Not long ago I finished the last episode of ef - a tale of memories. It’s by far the most impressive anime of 2007. Sadly that’s just my impression and not a lasting opinion tested with time, but it was hard to deny that ef was a gimmick intended to impress. Much like Zetsubo Sensei and Hidamari Sketch, ef is the product of SHAFT, the same studio and pretty close to the same production team.
I'm so envious of raw watchers. Currently I'm batching the last 3 episodes of ef to marathon it. But I'm pleased to know that ef's ending went well with Michael him. Honestly, it was a concern (which is not gone completely yet, SDB loved ending of Vandread, I hated it, but I'm "cautiously optimistic"). Also:
In the case of Seirei no Moribito, it was honestly pre-licensed as the flagship show kicking off Production IG’s 10th anniversary (IG is already one badass animation studio in Japan, not to mention the show is based on an acclaimed novel series to as well). In the case for Dennou Coil, it’s a primetime NHK project with 8 years in the making and a lot of anticipation (and no hype!). It bugs the hell out of me simply because I see what’s so good about those two shows, yet neither manages to make me care about them very much; yet I can’t stop talking about crappy shows like these SHAFT offerings [ef, SZS, and Hidamari].
Indeed. And an ouch for Dennou Coil. I think I'll complete it one day, maybe, when it's on Netflix.
FRIDGE UPDATE: I think we can add Rocket Girls to the coveted list of crappy shows of 2007 which beat the pants of flagship productions as far as interesting their viewers goes. It's the most fun and exciting show, where ef is most moving and touching. And it wasn't made by SHAFT, so being interesting is not some special SHAFT magic. BTW, Omo knew about it.