Plastic Memories Final Episode (13): Ferris wheel was a trap

Well, I’m certainly glad they didn’t try to go back on their ending and save Isla from her fate somehow. The final episode ends up being not too bad because Tsukasa’s new partner is purposely hidden from view, meaning I can choose to believe it’s not actually Isla’s body being used again. Because let’s be real…what kind of people would torture a guy by making him work next to the one he loves with none of the memories? Of course, if you’re of the opinion that this is okay, you can choose to believe that it actually is Isla’s body at the end…

In all, I’d say this series was not too bad, but somewhat disappointing. I had hoped it would become a bit more serious than it actually was…most of the series was just fluff in my mind. I guess it works as a simple romance, though. I’m curious, though. Is this ending really a sad ending if it was stated at the very beginning of the series that this would happen?

Plastic Memories Episode 12: Almost there

This week’s episode seems to be more filler before the inevitable separation of Tsukasa and Isla…the two pretty much just spent some more time together (with assists from everyone else, of course). I don’t know about everyone else, but it felt really awkward to me watching a full episode where the two are fairly at-peace with what’s about to happen. I don’t really have much else to say about this episode. I will say as a side note, though: I’m really surprised they didn’t try to milk the “Kazuki is a bad drunk” gag one last time.

Wait, so are they really trying to push a Tsukasa and Michiru ending? This week’s episode seemed to throw Michiru into Tsukasa and Isla a lot. There was even that awkward moment near the end where Tsukasa and Michiru are talking at the party and Isla seems to notice something between them. Now I’m starting to worry about what the ending will be next week…I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Plastic Memories Episode 11: Calm before the…?

Well, I guess this week’s episode was a bit of a cool-off from last week’s big confession. Given that there are only two episodes remaining, I was honestly expecting the episode to end with some big shock scene where Isla realizes that her time really is running out. However, I guess they really wanted to make this episode a respite. I’d say a lot of the episode was pretty cringe-worthy for me while I was watching, though. Those two are so awkward…

We’re very close to the end of this series. I assume they wouldn’t try to end it all at once, right? I’m hoping that next week’s episode starts the final struggle and we’ll finally figure out what kind of ending this show is going to take. There honestly doesn’t seem to be much more than that to say. We’ll just have to see.

Plastic Memories Episode 10: Possible the final episode for some

Hmm…not a bad confession, I have to say. When all is said and done with this show, I definitely like the fact that you can approach Isla’s in a somewhat unbiased manner. The fact that she’s an android removes things like souls and the idea of the afterlife because recognizing that Isla has an afterlife is very much like saying my laptop will have an afterlife (can we please avoid giving a machine a soul?). She’s able to look at her death without wondering what happens to herself after it happens and focuses on what happens to everyone around her.

While this episode is somewhat surreal and airy, we now have to return to reality. Despite all of this, Isla’s retrieval is still imminent…definitely something I’m curious to see. I feel like there are numerous ways for the ending of this series to be screwed up and my pessimistic self can only focus on them. If the story cops out with a forced happy ending, I’m probably going to be really upset at this point.

Plastic Memories Episode 9: Time’s up?

Well this entire episode, my main thought was “how could Michiru be so cruel as to stall the relationship between Isla and Tsukasa when Isla has so little time remaining.” I didn’t really consider that she had no idea what Isla’s lifespan was, so I guess she gets a pass for now. Other than that, Isla’s reaction to Tsukasa’s confession was pretty predictable. I’m still curious about how this show expects a happy ending given the progression (I still vote for bittersweet though).

It looks like Tsukasa has run out of time with Isla if Kazuki is dissolving their partnership. That being said, I can’t discount the possibility that this conversation is some sort of test that she’s giving Tsukasa to test his resolve and actually solidify his relationship with Isla. Does it make sense for her to call them into a room at night to end their partnership? Maybe I’m trying to read too much into this (I know it’s unusual for me to take the optimistic route).

