Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two

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Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two
Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two. logo.
GenreDrama, Romance
Manga
Written byMikage & Yū Kagami (story)
Juri Miyabi (art)
Published byJapan MediaWorks
Manga

Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two. Another Tale
Written byMikage & Yū Kagami
Published byJapan Kadokawa Shoten
Video game
Ef: The First Tale.
DeveloperMinori
PublisherMinori
GenreEroge, Visual novel
PlatformPC
Anime
Ef: A Tale of Memories.
Directed byShin Ōnuma
StudioJapan Shaft
Manga
Written byYū Kagami
Published byJapan Fujimi Shobo
Video game
Ef: The Latter Tale.
DeveloperMinori
PublisherMinori
GenreEroge, Visual novel
PlatformPC

Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two. is the overall title of a two-part Japanese adult visual novel series by Minori for the PC as a DVD. The first game in the series, Ef: The First Tale., was released on December 22 2006, and the second game, Ef: The Latter Tale., is planned for a release on May 30 2008. Other games by Minori include Haru no Ashioto, and Wind: A Breath of Heart. The opening video for the game was animated by Makoto Shinkai, also known for The Place Promised in Our Early Days and 5 Centimeters Per Second. Music is headed by Tenmon who has worked in the past with Shinkai and Minori. Female character design is provided by Naru Nanao of D.C. ～Da Capo～ fame, and male character design is done by 2C＝Galore.

Before the release of the first game, a manga based on the overall story, drawn by Japanese artist Juri Miyabi, started serialization in the shōnen manga magazine Dengeki Comic Gao! on February 27 2005, published by MediaWorks. Also prior to the release of Ef: The First Tale., a light novel began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's seinen magazine Comptiq on June 10 2006. Another two separate light novels were published in October 2007 by Fujimi Shobo. After the first visual novel's release, an anime adaptation under the name Ef: A Tale of Memories. was produced by Shaft and began airing on October 7 2007; there will be twelve episodes, the last of which will air on December 22 2007. Two Internet radio shows and five drama CDs have also been produced based on the series.

Visual novels

Development

Planning for Ef started in 2004 headed by Nobukazu Sakai (also known as nbkz), who is the main producer for Minori and since April 2007 has been the representative director for the company. Sakai has been with the company since their first release in 2001, Bittersweet Fools, and has also worked as the lyricist. The director for Ef was Mikage, who was also one of the main scenario writers along with Yū Kagami;[1] both Mikage and Kagami have been with Minori since the production of Haru no Ashioto, released in 2004. Mikage is also known for his scenario work on Circus' adult games Suika and D.C. ～Da Capo～. Character design for Ef was headed by two artists, Naru Nanao who drew the female characters, and 2C＝Galore who drew the males;[1] Nanao is also known for her artistry in D.C. ～Da Capo～. The opening movie animation was done via a collaboration between the animation studio Ajia-do Animation Works and Makoto Shinkai, also known for the animated films The Place Promised in Our Early Days and 5 Centimeters Per Second. Music in the Ef series was provided by Tenmon,[1] who, having known Shinkai as a coworker in Minori, has composed music for Shinkai's works since She and Her Cat.

Since the cost of Ef ran too high, most of the profits from Minori's previous titles Wind: A Breath of Heart, Haru no Ashioto, and Angel Type were used for the production of Ef.[2] In fact, it took about 40 million yen (about US$350,000) just to release Ef: First Fan Disc and the maxi single containing the game's opening theme.[2] However, Minori still ran low on money and in the end they had to make a 50 million yen (about US$440,000) loan. Mikage's material gathering trip to Germany through Moscow, Russia came to about 100,000 yen (about US$900).[2]

Example of what average conversation looks like in Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two.. Here, Hiro is talking with Miyako.

Gameplay

The gameplay requires little interaction from the player as most of the duration of the game is spent on simply reading the text that will appear on the screen; this text represents either dialogue between the various characters, or the inner thoughts of the protagonist. Every so often, the player will come to a "decision point" where he or she is given the chance to choose from options that are displayed on the screen, typically two to three at a time. During these times, gameplay pauses until a choice is made that furthers the plot in a specific direction, depending on which choice the player makes. There are four main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each of the heroines in the story. The stories for Miyako and Kei are available in Ef: The First Tale. while the other two heroines' stories for Chihiro and Mizuki are available in Ef: The Latter Tale.

