Aired: April 7, 2014 - June 23, 2014 Studios: Brain's Base Episodes: 12 Hello again Otakus! Glad you all can make it back! This week we will lighten things up and look at a super QT anime called Isshuukan Friends (One Week Friends). This anime is basically a romance anime that's disguised as an anime all about friendship. The main lead chases after a girl and basically asks to be friends with her and that's how the story starts. It's a different type of anime than the previous ones we have talked about so I feel like it will be fresh to change tempos once in a while. This is a light-hearted anime that is sweet and make you all bubbly inside. Let's go ahead and jump into what One Week Friends is all about! Synopsis: Yuuki Hase is a sixteen year old high school student who has a crush on his classmate, Kaori Fujimiya. Kaori is a quiet, reserved girl who always seems stoic in class and everyone thinks she can show no emotions. One day, Yuuki works up the courage to talk to Kaori and ask her to be friends with him after helping her deliver some notebooks to the teacher's office. To her surprise, she gives a faint smile but ends up rejecting his request. Hurt, but still determined, Yuuki finds out Kaori eats lunch alone on the rooftop where he sits next to her and asks if he can eat with her. Hesitant at first, Kaori finally agrees on the condition that he doesn't talk to her in class. The two start to open up to each other as the week goes on, but Kaori begins to push Yuuki away again nearing the end of the school week. Confused, Yuuki asks why she doesn't want to be friends with him to which Kaori replies that, excluding her family, she can't remember anything involving friends or anyone close to her; her memories reset every Monday. Yuuki, knowing that Kaori, more than anyone, wants to have friends and create fond memories, goes up to her every Monday asking "Would you like to be friends?" in attempt to become more than one week friends and to solve the mystery of why her memories reset. Storyline: I know some of you guys think that the synopsis is similar to the movie 50 First Dates with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. They do follow similar story lines but I think this anime is cuter xD. But seriously, this anime is super cute in how determined Yuuki is to be friends with Kaori and how willing Kaori is to try overcome her condition to accept him as a friend. Even Yuuki's other friends get caught up in being friends with her and try everything to be supportive of both of the protagonists. If that isn't friendship, then I guess I don't know what friends are! The plot might move slower than some would like, but I think it's a very unique type of school based anime. Then again, this is a slice of life anime and they do tend to have little action scenes or lots of "Wow!" moments, but I watch these types of animes to feel all warm and bubbly inside, which this one does very well. I'm the type of person to get attached to characters quickly so seeing the ups and downs of the protagonists' relationships is where I get my thrill while watching this anime. I'm also a sucker for gag comedy in anime and this one has a good amount of one liners that causes a reaction to one of the characters and it makes me burst out laughing every time. The main reason why I think I stuck through this anime was to figure out why Kaori has this illness and if Yuuki can actually be more than just one week friends. Obviously, she has some type of condition that affects her memories, but they way the anime uncovers the mystery is quite creative. Rather than giving you a huge reveal during one episode, the writers give you small bits throughout the whole anime that you can bite on, but will leave you wanting more. If you are an observant person, you can actually catch on pretty quick to what was the cause early on. This anime is also really keen on keeping your determination up despite it looking pointless at present time. It's really admirable on how determined Yuuki is and how understanding he is of his friend's predicament. Often times, he lends help to think of ways to help her retrieve her memories back every week and remains patient despite the numerous times Kaori tries to push him away. Overall, this is a cute anime that has a heart-warming story about being there for your friends and helping each other out. Art: There won't be a music section today as it doesn't really contribute to the anime much other than making you squeal from enhancing the cuteness that is flowing in this anime. The art definitely sets this cute tone and everything else follows suit. First of all, look at the way the characters are drawn. They are like chibi-hybrids. If you don't know what a chibi is, it's basically a Japanese art style where they draw people really short and chubby. They are so cute that they just make you want to squeeze and pinch their cheeks (like above). The picture to the right is an example of a chibi character. Secondly, all the characters wear kinda loose fitting outfits which make them look super comfortable, soft, and warm. On top of that, every single character has that perpetual blush and soft eye expression. They rarely show facial expressions that seem harsh or grimacing in anyway. God it just makes me want to hug them and cuddle. All of the scenes contribute to the warmness and cuteness of the characters as well. Every scene has lighting and objects in the background with warm undertones that make it easy on your eyes and make you feel relaxed on the inside. One thing I noticed was that the edges and corners of every scene is blurred or seem to be incomplete and becomes more detailed in the center. I thought this was pretty clever to keep the focus on the characters in the scene but also a cool effect to make the scenes look dreamy. It's almost as if you were watching this anime while sleeping where you wake up all happy and cheerful. Just everything going on art-wise in this anime makes me smile. The voice actors and actresses as well do an amazing job at keeping the softness and warmness of the visuals on screen. The characters speak softly and reassuringly. Even when they shout out towards each other, it isn't harsh or ear piercing as some animes (such as action ones). It's the small details that add up to create this warm feeling anime and the studios does an excellent job of making those small details become something bigger. Overall, I enjoyed this anime for it's cuteness and the many times it made me feel fuzzy on the inside. It's a great casual anime with little heavy plot points and something you can pick up any day of the week. It won't leave you hooked and make you binge watch, but it'll definitely make you want to come back. The closest description of the feeling you receive while watching this anime is like how you would get up on a Sunday morning, grab a warm cup of coffee, tea, or hot cocoa and sit on a patio looking out at the sunrise on a beach. Its the type of anime to make you feel relaxed while telling a cute story. I hope you guys check this anime out and let me know what you think of it. 'Til next time Otakus, keep on binge watching ヾ(^∇^)
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Coffee senpaiJust an Otaku who also loves his coffee. Grab some coffee and watch anime with me ٩(θ‿θ)۶ Posts for this blog every Friday!
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