Plastic Memories Episode 8: Ultimate rejection

So this week’s episode answers a few of the questions I’ve been having throughout this series (finally). First off, Andie answered my question about whether retrievals happened early…apparently, Terminal Service One is much more inefficient than other services because they wait closer to the last minute to appease the owners. Secondly, I was curious about the notion of running into an android after its memories were reset. Apparently, it can happen, but why does it seem like such a rare occurrence in this world? And why doesn’t it cause more problems?

Man, they’re really building up this relationship between Isla and Tsukasa while simultaneously crushing all hope of Isla remaining after her retrieval. How are they going to dig themselves out of this one? Don’t get me wrong…I’ve never had a problem with bittersweet endings. I actually think they’re much more realistic. But it looks like I’ll be one of the few willing to accept how this series ends…

Plastic Memories Episode 7: A quiet week

While I understand that last week’s episode basically started a relationship between Isla and Tsukasa and this week’s episode was attempting to build that relationship, it’s still frustrating to watch what felt like absolute filler to me. I guess we’ve reached a bit of a low point in this show. If I were to place a reason on it, I’m guessing this week’s episode was put here to rope back in those who had a bit of trouble stomaching the incident with Marcia (that means it’s gearing up to do something like that again, right?).

Well, I can only hope that the story gets more interesting from here. I’m assuming it should be back to retrievals starting next week. But given that the black market syndicate was taken down, I’m guessing it’s just going to be vanilla retrievals from here, right? I suppose there is some hope in that Tsukasa’s growing attachment to Isla will theoretically make her own retrieval quite difficult. I’m still quite curious how that will be handled and it may be one of the few reasons I’m still interested in watching this show.

Plastic Memories Episode 6: Can someone show me the manual for these androids?

So as expected, it’s still too early for Isla to disappear (though I’m not sure I understand how an encounter like last week was enough to put her into maintenance mode for two days). That being said, I think the most important part about this week’s episode was that thing that was said about the black market syndicate being taken out while Isla was out. An entire crime syndicate was eradicated so quickly after a single incident? I understand that the place where Marcia was found was probably their base of operations, but isn’t that a bit too easy?

I assuming now that this whole business with the black market is dead, we’re right back to Isla’s lifespan. The lack of previews in this show is somewhat worrying…are we back to episodic business as usual next week? Or will there be another mini-arc to carry us to the end? Given the trouble that Isla and Tsukasa have had with their retrievals up to now, it’s hard to imagine how Tsukasa will be able to retrieve Isla when the time comes, especially with the relationship they’re building.

Plastic Memories Episode 5: Wanderers

Well, this week’s episode is the show’s attempt at taking a dark turn. We’re finally shown what happens when Giftia goes past the deadline. I think the most shocking part in my mind was the part about the limiter being released. Given how strong and fast a Giftia becomes when it transitions to Wanderer, I’m quite surprised at how pitiful the retrieval squad is. It feels like it’s far too easy for the retrieval squad to fail and for the Giftia to turn. Why does the government take such a high risk? It feels like they’re literally asking for chaos.

This week’s episode ends on a pretty huge cliffhanger. It’s not perfectly clear whether Isla was the one hit with Tsukasa’s shot. It is definitely strongly suggested that Isla is hit with the shot, which makes me believe that she isn’t hit. I’m not even sure if I welcome the possibility of her being shot just because it would solidify how much I hate her character. Anyway, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what the final verdict is.

Plastic Memories Episode 4: Competition lurks?

There really isn’t all that much to get from the retrieval in this week’s episode. The kid is the standard case of someone developing abandonment issues from losing loved ones. I’m actually almost annoyed at how easy it was to change his mind about his Giftia. Still, I was surprised that Tsukasa hasn’t exactly made much progress getting to know Isla (getting her to say something to him in the morning hardly counts). In fact, it felt more like he was bonding with Michiru this week than Isla…

The important piece from this week’s episode was this issue of the black market retrieval groups. Hopefully, these become the main focus of the show from here on, taking the role of antagonists for the main group. I guess it makes sense that they exist…they could probably re-sell the Giftia’s body once the soul is removed. If the show continues on similar to story in this week’s episode, then I will probably quit covering it. If there’s some overarching story going on in the background, then maybe I can stick with it.