Story (7.33/10): Plastic Memories, or Plamemo in the shorthanded version of the name, features a technologically advanced world. In this world, the corporation known as SAI Corp. have developed an android called a Giftia, that is so much like a human, that the two are almost indiscernible from one another. However, unlike humans, Giftias have one major flaw, they can only function for a maximum of 81,920 hours (roughly 9.3 years) until their programming starts to fail and they become corrupt and unable to function. (Although, I'm not really sure how specific we are here when it comes to indiscernible. Not quite sure if an android is capable of certain bodily functions like waste disposal or reproduction, because apparently the only real difference they have from humans is their lifespan.) As a result, a branch of the SAI Corp. called the Terminal Service goes and retrieves the Giftias that have their lives almost expired. Here, we follow the story of our main protagonist Tsukasa, as he starts his job in the terminal service, where he meets a Giftia known as Isla.
Quite simply, the entire runtime of the anime revolves around Tsukasa and the job of the Terminal Service, where our main protagonists Tsukasa and Isla go around the city and pick up Giftias that are almost expiring. However, that isn't all that the story has to offer. In addition to the retrieval stories where the show focuses on the lives and the memories that the characters witness as they retrieve the spent Giftias, it also puts a lot of time into Isla and her backstory since Isla is a veteran member of the Terminal service group. The issue with this is that there's an imbalance between these two, with the majority of the story focusing on Isla rather than the retrievals that was shown at the beginning to midway of the story. Personally, I would've preferred the stories about other Giftias more so than seeing an episode about Isla since a good chunk of those episodes that focus on Isla don't really have much impact in the long run. This is mostly due to the fact that the show spends essentially its second half on one character rather than side stories that could have had as good if not greater impact.
In addition, the show has a bit of a comedic issue with it. A lot of the time, Plamemo has a lot of more serious moments, tackling the issue of memories of other people and the morality of ripping away these people apart from one another, only leaving the memories behind as its main point. But it also has a lot of plot points that serve to be more comedic, some haha moments. This creates an issue because a lot of the comedy feels misplaced and completely out of left field. It doesn't really meld with the current situation as well as one might think, and it, in several instances, killed the mood that was going on.
Another problem I found was that the plot itself was actually rather predictable. We have an object that has limited lifespan, and we have the main heroine who is that kind of object. (I'll give you three guesses.) As such, the impact that the series had really didn't show all that much. There were moments which I felt in the series were really good and not that predictable, but those were the episodes and story points that focused on other Giftia, not Isla. Also, the show kind of turned table as to what kind of show it was towards the end, turning into more of a rom-com, so that was also a slight issue.
In the end though, I really didn't have a sense of satisfaction with the way Plamemo ended. It was a very anticlimactic ending and it just sort of...ends. Personally, I would've liked to have a little bit more drama or a little more something because everything just went far too smoothly, making me doubt that it was going to, only to see that it was actually going to end the way I thought it.
Overall, I felt that Plamemo had a very good direction that it was going in, but took a different route. The comedy felt out of place at times, the show was fairly predictable, and it didn't really stick with one direction to go towards, rather, going towards two directions in which both felt somewhat unsatisfying in the end. Regardless, with the areas of the plot that focused more on the side character stories, I felt like the show really excelled in that regard and brought the theme of memories and how they affect us forward in a great way.
Overview:
+ Great character side stories
+ Good expressiveness of themes
- Plot was predictable
- Show went two directions, resulting in unsatisfying storyline
- Comedy felt misplaced a lot and clashed with story
Characters (7.10/10): Characters in Plamemo are separated into three categories, the main characters, the terminal service characters, and the retrieval characters, each with their own plus and minuses to be had.
Let's start with our main protagonist, Tsukasa. Tsukasa as a new employee of the Terminal Service is shown in a fish out of water style, where he has zero clue as to what he's supposed to do and has to learn from the people already working there in order to properly do his job. As the series goes along, Tsukasa starts to gain a bit of character development, connecting and understanding with the people that he takes Giftias away from, even going to the extent of apologizing for what he has to do out of sympathy. While that's good and all, a lot of the time I feel like Tsukasa's really just an afterthought on account of the show focusing more on Isla and having Tsukasa rely on her for any semblance of character development. Because the series doesn't actually focus on Tsukasa specifically most of the time, the amount of development he gets doesn't really go much in depth as I would've liked, and as a result, has some points that really feel a bit unnatural. (Cue end of episode 8.)
