So by comparison to last episode this is a happy episode. That being said, that’s not a very high bar. A lot of things would of been happier then last episode, but they decided to give us a week of relative comedy to ease us out of the depression that last week left us in. That once again, being said, doesn’t mean the show forgot itself. There were moments that had me laughing hysterically and then there were moments where I wanted to crawl into a small ball and sob my heart out.
So with mood whiplash abound, what is this episode about?
Well it’s about Isla’s recovery after last episode, first off, i’m glad to report that none of the virus data hit her and what she was recovering from was the damage to her leg and body brought on by her previous encounter with Marcia. It’s about her seeing Tsukasa still smiling after the event with Marcia and not understanding how he can do it.
OF course, it wouldn’t be an anime if the wacky big breasted chick from the science department didn’t get it in her head that Isla was in love with Tsukasa and as such, committed herself to finding out everything she could about Tsukasa to help Isla with her love life.
So how do you watch a guy in everything he does? Spy from a near by roof top? Follow him to the bar dressed up as call girls in heavy make up? FOLLOW HIM INTO THE MENS SHOWER?
Oh dear, um, well that was awkward. It was really funny though, i’d go into more detail if there wasn’t a certain heart wrenching part of the episode I would really like to address.
So as most of you know it’s been bothering me for a while that they haven’t told Tsukasa about Isla’s termination time. Well at last they tell him about it, Kuzuki sits him down and tells him that she has roughly 1’000 hours left. [accord to the shows calculations, this is about a little over a month] Isla is standing outside of the room as they discuss this as well.
Kuzuki gives Tsukasa an option, to stick with Isla until the very end or to trade partners now. Of course, he says that he’ll stay with Isla until the end. Which is really uplifting…and then you see the smile on her face when she hears that.
She smiles, so brightly. To know, that Tsukasa wants to be with her until she essentially dies. I CAN’T, I CAN’T EVEN WITH THIS SHOW, THIS EPISODE WAS LIKE “HEY, LET’S TAKE A LIGHTER TONE, BUT NOT LET THE AUDIENCE FORGET OUR SOLE PURPOSE IS TO DESTROY THEM!”
Add on the scene where Tsukasa goes to Souta and falls to his knees apologizing for not being able to keep his promise to bring Marcia back. Hearing the small boy cry and scream “You promised” as all Tsukasa can say is he’s sorry. Well it’s heart breaking and through all of this, the scene with Souta, hearing that Isla’s time is coming up.
Tsukasa just keeps smiling. Michiru worded it best when Isla asked her about it after all the wacky hijinks ended. He’s smiling “Because he’s sad”.
Is it too much for me just to want these characters to be happy? Yeah, probably. At least the episode didn’t end on a low note, after the part where it spits on our souls for one last time. It cuts to this adorable scene of Tsukasa coming home and Isla greeting him. In uh…well uh….
Let’s just say she was reading a newly weds manual and she uh….
“Would you like dinner, or a shower, or maybe you’d like me.”
WOAH, if Michiru had heard that she would of gone berserk…on Tsukasa, for no reason. So it’s a good thing she didn’t hear it. This episode was good, it was a nice balance between just uplifting enough to bring us down from the pits of a depressing sadness. Also, enough sadness to never let us forget that this show is meant to make us depressed…
which is why I love it, or do I hate it….no, i really love this show and all the predictions I have for the series ending, end with me sobbing grossly all over my computer.
~Midnight
A lot of reviewers, especially from ANN, commented that the drama and character development of Plastic Memories is much, much better executed than its comedy, especially the silly “rom com” scenes that seem quite out of place.
I agree to an extent. Some balance between light comedy and heavy emotion is nice, but I would have preferred that they cut short some of the comedy to make room for drama and worldbuilding. It’s not a deal breaker by any means, but inappropriately inserted and overly lengthy romcom could be the one thing keeping this from being a masterpiece.
Kind of reminds me of Your Lie in April.
I THOUGHT WE HAD 81 DAYS, WTH HAPPENED TO THAT o(〒﹏〒)o ｡･ﾟﾟ*(>д<)*ﾟﾟ･｡ NO NO NO I NEED MORE TIME I AM NOT READY. *gross sobbing*
All of that aside though, this was a pretty solid episode. A break from all the feels even, you could say, although there was still massive feels, just less than the prior episode. Also, thank you so much Midnight for pointing out the cute little scene after the credits, I totally missed that part1