Plastic Memories – 04

’tis better to reign in Marshmallow Hell…

In the past I’ve felt that this show has been walking on unquiet feet, shuffling between it’s emotional story, and it’s sci-fi background. But this time around, I think they’ve gotten back on some decent footing.

It’s probably a story as old as industry. Buy early and buy often. In an equal vein we can look at planned obsolescence. The value of an automobile goes down the instant you drive it off the lot, the brand new computer you just bought is already behind the times the moment you first plug it in. Goodness but aren’t you wearing last year’s fashion?! We can see this written between the lines with the meeting Yamanobe has with SAI’s chief. Bring down costs, the retrieval is no longer of any lasting value. Push the new product, or the upgrade at the very least. They are wading into a great bit of sci-fi waters that has the value to run deep. I just wish they would have made the chief look a little less like a cliched villain.

Learning how to smile again….

…mashimaro…

This weeks retrieval is a pretty interesting tell all. It isn’t so much focused on the client and the Giftia as it is the reflections our main characters have about it. We do have several wrinkles introduced into the story; the first one is that black market retrieval units exist, and are a future threat. But for the main story we have to come to the idea of Android Children; a functional oddity if every there was one, but that’s par for the course in this show.

I find it really hard to countenance that a society would allow small children to be raised completely by Giftia. But on the other face, the androids are totally meant to be human replacements, so it stands to some reason that they could be uniquely qualified to undertake such a task. That’s not to hard to swallow, and some disbelief can be suspended; are we even going to take into account how Souta would be raised after Marcia is gone? That’s the one big glaring thing, but as the end of the show goes, that story is not yet over….

You are paying attention to the cake recipe, right?

For all accounts, Marcia (Noto Mamiko, this season’s Einhart Stratos from Nanoha Vivid, and last season’s Viv from Junketsu no Maria) is just perfect, a great big sister and mother figure, and the holder of memories that Souta cannot quite come to grips with. But like all Giftia, her time has come to an end. Souta wants nothing of the pain associated with her leaving, so he is quick to be over and done with the retrieval. But this isn’t something that Tsukasa can readily deal with.

I like how his argument bookends the proceedings. You can tell he is doing this just as much for the other characters, and himself, especially Isla, as he is for Marcia and Souta. Along the way we do get a very heavy characterization drop with Michiru, as she is also a member of the Android Child family, and gives us a not to steady warning about the Wandering phenomenon. This is really weird to know four episodes in, that the Giftia can become physically dangerous past the retrieval date. We also get a sublet visual clue about her past as the camera zooms in on one of the retrieval rings we’ve seen on other missions.

Ichigo Tart ala Tsundere

But all in all, I really do feel that this whole birthday party effort was not in Souta’s complete interest. While it did do the job that they set out to do; reconnect the boy to his positive memories, and clear the way for Marcia’s eventual departure, the all in approach the character’s took really showed us this was about their own needs. Now if this is a deliberate action of the writers, or if I am reading into things is one thing, but there is something there to read.

Isla cannot help but compartmentalize her actions in this, and she did put down some traction, however minor, against the birthday plan at the start. Perhaps she knows that one last good memory is more about it’s finality than the goodness it can bring. There are times when we just don’t want any bitter to go along with the sweet. I guess in that viewpoint, it’s much like making a tart. There are some special ingredients waiting to be added.

Isla and the Park

I think we all regret letting go…

I know I can be really loud in chastising fans about expectations. So it’s only fair that I let that voice echo back to me. It’s likely that this show will not develop that sci-fi part I would like them to. The time limit, the wanderers, the black market operators are all there are great big road signs for character development. If left alone, they could not stand on their own; much less bake a nice dessert. But, for a story that has not being alone as a major theme, I think that works. The show may not have settled down to my liking, but I know that I have.

…cause they need to resolve this but quick!

About skylion

All around nerd that enjoys just about any anime genre. I love history, politics, public policy, the sciences, literature, arts...pretty much anything can make me geeky...except sports. Follow me @theskylion