Do you ever experience something that lives rent free in your head weeks after it happened? Something that you feel will stick with you for life? Months later I can still say ef: a fairy tale of the two fits the bill for me. This visual novel, over a decade old, came into my life at the right time. It will have a special place in my heart as I move forward with my life. I can say all of this unequivocally, but I cannot recommend it to everyone. It is most certainly problematic. If it was remotely popular online this year there’d be some vicious things said about it on social media. In some respects it would deserve that pushback. I still love it, but I can’t say I love every part of it. In this blog I will parse through my thoughts on the first half of the story, the first tale. If that sounds like it would be of any interest to you then feel free to join me.

Before I go any further I feel I should warn you about what we’re getting into. Especially if you are not familiar with this visual novel. This blog will focus on the MangaGamer release. This means I’ll be talking about an eroge that was rated “Adults Only” by the ESRB. There are very few games that get released with that rating, and this is one of them. I will not be showing pictures of the sex scenes that likely motivated that rating, but I will discuss them to an extent. These erotic scenes involve fictional teenagers under the age of 18. Most of said scenes involve minors engaging with other minors, but that is not true of all of them. Ef also contains discussions and depictions of sexual assault. It also deals with other mature themes in varying capacities such as suicide. Admittedly, most of the heavy stuff is confined to the latter tale.

If any of the above sounds like it would be a major problem for you to read about then go no further. I hate to see you go, but this VN and blog post likely aren’t for you. Maybe you can watch the anime instead since it tones most of those aspects down. There’s plenty of people that like the anime better any way. If you’re still here and you haven’t played through ef before, be warned that I will be discussing spoilers. In my opinion this is not the kind of story where spoilers would ruin the experience. Even so, it’s probably better if you read this after going through the VN or anime. If you still want to keep reading after all these disclaimers then congratulations. Hopefully I can make this post worth your time.

I will discuss ef chapter by chapter. Feel free to use the table of contents below to skip ahead to whichever chapter interests you more. I know what chapter interests me the most personally, but we’ll have to wait until I discuss the latter tale to get to it. In the meantime let’s start from the top.

1. Prologue: the Fated Reunion
2. Chapter 1: Fun Times With Love Triangles
3. Chapter 2: Kei Deserves Some Love Too
4. Closing Thoughts

Prologue: the Fated Reunion

I did not replay the entire VN for the blog. However, I figured I should pay the prologue special attention now that I’ve seen everything it built up to. In doing so I was reminded that the opening lines are a lot more Jesus-y than I remembered.

I believe that everyone prays to God at least once in their lives.

The one day that they pray will inevitably arrive, regardless of their beliefs.

All human beings will pray for something.

They will wish to pursue it.

They will want to reach out and take hold of it.

It is something imagined from our affinities and our emotions.

Of that much I am certain.

Yuuko Amamiya

You know, Yuuko might be on to something. It was not long ago that I took too much of an edible, felt like I was dying, and my atheist ass had a makeshift prayer for my continued life. Thanks God for not giving me death by weeds just yet. Really came in clutch there. I don’t think that’s what she meant though. Humans will inevitably desire something that requires more than their own powers to secure. To attain a loving relationship there must be reciprocation. If you want to live your dream you’ll have to hope that nothing cuts your life short. If we wish for something not entirely within our control, which is damn near anything of significance, there’s an opening for prayer. Or something like that.

I don’t believe in God. I don’t think I ever have really, and I doubt I ever will. I cannot prove with absolute certainty there is no higher power, no one can. However, I find the religious explanations for how we came into being wholly unconvincing. As I understand reality it seems unlikely that some guided hand crafted this planet just for us. We’re really not that special in the grand scheme of things. The universe spent billions of years without us existing at all. Yet through some strange twist of fate we’re here right now. That fact alone is certainly miraculous. If you want to attribute that miracle to intentionality of a higher being I can’t blame you too much. Personally, I think the real answer’s a lot more complicated than that. Regardless of the true answer, we’re all here in this beautiful fucked up world right now so we might as well make the best of it.

In stating my personal religious beliefs (or lack thereof) I hope you can understand the angle I’m approaching this story from. Ef has plenty of religious imagery and themes from start to finish. As a non-believer I am not especially interested in this aspect. I’d be more interested if it were a religion I have limited experience with, but ef revolves around Christianity. Here in America it’s something you have to deal with whether you like it or not. There’s nothing novel about it for me. That being said, there is some novelty to exploring Christianity in a Japanese context. Ef doesn’t engage with Christianity the same way a grandma in Arkansas does. In fact, I find it difficult to imagine most devoted Christians liking this story too much. Sure it’s generally pro-Christianity, but some of the content is likely to offend their sensibilities. I can’t say I’m particularly happy with it from my secular perspective either. Honestly, I am not sure who this VN’s religious aspect is supposed to appeal to. Converting lonely otakus with the power of waifus maybe? Possibly.

I have neither the desire nor knowledge to fully unpack ef’s religious themes. Even if I did possess both I doubt I’d find anything especially coherent. But I will continue to touch on this aspect from time to time because it’s too pervasive to ignore. It doesn’t shove the Jesus stuff down your throat, but it’s definitely present. Just in this prologue we’ve got an opening line about praying to God and the whole scene’s set in a church. Fortunately, the conversation that takes place is far removed from a typical sermon.

With the opening scene we’re introduced to two characters who are apparently reuniting for the first time in a while. Without context it leaves a lot of open questions. It’s clear the characters know a lot more about each other than the audience does. They’ve got a lot of history that you have to play through the whole VN to learn about. They’re essentially starting the story right before the ending. At one of the most crucial moments no less. Yet someone going in blind won’t fully understand its significance. As for me going through the prologue a second time is a feels trip all on its own.

Yuu Himura, the POV character of this scene has a hard time believing what he’s seeing at first, but Yuuko Amamiya’s right in front of him. She does not remember him initially, but his name comes back to her when they converse. She comments that her forgetting is an inverse of “last time.” This leads into a flashback of when they met back in school. It’s not just showing a few images or lines either, they have a whole scene play out. A scene we won’t see again until quite a few hours later. I’ll save my analysis on this scene for the chapter it appears again, but I do find it interesting that they chose to show most of that scene as is before cutting it off at a cliffhanger. It’s like they’re teasing us with the best part of the story because they know we have to go through a long road to get there.

They converse and they reminisce, interspersed with some more brief flashbacks. Through this process we get a sense of their relationship and chemistry. At least in my case it definitely left me itching for more. Hell I already played through it once and it still has that effect on me. Yet its been many years since the time they spent together occurred, and they have a lot of catching up to do. At this point they keep it deliberately ambiguous why they were apart so long, but hey we’ll find out soon enough. In the mean time, they both have some stories to tell. Thus Yuuko begins to tell the tale of the young man she got involved with. Not romantically though. More specifically, she did not get involved with him romantically. This guy has plenty of romance to go around.

But yeah, that’s the prologue. Maybe you can count the conversation Hiro has with Yuuko in the church as part of the prologue too, but it’s more like the start of the first chapter. It’s worth noting that the prologue frames this chapter as Yuuko recounting the story, but it’s primarily presented from Hiro’s perspective. This makes sense, as Yuuko’s more of a supporting character and observer to his story. With her perspective you can get a general sense of what happens, but the nuance would be lost. Hence the perspective jumps around from chapter to chapter. It’s a somewhat unconventional approach to story telling, but it works.

Chapter 1: Fun Times With Love Triangles

I’ll be honest I don’t want to spend too much time talking about this chapter. It’s not bad or anything, but I found it a bit of a slog to get through at times. I expect it would be a slog to break down thoroughly as well. Still, I feel I would be remiss not to talk about it at all. Hence this is the tale of Hiro Hirono, a young man compelled to make major decisions about his future and love life around the same time.

After Hiro has his exchange with Yuuko in the church he encounters another young lady outside. Miyako Miyamura got her purse snatched. Naturally her solution is to steal Hiro’s bike to chase after the thief and then crash and get knocked out. Bit of an awkward start but hey whatever breaks the ice. Meanwhile Hiro was supposed to attend a Christmas party with his childhood friend Kei, but he sticks around with Miyako for a bit instead. And so it begins…

I have mixed feelings about love triangles. They’re a great source of drama, but they can tend towards being more irritating than interesting. Sometimes I’ll think: we know exactly how it’s going to end so why are we wasting so much time with this other person? Especially those half-assed love rivals that show up halfway through shoujo manga. Is there really not another way to have drama? However, when it’s done right it can be an incredibly heart wrenching experience. I’m not convinced anyone will do it better than White Album 2. At the very least, ef didn’t pull it off. It’s a love triangle where the girl I like more doesn’t win so it sucks, clearly. Honestly after Chapter 2 happened I’m completely fine with how the love triangle resolved. However, I still can’t say I’m especially invested in Hiro and Miyako’s relationship. They’ve got a pretty good dynamic, they suit each other well, but something stops me from being fully on board.

