ef - a tale of melodies.

The rabbit hole only gets darker and darker as each episode goes by, Yuu and Yuuko have such potential for a romantic couple with very heavy trauma and dark emotions to heal, I hope that's where we're going but I'm accepting this won't be a tragic romance and instead be just a tragedy. The visuals for the fire were spectacular, this anime has a very raw expression when it comes to depicting paing and despair in its shots, I'd truly love to see some behind the scenes for a lot of the scenes throughout the series.

I swear I'm going to lose it, the story is so good and the characters so well executed that it's actually really annoying when things don't go the way you exoected them to. Yuu being such an ikemen with Yuuko is something I was expecting since the beginning of the series and it was done really lovely (at least before, well, what he did at the cliff). What the hell was that ending? Come on, please don't do this to us.

It's really hard to follow up a story after such a climatic moment last epsisode, Yuuko's real feelings shattered all my expectations about where the story can go from now on. Yuu is finally getting treated with the same indiference he treats Yuuko with and this time I really wish we could go back when this was going the romance route, I think we're past that point sadly, and that goes for both main plotlines.

Everyone is such a tragic character in the bleakes way possible but that somehow makes them incredibly compelling and charismatic instead of dull one dimensional characters, I really like how complex their problems are without making their pain the entirety of their character. The tarot cards, then the kanji and the ltextures overlaying against Yuuko while she has her emotional breakdown is probably one of the best storytelling and characterization techniques I've ever seen, actually I don't think I've ever seen something like anywhere else.

Well that was brutal, and it left us with a cliffhanger. Honestly I'm not really invested in any of the stories regarding characters season 1, I mean they're good but the prequel/sequel dynamic between Kuze and Yuu is just so perfect I rather hace all episode focusing on them, if you loved season 1 you'll probably desagree with me on that one. I absolutely hate Amamiya, I really hope he has a terrible ending.

Season 2 just keeps giving us bangers, Kuze is such a broken but charismatic character. He's complex and mysterious in contrast to Mizuki's bubbly and outgoing personality. I'm glad Yuuko dropped the whole little sister thing and just outright took Yuu on a date (even if he didn't know it was a date at first). This show really likes going to dark places whenever it gets the chance to and it's amazing.

I was really excited for Yuu's backstory at the beginnning of the season but Kuze's might actually be more compelling. The way they're mirrored together is also really cool, what should feel like a choppy and unstructured set of scenes somehow manages to flow perfectly for each plotline. Yuu is acting as tsundere as they get with Yuuko and it's really charming but also really annoying.

The visual direction for this season is impeccable, I wish they leaned more into complex elements, the overlaying textures with off center compositions are perfect but I guess the contrast with more standard anime frames lets you appreciate them better when they do use them. This season's approach at storytelling is fantastic too, the constant switch between present and past plots answers so many questions while at the same time filling you with a thousand more.

We start season two of this dramatic masterpiece, the animation is pretty standard for 2008 but the darker style for the characters is distinct and very well executed. Yuu was a really interesting character in season 1 who got basically no backstory, I'm glad season 2 will let us expore his character.

"Miracles don't exist in this world; the only things that exist are coincidences and inevitabilities and the actions people take", pretty much sums up this anime. For the most part, great anime, with decent pacing throughout, and I'd say definitely something depressing yet oddly heartwarming.

This episode mainly delved back into Mizuki and Kaze's relationship. (The age gap revealed between them is definitely concerning). The pacing did feel a bit disrupted and slow, and my assumption was because there weren't many reveals left after the last one. This just felt like a buildup and conclusion of Kuze's dilemma.

Yuko with the kid was just adorable, with their little song... and the way she earned her trust slowly without being pushy at all. This episode was so heartwarming... certainly everything will be just great from now on, right..? Cause that's totally what we've learnt from the pattern.

The events that went down regarding Amamiya were both concerning and unsettling. However, I still have a lot of questions regarding what happened afterwards. It was also a little heartbreaking to see Kuze the way he was; I guess his plans didn't seem that foolproof after all.

This anime has a knack for giving you hope and taking it all away, and it's exactly how you expect it, but it's still awfully painful anyway. It's going to be pretty fascinating to see how these two storylines conclude.

Both storylines seem to be moving in perfect tandem; the pacing is good and the emotions peak just right for both. The art style and animation chosen specifically for Amamiya's confrontation were just excellent and conveyed the necessary emotional intensity amazingly well; the voice acting is just the cherry on top.

Intense, so unexpectedly intense, but so excellently done. This episode was both philosophically stimulating and emotionally intense. The soundtrack, voice acting and art style helped make this episode really stand out for me. The consistent art style switches for Nagi fit so well for her, too. Beware, though: some pretty disturbing themes have been discussed in this one.

The art teacher looks like he's in urgent need of therapy, and so does his adopted sister (not as much as he does, though). I loved the reunion between the two sisters, but that unfortunately led to quite a frustrating cliffhanger.

I like the random unsettling scenes they like to add in between, the colours, the soundtrack, everything meshes together so well. I don't appreciate how Kuze tends to go from hot to cold within each episode, and I'm hoping things get between him and Mizuki as the story continues.

There were certainly a lot of reveals this episode, and it went from zero to a hundred pretty quickly in the end there. The animation was surprisingly too good for a certain scene. The plot, however, especially with Yuko, seems to be getting a bit cliché.

There's a decent amount of lore within this episode, and I loved the mysterious and creepy way through which it was depicted. Some stuff's both weird and fascinating within the episode; this is also what helps me stay engaged with it. Not much of a fan of the number of time skips, but it helps with the explanation, ig.