ef: A Tale of Memories. - Prologue

"Can anime be considered art?" Well if you have ever seen the "ef" series before, then you already know the answer, as the anime has been well known for it's artistic style and drama, not seen often in a romance series. As the name of this title says, this version of the series is simply a 4 minute prologue to the first season (ef - a tale of memories). It gives little samples of what is expected to come in the actual anime. From Miyako and Kei's rivalry, to the growing friendship between Hiro and Chihiro! There really is little to anything new with thisaddiction, basically it show scenes from the actual series, but differs somewhat between them. For example, one character who was not in a certain scene during the series, has been added briefly to it. Or it may show a similar looking scene but shown from another angle. So yeah, other than a few tweaks here and there it remains pretty much the same. It gives a great taste of things to come, which is rightfully so since this prologue was released on DVD in Japan a few months before the actual anime aired. It overall does a good job of showing off the "artistic ways" of the series to come. Still, since this is only a 4 minute video which contains clips from the anime, it won't be anything in the way of special when compared to the actual series. The art style is the same crisp and well detailed version from the anime, with great character design, smooth looking overviews, and well detailed backgrounds and environments. The one thing I really enjoyed from this prologue, was where Yuu played the instrumental version of "Yuukyuu no Tsubasa" on the violin, truly a wonderful piece of music. Plus you get some great samples of the character voices through each scene! It really shows off what a moving soundtrack awaits! They pretty much show every staple character from the series, from Miyako to Kyosuke, they are all here and accounted for. Now since this is only 4 minutes running time, it is split in half between character dialog and music scenes. "ef - a tale of memories prologue" is a great taste of things to come, if you have never seen the actual anime series before, then this version is a great way to get an over view of what it's like. It must be said however that the series contains many extended medifore scenes, and won't be for everyone. But if you are looking for a different style of viewing an anime romance title, then this is a great starter!