ef - a tale of memories

The 'girl in the sky' is a legend passed down through the ranks of one special family. Armed with the magical puppet skills he learned from his mother, Kunisaki Yukito follows in her footsteps, traveling from place to place, ever searching for that girl in the sky, ever chasing after that legend. His journeys have led him to a small costal town where he meets a girl that has a peculiar interest in him -- could she be the one? As events slowly start to unfold in front of his very eyes, Kunisaki Yukito finds himself amidst a story that spans a thousand summers...

Shinichiro Nakagami is an everyday high school student, with the exception of having his beautiful and athletic childhood friend Hiromi Yuasa living in his household after the death of her parents. Unfortunately, their relationship is cold at best - Shinichiro can tell that she is suffering, but she acts coldly and distant from her foster family and so he is unable to help ease her sadness. His family is also forcing him to practice a traditional Japanese dance that does not interest him, adding to his frustration. On top of that, he is cursed to misfortune by another girl in school, the eccentric Noe Isurugi. Shinichiro juggles all of these problems on a day-to-day basis as he learns about love and the sadness of those around him.

Morimiya Yorito is a normal student who has an abnormal obsession for the sky. One day, he meets a strange girl named Shihou Matsuri who shares his interest, but as fate may have it, she isn’t a human; Matsuri is a Yaka -- a “woe of the night” -- who is immortal and cannot stand the sunlight. A strange man is chasing Matsuri, to use her powers, so Yorito decides to help her hide. What are the strange man’s plans, and what secrets does Yorito’s sister hide?

After having lived elsewhere for several years, Sana returns to the town in which he grew up in, and quickly begins to reacquaint himself to his surroundings and new high school. While there, Sana runs into his four childhood friends: Shuu, Shuri, Aoi, and Nanaka; but for some strange reason Nanaka gives him the cold shoulder. As he goes about his new daily life, can Sana rebuild his friendship with Nanaka while trying to deal with a troubling secret from his past?

It's been seven years since Yuuichi Aizawa returned to the city he once lived in as a child. Though many things happened to Yuuichi in his past, he can only remember bits and pieces. His parents left Yuuichi in the care of Akiko once again, and this time, he will attend the same school as his cousin Nayuki. Many different girls appear before him, and some of them seem to know him from his past. Yuuichi must now recover his memories of the dark secrets that he erased from his heart, before he loses his precious ones.

After a series of unfortunate events, the young Hirose Takuma was rendered blind. In an attempt to reverse his condition Hirose moves in with his uncle in a rural village, and upon his arrival he quickly begins to make new friends. However, Hirose soon discovers that one of his classmates, Hayami Kohinata, is being harshly bullied by her peers for reasons that neither she nor anyone else wants to explain. Even the seemingly honest and gentle Hinata Kagura, who had been doing her best to be friendly and helpful to Hirose since his arrival, acts harshly towards Hayami. Once a mysterious girl bequeaths Hirose with a life-changing gift, he takes it upon himself to help save Kohinata from her loneliness while working to uncover the truth of the situation.

On a tragic night in Neo Verona, the Capulet family is murdered by Montague and the country is seized. The only Capulet survivor is the child Juliet, who is rescued by loyal knights. Fourteen years later, people in Neo Verona live in poverty and fear. Juliet has spent her life in hiding, and in disguise as the male Red Whirlwind, secretly fighting Neo Verona’s oppression. On one of her secret adventures, she is helped by Romeo and falls in love. Finally, on one fateful day, Juliet’s family reveals her heritage and their desire for her to reclaim her title and rescue Neo Verona from tyranny. Meanwhile, Juliet also discovers that Romeo is the son of her worst enemy. Can Juliet rescue Neo Verona and kill the father of the man she loves?

