The blogging enthusiasm about ef has caught me by surprise. It is my top pick of the season, but I was certain that most people would share Jeff Lawson's sentiment and get bored quickly.

DS has posted a strip at Daijobu, which runs like so:

BLOGGER (spotts a torrent): Oh noes! Everyone's gonna be posting about "ef - a tale of memories" in an hour!!!
BLOGGER: I haven't even seen it yet, and there isn't time to read all the summaries at RC!
BLOGGER: I have to think of something or I'll be left out this time!
Wait a minute!! I have an idea!!

Check out the original strip if you want to know what the idea was. But the point is, a certain blogging fervor is clearly in the air.

I find ef engaging mostly because I feel for Chihiro in a way I felt for Reki. The difference this time is, Reki had a hope. Along the way her window is shrinking and this creates a feeling of raising stakes; it is a Japanese production after all, it does not have to have a happy end. Chihiro does not have any hope, we know it from the start. So, what should we root for? Her accomplishments, against impossible odds. I would love to see her children to carry on her memories (although this is very unlikely in ef).