Eva’s First Impression
Okay folks, it is time to prepare your buckets and a dozen of tissue boxes because you are going to need it. Plastic Heart is exactly what I expected it to be, heart-wrenching. They were not afraid to embrace the sense of tragedy off the bat, and the more we learn, the sadder it gets. By the end of the episode, I was crying buckets of tears, and I can tell right now, as write this entry, my eyes are still watery and swollen. This show is without a doubt is going to be our tearjerker and the only thing that we can cling to a single thread of hope of Plastic Memories having a happy ending.
Our protagonist Tsukasa is a new employee of SAI Terminal Service. He got in after being recommended and accepted the job despite having no prior knowledge of what it requires him to do. Instead he had the expectations he was going to be working at the beautiful SAI Headquarters, but the realty is he is working a program that has been cut down and in a more or less simply ordinary office. The only difference, he is working alongside Giftias, androids loaded with synthetic souls and look identical to Humans.
The Terminal Service is responsible for retrieving the Giftias from their customers before the due date. We have not seen what would happen if that were to happen, but I suspect it isn’t pretty and can be potentially hazardous. Some peacefully work with them, others attempt to run away with their Giftias in desperate attempt to prevent them from being taken away or some will simply be stubborn until they are persuaded it’s the right decision. And it was the last assignment that had me sobbing uncontrollably due to how selfless dear Nina was towards her precious Grandmother.
A Giftia’s lifespan is only 81,920 Hours AKA 9 years and four months. This strikes us hard when they describe to us the symptoms as the episode progresses regarding the signs of running out of hours. As time runs out, the Giftia’s personalities and memories disintegrate. What hurts the most is how they make is crystal clear that Isla’s time is running out, and to make it even more painful, she is terrified and extremely upset about it. Her memories, her process of thoughts, identification of objects, hearing, physical capabilities, all of that is disintegrating. It breaks my heart seeing how scared she is, how she wished she didn’t have memories. For her, as long as she is working, she has a reason to exist.
It certainly doesn’t help our already wounded hearts how precious and sweet Isla is. Her strategies in attempt to persuade the Grandmother was ridiculously adorable, and while it is sad, her mishaps are also cute. It is going to destroy us, even more so when we know Tsukasa falls in love with her. DAMNIT ALL! MY HEART IS NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO TAKE THIS.
I know I left out a lot, but I didn’t want to spoil too much because the feels! With this I will wrap up here. Stay tuned for Midnight’s First Impression to hear her thoughts!
Possiblity of Blogging: Will totally take it if Midnight doesn’t want it.
Possibility of Watching: Guaranteed
Midnight’s First Impression
Eva summed up this episode beautifully, so instead of recapping. I’ll give a few thoughts on the show so far, first off, please excuse me while I proceed to sob grossly. I knew when I decided to shotgun this series that it was going to be sad. The PV’s showed us that much, however, I can not say I was expecting it to be sad this quickly. The first episode guys!? There’s such a thing as easing people in, you know!
Isla is one of the cutest characters i’ve seen in a long time. Her methods, her expressions, the way she speaks. She is precious, as is Tsukasa. I can feel my need to ship them together pretty hard. Though those few seconds that Constance held him could mean a lot to certain fangirls. [I’m kidding]
The only characters that bothered me honestly were Michiru and Zack, both for different reasons. Zack a lot less than Michiru. Zack was slightly cute, but there was something about him that bothered me. I know exactly what it was about Michiru. Well first off, she was a total pain in the ass. It was sort of nice to her to try to vouch to their boss that what happened on the first day wasn’t his fault. Otherwise, she was just a giant pain. She actually reminds me a lot of Asuka from Evangelion, she even has the hair things. I hope they will grow on me, i’m sure they will.
I feel like perhaps their personalities are their ways of coping with the job they have, the series states, it’s not a rewarding one. There is no glory, there is no happiness. They are breaking up families, friendships, taking way memories.
I didn’t get a good feel for the soundtrack yet, but one thing I can say is that the animation for this episode was gorgeous if it keeps up at this pace with it’s stunning animation, the beautiful character plots, and if Michiru develops this will be an all around beautiful series.
Excuse me while I get my tissues and get ready for a crazy ride.
Possibility of watching: Guaranteed
Possibility of covering: Shotgunned
April showers bring May- May… flowers … No. There are only showers.
Actually, a number of questions have sprouted already:
1. Is it just a matter of time after all?
I’m thinking that at least their brains are biological to an extent, or perhaps their whole bodies are biolgoical to an extent. It would certainly be one way to explain how they can be so natural, yet due to their artificial nature/development they have shorter lifespans. A fully artificial brain should just be able to transfer files as memories, although, there may be some sort of complication in the system. Either way, it may just be a matter of time until a fix is found and Isla may not have to fade after all! 😀
2. How long have Giftias been around and has the time before the memory disintegration kicks in been impoved since they first came to be?
Certainly Giftia have existed for at least around 11 years. Nina’s 9 years + Kazuki’s 6 months to 1 year at least, before Nina came to life.