For Ef, Minori attempted to create a movie-like experience, using a lot of animated two-dimensional computer graphics presented from various angles, which is uncommon for a visual novel. The total number of computer graphics (CGs) in Ef exceeds a thousand, and in exchange for the large number of CGs, the length of the scenarios was cut down so that the game's overall story is not that long.[2]

Release history

A fan disc entitled Ef: First Fan Disc was initially released during Comiket 70 between August 11 and August 13 2007; the disc, playable on a PC was later sold in retail stores starting on August 25 2007 and retailed for 2,500 yen (about US$22) before tax.[3] The disc, unlike the normal visual novels in the series, did not contain adult content, and offered a glimpse into the world of Ef. The first game in the series, Ef: The First Tale., was released as an adult game for the PC on December 22 2006, retailing for 6,800 yen (about US$60) before tax.[4] The second game in the series, Ef: The Latter Tale. is planned for release on May 30 2008. A game demo of Ef: The First Tale. is available via a free download at Getchu.com's special website for Ef: The First Tale..[5]

Plot

Story

Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two. consists of two parts with three chapters each. The first part is titled Ef: The First Tale. and primarily consists of the story of Hiro Hirono, Miyako Miyamura, Kyosuke Tsutsumi, Kei Shindo, and Yuko Amamiya. It consists of a prologue and two main chapters with Miyako as the focus for the first chapter, and Kei for the second. This is followed by the second part of the story, Ef: The Latter Tale. which primarily deals with the story of Renji Aso, Chihiro Shindo, Shuichi Kuze, Mizuki Hayama, and Yu Himura. The second part consists of two more main chapters and an ending chapter, with Chihiro as the focus for the third chapter, and Mizuki for the fourth. Bringing the two parts together forms the all-encompassing Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two..[6]

Ef: The First Tale.

File:Ef - the first tale. cover.jpg
Ef: The First Tale. original video game cover.
Prologue
Yuko Amamiya and Yu Himura are having a reunion in a church during Christmas time. They reminisce about the past and remember events of the previous year around the same time. Yuko hints of events that are revealed throughout Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two.. After the conclusion of the first chapter, the story cycles back to the prologue and the talk between Yuko and Yu. Yuko ends with her talk about the events in the first chapter. At the end of the second chapter, the story shifts again to the scene with Yuko and Yu. Yuko finishes her talk on the events from the second chapter and says that she misses talking to Hiro, Kyosuke, and their friends. Their talk ends with allusions to the continuation of the story, Ef: The Latter Tale..[7]
First chapter
The first chapter's protagonist is Hiro Hirono, an already established manga author despite still attending high school. Due to the pressures of his work, he often skips school and puts most of his time into his job. While out one Christmas night, a purse snatcher rushes past Hiro on a bike and soon after a girl named Miyako Miyamura appears, chasing after the purse thief. Hiro has his bike with him at the time, and Miyako takes his bike without asking to pursue the culprit. Hiro later meets Miyako again at school, and learns that she is a student of the same year there, but in a different class. After they start spending more time together, Hiro's childhood friend Kei Shindo begins to feel left out and a love triangle develops between the three students.[7]
Second chapter
The second chapter begins several months after the end of the first. It is now summer, and the story focuses on a new protagonist named Kyosuke Tsutsumi. Kyosuke is an acquaintance of Hiro's and happens to be in the same grade and school. One day while Kyosuke is filming near the gymnasium he catches sight of Kei Shindo by chance and becomes infatuated by her image. He desires to cast Kei in an amateur film he is making for an upcoming film festival. Occupied with thoughts of Kei, he quits the film club and sets out with an enthusiastic and serious determination to get closer to Kei by becoming better friends with Hiro, Kei's childhood friend.[7]

Ef: The Latter Tale.

Intermission
Ef: The Latter Tale. begins once again with Yuko Amamiya and Yu Himura in the middle of a reunion in a church during Christmas time. Yuko tells Yu how she has influenced people in two separate stories (from Ef: The First Tale.). After she is done with this, she asks him to tell her about the people he has influenced. Yu starts to tell his first story, that of Chihiro Shindo; the third chapter begins.[8]
Third chapter
Like the first chapter, the third chapter is also set in winter, but now the story focuses on another protagonist named Renji Aso. One day, he goes to an abandoned train station in town and meets a girl wearing an eyepatch and sitting alone named Chihiro Shindo, the younger twin sister of Kei Shindo from the second chapter. Despite them being mutually shy, Renji comes back to see her at the station every day after school and quickly becomes friends with her. Renji later learns that she has a severe case of anterograde amnesia where she cannot remember anything past thirteen hours previous. He also finds out that it is her dream to write a novel, but due to her condition has never been able to get far. Renji collaborates with Chihiro to see if he can finally make her dream come true.[8]

Characters

File:Ef - a fairy tale of the two. characters.jpg
The Ef heroines and two key characters: Kei (bottom-left), Miyako (top-left), Yuko (center-left), Yu (center-right), Chihiro (top-right), and Mizuki (bottom-right).