To understand why I’m not quite as invested in this chapter as some later ones I’ll take a closer look at the characters involved. Starting with this chapter’s MC, Hiro Hirono. In a game full of male leads with not particularly remarkable designs, this guy somehow manages to be the most generic looking. It’s impressive in a way. If you put this guy in a lineup with all those other generic short to medium length dark haired protagonists I might be able to pick him out, but it sure as hell wouldn’t be easy.

In spite of his generic appearance he does have a semblance of a personality. He’s the guy with the abrasive edge in a chapter full of hyperactive girls. He’s mostly normal, but he’s also a male mangaka making shoujo professionally in high school. As such, he’s not that normal. Watching him deal with the immense pressures of balancing work and school life along with his messy love life can be intriguing. I can see why Yuuko thought he could use some help. I’m sure some people could relate to some of his struggles, even if the specifics are rather extraordinary. He has to make a lot of tough decisions in quick succession at a relatively young age. That’s far from easy, but he eventually manages to find answers he’s satisfied with. For a self-insert visual novel protagonist you could do a whole lot worse. That being said, his personality’s no where near strong enough to carry the chapter on its own.

Fortunately, Hiro’s not alone. He’s got this chapter’s main heroine, Miyako Miyamura looking out for him. Also a notable amount of other characters, but I’ll stick to talking about Miyako for now. Back when I watched ef: a Tale of Memories, which was a while ago, I didn’t care too much about her. She wasn’t really my type, and I found myself liking Kei more. There’s usually not much fun for me in a love triangle or larger where my preferred choice doesn’t get their mans. It’s such a dumb factional thing, but they are feelings I cannot deny. Even with that bias I still enjoyed Tale of Memories for the most part, so it wasn’t all bad. Either way, I think it’s safe to say that the visual novel improved my opinion of her substantially.

Miyako is a free spirit and a quirky genki girl, an archetype that is usually hit or miss for me. I know a certain Spartan loves these types all the time damn near 0 questions asked, but they’re not my speed. Even so, I’ve grown to like her. She can be funny sometimes, which helps. Her laissez-faire attitude towards life is charming in a way. She could stand to take school more seriously, but she’s smart enough to get good grades regardless. Furthermore, by the end I think she managed to take things with the correct amount of seriousness. She got involved with a guy that took too much on at once and risked crashing and burning. They come together and their attitudes meet in a healthier middle ground. I think Hiro made the right choice, as much as I feel bad for Kei.

One thing I like about Miyako is how often she cuts through the bullshit of the love drama. She picks up on Kei’s feelings towards Hiro a lot quicker than he does. Maybe Hiro actually knew all along but was willfully ignorant, but Miyako never went through that phase at all. She knew what was up, and she stayed true to her desires. She challenged Kei directly, though she was admittedly a bit too mean at times. Even so, she exhibits a refreshing amount of honesty in her approach to the situation you rarely see.

I’m particularly struck by the part of the chapter where Kei tried to make her move. She invited Hiro to watch her important basketball game and heavily implied she’d say something important to him afterwards. She’s going to confess to him after winning the game, what a sweet and dramatic setup. Unfortunately for Kei, Hiro was already pretty far down the Miyako route by that point. Miyako wanted to spend time with him rather than let him go to that game. She told Hiro, “You know what this is about,” and made him make a decision. Cuts right through the dense anime protagonist meandering and has him choose what he values more. A bit of a self-centered choice to make, but is it that wrong to want to spend time with your new maybe-boyfriend during a day off? In favor of letting him humor a girl who he’ll break the heart of any way? It’s a bit unfortunate, but I respect it.

I suppose I should also talk about Kei, who I still like more than Miyako. To be fair, I’m not sure I could still say that without Chapter 2. I will save most of my commentary on Kei for my section on that chapter. In this one Kei played the traditional role of the childhood friend to a tee. She was in love with Hiro for a long time, but didn’t have the guts to start moving with it until competition arose. That makes sense on some level. It’s hard to disrupt a long standing friendship. She likely feared losing what they had if it didn’t work out. However, when Miyako threatens making Kei lose her closeness to Hiro altogether that changes things.

Suddenly Kei risks losing him without even getting the chance to ask him out. Even though she built up the motivation, Miyako moved faster. Poor Kei got the Hanekawa special. She handled things in the most cliched way, and those cliches didn’t work out too well for her. She made the common mistake of hiding her feelings until it was too late. Regrettable, but it happens. I know from first hand experience. It’s worth noting the game points out that Hiro probably would have picked Miyako even if Kei did start dating him first. Oof. At least in this situation it’s easier for her to stay friends with him. She can still call him onii-chan. A strange consolation, but she seems happy enough about it.

Outside of those three the rest play a less prominent role. We’re introduced to some characters that have their own chapters later. Like Kyosuke, who ends up hitching with Kei himself. In this chapter he’s the token guy friend that Hiro can talk to about stuff he can’t say to the girls. Or just as a way to decompress a bit. Kyosuke’s pretty chill. Furthermore, we see the seeds of Kyosuke’s interest in Kei during this chapter. We also get Mizuki occasionally. My opinion of her improves in her respective chapter, but her scenes in this one felt tedious at times. She’s got a somewhat similar personality to Miyako, so adding her into the picture doesn’t alter the dynamic too much. Just makes things even more hyper. She definitely has her moments, but not as many good ones as the rest. At least among the ones that have their own sprites.

There is one supporting character that consistently stole the show whenever they showed up. It’s not even their chapter and they’re still the best part of it. As they are in any chapter they have a significant role in. That character, as you may be able to guess, is Yuuko Amamiya.

In The First Tale Yuuko plays the role of a mentor of sorts guiding the characters towards the right path. She doesn’t exactly look the part, but it’s not like they have any adults in their lives that will do a better job at it. Hiro lives alone. His mother’s dead and he lives separately from his father. Miyako’s parents are both alive but basically ignored her after their divorce. Their teachers aren’t heavily involved with them and it’s not like Hiro’s going to get much good advice out of his editor either. He’s one of the people pressuring him after all. These kids are basically left to fend for themselves. It’s easy to imagine things going poorly if Yuuko wasn’t around to pop up out of nowhere with some timely advice.

In these early chapters Yuuko is rather enigmatic. Hiro has a difficult time believing she’s older than him, but she insists that she is. How much older? She avoids answering that question. She claims to be working but it’s hard to tell what her job’s actually supposed to be. Her tendency to appear out of nowhere at opportune moments is also suspicious if you were to read into it. All of these strange details make sense once you reach the end of the story, but it’s unclear if Hiro specifically ever figures it out. Miyako eventually picks up on it, so it’s possible she clues him in. He certainly doesn’t figure it out during this chapter. The creators save that card for later.

So why do I consider Yuuko the best part of this chapter? The most simple explanation is because she’s Yuuko. Regardless of the scene she’ll bring her Yuuko-like charms into it. The witty comments that get a laugh out of me more often than anyone else in this VN. The insightful advice that I often find useful in my own life. Her words are gentle, but cut right through to the core. Hell even just getting to look at her during her scenes improves things for me. I love her design. A long dark haired beauty wearing black and white? It’s hard to fuck that up for me, and Yuuko slays with it. Yuuko’s easily my favorite character in this story, and comfortably resides in my top 10 characters overall. Her best moments are mostly found in later chapters, but the ara ara’s of this one balance it out. She’s simply the best, and I think anyone would benefit from listening carefully to what she has to say.

This is the last piece of advice she send Hiro off with, and it is powerful. Even more so if you know where it’s coming from. Personally I have experienced my fair share of loss in recent years. Deaths of loved ones, some of which I expected and some of which I did not. Did I treasure them as much as I should have? As much as it pains me to admit, I think that answer is probably no. I should have called them when I had the chance. Now all I can do is hold on to their memory.

There are also people that still live that I lost my relationship with. I ended them with my own hands, but thoughts of how it could’ve gone differently still cross my mind. What would have happened if I treasured them more? Would they still be in my life? In those cases my insufficient treasuring wasn’t exactly the only problem, but it certainly was one of them.

It is too late for me to avoid certain regrets, as it may be for you. We can’t change what has already happened. However, we certainly can change our present conduct. I still have people I love that I haven’t lost. I know full well it won’t last forever. Whether it be through their death, my own, or some other circumstance that parting is inevitable. But the regrets aren’t. I will do my best to take Yuuko’s words to heart, and I’d advise anyone reading this to do the same. If they’re here now, and they’re important to you, act like it. I’ve still got a lot of work to do in that regard, but my direction is clear.

