Anime ● Review: Plastic Memories

English Title: Plastic Memories

Japanese Title: プラスティック・メモリーズ

Director(s): Fujiwara Yoshiyuki

Screenwriter(s): Hayashi Naotaka

Studio: Doga Kobo

Released: 2015

Runtime: 13 episodes, ~24m each.

Starring: Amamiya Sora, Takumi Yasuaki, Akasaki Chinatsu, Toyoguchi Megumi

My Verdict: Looks slick and good voice acting but the plot and themes of this boy and girl android pseudo-romance are contrived. Tries to be emotion porn and fails.

● Set in the near future, it is a world where humans live alongside androids that have a lifespan of about nine years and four months.

● The plot follows Mizugaki Tsukasa who gets a job at SAI Corp, the manufacturer of androids known as “Giftias”. He is assigned to Terminal Service One, a team responsible for retrieving expiring Giftias and is partnered with Isla, a Giftia in the form of a young lady who has less than three months of life.

● The premise is an obvious rip-off of Blade Runner (1982), which is fine except for the fact that neither the plot nor the themes go anywhere particularly interesting. Tsukasa becoming attached to her is understandable but the pseudo-romance between the two is just forced.

● The issues encountered when retrieving expiring Giftias are mildly interesting at times because the feelings of the parties involved need to be considered. It is the kind of customer service that requires being sensitive. But these are not part of the main plotline as they serve as slice-of-life or on-the-job drama for the episode and illustrate the themes of love, memories, life and death.

● Of course, it is somehow a rule for the human “spotter” to live with their Giftia “marksman”, a contrived means to put the two together.

● To inject more dramatic action, an expiring Giftia risks becoming a “Wanderer”, which basically means to go crazy. One would expect androids to just die, or if one wants to copy Blade Runner, to attempt to extend their life. To have a product that can go whack just because it reaches its expiration date is nonsense and, in this case, is a total rip-off of Psycho-Pass.

● The production is very good. Visually, it looks slick and the voice acting is solid.

● Ultimately, even if one tries to accept the premise, the plot and themes are forced and borderline on nonsense. It tries to be emotion porn and utterly fails.

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