Ef: The First Tale.

Hiro Hirono (広野 紘, Hirono Hiro)
Voiced by: Hiro Shimono
Hiro is the main protagonist of the first chapter in the story. He is a high school student who is mainly interested in his job as a manga artist of shōjo manga under the moniker "Nagi Shindo" (新堂 凪, Shindō Nagi).[9] Hiro used the given name of his older sister Nagi Hirono (広野 凪, Hirono Nagi), and a homophonic spelling of the family name of his childhood friend Kei Shindo to create the moniker. Writing manga causes him to lose interest in school and focuses mainly on his work in order to earn an income, as usually he does not have much money as it is. After meeting Miyako, he starts hanging out with her more; they eventually become a couple, despite Kei's feelings for him.
Miyako Miyamura (宮村 みやこ, Miyamura Miyako)
Voiced by: Hiroko Taguchi
Miyako is the main heroine of the first chapter in the story. She met Hiro after stealing his bike on Christmas night while trying to catch a purse thief. She ended up destroying his bike, and she hung out with him for the rest of the night. Afterwards, they meet again at school; she too does not attend classes much because she finds them boring.[9] Miyako has an energetic personality and enjoys doing unorthodox things.[9] She eventually starts to become attracted to Hiro.
Kyosuke Tsutsumi (堤 京介, Kyōsuke Tsutsumi)
Voiced by: Yūki Tai
Kyosuke is the main protagonist of the second chapter in the story. He has a passion for filming, and constantly carries a digital video recorder around with him.[9] On Christmas night, he saw Kei Shindo running down the street and tried to get a shot of her, but a truck passed by, so he could not get a clean shot, plus he did not realize it was Kei at the time. After immersing himself in the thoughts of the mystery girl that Christmas night, he ends up quiting the film club and his girlfriend suggests they break up, which he agrees to as well. He eventually falls in love with Kei.
Kei Shindo (新藤 景, Shindō Kei)
Voiced by: Junko Okada
Kei is the main heroine of the second chapter in the story. She is Hiro's childhood friend and is one year younger than Hiro; she attends the same school as him too.[9] She is also Hiro's neighbor, and she often has to go over to Hiro's house to wake him up if he had spent the previous night drawing his manga. She is very athletic and is the star player of her school's girl's basketball team.[9] She is attracted to Hiro, and becomes jealous when she finds out how much time he is spending with Miyako Miyamura.
Yuko Amamiya (雨宮 優子, Amamiya Yūko)
Voiced by: Yumiko Nakajima
Yuko is a mysterious girl dressed like a nun who Hiro first meets in a church on Christmas night, though she herself tells him she is not affiliated with the church. She always appears generally out of no where, and disappears just as quickly in various places throughout the story to talk with Hiro or other characters and give them advice;[9] interestingly, Miyako already knows her. She is the key figure throughout the entire Ef story.

Ef: The Latter Tale.

Renji Aso (麻生 蓮治, Asō Renji)
Voiced by: Motoki Takagi
Renji is the main protagonist of the third chapter in the story; he is half German, half Japanese.[9] He first met Chihiro Shindo at an abandoned train station he would often frequent to read at since it is so quiet there. After meeting her once, Renji continues to go back after school at the same time and eventually becomes very close with her. He loves to read novels, and after discussing it with Chihiro, they start writing a fantasy novel together.
Chihiro Shindo (新藤 千尋, Shindō Chihiro)
Voiced by: Natsumi Yanase
Chihiro is the main heroine of the third chapter in the story. She is Kei's younger twin sister. When she was younger, she was involved in an accident which resulted in a loss of her left eye (which she wears an eyepatch over now) and a severe case of anterograde amnesia where she cannot remember anything past thirteen hours previous, aside from the events before the accident which she can recall perfectly.[9] She carries a diary with her which she writes in every day the events of that day so that the next day, after she had forgotten everything, she will be able to remind herself of what happened the previous day. Ironically, she has a fantastic memory of anything that happened that is than thirteen hours old. She has a dream to write a fantasy novel, and she eventually starts writing one with Renji Aso, whom she becomes attracted to as well.
Shuichi Kuze (久瀬 修一, Kuze Shūichi)
Voiced by: Kenji Hamada
Shuichi is the main protagonist of the fourth chapter in the story. He is an older man who is a professional violinist.[9] He had been studying abroad in Germany for a time, and comes back to where Ef's story takes place.[9] Shuichi is a neighbor of Renji's and is good friends with him despite the age difference.[9] Shuichi knows Yu Himura and Chihiro as well, but she forgets Shuichi due to her condition.
Mizuki Hayama (羽山 ミズキ, Hayama Mizuki)
Voiced by: Mai Goto
Mizuki is the main heroine of the fourth chapter in the story. She goes to an affiliated school and admires Kei greatly as someone who is older than her; in fact, Mizuki is also on her school's girl's basketball team.[9] She greatly enjoys reading shōjo manga.[9] She has a straightforward attitude and likes to be frank towards others, especially to Kei.[9]
Yu Himura (火村 夕, Himura Yū)
Voiced by: Kōichi Tōchika
Yu is a mysterious gentleman who is also somehow attached to the church where Yuko first appears.[9] Like her, he also abruptly appears out of no where and disappears just as mysteriously.[9] He often gives advice and warnings to Renji and others.[9] Yu is close to Chihiro and takes care of her.