This first chapter is certainly not my favorite from this VN. But that’s more a testament to how great some of the later chapters are than a commentary on this one’s weakness. Altogether it’s pretty good, especially if you can appreciate Miyako’s charms. She’s not quite my type, but she grew on me quite a bit any way. If a genki girl’s got me saying that you just know they’re doing something right. As I’ve said before the best part of this chapter is Yuuko’s scenes. The second best part is that its events make the next chapter possible.

Chapter 2: Kei Deserves Some Love Too

Having watched the ef anime before I knew how most of this visual novel would play out. There are certainly notable differences, but every respective chapter played out roughly the same way. This chapter is the sole exception. Why? Because it was barely in the anime at all. I understand why they chose to do that. Sacrifices must be made converting a lengthy visual novel to a two-cour anime. This chapter’s probably the least important for the overarching story. It’s a damn shame though, because this chapter’s my second favorite in the whole game.

Yuuko concludes Hiro and Miyako’s story to the extent she can. They’re still alive, they’ve still got a lot of shit to deal with, but they’re happy now. About as much of a conclusion as one can have while still in high school and not dead. Yuu wants to hear more from her, safely assuming that something else interesting happened in the past year. Indeed he’s right about that. So she obliges.

I think the manner Yuu asks for another story is rather sweet. He wants to hear her talk more. He wants to hear more about her experiences he was not privy to. Is he especially emotionally invested in what happens to these kids? Maybe, maybe not. But Yuuko was involved with them, and he trusts her to take interest in people worth taking interest in. So he gently coaxes another story out of her. And so the second chapter begins in earnest.

In spite of how Yuu’s hearing the story from Yuuko’s perspective, we the audience primarily view this chapter through Kyosuke Tsutsumi’s. As you might recall he’s Hiro’s one guy friend. A common presence in visual novels. Nobody wants to put effort into giving a character *multiple* guy friends. Everyone’s in it for the ladies and guy friends take extra work. Also giving them multiple guy friends make them seem like they have a big social life, which would make the protagonists less relatable. So Tsutsumi’s the one guy friend, a necessary addition with a lot on his shoulders. He has to be the guy the protagonist can talk to about things it’s tough to talk with the girls about. A decently reliable third party. Not to be obeyed at all costs, but always worth considering. But he can’t be too appealing, lest he outshine the protagonist. Can’t have the audience wondering why the ladies aren’t going for him instead. Such is the usual fate of the friends in such roles. Tsutsumi’s built a bit different. He’s someone who actually has experience. He’s not high calibre enough to win over just anyone, Miyako wasn’t interested. But there’s someone else who might be.

He encounters Kei Shindou otherwise alone in the gymnasium. He takes interest in her almost immediately as she prepares to shoot a basketball. Tsutsumi regrets not having his camcorder on hand, so he chooses to record it into his memories instead. High praise for a videographer to make. Just at a glance he could tell she was worth paying attention to. He watches as she gracefully shoots the ball. It does a spin around the rim and then falls off the wrong side. She is not in top form. When she talks to Kyosuke little of her usual energy can be found. She left the basketball team, her crush is taken, and she doesn’t have any aspirations to take their place. That Kyosuke could meet her at a definitive low point and still be intrigued speaks volumes.

In spite of Kei’s sullen disposition during their first encounter Kyosuke’s still able to get a smile out of her. He takes a shot with the basketball himself and manages to make it in. Not exactly the result of good practice or form, but he can still make it work. I’m far from an athlete myself and I can still get it in sometimes. His successful shot doesn’t prove his superiority at the sport. That he can make it in despite his lack of experience and mediocre form means she should still be able to as well. To be fair that’s an implication I’m just reading into the situation. He probably wasn’t thinking that deep about it, but he still pulled it off.

Such are the modest beginnings of their relationship. Kyosuke was intrigued by Kei instantly. Kei initiated the conversation and seemed to enjoy herself by the end of it. The seeds are planted, and in this chapter we get to see them sprout and then bloom.

Kyosuke’s interest in Kei starts out as a primarily artistic one (at least he thinks it is). He sees a girl at a standstill, and wants to record her through that process. As part of that process he naturally comes closer to her. Paying her special attention, lest he miss out on a good chance to record. There’s an inherent intimacy to the relationship of an artist and subject. The artist analyzes every aspect they’re privy to. They break down what they observe and decide what they wish to emphasize. To pull that off well you have to give them far more attention than any random person you pass by. The subject in turn experiences the gaze of the artist. They give a part of themselves to the artist, and relinquish total control to their interpretation.

Throughout the video making process the pair naturally grow closer and gradually fall for each other. Their relationship spans beyond what is captured on film. I suspect them growing closer in this manner has some wish fulfillment aspects to it. The kind of love story that only an artist would think of. Also arguably one that an artist with a sense of ethics would think to actively avoid. Kyousuke thinks that himself at first, but he ends up falling too hard to ignore it. It really isn’t a good idea in most cases, but their connection goes beyond that of filmmaker and actress. Also their dynamic just works. Kyosuke’s a casual jokester who has a knack for pissing Kei off with out of pocket comments. But he’s also good at diffusing the situation. Kei helps Kyosuke get more serious where he needs to be. Kyosuke helps Kei loosen up where she needs to. Their personalities contrast considerably, but balance each other out well.

Let’s take a closer look at Kyousuke Tsutsumi, the man behind the camera. He actually starts this chapter off in a similar position to Kei. He recently quit the film club, got dumped by his girlfriend, and his best friend quit school. He doesn’t let any of that get to him too much externally. He still acts like an unbothered playboy. But since the story’s from his perspective we see the frequency that negative thoughts cross his mind. He may not linger on what he lost much, but looking away doesn’t stop it from affecting him. Instead of fully grappling with his situation he tries to move forward without looking back. It’s impressive how well he can pull that off. Even so, it catches up to him some time.

By the way, Kyousuke acts more bothered by Hiro leaving school without telling him than leaving the film club. More bothered by losing him than losing his ex. Perhaps he and Kei have more in common than they think. I’m mostly joking on that last point, but at the very least Kyousuke feels left behind by Hiro. Hiro has a clear goal, he’s working towards it, and succeeding. All the while maintaining a successful relationship with an attractive eccentric girl Kyousuke couldn’t sway. Kyousuke used to be way ahead of him with girls, getting a date and getting laid long before Hiro found Miyako. But suddenly Hiro went on ahead. And he left behind a girl that’s still pining for him. To win her over he has to overtake Hiro in her mind. Just as Kei won him over by overtaking filmmaking in his mind.

This scene is Kyousuke’s answer to Yuuko’s question, “Have you ever truly fallen in love before?” A question that he and many others (myself included) finds difficult to answer. He is unsure if the feelings he had towards his exes constitute love. He probably felt something towards them, whether it be just attraction or some level of affection. But he tries not to get too hung about it. This can be seen in his conversations with his ex. Emi’s the one who dumped him, but she seems to have more lingering attachments. Whether or not that’s actually true is debatable, but he acts like it’s the case. It’s probably a similar case for his other exes as well. He loves filmmaking more than his exes. In Hiro and Miyako’s relationship he sees an example of love stronger than anything he’s experienced. Perhaps he’s felt love to some extent, but certainly not at their level. And if it’s not at their level, does it truly count as falling in love? Maybe not. To be fair, not a whole lot of couples reach that level regardless. I know none of my past relationships met that standard. I can point to many reasons why they fell apart, but perhaps that issue was the core problem at the heart of it all. Love is not the only thing required to hold a relationship together, but they’re tenuous at best without it.

To Kyousuke’s non-conclusion Yuuko raises a prescient question. Is he satisfied without experiencing love at that level? Aromantic people very well may be, but something tells me Kyousuke’s not one of them. And even if he was, Yuuko’s last line would still apply. Pursuing a passion is important. But if you don’t have anyone to share the joy of a fulfilled dream with it can end up feeling a bit empty. Doesn’t have to be a romantic love, a close friendship may suffice for some folks. Kyousuke’s doesn’t have much in the way of either at the start of his story. Kei quickly changes that.

The challenges Kei faces are similar, but not identical to Kyousuke’s. Yuuko wouldn’t ask Kei if she’s ever truly loved someone, that’s just rubbing salt in the wound. Kei fell hard for her childhood friend Hiro, but couldn’t do much as Miyako swept him away. While her love was unfulfilled, it would have been a match for Miyako’s if given a chance. She’s not over it at the start of the chapter, but Hiro dropping out likely makes things easier for her. She doesn’t have to see him together with Miyako very often. She doesn’t have to see him at all if she doesn’t want to. Except she still does want to. She values her friendship with Hiro. But being around him still stings a bit. A difficult situation to be in. I can say that from experience. Not to say my situation was exactly the same as Kei’s, but I have stayed friends with someone I fell for and got rejected by. It’s doable. You can come to terms with it, but it does take time.

