First Impressions / Plastic Memories

「守りたかった約束」 (Mamoritakatta Yakusoku)
“The Promise I Wanted to Keep”

Argh! Cliffhangers!

Well, Marcia getting nabbed and becoming a Wanderer was a predictable development after last week’s cliffhanger, though we only learnt about the exact mechanics of it this week. As I may have mentioned previously, an episode like this is necessary, certainly, to show what the consequences of going over the Giftia expiry date is, because we need to see what the stakes are for Isla. Turns out, Giftia who go into overtime are no longer Three Laws Safe, become crazy monsters, and develop an unhealthy obsession with their loved ones. And here I thought it was just dementia. Suddenly the entire Giftia business looks a lot nastier. This revelation is made more unsettling by the fact that androids in the surprisingly progressive Plastic Memories world are treated as people, beholden to certain human rights.

Of course, no rights Giftia have may actually matter because it seems that, as oft in anime, there are no police. Surely, it can’t be that easy to kidnap people routinely and get away with it if there were. ‘Black market retrievers’ sound as much like underground puppy factories as anything, but they’re probably just a criminal syndicate, but it’s hard to make violent crime a profitable business model in a functional, lawful society. Conspicuous, and dangerous. That said, this is the future, so if Plastic Memories was channeling any level of cyberpunk then I guess corporations are the law. SAI, at least, seems to have it’s own private army running around in urban centres. Is it any surprise that our big amoral robot masters are also in bed with the military industrial complex? Aren’t they all? It almost goes without saying, at this point.

I guess it does make sense, on some level, for SAI to call in its personal muscle instead of public authorities. The fact that your product turn into killing machines when they expire is probably a difficult angle for PR to spin. Actually, why are Giftia created with so much physical prowess at all? Isn’t it more expensive to make them so highly specced? Surely they could have made safer civilian models, unless mass production doesn’t make that cost effective these days. Adding a limiter afterwards, especially flimsy software limiter instead of a hardware one, is awfully impractical. It leads to other impracticalities, like making your pencil pushers attempt to re-enact an episode of PSYCHO-PASS and shoot some virus-laser-I-dunno gun without any training. Is that thing safe? Actually, I know it isn’t safe. Anything that goes boom when you pull the trigger is not safe. In fact, anything where you need to pull a trigger to activate is not safe. That’s just common sense.

1496 hours ~ looking ahead

Even with lots of questions addressed, many more have emerged. Some are immediate, like whether Tsukasa hit Isla, what happened to her, what her fancy sci-fi double-blade thing is an where she got it. Other are more long term, like Isla’s involvement (or lack thereof) in the debacle three years ago. So many loose ends! Don’t play the drama so high and then leave me hanging, Plastic Memories. It’s foul play.

For the sake of being positive, I’d like to take a moment to note how hard Plastic Memories is trying in general, which is the kind of push an original series needs. The soundtrack is excellent, as always, and I personally continue to love the detailed backgrounds. It also, once in while, breaks out some fairly interesting camera work for no other apparent reason than to impress. This week’s example: water effects. Since Plastic Memories is putting in some effort, I’m also consciously biasing myself to try and like it in response. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I do hope that whatever happens it’ll be a good watch.

50 Comments

  2. The soundtrack is excellent, as always, and I personally continue to love the detailed backgrounds.

    those backgrounds in mall search scene are really static. They only anime our 2 main char, make them kind of like running in front of a stage background.

    Fortis
    Reply

      1. I know how you feel. But ..
        those building are so high above the horizon, they must as big as mountains. Those trees must be as big as 6-7 stories building
        https://randomc.net/image/Plastic%20Memories/Plastic%20Memories%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2009.jpg
        And some scene’s perspective doesn’t match between actors and background
        https://randomc.net/image/Plastic%20Memories/Plastic%20Memories%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2027.jpg
        …
        Trust me, I’m an architecture student.

        Fortis
        Reply

      3. The trees are behind that 3 stories house in the left but they’re even taller than the house. By perspective they are even taller than that.
        And no hill can make bulding that hight above horizon. must be on mountain.
        Yeah maybe they are just that tall. But by perspective the skyscrapers further behind must be much more smaller and lower, given the scene viewpoint from waist height not aerial view. Not like how all building in front smaller than those in the back in this scene.
        I know I’m just nitpicking but perspective is the basic stuff so it just really jarring to me, make the scene feel really cheap.