Adaptations

File:Ef - a fairy tale of the two. manga volume 1.jpg
Ef manga volume 1.

Manga

A manga adaptation, under the general title Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two., began serialization in the shōnen manga magazine Dengeki Comic Gao! on February 27 2005, published by MediaWorks.[10] The story was taken from the visual novels that would be sold later and was written by Mikage and Yū Kagami, two scenario writers of Minori, and illustrated by Juri Miyabi. As of October 27 2007, five bound volumes have been published under MediaWorks' Dengeki Comics label.[11]

Light novels

A series of short side-stories in a light novel form started serialization under the title Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two. Another Tale in Kadokawa Shoten's seinen magazine Comptiq on June 10 2006. The stories are written by the same scenario staff as with the original games and manga, and illustration is handled by Naru Nanao, 2C＝Galore, and Mitsuishi Shōna. Another two separate light novels, under the general title Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two., were published by Fujimi Shobo on October 25 2007. They were written by Yū Kagami, and illustrated by Kensha Shimotsuki. The first novel was a novelization of Miyako's route, and the second was centered around Kei's route.[11]

Internet radio shows

There are two Internet radio shows for Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two. The first, entitled Omoshiro Minori Hōsōkyoku (おもしろミノリ放送局), was broadcast between October 13 2006 to June 1 2007 every Friday and was produced by Onsen, Cospa, and Minori. The show contained thirty-three episodes and was mainly used to promote the visual novels. The second radio broadcast began on June 8 2007 called Yumiko & Yūna no Ef Memo Radio (ゆみこ&ゆうなのえふメモらじお). This broadcast is mainly used to promote the anime series.[12]

Drama CDs

A set of four drama CDs were released by Frontier Works based on the series between October 2006 and April 2007. A special edition drama CD will be released on November 21 2007.[13] The first print release of the special edition CD will contain comments from the cast. The drama CDs used the same female cast as with the games and anime versions (albeit under assumed names), but the two males that appeared in the dramas, Hiro and Kyosuke, had different voice actors in respect to the anime version. Hiro was voiced by Takashi Shōman, and Kyosuke was by Shō Shiroki.

Anime

See also: List of Ef: A Tale of Memories. episodes

On August 24 2007, a short prologue for an Ef anime series was released as a DVD.[14] The prologue was more of a teaser which introduced the characters and some conflict that would appear in the series. The anime series, under the title Ef: A Tale of Memories., began airing on the Chiba TV Japanese television network on October 7 2007 and will end on December 22 2007 containing twelve episodes.[15] The anime was produced by Shaft and directed by Shin Ōnuma who volunteered for the job when it was offered.[16] Each episode ends with a still image drawn by Japanese illustrators of anime, manga, and visual novels. The first letter in each episode's title, plus the "coda" title of the last episode, can be brought together to form "Euphoric Field". The series is being released in six limited and regular edition DVD compilations, each containing two episodes. The first DVD volume was released on December 7 2007, and the sixth DVD will be released on May 9 2008.