In addition to taking a definitive L in her love life, she gave up on basketball around the same time. She got an injury that threatens to permanently disable her if it happens again. In this regard she has a similar situation and development as Hyouma Chigiri from Blue Lock. Instead of risking it she chose to withdraw from the club. But like Kyousuke giving up on the club doesn’t mean she gives up on the activity entirely. She’ll still shoot hoops from time to time when she gets the chance. But the passion isn’t there like it used to be. She lost her love, and she lost the biggest thing she could plausibly redirect her feelings towards as well. She is lost without a clear sense of direction. A position I think almost everyone has been in at some point. For me it was about a year ago. I stopped communicating with my ex. I no longer saw my future in what I was studying for grad school. But at that low point comes a distinct opportunity. To find a new path you need to search within yourself, confront things that you could avoid confronting before. If you can do that, the results may surprise you. I’ve found something I want to work towards, I feel more clarity than I’ve had in years. So too does Kei eventually find some answers.

I love visual novels, though the fact that I can reproduce most of a scene just using WordPress’ slideshow feature… Let’s just say the medium isn’t beating the allegations. But I love it nevertheless.

Any ways.

One thing that might strike people playing(?) through this scene is its parallels to the chapter’s opening scene. Once again Kei’s a solitary figure missing shots and getting shown up by someone with no form. Except this time that someone’s Yuuko. Someone who will dig under the surface without fail. She showed up out of nowhere, talked shit, and then disappeared. What a queen. Her words are not particularly nice, but they also are not unkind. It would be problematic if they were baseless accusations, but Yuuko don’t miss.

One might wonder how she’s able to make such astute observations when her interactions with Kei were so limited. To someone playing(?) ef for the first time this would be a hint towards Yuuko’s true nature. To those in the know it’s a testament to her unique info gathering abilities. If this whole story is recounted in Yuuko’s own words, how could she include so many details from scenes she wasn’t around for? It’s sensible to assume the story we see isn’t purely a representation of her words. But it’s also sensible to assume that Yuuko knows more about these kids than could reasonably be gathered when she’s on screen. Which is all a long way of saying that I think ef does a pretty good job gradually unfolding the core mystery that is Yuuko.

While this scene provides clues about Yuuko it gets at something far more direct with Kei. Her fear of failure is paralyzing her in place. The sting of defeat is too fresh. She loses to that feeling again and again. Kei’s not unique in her inaction. Her pattern of behavior can be found in plenty of people, myself included. So cautious about what could go wrong. Such excessive caution precludes oneself from what could go right. Perhaps there’s a chance you’ll just stumble into someone else’s life and they’ll take you along. There may be some comfort in that option, but you’re leaving your fate in someone else’s hands. So I say, but I still hold myself back in many ways. I’m working on it, but I probably should work a little harder. If any of this rings true for you, I’d advise internalizing what Yuuko says and take special note of how Kei responds.

Kei is frustrated by Yuuko’s comments. How could that lady she barely knows have figured that out before she did herself? On some level she knew all along, but Yuuko made her confront it. There are plenty of ways one could respond to such a realization. For instance you could use that information about yourself as evidence that you suck and hate yourself more. You don’t have what it takes to change things for yourself, your fears are completely accurate, actually. And so it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Of course it won’t work out if you don’t even try to make it work out. But that’s not how Kei operates. Hearing that fired up her competitive spirit. Now that she knows what’s holding her back, she can’t just lose to it without a fight. If she did that would mean Yuuko’s completely right about her. Instead, she makes her move.

At this point in the story Kyousuke got wrapped up helping the film club again. They asked him to help, and he hesitantly obliged. In doing so he put the film he was working on with Kei on indefinite hold. Just like that they weren’t really talking any more. Kyousuke seems to have some lingering regrets about letting her go, but he doesn’t really do anything about it. Not until Kei shows up and whisks him away. It’s not especially common to see a girl take the initiative to reconnect with a guy. Definitely not so forcefully. Not everyone can be as cool as Kei. She decided to start running and take Kyousuke along for the ride. And so she did.

Kei hasn’t figured out her whole future life plans. She hasn’t figured much out at all. But she found something she wants to do now, and she took immediate action to make it happen. There is much we can learn from her example. Again, it’s hard to be as cool as Kei, but it’s worth a shot. Just as Kyousuke gets closer to happiness by being caught up in her rhythm, let her determination rub off on us as well.

For Kyousuke’s part he decides to go along with it. To be fair you have the option to stick with the film club, but that’s just a ticket to a premature ending. After deciding to record Kei again he has one last conversation with the leader of the film club, also known as Emi, his ex. She lets him leave without much fanfare, and lets him know they won’t ever welcome him back. It’s a parting without resentment, but a definitive one nevertheless. About as good as it feasibly could be. There may be some lingering regrets, but they simultaneously decide to look past them. A lot better of a conclusion than my last relationship had, I can say that much. But there’s one part of this scene I still strongly relate to.

When it comes to either of my exes what I regret most is not the fact that we broke up. I can live without them. Rather, what I regret most is how I treated them while we were together. Whether it was when we were friends or the time we spent dating I should have been nicer to them. The reason those relationships fell apart is not entirely on me, but I certainly had my part. They deserved better. Hopefully some one else will provide that for them. But just like Kyousuke, I can’t return to those times. The most I can do is take those experiences with me and not repeat my mistakes with anyone else. That way if I ever find my own Kei, someone who enchants me as much as she does Kyousuke, I’ll cherish them to my fullest… and probably find innovative ways to fuck things up.

After they reconcile Kyousuke quickly realizes the intensity of his feelings towards Kei. He goes ahead and confesses to her out of the blue, surprising both Kei and the viewers alike. From my experience with romance stories in Japanese media the confession is usually given a lot of emphasis. It’s something that has to be slowly built up. Gotta wait for the right time and setting. Got to make it as impactful as possible. Oftentimes the characters are so caught up in thoughts like that they put actually saying anything off. Even so, when they finally work up the courage to say it the payoff is usually immaculate.

However, Kyousuke isn’t the typical romance series protagonist. He’s had plenty of relationship experience already, and he’s not afraid of letting a girl know how he feels. So he just came out and said it when it popped into his mind. The biggest problem with this casual approach is that Kei has a difficult time gauging how serious he is. He’s made plenty of flirty and/or lewd comments towards her before. How could she be sure he wasn’t just messing with her again? Kyousuke’s solution is to keep the pressure on not only until she believes it, but until she reciprocates. A rather heavy handed approach. One that could easily turn sour if the lady isn’t interested. But if there’s a seed of interest in the indecisive person it’s a powerful method.

After Kyousuke confesses we get an extended period of will they won’t they. Kei feels conflicted and Kyousuke’s kinda impatient. They also have an exam period to reckon with, which gives Kei a good excuse to put an answer off. In the meantime it’s all hands on deck with the supporting cast to help set them on the path they desire. Hiro shows up in person after looming in the background earlier. Mizuki makes an appearance and lays the foreshadowing on thick. Miyako does her share of meddling because of course she does. Yuuko says what she needs to. And that’s pretty much everyone. These two really don’t have too many friends huh? Regardless, I think this is an appropriate point to discuss the supporting cast’s role.

Let’s start with Hiro, our former protagonist. He does not appear often in this chapter, but he always looms large. For Kei who still loves him in spite of accepting he chose Miyako. For Kyousuke who has to take on her lingering feelings for Hiro to win her over. For Miyako whose been dating him the whole chapter. He’s rarely around and rarely forgotten. His decision last chapter is a major catalyst for this one’s existence. Dude barely leaves his room and he still pulls it off. What a guy. Hiro might seem like the usual generic protagonist at first, but he’s got presence.

When Hiro actually shows up in person he doesn’t need to do much to get things moving. Kyousuke and Kei meet him by happenstance while they’re filming, right in time to see how he totaled his new bike. Why must his bikes always undergo such violence? RIP Bike. Regardless, Hiro himself is fine somehow so they all decide to talk for a bit. Hiro requests they go to the beach, a nice change of pace from being shut in all the time. I can confirm from experience. Through the course of the conversation Hiro approaches Kei and asks her about her knee. Hiro did not reciprocate Kei’s feelings, but he still loves her in a way. And Kei definitely still loves him.

Hiro is well aware that he broke her heart. That much of her current pain is on him. Yet he still can’t help but be concerned about her. He misses having her around. He dropped out of school and Kei was uncomfortable visiting him at home like she used to. This is all understandable given the circumstances, but it’s not an arrangement either are especially happy with. In spite of the mismatched feelings they both want to be around each other more. So Hiro cuts through the BS and asks her to come to his place from time to time. All while Kyousuke records the whole conversation. It’s not a romantic or sexual invite, but it still probably bothers him a bit. He watches the girl he loves enthralled with the boy she loves. He watches the boy she loves asserting himself to get her back in his life. He doesn’t complain at all in the moment, but it seems to influence his words and actions afterwards.

