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If you’re looking for a short anime with amazing characters, and psychological romance drama, I recommend watching ef – A Tale of Memories. It’s only 12 episodes long yet it’s very engaging. The characters are well developed and their relationships are intriguingly dramatic yet realistic. There are parts that really make you so involved with the characters that you feel like you’re there with them. One part towards the end made me cry, it was so moving, but later the ending made me happy. I wouldn’t say the plot is amazingly well developed because towards the end there was one part that didn’t seem realistic, but aside from that, the plot was almost amazing.

Unlike most romance shows, this one uses not one but three relationships and six main characters – though the Kei Shindou/Kyosuke Tsutsumi relationship seems rushed and not as well developed as the other two. Some may even say there are four relationships in this series. The three relationships happen simultaneously in stead of one after another, so in the beginning you may be a bit confused at what’s going on, but you quickly learn who is with who.

Some of the major themes in this series revolve around relationships and dreams. Characters struggle as they decide and strive for their dreams, some needing others to help them. The series shows how keeping a relationship can be hard, and how sometimes love is right under our nose as we try pursuing an unattainable one.

The music is contemporary classical mixed with pop rock. Usually I fast forward through the opening and ending songs but this time I listened through it on many occasions because I like it so much. The animation and graphics are pretty impressive too. They are clean, crisp, and have a unique edge that renders it beautiful.

If you’re one looking for a more mature romance series, or looking for great animation and music, then this anime is for you. Also, there’s a sequel called ef – A Tale of Melodies and the manga related to both is called ef -A Fairy Tale of the Two.