Music

The theme song for the visual novel version is "Yūkyū no Tsubasa" (悠久の翼, lit. Eternal Feather) by Hitomi Harada which was released as a maxi single called Eternal Feather on October 27 2006.[17] The opening theme for the anime, starting with episode three, is the English version of "Euphoric Field" by Tenmon featuring Elisa. The first episode used a background music track for the opening theme, and the second and tenth episodes had no opening theme; "Euphoric Field" was also used for the ending theme in episode two. The Japanese version was used as the opening theme for the twelfth episode. The opening theme single was released on October 24 2007 by Geneon. The first ending theme for the anime is "I'm here" by Hiroko Taguchi which was used for episodes one, three, seven, and ten; the single for the song was also released on October 24 2007 by Geneon. The second ending theme, "Kizamu Kisetsu" (刻む季節, Carving Season) by Junko Okada, was used for episodes four, five, and nine, and the single was released on November 21 2007. The third ending theme, "Sora no Yume" (空の夢, Sky's Dream) by Natsumi Yanase, was used for episode six, eight, and eleven, though the second verse of the song was used in that episode; the single was released on December 21 2007. A remix of the visual novel's theme song called "Yūkyū no Tsubasa" 07mix (悠久の翼 07mix) sung by Yumiko Nakajima was used as the ending theme in episode twelve. The original soundtrack for the anime series will be released on February 8 2008.[13]

Reception and media coverage

In the October 2007 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine, poll results for the fifty best bishōjo games were released. Out of 249 titles, Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two. ranked twenty-third with eleven votes, tying with Muv-Luv Alternative and Snow.[18] The first game in the Ef series, Ef: The First Tale., was the highest selling game for the month of December 2006 on Getchu.com, and dropped to nineteenth in the ranking the following month.[19][20] Also, Ef: The First Tale. was the fourth most widely sold game of 2006 on Getchu.com despite it being released with a little over a week left in 2006.[21] In the January 25 2007 issue of the Japanese gaming magazine PC News, it was reported that Ef: The First Tale. was the fifth-highest selling game of 2006 with 40,843 units sold.[22] Across the national ranking of bishōjo games in amount sold in Japan, Ef: The First Tale. premiered at number two, and ranked twice more at number five and thirty-two.[23][24]

The Ef series, encompassing the visual novels and anime adaptation, was the only Minori title to receive coverage in an entire issue of Dengeki G's Festival! Deluxe, a special edition version of Dengeki G's Magazine which is published by MediaWorks; the issue in question was the first, and will be published on November 30 2007. Along with information pertaining to Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two. and Ef: A Tale of Memories., magazine will come bundled with an ergonomic mousepad, a small cell phone cleaner which can also attach to a cell phone, and an ID card/pass case.[25]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Ef: The First Tale. information at ErogameScape" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-11-09.
  2. ^ a b c d "Information about the Ef trial version distribution and talk event tour sponsored by Minori" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-11-09.
  3. ^ "List of Ef related products at Ef's official website" (in Japanese). Minori. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
  4. ^ "System requirements for Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two. at Ef's official website" (in Japanese). Minori. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
  5. ^ "Getchu.com's special website for Ef: The First Tale." (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-11-03.
  6. ^ "Introduction section at Ef's official website" (in Japanese). Minori. Retrieved 2007-11-04.
  7. ^ a b c "Story section for Ef: The First Tale. at Ef's official website" (in Japanese). Minori. Retrieved 2007-11-04.
  8. ^ a b "Story section for Ef: The Latter Tale. at Ef's official website" (in Japanese). Minori. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Character list for Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two. at the visual novel's official website" (in Japanese). Minori. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  10. ^ "Dengeki Comic Gao! April 2005 issue" (in Japanese). MediaWorks. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  11. ^ a b "Ef: A Tale of Memories. official website - book list" (in Japanese). Shaft. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
  12. ^ "Official website for Yumiko & Yūna no Ef Memo Radio" (in Japanese). Onsen. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
  13. ^ a b "Ef: A Tale of Memories. official website - CD list" (in Japanese). Shaft. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
  14. ^ "Ef: A Tale of Memories. - DVD list" (in Japanese). Shaft. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
  15. ^ "Anime episode listing at the official website for Ef: A Tale of Memories" (in Japanese). Shaft. Retrieved 2007-11-04.
  16. ^ "P-tina's interview of Shaft" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-10-12.
  17. ^ "Minori's official website for the Eternal Feather single" (in Japanese). Minori. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
  18. ^ "Dengeki G's Magazine top fifty bishōjo games" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-11-04.
  19. ^ "Highest selling games of December 2006 on Getchu.com ranking" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-11-04.
  20. ^ "Highest selling games of January 2007 on Getchu.com ranking" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-11-04.
  21. ^ "Highest selling games of 2006 on Getchu.com ranking" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-11-04.
  22. ^ PC News (in Japanese). Peaks. January 25 2007. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ "PC News ranking for bishōjo games; Ef: The First Tale. ranks 2" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-11-04.
  24. ^ "PC News ranking for bishōjo games; Ef: The First Tale. ranks 5 and 32" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-11-04.
  25. ^ "Dengeki G's Festival! Deluxe Volume 1" (in Japanese). MediaWorks. Retrieved 2007-11-04.

External links

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