After Hiro took the initiative it set Kei and Kyousuke’s relationship in motion. The movement starts with Kei requesting to be taken somewhere without people. Kyousuke’s answer is to take her to the ruined part of town, still damaged by an earthquake. You see the ruined land reflects upon his ruined mind. So deep. In all seriousness, there is some significance to using this unconventional setting for the scene. It’s not an especially romantic spot, yet the two are seemingly trying to get closer there. It doesn’t seem quite right. But even so Kei lets out what’s on her mind. She tells him that she’s always heavily relied on others. First her sister until they were separated (more on that in a future blog). Then she clung to Hiro until Miyako happened. That’s when Kyousuke showed up. She’s concerned that her feelings towards Kyousuke aren’t legitimate love but rather some improper reliance. Using him to fill a void that her past created. Periodically while she’s speaking Kyousuke hears sounds from the destroyed buildings. The structures break down further as she speaks.

After a certain point Kyousuke decides to interject. Even if her feelings towards him aren’t in a proper form, that still means she feels something towards him right? She may think that she’d be fine with anyone, but she’s saying all this to Kyousuke specifically. He knows she hasn’t fully moved on from Hiro. He’s aware she hasn’t fully figured out how she feels about him. He doesn’t want to wait for that to change. After all, who the hell knows when that will happen? Instead he offers to change her himself. They can work it out together. Break it all down and rebuild anew. Sounds like as good a plan as any to resolve things. Right?

Well…

For their first act of change or whatever Kyousuke attempts to change Kei from a virgin to a not-virgin. One would think that’s a rather abrupt move for high schoolers to do right off the bat, but I guess it happens. It’s an eroge after all. Kyousuke kicks things off by kissing her, which she goes along with. But then he starts touching her and stripping her down, and gradually progressing things further. Kei says “no” multiple times during this exchange, but she doesn’t struggle all that much. Kyousuke chooses to interpret that as nervousness rather than being fully against it. Even if that’s true, the consent in this situation is murky at best. To Kyousuke’s credit he does ask if she’s okay with continuing… after he stripped her completely but before he goes in. Kei’s response is “I don’t know” and he decides to proceed. Personally I think it would’ve been better to stop it there. If she’s not fully ready or enthusiastic pushing it is a dangerous move. Maybe she’ll end up enjoying it, but worst case scenario you’re essentially making her first time a sexual assault. It’s a pretty uncomfortable scene to watch. The consent is questionable at best, and it also includes some questionable lines.

This is a big part of why I’d be cautious about recommending this VN to people. It’s an eroge rated AO for Adults Only, yet none of the girls involved in the sex scenes would be old enough to play it. I intend to go into more depth about this aspect of the game when I write about the latter tale, but for now I’ll say this. If a lady has a “childish body” that’s not necessarily that big of a deal. If an adult woman has a small body it’s not automatically immoral to be attracted to her. If you disagree I’d like to ask what exactly the woman is supposed to do in that situation. They can’t really control how their body looks. Maybe they could gain weight, but that’s about it. Is she just supposed to stay single and celibate for life? I don’t think so. The problem isn’t that she has a childish body, it’s that she has one while also being a child.

I’m not one to care particularly deeply about the age of fictional characters. I don’t think it’s good that Japanese media sexualizes minors so often, but at the end of the day no actual people are harmed by it. At least not directly. Maybe the fact that I kept reading after that line at all makes me a bad person. Maybe one day if I ever get famous enough to be cancellable someone will find this blog post and get plenty of material. Of course that would require them actually reading it, so I’m probably safe. I think ef has a lot of good things going for it, but I wish they weren’t actively reminding me how weird it is. It makes the cognitive dissonance I’ve refined over a decade of indulging in weeb shit strenuous.

Any ways, this sex scene abruptly ends right when the actual sex part starts. Kei says, “I can’t!” and escapes from his bed. Purportedly she hasn’t forgotten Hiro’s scent yet. She apologizes and leaves. Probably for the best honestly, but Kyousuke is understandably frustrated. He got rejected in a rather forceful way, and she invoked another dude’s name. How did this happen?

The way I see it they were moving too fast. Kyousuke was impatient, he’s not used to playing the long game with girls he likes. Since he fell for Kei harder than anyone else before it was particularly hard for him to bear. Silently watching Kei and Hiro reconnect likely agitated him even further. So when Kei opened up to him and he saw an opening he went for it full speed ahead. If Hiro looms large in Kei’s mind, he just needs to assert himself so he can loom larger. Such was his mindset. For someone who’s usually so casual and seemingly unbothered he made a surprisingly desperate play. It’s a testament to how deeply he’s fallen for Kei that he’d act so uncharacteristically. However, strong feelings can become hurtful if you’re not careful with them. His impatience and jealousy stem from his love, and they cloud his judgement. Trying to have sex the same day they met up with Hiro is pretty clearly a bad idea in retrospect. Of course Kei would have a hard time forgetting about him when he’s fresh on her mind. If Kyousuke was less anxious to override Hiro he probably could’ve figured that out.

While Kei ended up backing out in the end, one has to wonder why she’d agree to have sex in the first place. She gave Kyousuke the chance to change her, but it seems oddly submissive of her to let that happen off the bat. She jumped into things with the wrong mindset. She can’t truly change if she trusts that process to Kyousuke. He may be able to remedy her loneliness, that much is true. But if she wants to stop heavily relying on others Kyousuke can’t fix that alone. As is she essentially fell into the trap Yuuko warned her about earlier. In doing so they both got hurt. It’s worth noting that Kei going along with Kyousuke isn’t purely a matter of her trying to fill in her loneliness. She’s convinced that’s the case because of her past and lingering feelings for Hiro. She can’t accept that she likes two dudes at the same time. She’s too inundated with pro-monogamy propaganda!!!!! So I say jokingly, but it’s basically true. She thinks she needs to erase Hiro from her heart completely for her new love to be genuine. It doesn’t actually work that way.

In spite of Hiro inviting Kei over and telling Kyousuke not to come, it’s actually the latter that comes through first. Kyousuke’s not entirely sure himself why he came, but I guess he wanted someone to talk to. Perhaps confronting his rival directly would help resolve things… somehow. That pretty clearly doesn’t work, but Hiro does help him get in a better mindset. Kyousuke lets out his pent up anger at Hiro, claiming he assaulted Kei but she escaped. Kinda true, but also an oversimplification. It’s like he’s yelling at himself but trying to make it Hiro’s problem. Reinforcing his sense of inferiority to Hiro. Hiro’s angered and confused by Kyousuke’s comments, initially taking it as a bad joke. Kyousuke insists it’s not a joke, but then realizes he’s not really saying what he wants to.

Hiro has grown up quite a bit. He’s working as a professional. He can navigate his relationship problems just fine on his own. When his friend comes around staying stupid stuff Hiro says all he can and should say to set him right. He still worries about Kei, but he’s well aware he can’t do much for her. So he entrusts his wish to make her happy to his dumbass friend that just claimed that he assaulted her. Yeah maybe he brushed over that part a bit too quickly. I think Hiro trusts Kyousuke enough that he has a hard time believing he actually assaulted Kei. All Hiro knows is that his buddy messed something up and the only way to fix it is to talk to her about it. As it turns out, Hiro has learned the power of communication. Now that’s character development! And he even has the good grace to impart his knowledge on Kyousuke. Hiro may not have much screen time in this chapter, but he doesn’t need to. He’s got manga to draw.

While Hiro does a lot with a little screen time, Mizuki Hayama occasionally shows up to do… a little with a little screen time. If I just called her a comic relief character and called it a day I wouldn’t be missing much. At least not until her chapter. But to be fair to her, she is Kei’s friend. She has a perspective on Kei that no one else does. She had minimal involvement with Kei’s previous love drama and wants nothing but the best for her moving forward. Even when Kei seemingly lost everything she still had Mizuki. Even when she doesn’t believe in herself Mizuki still thinks she’s cool. It may seem like Mizuki has minimal impact, but Kei would be colder and more closed off without her. There’s also another reason her presence is integral to the story, but I’ll save such commentary for the latter tale. That being said, the reason is hinted at repeatedly in this chapter. Somehow Mizuki reminds both Kyousuke and Kei of Yuuko. Hmmmmmm…

Next up we’ve got Miyako, who shows up a lot more often in this chapter than Hiro and Mizuki. This makes sense for practical reasons. After all she stayed in school unlike Hiro, and she goes to the same school as KyousuKei unlike Mizuki. Also the thought just occurred to me to make KyousuKei their ship name. I don’t know if anyone came up with that before, they probably have. Either way it’s kinda terrible, so I’ll stick with it. But I digress. Miyako gets lots of opportunities for brief interactions because she’s Kyousuke’s classmate. Her scenes may not be as individually impactful as Hiro’s or Yuuko’s, but it would be hard for damn near anyone to pull that off. She gently nudges KyousuKei in the right direction in her own quirky way.