Alternate titles: Byousoku 5 Centimeter

Although today Tono Takaki and Shinohara Akari live far apart due to a family move shortly after elementary school, they were once two shy young students brought together by their shared differences from their peers. It is because of this that the two built a bond of closeness between them that still survives through their continued correspondence, even over such a distance. Secretly they both fear the loss of this bond over time, and for this reason they arrange a meeting between just the two of them. The journeys both of them take in their minds and in their lives create an atmosphere of intense emotional upheaval, but also a sense of peace. It is a twist of fate and a series of decisions that put the two in place to carry what they choose of their pasts into the future they will create for themselves.

This series begins simply with the words, "Year 2010. A tale of 11 girls", but everything after that is a surprise. While each of the first eleven episodes examines the psyche of a different girl in the futuristic city of Neo Acropolis, it isn't about romance. Instead it is about exploring the human condition, the nature of reality or creating a logical paradox. Every episode is a uniquely created puzzle with its own trick for pleasantly messing with your mind. In the final episode the eleven girls come together for an unusual event full of metaphor, bizarreness and good feelings.

Alternate titles: Beyond The Clouds, The Promised Place

At the end of World War II, Japan was split and a great tower was erected that reached the skies. For three friends, Hiroki, Takuya, and Sayuri, memories of their summer spent together would stay with them forever. During that precious time, the three promised to one day travel to the tower in the skies on the wings of a white plane -- to finally see its brilliance and the surrounding land of Ezo -- but when Sayuri suddenly disappeared from their lives, the promise that once was made was broken. Though time continues to pass, will the three ever meet again some day?

Art college: cradle of romance, home of bittersweet comedy. Takemoto is struggling to find his direction in life, while his roommates Morita and Mayama are moving confidently (or recklessly) towards their goals. Enter Hagu-chan, the childlike and beautiful prodigy whom everyone admires… and thus the love triangles begin. Honey & Clover explores the pain of first love, the trials of romantic conflict, and our loyalty to those annoying people who happen to be our closest friends…

Yukari is a typical high school student on the fast track to attending a university, but her boring life leaves much to be desired; that is, until a motley crew of fashion design students ask her to model their new clothing line: Paradise Kiss! Now, Yukari must choose if she will reject the life her mother has laid out for her, and start making choices on her own for the first time. While taking her first steps into adulthood, Yukari also begins to realize that with freedom comes responsibility; a life in the fashion industry isn't an easy one, especially for someone unsure of her own intentions…

Alternate titles: NHK ni Youkoso!

Tatsuhiro Sato is a university dropout and a "hikikomori" – a person suffering from social withdrawal. To Sato’s dismay, his self-imposed exile from the world is rudely interrupted when a mysterious girl knocks on his door. She has charged herself with the task of curing Sato of his hikikimori ways! Now, as new problems ranging from hentai games to internet suicide spring up, can Sato manage to overcome his hermit-like ways, or will the imaginary N.H.K conspiracy force him to remain a hikikomori forever?

Yuichi is a teenage boy who was diagnosed with hepatitis; and as staying at the hospital is boring, he often sneaks out at night to hang out with his friends. However, each time he is caught by the slightly sadistic nurse Akiko, he just prolongs his stay at the hospital. After his most recent escape, instead of striking a punch or kick at Yuichi, Akiko says that she'll overlook his sneak outs if he becomes friends with 17-year-old Rika, another hospital resident. Rika doesn't open up to him at first, but she has her reasons: she has a weak heart; and though she may come off as selfish and rude, Yuichi looks beyond the surface to help both of them enjoy what life has to offer.

Tomoya Okazaki is a third-year high school student who is generally bored with life and doesn't take his studies, future, or anything else seriously. One day, however, he meets a lonely-looking girl in the school courtyard, Nagisa Furukawa. She explains to him the source of her loneliness: she had missed a lot of the previous school year and thus is repeating her third year; everybody that she knew has already graduated, and she is lonely. Tomoya is rather indifferent at first, but decides that he has nothing better to do and spends increasingly more time helping Nagisa restore the school drama club. As his relationship with Nagisa grows, Tomoya begins to open up to various other people around the school as well...