3. How does one qualify for a Giftia?
I don’t see price as being the deciding factor as even that family and the Grandmother were able to have one. Perhaps Giftias are mainly used in a therapeutic way for those who have suffered loss.
4. What made Isla, Zack, Constance and Sherry work at Terminal Services of all places?
I’d like to think that as basically human souls, Giftias have many of the same basic human rights. That said, they’re also quite agreeable as we’ve seen so far and maybe they just accepted the position. It’d be interesting if their were stories there… makes me wonder what happens to Giftia who’ve lost their owner due to death or abandonment.
5. What was Isla crying about in the elevator if she wasn’t back on the job yet?
It could be something as simple, though still profound, as never having seen the city from that view at “night” before and dreading having to let that memory go.
So, yes, lots to discover and we don’t even really need to get that in depth about it even though we likely will, as I’m sure that experiencing their day-to-day lives, checkpointed by what are sure to be varied retrieval cases will provide more than enough of the story.
Thanks once again for starting up the coverage, Eva and thanks in advance to you, too, Midnight..!
I think Q4 is probably a simple answer of they were assigned there since they are the made by SAI after all.
Q5: I looked to me that she felt the weight of her time running out and it broke her heart. As she had said herself: For her, as long as she is working, she has a reason to exist. If she wasn’t working at the time, then it would definitely explain why she felt so broken about it. Just imagine what was running through her head, “I am going to be terminated soon.” sort of things.
Ah! You’re absolutely right. I completely failed to make the connection between the line while she was watering the herbs and the elevator scene. Good call.
Oh gosh, this is going to be as sad as everyone thought isn’t it. First 30 seconds in, someone crying. First episode in, I already need a new box of tissues. Yeah right, as if sci-fi is the only genre. What about tragedy, feels, romance, feels, drama, tragedy, feels, feels, mystery, feels, feels, feels…
Isla is so cute though, her attempts at convincing the grandma were hilarious. And the end. Tsukasa seemed pretty good, and I also liked the tsundere girl-Michirou or something? And Nina was so precious and adorable, I just…*cries* I’m expecting this to be pretty amazing, and the first episode definitely met the high expectations for this anime. One thing for sure though, the ending for this will…not be good…not at all. I’m thinking of going to Costco and buying one of those huge bundles of 20 tissue boxes. Or maybe two. Anyone want to come with me?
Yeah I am dreading the ending, here’s to hoping they find a solution to extend their lifespan/memories.
Do they even still sell PUFFS? I can’t find them anywhere!
A lot of people are calling this “anime of the year” already but I hated it when I watched it. Why would anyone have a child if they’ll just die in 9 years? Why can’t people have their own child or adopt one? Not to mention we barely got to see this girl and her grandmas life together. What was their life like? Instead of focusing on its frankly unfunny gags the show should’ve shown us these twos life together. I’ve known this girl for about seven minutes and I can’t even remember her name. Also the main cast is about as interesting as the rock in my backyard
It is definitely going to depend on the individual whether or not this show suits their taste. Not going to bite you for hating it 😉
//Why would anyone have a child if they’ll just die in 9 years?//
Let me put it this way for an alternative perceptive: A Giftia’s lifespam (atm) is presently an average lifespan for some animals who we consider family. Even though certain breeds of dogs’ lifetime can be as short as 4 years, people still get them. I think it is ultimately about having a companion, and regardless of how little time they have with them, they will cherish those moments.
True, it’s not as if people stop having pets just because they know they’re going to die relatively soon. In an incresingly lonely world, people need company.
Which I think it may the the theme of this series, I don’t know. It’s an original anime, isn’t it?
Well to be fair, people are also calling Owari no Seraph, Denpa, Souma, basically anything that seems appealing/is popular the anime of the year. But hate? I feel that hating an anime at the very first episode is being a little…. I don’t know how you feel, and I’m not saying your wrong. I mean, that’s totally fine:) However…
I’m going to back up on what Eva mentioned, that’s as if you’re saying why do people get pets. Everything dies, just some at a faster rate than others. No one can live on Earth eternally (afterlife is a different story, but I’m not about to talk about religion and accidentally get in my super preachy Christian mode when this is about anime). Anyhow, dogs can live for up to maybe 17 years if they’re lucky, but I’ve known some that dies at like 3. Or what about hamsters? They can’t possibly live for more than 3 years, but people get them. Or even goldfish, those live for like 3 days, but people still buy them. And adopting kids is super expensive. I personally know someone who’s sister and her husband were trying to adopt a child, and it took them years just to be able to afford it. I’m sure buying a Giftia is somewhat cheaper, or at the very least much less complicated to purchase. There’s so much paperwork to go through for adoption. And, some people aren’t able to have kids for various reasons. People just don’t want to be alone. And some people probably look at it like, “9 years is so far in the future, I’ll just cross that bridge when I get to it” It’s scary how fast time can slip through our fingers.
I thought the gags were kind of cute, but I see what you’re saying. The little girl’s name was Nina btw. And, you can’t really expect much character development in the first episode of something. You totally have valid points, and everyone isn’t going to like every anime they watch or have the same opinions as the majority:)