I recently read the description of Isshuukan Friends (One Week Friends) and immediately went to check out the first episode. I was expecting a heart-warming slice of life anime with fun and sweet moments.
What I got was pretty much the opposite.
First off, the premise of the show sounded very interesting. A girl who can’t make friends because every Monday she forgets any memory she has of being with someone she wants to be close to. And a boy who still wants to be her friend even though he knows this. It could easily become a very sweet, memorable (ha ha) romance. Or just a wonderful tale about friendship.
Instead we get forgettable characters (with even MORE forgettable designs), unnatural and forced dialogue, and events so unrealistic it hurts. (Every anime should have a sense of realism to SOME degree, and should ESPECIALLY be realistic when said anime is a Slice of Life!) Often times, characters say things that are obviously directed towards the viewers which causes the flow of dialogue to come off theatrical.
Character relationships were very unnatural and everything just felt kind of like a big jumbled mess.
I couldn’t believe how shallow the main guy, Hase, was. The only thing he likes about the girl is the fact she’s pretty. If that’s the core of his feelings, I don’t want a romance.
The art isn’t anything to praise either. It looks nice, but there’s nothing that really makes it stand out. Which is ironic considering how gorgeous the manga covers are.
The animation isn’t a strong point either. Character movements are choppy in pretty much…er…every scene. Just look at this:
I think the absolute worst part of this anime is how badly they throw things out of proportion. They act as if her Monday memory loss is the end of the world. And I don’t understand WHY Fujimiya, the main girl, has to keep it a secret in the first place. They don’t even bother to tell you the reason why she forgets everything on Mondays. Or why it’s only selective memory loss. (Even if they explain this later, it still won’t make sense as to why it’s only certain types of memories.) She’s able to remember her family members, just not friends.
What?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that impossible? I’ve never heard of anything like that.
And if she KNOWS that she forgets on Monday, why doesn’t she just keep a diary? A daily log so she remembers people and what she did that day? There. I just solved the idiotic excuse for melodrama using logic.
It could be hard and tiring to keep up a diary like that, but if she REALLY wants friends like they make it sound, it’s not that big a deal.
Like I said, this anime is just a mess. I’m disappointed, Isshuukan Friends, I really am.
But…I have a two episode anime rule, so I will be looking at the next episode. Though, since you could solve the “problem” (Fujimiya’s memory loss) in this anime using simple logic, it’s overall nothing but forced drama with idiots that can’t think.
EDIT:
Well, in episode 2, they took my advice and got Fujimiya a diary. However, it’s really not interesting enough to, well, keep me interested.
Dropped.
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