Isshuukan Friends - Completed 25/01/2015
"You and I could be family! I don't want to be alone anymore. That's why I decided long ago, that i'd rely on someone, since I can't do anything alone..."This anime is outstanding, the show is pure, not tainted with moe/ecchi tendencies as are many today. One Week Friends, is one of those shows that hasn't been talked about a lot, but it really needs to be. This 12-episode SOL/Drama anime gives me hope for industry.The characters are paramount in this show,and they develop in a non-linear fashion, very atypical when considering how shows like Clannad stretch out character traits for 44 episodes, don't get me wrong this is a good thing, but can't work with this show. Kaori is a timid, shy, and cold honors student whose abilities shine in Mathematics. She suffers from an unusual trait where she loses memories of her friends after 1 week, this means that everything that she does pertaining to her friends will vanish every Monday. Soundtrack wise, the opening and ending songs are kinda like side dishes, you need to taste them as a palate cleanser because each episode is quiet sad, granted you won't sit there sobbing, but it's sad. The OP and the ED done remarkably well, and I listened to them every episode, they were that good. Story-wise you have to watch the show, since anything I say will be major spoilers, its not easy to describe the story, but the predominate theme is friendship, and its boundaries. Granted I know Japanese culture is a kind shy about expressing love blatantly, but every though the viewer can read the subtle hints, it is never explicitly stated, even though the main characters have strong feelings towards each other. This was a refreshing change from shows where the entire freaking plot line is based on, "did you confess to him yet?". One Week Friends is about the enduring nature of love, and the hope that we as young teens hold on to, waiting for it to be crushed by the cruelty of our 20's. It will make you look back at those nostalgic times in your youth, when you liked her, and couldn't express it, but just wanted to get some time alone with her, be that during lunch or otherwise, something that hits close to home for me. It's not a super-show, but for what it planned to do it is EXCELLENT, and I would say you should check it out as soon as possible, the awkwardness is the key of this show, and learning how to express out feelings with losing our friends. It also talked little about what is knowing people in general, are people just a collection of memories, if we write everything down, and have our minds erased, will we be the same when we wake up?. The quote at the start of this review summaries this show wonderfully, there's no romantic component to this show but the hinting at a possible is every the show is both honest to the viewers and itself, unlike *cough* Orenimo, that piece of crap.
Final Verdict If you have reached your 20's, the abrasive nature of life has either filed you down to a fraction of your hopeful self, or your an ignorant who partakes in everything stupid under the sun, to help you have that one "special" nostalgic feeling. This show is as close as it gets, you owe it to yourself to watch it, and CRY why you ask for your lack of feeling, emotion, and that care-free life that you took for granted. Learn to have hope again, and maybe, just maybe, one you'll be able to ask someone, "I'd like for us to be friends".
