“You’re nice, reliable, and cute.” – Yūki Hase
Impression:
In my episode 6 ‘review’, I made note of the fact that the memory loss aspect of the show had become somewhat of a gimmick – a tool to make the plot more unique. I also made note of the fact that the Monday morning’s had become less and less important and that this added to the idea that the memory loss was merely a gimmick, but luckily in episode 7 this was addressed with a quick couple-second clip in which Fujimiya asks “Are you Hase-kun” highlighting the fact that, firstly, her diary is working wonders (because that smile is adorable!) and, secondly, that – as was later addressed in the episode – Fujimiya’s memory is getting better; thank god.
Before we delve any deeper into that however, I’d like first to talk about Hase: I’m not entirely sure if I like him. If you’ve ever watched the masterpiece film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (and you should because it’s amazing), you’ll understand what I mean when I say that Hase is the Patrick of that film – an otherwise socially awkward guy whose found a girl that he might actually have a chance to be with, thus leading him to be clingy in ways that are quite frankly awkward to watch at times. Adversely, some might argue (as Saki’s friends did at the beginning of the episode) that “Hase-kun’s so pure” and that he seems “like a good guy”, but it’s become evident to me over the last few episodes that Hase has some serious issues when it comes to being separated with Fujimiya. Yes, they’re in love and yeah, that’s just good ol’ Hase-kun‘s personality and yes – Hase’s probably afraid of what would happen to Fujimiya’s memory of him over such a long period of time (summer, that is) – and so his behavior is somewhat excusable… But it wears thin at times, you know?
But I digress – episode 7 marked a return to the romance aspect of One Week Friends, as predicted. There were three very important moments in this episode for romance – the first, Fujimiya’s bettered memory. This is important because it means that Fujimiya’s feelings for Hase can begin to take a more natural and visceral development, Fujimiya’s feelings for Hase up until now being based solely on a boy she read about in her diary – it’s the equivalent of falling in love with a character from a book or in an anime: it’s the equivalent of falling in love with someone you don’t really know; someone who you have to really fall in love with over and over again. It’d be like waking up next to your significant other in bed and not knowing who they were – they might as well be a stranger. Now’s the time for true romantic progression!
The second moment is perhaps more minor – Saki and Shogo’s exchange. I don’t believe in pointless exchanges so, following in that line of logic, in must mean something…romance? Think about it: the two of them both have that sleepy/apathetic dullness to their eyes, Saki made a special effort to remember Shogo’s name and, well, I believe that One Week Friends is the kind of show that’d pair of it’s four main characters in such a way… Simply put, anime experiences past sent up an emergency fair with great haste the moment they met in the hallway…that is all.
Thirdly and finally…squee! You all heard the inflection on that ‘whew’/’ah’! I almost missed it the first time I viewed the episode, but that was almost certainly a sigh of relief from Fujimiya in the wake of the intruder Saki leaving the classroom and therefore not being able to have fun with Hase, accentuated especially since Hase had only just called Fujimiya “cute” and an “angel.” It’s the real first sign that Fujimiya has feelings for Hase and that’s important because up until now we’ve only heard Fujimiya claim that Hase is her “very good friend”, an assumption that she now must question…even though she did seem a bit shocked by her own actions – again, a testament to her character and anime romance in general (guys and gals who’re totally unaware of their own feelings as if their feelings exist in some separate part of their brain…then again, this is a show where the illness is psychosomatic so what the hell would I know, eh?)
Usually this is where I’d write a conclusory paragraph, but I’m instead going to leave you with this little tidbit:
Hase: Fujimiya-san, how do you feel about me?
Kaori: I like you, Hase-kun.
Hase: You also like Shougo and Yamagishi-san, right?
Kaori: Yeah.
– Chris.