Miyako is Hiro’s girlfriend and played a large role in Kei getting her heart broken. She wasn’t particularly nice to Kei when that was playing out, but to be fair Kei wasn’t especially nice either. But after the dust has settled she has some concern for Kei’s well being. After all she never hated Kei, she just loves Hiro. She feels bad for Kei, but not enough to let Hiro go. Meanwhile Kei still had plenty of residual resentment towards her. Not much Miyako can do for her in that situation. However, when she learned that Kyousuke started taking interest in Kei things changed a bit. Even if she can’t help Kei find happiness directly, she can encourage her servant to do it for her.

For those uninitiated when I say servant I’m referring to Kyousuke. Miyako managed to get all kinds of dirt on Kyousuke from Hiro, and she takes full advantage of it. With her blackmailing she does such evil deeds like… making him buy her drinks. Or making him spend time with her when he’s inclined to refuse. PURE EVIL! She also reminds him of his inferiority by flaunting her grades! Since dating Hiro she decided to start taking school more seriously. She consistently ranks first on the exams. Much unlike Kyousuke who doesn’t try that hard and ranks high any way. Indeed in spite of her joking put downs she respects Kyousuke. Past his exasperation with her Kyousuke respects her in turn. He may not like getting bothered by her most of the time, but she sure likes bothering him.

In spite of the blackmailing Miyako and Kyousuke generally have a good balance to their conversations. Even if he acts annoyed he never shuts her down completely. He’ll hear her out, and even offer some insights when applicable. When she went through a rough patch with Hiro she chose to talk to Kyousuke about it. That’s not a trivial thing. It means she trusts him and values his input. And through those conversations we get a good sense of what her relationship with Hiro’s like. Seems like there’s no real reason to worry there. Hiro might die of overwork, but that lady will be with him to the end. In return for putting up with her Miyako has some helpful insights herself. She’s got a strong intuition. She picked up on the possibility of KyousuKei long before either of them realized it. That’s not the only instance where her commentary proved prescient either. However, Miyako doesn’t push the issues much. She’ll raise concerns, but she doesn’t do so forcefully. She gives Kyousuke plenty of wiggle room to figure out that she’s right on his own.

While Kyousuke may say otherwise, he gets along just fine with Miyako. That’s certainly not true for Kei, at least not initially. Even without the saltiness their personalities naturally clash. However, after Miyako got her man she no longer has any reason to be hostile to Kei. Some women in her position would so any way, treating any other woman in their man’s life as a persistent threat. Fortunately Miyako isn’t so insecure that she’d do the same. She acknowledges that Kei has a special place in Hiro’s heart that she can’t replace. She may feel somewhat insecure in knowing that, but she still trusts Hiro. She doesn’t try to flush Kei out of his life. Rather Kei’s importance to Hiro is a big part of why Miyako cares about her. So she tries to be nice and understanding towards Kei in her own way. Slowly but surely Kei’s opinion of her improves in turn.

We see rapid improvement in Miyako and Kei’s relationship around exam period. Kei’s not the strongest in the academic department and fears the specter of summer school. Enter Miyako who offers to help her study. Why? Purportedly because Kei’s cute. Can’t argue with that. I think there’s reason beyond that as I mentioned earlier, but cuteness is reason enough. Kei reluctantly agrees, and so it begins. Their first study sessions goes pretty smoothly all things considered. Miyako’s surprised by how agreeable she is with her even. Kei even asks Miyako to study with her alone rather than them all studying with Kyousuke at his place. She explains that it’s easier for her to focus one-on-one and that she’s a bit uncomfortable staying at a guy’s place, though that’s probably not the only reason. After all their first study session happened soon after Kyousuke confessed to her. Her newfound awareness of Kyousuke affects her more than any old bitterness towards Miyako.

Their joint study sessions prove fruitful in various respects. Kei and Miyako get along a lot better, and Kei’s exam scores improve. No failed classes for her! Kei has taken a long line of Ls, so it’s about time she catches a W. She didn’t automatically become a star student, but she did good enough. However, Kei getting closer to Miyako coincides with a strain in her relationship to Kyousuke.

As you may recall Kyousuke tried to have sex with Kei and things went south. Then he talked to Hiro and basically got told to get his shit together and talk to Kei. This happened around the end of the exam period. So Kyousuke decided to do just that. He pulled an all nighter to finish up editing his movie of Kei. Or at least, make it as finished as it feasibly could be with the material he has. He poured his feelings towards her into its creation, making the result an unconventional love letter. With this in hand he makes his last push to try to win her over.

Kyousuke invites Kei to the school’s roof and begins by handing her the key to said roof. He tells her to use it if she ever wants to be alone with him. This key has passed through many hands, from Hiro to Miyako, then to Kyousuke, then her. As for how Hiro got it… well, that’s a story for another time. There’s a certain beauty in how the passage of the roof key connects the characters of this story. Kyousuke doesn’t know that key’s history, but in passing it down he continues the tradition. He’s continuing the will of people who have long since left the school. Just because he isn’t fully aware of it doesn’t mean the connection isn’t there. This roof key is emblematic of one of this story’s core themes. What is forgotten is not erased. Humanity will almost certainly die out one day, and the sun will eventually erase all traces of our existence on this planet. That does not change the undeniable fact that we were here. The bonds we forge are real and connect us in profound and surprising ways. Maybe that roof key will be lost one day, but the line of people it connected still remain. But that’s enough about the key for now. Neither Kyousuke nor Kei know the key’s significance. It’s not the main thing he wants to give her.

Kyousuke offers Kei his videotape as a proxy for his love for her. It’s not quite finished, but it still has enough poured in to make a statement. However, Kei’s still confused why he would go to such lengths for her. She blames herself for the recent incident at his place. She expected him to be angry and dejected, not happily reaffirming his love for her. What she doesn’t know is that he was all of those things at first, but he already let it all out against Hiro. Kyousuke says he’s fine with her still liking Hiro, admitting that he’s an amazing dude. He likes Hiro too, probably not in a gay way, but I couldn’t say say for sure. He likes everyone that has a sprite this chapter. But he reaffirms that Kei’s special to him. He lets her know how he feels about her in as honest and straightforward a way as he can manage. All she has to do is take his tape and decide where to go from there. Truly he’s done everything he feasibly could do at this point. Anything beyond this would just be desperately pushing the issue. He’s shown his hand, now the ball’s in her court.

Unfortunately for him Kei isn’t receptive. She refuses to take his tape, claiming she doesn’t have any right to do so. Kyousuke’s left defeated, realizing the full limitations of a movie. A movie can have a lot of power, but indeed it cannot “shatter reality.” He believes he deserves this outcome, blaming himself for their falling out. But why did she do that? Kei still doesn’t think she’s in love with him at this point. As such, when Kyousuke reaches out to her with his earnest feelings she mostly just feels guilty. She thinks she can’t match his feelings and kindness towards her. As such, it would be irresponsible to indulge further. A perfectly reasonable conclusion if she truly didn’t like him, but it’s a bit more complicated than that.

Soon after Kei left Kyousuke she has her prearranged meal with Miyako. Kei is supposed to let Miyako know how her exams went here, and Miyako wastes no time inquiring about it. Fortunately Kei’s all good on that front. Since that’s the case Miyako has an incisive follow up question.

Clearly if the exams aren’t the problem something else is right? What could possibly get Kei so distressed? Miyako doesn’t say it, and Kei doesn’t say it. But really, both of them know. Miyako doesn’t say anything about Kei’s real problem directly, but she says enough. She might not have the “right words” but Kei picks up on her implication regardless. Instead of giving her The Talk herself she suggests going to Yuuko instead. Miyako can point you in the right direction, but she know it’s not her place to strongly intervene. Unlike Yuuko who will meddle as much as she damn pleases. Interestingly during this exchange Miyako reveals that she knows Yuuko’s true nature. Supposedly everyone in town should have heard about her at least once, but she forgot until she read through some of Hiro’s old newspaper and magazine clippings. Of course she lays that hint on heavy but not directly say what she figured out. If she said it outright that’d spoil the fun. On one level it’s annoying how she’s still withholding information from the audience, but it’s very much in line with how Miyako usually operates. She’ll point you in the right direction so you can figure out the answer yourself. Honestly it’s better that way.

