists around the world! It’s okay though, we still love you.

So, who saw the time skip coming? After watching all the couples during xmas, I don’t think it was a surprise to anyone that Mizuki would be with Kuze. (That would be such a weird relationship though. Kuze is now like Ken Akamatsu with his cosplay wife.) I really loved the bgm tracks in this episode, and Kuze’s playing with now-singer(?) Mizuki was pretty epic. It was so perfect how everything came together with Yuu and Yuuko too, coming off as very bittersweet despite the fact that we all saw what was coming. Mizuki’s holding hands with Yuu like they did in the past was a really nice touch too, though this also ended up being really awkward because of how everything turned out in the end. Kuze, it is always pedophilia until they grow up.

Notes:

• Nice party hat, Chihiro.
• Danke, lol.
• A few days early for xmas, no?
• Big pink scarfs, a true sign of love.
• Yuuko has been watching a lot of Persona or something.
• lol@Miyako trying to draw.

Final Impression:

I usually start feeling jaded after going through so many seasons of nothing but bad to mediocre anime, filled with only mindless comedy or action, but it’s shows like this that remind me why I continue to watch anime. The ending of this episode alone made me empathize with the feeling of simply wanting to continue living, as well as making me recall how much I love storytelling. I don’t think it’s a secret to anyone anymore that SHAFT is my favorite studio, and they continue to be with their constant pushing of boundaries both visually and creatively. Probably not as impacting as the first season, simply because I had already known what to expect, but ef – a tale of melodies. remained extremely beautiful none of the less. The backgrounds that the creators have as artists is so evident when I watch this production, from being absorbed in the moods created by choice of color to the non-traditional forms of visual storytelling. Sure, the shock factor that the first season had might have been missing this time around, but the symbolism through speech or otherwise was as strong as ever.

Melodies. filled in all the gaps that were evident in the first season, most obviously with Yuu and Yuuko’s backgrounds. I would appreciate it for that reason alone, but the stories that were presented were quite strong in their own right as well. The only reason this season did not seem as strong as the first was probably because I had already become quite used to what to expect from the series. (Would I have found Yuuko’s abuse and Kuze’s depression more impacting if I hadn’t already gone through similar paths with Miyako and Chihiro?) The story itself was also on a more subtle, and generally bittersweet, path. Whereas the first season seemed to focus more on the power of love, I felt like this one taught the importance of living. Of course, both series still shared very similar themes on different levels. Although many were expecting a second season after memories ended (myself included), it finally looks like this is the end of ef. It has been an extremely enjoyable experience, and I now only look forward to seeing more and more quality productions from studio SHAFT in the upcoming seasons.