And then, there's Isla. Isla as the main female protagonist in this series is a Giftia who hasn't been out in the field retrieving other Giftias on account of some events in the past. At first, she's shown to be very robotic, acting almost like an android rather than a person. But as the show goes on, we are revealed as to why she acts the way she does and we start to see the relationship between the two blossom, which actually does put some positive feeling back into the series. But the problem I have with this is the fact that the show doesn't really use the time between the characters as proficiently as it could've. Several scenes, and even episodes are devoted for these two characters, but doesn't actually have much of an impact, resulting in wasted time. I wish the show didn't begin focusing on strictly Isla till the very end, because like that, the show gets a progressional feel of character as you weave in points of character development through every episode.
And then, the side cast. As I had mentioned before, the side cast for Plamemo is separated into two groups, the Terminal Service, and the other families with Giftias ready for retrieval. When it comes to the latter, that's when I feel like the show really shines because we have these connections between these Giftias and these people that our main characters have to break, leading to some dramatic and well-written scenes and moments. It really ties into the show's central theme of memories and how they affect us, which is why I believe the show would've done better if it spent most of its time in that regard. It's a case of "you won't remember their names, but you will remember their stories", which is something about Plamemo that I really like. As for the terminal service people, they're really for the most part, comedic fodder. There are several characters within this group that do have plot significance, like Kazuki, but for the most part, they're really just there to either move some part of the plot along, or create comedic moments. I say this because a lot of them are pretty one-note. (Aka, Michiru with her tsundere personality, Eru, who's pretty much just a pervert, the Terminal Service chief who sort of just complains about his family problems, and Yatsuka who basically just tries to hook Tsukasa up with girls. Zack's teasing personality is great though.)
Overview:
+ Retrieval targets are great characters
+ Main character development is decent
- Main MC development felt like a bit of an afterthought
- Terminal Service crew mostly felt like comedic fodder
Art and Sound (8.28/10 and 7.45/10): The art for Plamemo was created by Doga Kobo, an animations studio that's been known to do a very specific style of animation involving a very light color palette and their signature adorable, pupiless eyes. Similarly, Plamemo has the same kind of artstyle that feature more of a neon palette of colors, with all of the scenery and characters exhibiting a very bright look to them. The show itself does look good, but it doesn't really scream to me that it's very outstanding for the most part. Still though, there are some moments where I feel like the art really does go into these great looking scenes which is always a nice plus.
In terms of sound, Plamemo showcases a very wishful and pleasant sounding OP which I personally feel is one of the better OP's in Spring 2015. It's a very calming song that really sings to the ideas of losing the ones whose memories you have while also having a very hopeful and mystical vibe to it, which brings it to be a decently memorable track to listen to. As for the ED, the ED just feels a bit generic, with the song being a happy-go-lucky sounding song that I feel doesn't really have much of an impact or is all that impressive. Good sounding, but it's not really all that memorable.
Overview:
+ Great moments in art in the show
+ Good OP
- Bit of a lackluster ED
Personal Enjoyment (7.01/10): When I first watched Plamemo in the beginning, I initially related it to Chobits, seeing as how both shows talk about the result of a super advanced android in the world where we see the effects that said android have on the state of the world overall, as seen with both shows utilizing stories of characters impacted by the androids. But as I continued watching Plamemo, I was a bit confused as to why the show changed focus and eventually, I found it to be a bit boring, since the information that was given in the beginning had already written out its ending.
Did I like this show?
I in fact did enjoy this show to an extent. As I have stated before, the parts where the show features stories of other Giftias and their lifespans were really I felt were the high point of the show. They really related to the theme of the show fantastically, and I felt like the show itself was at its best when those stories were being told. I also really liked the character Zack. He teases everyone, and it's funny to see him tease the characters and see him just give an expression of him just not caring about the situation. His comedy I think was the best.
What didn't I like about this show?
The biggest thing that I didn't like about this anime was the fact that the show focused on Isla way too early. The show flip flops with its plot focus, going from a random Giftia, to Isla, back to another Giftia, then back to Isla again before fixating itself on Isla for the rest of the show. Personally, I felt like this broke up the flow of the show because while the show finished up one thing, it changed its tone completely before switching again, making it a bit of a weird watch because it was hard to tell whether the show was going to focus on one thing or the other. The lack of development for the main characters also bothered me because I felt like the show should've put a bit more into Tsukasa given how he's not really all that well explained in the series and how he mostly relies on Isla to have any semblance of character development. I was also not really fond of the fact that the show ended up turning into a rom-com because it felt a bit sudden that it just completely changed.
Would I recommend this show?
While Plamemo isn't entirely perfect, the show itself still does talk about the themes of memories and their impact to people which is well written in some parts of the show. It has some issues with the way it wants to structure itself, but it still is a good watch to one that enjoys a story of drama and loss. (Though personally, I feel like the show is less sad than people actually make it out to be.)
Overall Score: 7.42/10