I almost don’t want to write anything after because I think these lines speak for themselves. What she says applies well to Kei’s situation, but it’s good advice in general. As long as we live we’ve got to keep moving forward, taking our past with us. This visual novel has improved my opinion of pretty much every character relative to the anime, but Miyako has improved the most. I may not enjoy her as a lead heroine as much as Kei, but she does a damn good job playing support. Even so, there’s someone she can’t top in that department. Hint: it’s the lady Miyako plagiarized her “doesn’t mean it disappeared” line from.

It’s Yuuko Amamiya baby! Certified best girl by Cosmia LLC. Helping dumbass kids get their shit together since 2006. Technically 2005 since the manga came out first for whatever reason. I haven’t read that one. If it has Yuuko it’s probably good. Simping aside, Yuuko pretty much does the same thing she did last chapter. She randomly shows up at opportune moments, asks some potent questions and/or drops some truth bombs, and then dips. KyousuKei usually get some nugget of good advice almost time a supporting character shows up on screen. However, none do it quite as well and quite as effectively as Yuuko. Particularly when it comes to Kei.

Most of the big turning points where Kei decides to take action are preceded by a conversation with Yuuko. When she decides to start running and get Kyousuke to film her again? She talked to Yuuko in the scene right before it. Kei also had another conversation with Yuuko the night before she decided to give Kyousuke a chance to change her. Admittedly, that part didn’t play out well, but it set things in motion. So what happens when Kei rejects Kyousuke and Miyako sends her en route to Yuuko? Arguably the biggest turning point of them all.

In spite of coming to see Yuuko on purpose their initial conversation is a bit standoffish as per usual. During that conversation it’s implied that Yuuko knows exactly what Kei’s thinking. Can she read minds or is she just really good at reading Kei? Hard to say for sure, but either option’s plausible. Actually it’s probably both. Yuuko’s built different after all. Once they go inside the church they get down to the main business.

Here we get Kei’s reasoning for turning Kyousuke down. She has long since accepted that Hiro chose Miyako and that Kyousuke loves her. What she can’t accept is treating Kyousuke like a replacement for Hiro. Doing so feels disingenuous somehow. Like she’s being untrue to her feelings for both of them. As if the strength of one love detracts from the other. Kei has a relatively simple mind so she has a difficult time parsing this. So the mess of her emotions compels her to put distance from Kyousuke. Understandable at some level, and difficult to unpack. Yuuko manages just fine though.

So to put it simply, Kei’s overthinking it, and Kyousuke is likely to move on if she doesn’t make a decision quickly. Yuuko explains it in a more elegant and thorough fashion to drill it into Kei’s head. And as per usual, it has a strong effect. Kei doesn’t explicitly admit her feelings in this scene, but she basically does so in all but name. “The radiance of his sincere eyes… captivated me. That wasn’t a lie or a deception. It was a reality I had to take in.” Kei was convinced her feelings towards Kyousuke were a fabrication intended to take Hiro’s place in her heart. That was just a presumption she made to make sense of her own feelings. As Yuuko points out, it’s not a good idea to make such presumptions. You may find yourself latching on to assumptions that distract from the reality of your own feelings. Kei starts to confront that as she speaks to Yuuko.

Accepting your own feelings is a necessary but insufficient step. The love you discover can very easily go to waste if you don’t do anything about it. I’ve let my fair share of crushes go without saying anything. Thinking back on what could’ve been leaves me with a bitter pathetic feeling. Even if I ended up getting turned down I think that’s probably preferable to what actually happened. Kei knows this from first hand experience as well. If she made a move on Hiro earlier she very well could have won him over for a time. Kyousuke thinks that Miyako probably would have swept Hiro away regardless, but she could’ve made more happy memories before then. To be fair, if that happened it probably would have prevented Kei from getting along with Miyako at all.

Regardless, Kei knows damn well what happens when she waits too long to make a move. And time is indeed of the essence in this situation. Yuuko’s description of Kyousuke as “the type to move on, even if he becomes lost” is spot on. That’s exactly what he did when he got dumped by his ex and left the film club. He didn’t have a clear idea where to go next, but he avoided dwelling on what he just lost. With a bit of time he’s liable to do the same thing again for Kei. His monologue after Kei’s last rejection indicates he’s already coming to terms with losing her. He’s done all he could to make his feelings clear, so now the onus is on her. What’s her move?

Before Kei makes her decision she asks Yuuko if she’s ever fallen in love. Yuuko has difficulty answering initially, likely due to her fragmented memories. Yet she still comes to an answer: “Just once.” Purportedly both her first and last love. And who is that lucky fella that earned Yuuko’s love? A goofy little guy known as Jesus Christ baby! It’s a shame but I don’t think any other suitor can top him! Just look at that sexy figure as he hangs from the cross! Jokes aside the actual answer should be kinda obvious to us the audience, but Kei hasn’t seen that guy in a while. To those not In The Know this moment is another piece of cryptic foreshadowing. Kei wonders if Yuuko experienced a bitter love like her. Not completely off the mark, but not the full picture. For those who know exactly what Yuuko means it’s both sweet and saddening. Sweet that she remembers and can say that about him. Saddening because REDACTED.

Soon after Mizuki bursts into the church calling out for Kei. Apparently she was looking for her. Kei is surprised that Mizuki knew about the church. Mizuki gives a vague explanation that Kei finds suspicious, but she doesn’t press. Some time during their conversation Yuuko disappears… somehow. A true expert in silently leaving the room. Oh well. Mizuki doesn’t seem to notice at all, so their conversation proceeds apace. Kei asks Mizuki how she should be, and Mizuki responds, “I love the cool Kei!” Kei recalls that Chihiro said something similar before as well. For those two Kei decides to oblige. As far as I’m concerned I like Kei even when she’s not being cool. I’m sure the same is true of Kei’s sister and sister in arms. But it has been a bit too long since we’ve seen it. It’s time for the hypest moment in this not particularly action packed visual novel.

Kei calls Kyousuke over to the gym via text and he runs over without hesitation. Kei challenges him to a one on one basketball match. Kyousuke’s confused but goes along with it. They have a stare down, talk a bit, and then Kei makes her move. She jumps into the air to take her shot, and that somehow results in them colliding into each other onto the ground. A bit contrived, but hey whatever gets her on top is cool with me. Unlike the usual falling scene Kei looks into his eyes and stays on unflinchingly. They’re both completely fine with it.

In this position Kei reflects on her love for basketball, and how she ran away from it after her heart break. Sounds familiar. There’s a parallel between Kei’s passion for basketball and her passion for Kyousuke. This parallel between passion for ones favorite activity and feelings towards their romantic interest is recurring through the story. Kyousuke’s interest in Kei as a film subject sparks simultaneously with his romantic interest. Hiro’s decision to commit to drawing manga happens around the same time as he decides to commit to Miyako. There’s a very similar pattern in the latter tale, but I won’t get into the details now. I suppose ef is implying that the underlying feeling behind different kinds of passion are fundamentally the same. Pursue your dream and other kinds of love will likely follow. It’s clear plenty of love went into this work. Immerse yourself in it and some of it may rub off on you.

After some more cute back and forth about basketball (among other things) Kei asks Kyousuke if he’ll forgive her. He responds saying he only will if she lets him know how she feels. Kei gets all blushy but goes ahead and says the words. What ensues is a slightly longer version of the “I love you, I know” from Star Wars. Now that I think about it referencing that scene’s weirdly fitting. Not only does it tie into Kyousuke’s love of film, but these two have a weirdly similar dynamic to Han Solo and Princess Leia. I will not elaborate on that point further because I haven’t seen Star Wars in years, but I think most people who have seen both would agree. Regardless, Kei goes in for a kiss, and then they hit us with the “… … …” Which I assume means they made out. Its been a long time coming but they’re finally together!

Afterwards Kyousuke invites Kei to the rooftop. By this point it’s dark and fireworks start going off. Kyousuke remembered the flyer for a firework show from when he went to Hiro’s place. Miyako not so subtly dropped it off there, but Hiro didn’t seem to figure out that she wanted him to invite her to it. Who knows, maybe he figured it out eventually. Either way Kyousuke took full advantage. Now they’re alone together on the roof with fireworks setting the mood just right. Clearly it’s time for roof sex. Not exactly an ideal location considering the lack of soft surfaces, but they make it work.