        Fortis
        Reply

      5. Compared to the buildings on the right, the height of the trees look about right to me. And from daytime shots of the city, apparently future buildings come in all sorts of shapes, so the skyline looks fine to me as well. That said, I’ve mentioned before that I’m overly willing to give Plastic Memories the benefit of the doubt.

        Passerby
        Reply

  4. I guess when you’re a robot you have no choice but to be physically overpowered. I mean, you are a hunk of moving metal after all, you have to have a really powerful driving force behind that.

    lytterbug
    Reply

  5. Perhaps the Giftia Project is a Side product of Military Way to create Artificial Super Soldiers, just this Giftias are there to make Money for them.

    Now now, with the Army trow in the Light heart and Sad Emotions Path did a Jump into Dark Conspiring Industry. If they get bad PR perhaps the hidden “Giftia” Spys would be uncovered. Perhaps even the Information Section or Secret Service is then involved. Or this Show just want to Spice itself up with Bladerunner…

    And a Battle Robot running amok and try to kill his own Master, there was an Anime in my youth Days with an Battledriod, where they (just for fun) imput to kill the Daughter of the Creator.. Of course the Droid break free, and the Hunt begin… But my memory fails me, with the name. Ah got it, it’s “Black Magic M66” from Masamune Shirow

    WorldwideDepp
    Reply

  6. so where did that kid learn about where marcia might be?
    how did he get there as quick as the giftia team?

    don’t like how some anime always pull this crap just for drama/plot

    Aapjuh
    Reply

    1. My thoughts exactly. Souta managed to circumvent a paramilitary lockdown flawlessly, much better than our dear friends of SAI Terminal Service did. That is just nonsense, plain and simple.

      Purple Bomber
      Reply

    2. Children in fiction. They ruin everything.

      There is an adage that coincidences that get protagonists out of trouble is cheating, but coincidences that get them into trouble are fair game, but I personally find diabolus ex machina almost as irksome as deus ex machina.

      Passerby
      Reply

    3. I must agree here. i haved watched the Episode yes, but from my point of View
      between here
      https://randomc.net/image/Plastic%20Memories/Plastic%20Memories%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2032.jpg
      and here
      https://randomc.net/image/Plastic%20Memories/Plastic%20Memories%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2033.jpg

      Did the Boy do something? Like Insult her or Hit her? Is his Hate against her that strong? Well, Boys at some age begin to Hate their own Mother, because they are strict, and he can not do as he want.. (I see that in my own Family) but this is also Part to learn for them to hear what the Parents say
      So, Orphan Kids has the same authority as Adults? Where is their Guardians until they are official Adults? Did the Future do not need them anymore?

      Some pieces here in this Anime Universe are to wide Gap Open. Please do not grown them any bigger, just because of Drama-kun. Think of your Spectator targets..

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

      1. btw.. i hate auto correction…

        I must agree here. i haved watched the Episode yes, but from my point of View

        I must agree here. I have not watched the Episode yet, but from my Point of View…

        WorldwideDepp
        Reply

  7. I’m in train-wreck mode for this series.

    Too many plot holes: They drove to where Marcia was, right?
    How’d Souta get there? How’d he get pass security? How!!!
    Everybody knows how dangerous the Giftia can be — super strong
    and unpredictable and focused on killing their former handler —
    but zero training and precautions are used, zero!

    Of course, the cliffhanger is did Isla get hit / grazed by the
    Giftia zapper? You know, the thing that does permanent, unrecoverable
    damage to your Giftia? Is there anything that can save this series…

    Sorry, just how it hit me…

    mac65
    Reply

  9. but I do hope that whatever happens it’ll be a good watch.

    On an off-topic about that…Passerby, Saekano sequel has been confirmed.
    Just giving you a tip since you covered that show for RandomC.

    Techim
    Reply

  10. https://randomc.net/image/Plastic%20Memories/Plastic%20Memories%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2034.jpg
    “Crime coefficient above 300. Enforcement mode: Destroy Decomposer. Target will be completely annihilated. Please proceed with massive caution.”

    https://randomc.net/image/Plastic%20Memories/Plastic%20Memories%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2036.jpg

    And we see Tsunemori Akane Isla charging towards Kougami Shinya Souta…

    Being in the MWPSB SAI Terminal Service is indeed suffering.

