Welcome to this futuristic city in Plastic Memories, where humans live together with androids that have typical human characteristics - physical, mental and emotional - named Giftias. Produced and managed by the SAI Corporation, they are able to live up to 81,920 hours, and problems arise when they are expired. So, its Terminal Service department are responsible for collecting soon-to-expire Giftias, where their memories will be erased. The story follows Tsukasa, who is offered a job into the department, and her partner Isla, a Giftia who does not seem to know what she is supposed to do.
At first glance, you might think that “oh, we will probably some work from these service people in the story”. My short answer is “yes, you will”, but my definite answer is that the focus in the story has been shifted from one place to another as it progresses. There are indeed retrievals shown in the anime, while a few are ‘interesting’. However, they are usually riddled with plot-holes, where you may not understand the situation well or how it panned out from start to end. This does not mean that they are not enjoyable, depending on the outcome and how the viewers feel, I think that they are good to watch. The idea of Giftias in the story is great - knowing for the fact that they do not survive, we can see how the human owners react to, and of course the emotions it portray. One usually feels sad whenever their companion leaves the world, right? Sometimes, their emotions took over and they want to escape with their Giftias, hence the “’interesting’ retrievals” part comes to play. But so what? I feel that the idea of Giftias still lacks - some questions left answered - hence the ‘sci-fi’ part of the anime needs more work.
Since there is the romance genre in the anime, it is pretty obvious that Tsukasa and Isla are in a relationship. Like I said, the focus shifted. Without spoiling, I can say that their romantic development is quite slow, since they took their time to think about their feelings. Eventually, at one point of the story, one of the two confessed and they became romantic buddies. tfw I would not have this kind of story in my workplace. As many claimed, their relationship is also interesting to watch. In fact, that is clearly the main point of the story. The development steadily improves towards the climax, and that is where more feelings developed. One might argue that it is clichéd and I can agree, but it is pleasing for many.
The cast involves partly from this special Terminal Service full of great people of different personalities. Apart from Tsukasa and Isla, there are a few who have more prominence than the rest, and they usually support the pair for the greater good. What I really love about the story is Isla’s change from being shy and dull to being more open and happy, hence her character development is lovely. Tsukasa has some moments, but he also changed gradually. With the support from his colleagues, his approach towards Isla gets better. Hey, isn’t that sweet? The rest of cast are side characters, which most of them appear for retrieval jobs. There are some that has good backstory to share, trying to move with the viewers, while others are okay.
The animation for this anime is pretty. The futuristic setting around the city looks great, achieving a nice ‘hi-tech’ feel. But even so, there are some locations that look normal and yet still looking nice and fresh. It is nice that some of the sceneries are referenced from real-life places. Overall, I like the sceneries done, with a nice colourful palette as well as the lighting that portrays the mood of the scenes. The character designs look okay, but the facial expressions are a charm. They are able to capture a lot of emotions from happy to sad, whether they are exaggerated or not.
The opening song, sung by Eri Sasaki (a newcomer), captures something special for this anime. The instrumental makes up this emotional feeling, and the vocals are powerful. The ending song, sung by Asami Imai (remember Chihaya?), is nice to hear and that is because of her beautiful voice. I like the instrumental as well, but if you want something with more impact, the opening song is a better choice. The soundtrack is impressive, thanks to Masuru Yokoyama’s compositions, who also helped out in Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso and Rolling☆Girls. The tracks manage to fit it the mood of the scenes perfectly. The voice acting is well-done, especially of how some of them who express their characters’ emotions brilliantly. Special mention for Yasuaki Takumi, who voiced Tsukasa, for the great work.
Sure, not many people will like Plastic Memories because their expectations or impressions go different as the anime progresses, and I can totally understand. Thus, it should be noted that this anime focuses more on the relationship between a human and a Giftia, who are both partners at work. It is quite weird (or heart-wrecking for some) to read the previous sentence, but the development truly captures the essence of the anime. I can say that I am quite satisfied with the story, except if the writing can be better, hence I enjoyed the anime very much.
