I agree with almost everything you said but I disagree with you on Aiko being superfluous..

I don’t think that she was a main character though.She was pretty much a deep side character to me though less than Hiromi and Noe and I agree she was not developed as much as them and you know why -because Ai was used as a symbolic placement in this show though many ppl failed to understand her purpose ,her less screen time play was also intentional ,Ai had so many internal conflicts/guilt’s as well .she was the most realistic person in that show because if you focus on her very small side story ,you would noticed that she made the most mistakes and she was not just there to make this show a harem show and increase the fan base like what ppl gave her credit for .Ai was there to lose and face harsh reality and pay the price for her sins ..lol ,I don’t see why ppl count her out ,the end is Hiromi ,Noe is the girl with the tears she lost and Ai was the one with the ill-fate. Her theme was ‘moving on from you first love because it’s unhealthy ‘ It’s true that Hiromi and Noe were deep character’s with tragic background stories but Ai’s love for Shin was very destructive(full of self-loathing) and based on her fantasies .True Tears is not a harem show and it was never like that .The reason why most of you count her out is cuz she never stood a chance which made her easily neglected by the fans of this show but the whole losing was necessary for her story ,for her to move on and find true love and I think that that the writers did an amazing job on portraying her as a character .She was just a side character after all and for them to give her more development maybe asking a bit too much in my opinion simply because of how the story was written .In other words Ai was used to give this show a sense of realism and without her ,we wouldn’t have a realistically portrayed female in this Show .The whole story is about Shin’s heart wavering between Noe and Hiromi and Ai was simply not part of it but the writer’s used the destiny card with her ..We could see this as her struggle to be like Hiromi and Noe in terms of complexity and character which itself is something deep ,I’ve read an interview with the writer and he said that he wrote Ai as this dark girl who wanted to try it more and so she became stronger and stronger(more selfish) because she wanted to fit in with the other girls but she was also fighting many obstacles and conflicts with her feelings like what her voice actress said .I’m not saying that the other characters are not realistic but Ai’s situation was something you could defiantly see in the real world because she never stood a chance .I myself didn’t think she was deep at first like you but after I re-watched this then I knew these facts. There’s actually so much to her than just a third harem girl with no purpose and that ’s why I believe the writing for true tears was superb for both main characters and side characters..but then again this is just my opinion based on what I saw and they are so many ppl like yourself who thinks she was pointless which is a pity really ..Ai was ambiguous/dark character because she was not deeply delve into like Hiromi or Noe and instead left for the fans to analyze..She got shafted a ton in this anime in terms of character screen time and fate but it was intentional by the writer –he wanted to screw Ai’s character and destroy her chances-so he can focus on the two main girls instead which is if you ask me a harsh way to present and treat a character ..I think it was the easiest way to make their third heroine special –she was more of a symbolic heroine rather than a normal/hermetic candidate..10/10 for the writer’s.. I find it strange that I can write this much on Ai even though she wasn’t giving much screen time play but it proves that she is a deep character in her own way ..

Yah I know ,It’s 2009 T T

Having finished watching ef a little while ago, I was looking for another romance-themed anime, and this post quickly put an end to that search. Thanks.

However, I’m a bit disappointed by the turn-around in episode nine, where, suddenly, “You’re not the illegitimate child of my husband’s affair with your mother” just disappears. Yes, events were dramatic, and might have caused some off-screen discussions among the adults, but it still felt like authorial cheating to me, given all the long-term signs of animosity (things like the mutilated album, for example, make the story about more than just Hiromi and Mrs. Nakagami). And I can see a story developing without that jarring change. We see hints of what might have been in the way Hiromi is suddenly free and relaxed once she moves out of the Nakagami household. She was shedding old constraints, old habits — her childhood crush on Shinichiro could also be one of those things she leaves behind. The meaning of those summer-festival flashbacks could change to: “I’ve learned that I can be alone. I’ve learned that I can make my own way….” However, that would have been Hiromi’s story, and not the story of how Shinichiro learned to not be just a passive recipient of what life throws at him.

Your explanation goes a long way to helping me understand Shinichiro’s song to Noe at the end. It seemed a puzzling way to say goodbye to me (the earlier scene in the bus shelter, on the beach, and in the hospital, in contrast, was handled extremely well).

I also hope the DVD release comes out at a more reasonable price. I’ll get this series, but I’ll be willing to wait until I can find it used if it is released at the prices BV was originally proposing.

@Martin: I didn’t think it was really all that open-ended, not emotionally at least. Shin has made his choice; the three have accepted this, leaving Noe to move on as a stronger person. That’s where I’d stop the story, at least. And I too, look forward to the DVD release, and hopefully at a lower price than Bandai Visual were proposing to release it at (I assume that’s one of the reasons for the delay).