    So when will Shogo Makishima make an appearance and liberate the people from the dependence of Sybil giftias?

    c2710
    Reply

    1. It’s like a zombie drama romcom version of Psycho Pass.
      It’s so bad it’s good. Can’t wait till next ep. Hopefully we’ll have action horror supernatural eps in the rest of the season.

      Fortis
      Reply

  11. Then you have Michiru knowing it was her fault that her father ended up going completely over the limit and becoming a Wanderer…yet she hates R. Security and acts like they are the ones responsible for him turning into one…I can understand her hating them for killing him in general, but at the same time, she herself admitted that she was the one who ran off with him because she didn’t want to return him. If she didn’t do that, her father would’ve simply been handed off to SAI without incident, so it kind of kills a chunk of sympathy for her.

    And then you have Kazuki stringing the R. Security guy along with guilt when, based on the flashback, it’s obvious that he didn’t do anything to directly cause her to get hurt by Michiru’s father in the first place. If anything, she caused it to herself by getting so close to a dangerous situation despite the guy telling her to get away…and then she even continues to use that guilt after promising to let it go if he fed her information…doesn’t make her look good in that regard…

    Tsukasa…well…this situation is something I figured might happen with how things were going. I felt that he was getting WAY too personally involved with the people he was retrieving from. I agree that the teams shouldn’t be emotionless tools and should try to make the people comfortable in returning their Giftia, but at the same time, with how close Tsukasa kept getting with the people, to where he even directly helped with setting up Souta’s birthday and all, it would end up resulting in a situation(s) where he may not be able to carry out his job as necessary because of his relation to the customer.

    HalfDemonInuyasha
    Reply

    1. I think Michiru and Kazuki are working off the basis that Kazuki had it under control until Kazuki showed up. Michiru’s father also reacted poorly to R. Security manhandling Michiru. Lastly, they were also the ones who ultimately turned him into a bullet sponge. I’m not R. Security was completely at fault, but their appearance did set off an unfortunate chain of events, so that’s the impression the other players were left with. Nobody’s going to remember you kindly (hey, memories theme).

      As for Tsukasa, yes he did get too invested, but I don’t blame him for it because prior to them suddenly needing to shoot people Terminal Services One was essentially a bunch of glorified social workers. Baking cakes for folks seemed to be in their line of work. Their corporate masters don’t seem too happy about it, though.

      Passerby
      Reply

  14. just my thoughts about the current episode, since the story setting is of many years ahead of our time, i wonder why the inventor of giftia hasnt thought of separating the memory from the “OS”? so when the life of giftia is nearing expiration, before terminal service will retrieve the giftia, they will have the ability to backup the memory before killing the OS… so when the giftia is reused again, reinstall the memory and voila! life continues. or perhaps that’s the meaning of plastic memories giftias will never ever remember anything from their “previous lives”

    and also, wow… assuming it was isla who was hit by that “psycho pass” gun, the anime doesn’t even waited to have isla’s life expire… they killed her immediately. — wew….

    The Last Idiot
    Reply

    1. It can best thing ever happen to anime since Guilty Crow: main heroin got killed by protagonist by mistake before her drama arc and the drama end right there. Next eps will be horror zombie terminator Pysho Pass

      Fortis
      Reply

  15. I wonder if the corporation will ever discover that Tsukasa had Souta’s signature on the recall paperwork four days ago and that they could have just taken Marcia in and avoided this whole mess.

    Kling_Klang
    Reply

      1. Thanks (I guess). I’m old enough to remember when sergeants and bosses used to be able to yell “Shut up and do your job! You’re not paid to think!” It’s not always bad advice.

        Kling_Klang
        Reply

  16. I read it on ANN:
    [quote]
    This episode was the punch in the gut that Plastic Memories needed. There are plenty of remaining questions – who are the black market retrievers and what do they do with nearly-expired Giftias?
    [/quote]

    Well, these Black Market Guys.. What do they want? Of course… Their Memories, to extract “Blackmail” or other Money incoming things

    WorldwideDepp
    Reply

  17. Hmm…. I don’t know why but I seriously cannot get emotionally invested in this anime. Especially with Giftia. I just unable to fully understand the fact that they are trying to treat this human-like robot, Giftia, as if they are a real human being in the first place. When the truth is they are nothing more but a robot made up from metal and other synthetic materials programmed by the a programmer back in the factory. They think and act based on what their programmer told them. They have no free will whatsoever. I know it’s sound harsh but that’s just how I see Giftia. A machine.

