Plastic Memories Review

Type: TV, Episodes: 13, Rating: 13+, Genre: Drama/Sci-Fi/Romance, Source: Original, Studio: Doga Kobo

Plastic Memories is and always will be an enigma. Its one of the most predictable, textbook animes in a long while, that manages to still be a good watch that is still able to elicit a strong emotional response from the viewer even though its painfully obvious that that’s what was going to happen. Plastic Memories is a flawed, predictable anime, but not its not a bad one, either.

From the moment the world and the characters are introduced, its almost insulting how easy it is to figure out the rest of what happens within the plot and where it will end up by the conclusion of its run. The world is inhabited by humans and Giftias, androids that have around an eight year predetermined life span, that live and love along side humans. Tsukasa begins work at the Terminal Service, a group dedicated to retrieving these androids when their lifespan is up before they turn sour.

From here, Tsukasa begins work as a spotter with his Giftia marksman, Isla, a very cute white haired girl. From then on, you are introduced to a cast of archetypes, from the inept boss to the red-headed tsundere, every character in this show is some form of archetype. Although not inherently a bad thing, a show that relies so heavily on emotional connection and investment, having every character be a two dimensional character archetype doesn’t do the show any favors.

 It would be unfair to say that these characters aren’t fun to watch however. The comedy in this show is above average, and the chemistry between the characters is there and enjoyable. Even though every character in the show is fairly two dimensional, the interactions between these characters aren’t disappointing.

The world the show sets up is very interesting, akin to Chobits or I-Robot, where androids exist to be companions to humans. They have full AI, but they do have a predetermined lifespan when the terminal service has to come in and collect and reset or terminate them, where their memories and personality are gone. If they go past this point they become feral. The setup is interesting but it doesn’t spend enough time on the terminal service job, and rather the romance.

The romance isn’t bad, but its not entirely well done. There isn’t enough time spent to really set up a completely believable romance, but it doesn’t completely fall on its face either. The canon ship makes sense, and the conclusion is emotional and heartfelt, but without spoiling too much, this aspect of the show is simply average.

There is a complete ineptitude in this world’s government, in episode five of this show, this is made very clear. I won’t spoil this, but it will have you ripping your hair out at the complete lack of precaution regarding Giftias. Not only that, but the arc this is contained in is pretty much gone the moment it starts, which was depressing given how much room it would have allowed for future conflict and tension.

The sound doesn’t leave too much of an impact. Everything serves its purpose, but nothing really sticks out. From the opening/ending to voice acting, nothing left too much of an impact.

The art and animation however, was some of the best this season. The show is colorful and lively. The animation pops and adds new life to everything on screen. So much detail is poured into the character’s movements and design, it makes everything feel lively and interesting.

Summary:

There isn’t a whole lot you can talk about with Plastic Memories without getting into spoilers. The show doesn’t have much down time, and that’s a good thing. The romance didn’t have enough time to pace itself properly, and the show doesn’t spend near enough time focusing on the work aspect of the show, more complaints are there, but they are hard to keep spoiler-free. However predictable the show is, there is fun to be had, and it does leave an emotional impact on the viewer. Its more romance than science fiction, and if you’re into that stuff, its worth a watch.

7/10

Good