Official Website (Japanese)

Director: Tarou Iwasaki

Writer: Shotaro Suga

Music by: Nobuko Toda

Episode Runtime: 12 episodes

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Studio: Brian's Base

English Network: Crunchyroll

Main Cast:

• Sora Amamiya as Kaori Fijimiya
• Yoshitaka Yamaya as Yuki Hase
• Asuka Kakumoto as Maiko Serizawa
• Junji Majima as Jun Inoue

Review: by Kendrick

One Week Friends was a good 'feels' kind of show. It followed the main character Yuki as as he tried to befriend the young lady Kaori. The female protagonist had a mental trauma that made her forget everything about her friends at the end of the week. Because there was no way to keep up a friendship with this debility, she kept up a cold front.

Enter Yuki, who, for no clear reason, greatly wanted to befriend her. The anime followed how he went about doing it.

Yuki was very in touch with his feelings and was not afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve. I really liked his character. It also made sense that he could be that way because he a had the healthiest support group in the form of his best friend, Shogo.  Shogo was the most patient man in the universe the way he put up with Yuki’s emotional whining.

Once you get past her facade, Kaori was a run of the mill, bland type character.

What I Liked:

This anime was really good at sidestepping my expectations. I thought that Kaori’s childhood trauma would be something big, but it was just run of the mill teasing. I thought the series would end with Kaori remembering everything in her journals not because he cured her but because he was no longer a friend but a lover.  I had the ending fully envisioned, but it ended with them just being friends.

Random thoughts:

Kaori’s mother knows about her trauma and does nothing about it.

What kind of petty person holds a grudge from Elementary School all the way into High School?

Every single time Shogo and Yuki had a conversation, Shogo had the perfect long suffering face.

I feel that Kaori should have felt more depressed as her journals piled up… so many memories forgotten.

At the end of each week I would confess to her and ask her not to write it in her journal. If she remembered that week, we’d know that she considered him a lover and not a friend, exempt from the memory loss.

What I Didn’t Like:

The small side story with Shogo and Saki was a waste of time. Saki is adorable but completely inept at everything. She comes to the lazy conclusion that Shogo takes care of her, so she should burden him the rest of her life. I am glad he put her in her place.

Overall: One Week Friends is saccharine sweet but didn’t really go anywhere.  I’d give it a 4 out 5, go check it out.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Second Opinion: by Lee

Obviously, Kendrick already said what One Week Friends was about, so I’ll spare you a re-hashing of the plot.

I liked the show.  It was simple and fairly cute, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was “a good ‘feels’ kind of show.”  I would say there weren’t enough “feels” to categorize it as such.  One would think, from the subject matter, that the show would be emotionally charged and tear-inducing, but it just wasn’t. I am a very emotional person and quick to cry, sometimes at particularly touching commercials, but I did not even tear up at all while watching the show.  So, if you’re looking to cry, this wouldn’t be the show to watch.  However, if you want a show that almost goes there but refrains, then you’ll be fine watching One Week Friends.

I agree with Kendrick about the characters, for the most part.  Yuki and Kaori, although the main characters, were just alright.  There was nothing particularly special about them.  I will say that I didn’t find Yuki as annoying as Kendrick seemed to find him.  The best characters were definitely the side characters.  Yes, Shogo was so long-suffering and turned out to be the best kind of friend.  He didn’t engage in drama, but he always stepped in to set the others straight.  Without him, Yuki’s mission would have failed.  I was really on the fence about Saki, though.

One of my major problems with the show was that it was misleading about Saki.  When she was introduced, the show almost set her up as a Red Herring.  She seemed shady, and I didn’t trust her at all until the real culprit appeared.  After that, I was able to appreciate her quirkiness.  The show, as a whole, would have been more enjoyable if they hadn’t done that because Saki was one of the best parts.

Also, this show made me hungry.  I  wanted a bento box in the worst way.  Every single day, Yuki and Kaori shared lunch, and it looked delicious.  I found myself browsing Amazon.com for a tamagoyaki pan.  I wanted those rolled eggs!

Finally, I agree with Kendrick about the ending.  It was surprising.  However, it was a disappointment to me.  I felt robbed.  It made the whole show seem a bit pointless to me.  They had been friends since episode 1!  Why did we need 11 more episodes of them still being friends?  It was all a bit slice-of-life, and that was not what I was anticipating.  I wanted it to be a romance, and, though it was hinted, I got nothing.

Overall, it was an enjoyable if slightly tame show.  There wasn’t a lot of drama, considering the subject and possibilities, but it was decent to watch.

Second Opinion Rating: 3.75/5 Stars

Images Courtesy of Random Curosity

You can watch One Week Friends on Crunchyroll HERE.

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