    Also, I really hate the Terminal Service’s cold treatment towards the R.Security. I mean why do that? They just doing their job which is to keep people safe. They didn’t do anything wrong imo. They did what they had to do. In the end of the day, as long as no one (human being) got hurt, then mission accomplished, right? The Giftia can be always mass produced so you don’t have to be afraid about their death. So, why you so butthurt girl?

    XXmakeitrainXXX
    Reply

    1. It seems you do not watched Episode 1-4 until now. There was no sights of this Drama. Only Heart breaking Feelings, brake Family’s and such.

      It is a Shock for the most here, to see the Dark Side of this Giftias. And some Company still want to threat them as Humans, because they get them at Home. Where their previous Owners are watching, dude. They still have Bond with this “Machine”, dude.

      I also understand your point, when some of them surpass the point of no return the SWAT Team should do their job

      So, these Company are respecting more the Human bonds that was made over the Years with the Giftia, dude

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

      1. I see… I may be able to understand if that’s was the case. To respect the relationship. I get it now..

        It’s just that I found it a bit scary to see people in this anime think and treat Giftia as a living thing. I mean the line that separate man and machine has gone. People can now have a robot to keep them company. Their artificial intelligence is so advanced to the point you don’t even need to adopt a human child as your son or daughter. Just buy yourself a Giftia. Same goes for your waifu. Giftia is here for you.

        I know I’m being such a douche here but I just… can’t help it but to take this anime waaaaay too seriously lol. XD

        XXmakeitrainXXX
        Reply

      2. Well, the Giftia’s learned with their AI, to be Human. They where threaten like a member of the Family, the Love they received are inside them. You could say every Giftia is unique, because of the Love or bond it receive in the Family. This lost of “Guardian” Systems, after surpass the Time, is bullshit for me. As if they build in a Virus…

        Well, i bet there are surly Red Light Destriction Giftias. They are really used as Tools. But we see here the Family member Giftias ones. They have the right to be threaten as Human, they learned to recive and give Humanity

        WorldwideDepp
        Reply

      3. Do not get me wrong, i try to get inside the ideas of the Director and Writer, and try my best to guess his Ideas behind this Anime, the roots the Actions the Bonds

        I hope i hit the spot, if not i hope to get as close as possible. This is my Skill

        WorldwideDepp
        Reply

    2. You REALLY haven’t been paying attention. Giftia are NOT acting on software. They are 100% sentient. The whole plot is that they were created with artificial souls that are 100% like human souls but with an expiration date. They are not just disposable robots, and for that reason you can’t just make a new one that is just like the old one.

      DmonHiro
      Reply

  18. Hmmm… I don’t think you guys have the right frame of mind if you think the robots just exist for the sake of drama.

    Why don’t you think about it like this. Humanity created sentient life in the form of machines, and in order to financially profit from that endeavor, the Giftias were made. They’re lifespan is the result of them not being complete and the world plastic memories takes place in is one where humanity has to face the social consequences of their technological actions.

    TitanAnteus
    Reply

  20. In actually looking ahead to the next episode, I don’t think highly of Tsukasa’s position within the office the next time we see him; Since who know what have happened to make Isla absent. For sure we’re going to have at least one very angry lady…maybe two… and probably no one that can sympathize with him.

    Yeah, rock bottom for sure…

    info600
    Reply

  21. In response to the blog, I do wonder why give these androids so much physical power. Perhaps that will be addressed at some point. My guess is they’re just naturally strong because they are made out of metal (such as, super strong metallic skeleton). This way they are more durable and can help out their owner if some accident occurs

    Rick Anime
    Reply

    1. Well, is their Bodies an Human Flesh Implants Hybrid? Are they Cyborgs? Androids (like Alien2)?
      Or are they just artificial born and modified Human DNA Clones?

      But, do the Anime really need to know, what Blood they have in their Veins? Is here not the Bond with Humans important?

      Let us focus on the part, that the Director and Writer want to tell us, not where the “babies” come from 🙂

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

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