I’m not going to discuss the ensuing sex scene in great detail. Rest assured it is about as consensual as it conceivably could be. There’s a lot more enthusiasm on Kei’s end than last time, and plenty of cute banter throughout. Of course there’s still plausible reasons to take issue with it. They don’t ever explicitly say Kei’s age to my knowledge, but she’s definitely a minor. She’s not even in her last year of high school after all. Many people would argue that it’s wrong to show a minor sucking a dude’s invisible dick with her tits out. If they were real people I could get arrested for owning this game. If a certain sect of zoomers had their way I’d get arrested for owning this regardless. Maybe I shouldn’t publish this blog? Oh well, I’m in too deep already. I don’t personally subscribe to the idea that fictional depictions of underage characters engaged in sexual acts is anywhere near morally equivalent to CP. There may be superficial similarities, but the scale of harm is incomparable. Even so, I get why people are uncomfortable with it.

The CGs during this scene mostly focus on Kei. This makes sense since it’s framed from Kyousuke’s point of view, but as per usual with eroges there’s a secondary reason. While the writing describes a shared intimacy between the two, many of the CGs invite the viewer to imagine themselves in his place. And yes, there is something kind of suspicious about that. Why’s this game inviting sexual fantasies about high school girls? I think it’s mostly fine if people indulge in those weird desires with fictional characters, but clearly that’s not always the case. I doubt ef directly inspired any real life predators, but it does exist in a culture where many folks are drawn to youth to a creepy degree. With this particular story this sex scene’s part of a broader pattern that’s even more noticeable with the latter tale. I’m a hypocrite on this subject, but I can understand why people could have problems with this aspect of the game. I have some problems with it myself, but evidently not enough to make me stop reading. I guess I don’t think it’s a huge issue, but I see something underlying these scenes that should not be encouraged. Oh! Maybe that’s why ef is so enamored with churches!

After they have sexual relations the remainder of the story is smooth sailing. Kei gets her knees checked out at the hospital and finds out that it’s basically fine now. So she can rejoin the basketball club and take that dream as far as she can. As for Kyousuke’s dream he’ll keep filming her and go to a university. They’ll be just fine.

Their chapter ends with KyousuKei going along with Miyako and Hiro for a group trip. Their road to becoming a polycule is off to a great start! Of course that’s mostly baseless speculation on my part, but they do get along quite well now. As they stand outside the train station we get to see all the other supporting characters show up. Yuuko passes by and says hi. At this point Kei figured out Yuuko’s true nature, but she decides against bringing it up. Seems like Hiro and Kyousuke still have no clue though. Poor guys got called idiots for that. I imagine that also does indirect damage to anyone reading who hasn’t figured it out either. Regardless, when Yuuko dips Mizuki shows up. They pass by each other without acknowledgment. Mizuki entrusts Kyousuke with her digital camera, requesting he fill it with photos of Kei. Guess she begrudgingly accepted their relationship. Poor girl’s still shocked when she sees the two kiss though.

And so their story ends. It was a long road but they got together. We even got a decent amount of fluff before things closed out. This is another one of those cases where the time spent on the will they won’t they is a lot longer than their time as a legit couple. And unlike Hiro and Miyako there’s no chapter after this to show their dynamics as an established couple. To be fair they get some mention in the latter tale, but they’re not around. Honestly I’m okay with that. It’s always nice to have more couple content, but I don’t think it would add much to this particular story. They presumably lived happily ever after. We already got our fairy tale ending.

The first tale closes out with Yuu and Yuuko’s meeting. Yuuko stopped watching over KyousuKei after they got together, which explains why their story ends without much dating content. Whatever challenges they face going forward are things they can handle by themselves. Since the kids are taken care of Yuu says that it’s her turn next. After all Yuuko has also lost something, which are her memories (among other things). He says he’ll help her regain them. What a sweet guy. The scene ends when Yuuko asks him to tell her about himself. That’s our setup for the latter tale. Want to hear his story? Gotta wait until it comes out buddy. Fortunately since this review is in 2023 not 2007 we don’t have to wait at all. We can enjoy the closing animation from Makoto Shinkai and keep it pushing.

Wait hold up, Makoto Shinkai’s involved with this? Maybe we should cancel him too! Just like the company that made ef! But seriously, it’s kind of wild that he’s involved with this project. Just like it’s surprising that SHAFT handled the anime. This project truly attracted some ambitious creators. Makes sense given the ambitious nature of the project itself. The extensive effort Makoto Shinkai put into the environments can also be found in the game itself. The way it weaves so many stories together in a cohesive way isn’t exactly commonplace. They clearly had a vision for this visual novel, and they executed it quite well.

Man I ended up writing quite a bit about this 2nd chapter. If you’re still reading thanks for putting up with all that. I knew I wanted to write more about this one than the first, but that’s quite the major discrepancy. What can I say? I’m quite fond of it. Considering both the first and latter tale it’s my second favorite chapter overall. Part of it’s simply because I like the characters it focuses on more than most of the others. Part of it’s because I find their story particularly relatable. Part of it’s just because I think it’s well done. For those less invested in KyousuKei I can imagine certain parts can come across as tedious, but I think they dragged things out an appropriate amount.

Closing Thoughts

Most of the time people unequivocally say the original source is the best version of a story, but that’s not always true for ef. In this case there are plenty of people that like the anime more. As for me I find it hard to judge fairly because I haven’t watched the anime in a while. Even so, I can still think of some clear advantages for SHAFT’s rendition. As is the case with much of that studio’s work the visual direction is quite creative. Some amazing scenes still stick in my mind years later. In contrast the visual novel’s imagery is relatively conventional. There’s plenty of impressive CGs with unusual compositions, lighting, and environments. It’s beautifully done. But it’s relatively realistic. The visual novel doesn’t go too crazy with the colors and doesn’t have too many snazzy psychological moments. Both have their strengths, but I do think I like the anime’s visual approach a bit more.

The anime’s other key advantage is pacing. Its a TV show that has to condense the whole story into 24 episodes less than a half hour each in length. You could probably watch both seasons twice in the time it takes you to finish the first tale. For those with less patience that’s a clear advantage. I like the visual novel but it can definitely feel slow at times. Especially during the chapters I’m less invested in. They could have trimmed things down substantially and still get the point across well. But does it need to? Honestly, I’m not sure if I’d want them to. I enjoyed the extra time spent showing the character interactions. I like all the characters so getting more time with them was a treat. Even so, I think the anime has the edge in that department. Another arguable advantage of the anime is the lack of porn game weirdness. I don’t mind it too much personally, but if you’re someone that would it’s probably better to stick to the anime. It’s the relatively sanitized version for better and worse.

All that being said, I think this version has quite a bit going for it. For starters the Kei chapter I discussed in great lengths is barely present in the anime. Even if I understand why they did it, I’m not happy about it. Thankfully this visual novel’s here to fill in the gaps.

The other main advantage of the visual novel is that its length gives it ample time to expand on its characters. I barely liked Miyako at all in the anime, now I can actually say I like her. Hiro and Kyousuke were quite forgettable in the anime, but I can say I’m fond of them now. I quite liked Yuuko just based on the anime, but seeing her in the visual novel brought her to new heights. She went from being a character I quite liked to an all time favorite. My opinion of every other character improved in a similar fashion. Well, maybe there are a couple exceptions but we’ll get into that later.

So yeah, that’s the first tale. It has one pretty good chapter and one great chapter. Balancing the two out I’d rate this part an 8.5/10. Good story, great characters. Strong in the art department and solid music-wise. Not too much to complain about. As far as minor complaints go I found the way to save the game kind of weird. I couldn’t figure out what button to press to do it. It turns out if you place your cursor on the right corner of the screen all the menu items pop up. Pretty simple once you figure it out, but there’s nothing telling you it works that way. Also I somehow broke the sound for the whole game while I was replaying it. I don’t know what I did to mess it up, but it seems like the game’s in permanent mute mode now. Guess I’ll have to uninstall and then reinstall to fix that. I don’t think that’s a thing that should happen. There’s also the occasional grammar mistake here and there, but nothing too egregious. With a game this text heavy it’d be weirder if none of those errors showed up. Those are all nitpicks though. Suffice to say I found the experience well worth it.

As I’ve alluded to repeatedly during this blog post I fully intend to write about the latter tale as well. Considering how long this took to write I expect that will take a while. It’s considerably longer than the first tale and I have plenty to say about it. If you somehow read through this whole thing I hope you look forward to it. Also thank you for your time. I hope you gained something valuable from this. I’m probably going to have some shorter blogs posted between then and now. This was a whole ass project. A lot of writing for something that probably won’t get many views. Which is fine, I mostly wrote this for myself. This visual novel gave me a lot to think about, so I’m glad I have this platform to let it all out. Furthermore, I’m thinking about making my own visual novel. I think engaging with ef in depth will help me make that possible. This is all in its early stages, it might not ever materialize. Still, I want to give it a serious shot so stay tuned. Regardless, that’s all for now. Thanks for reading! I’m not sure if I’ll post on this blog again before the year’s over, so I’ll just say this now. Happy Holidays!