Plastic Memories

**Plastic Memories** is a Science Fiction anime which takes place in a city in the near future, It is directed by Yoshiyuki Fujiwara.

# Plot

In the near future, humans live alongside androids that look exactly like humans and have human emotion and memory. SAI Corp, the leading android production company, has introduced the Giftia, an advanced android model with the most human-like qualities of any model. However, the lifespan of a Giftia is determined beforehand, and a Giftia can only live for a maximum of 81,920 hours (approximately nine years and four months).

If they pass their expiration date, it causes personality disintegration, memory loss, and outbreaks of violence; those who experience this are known as wanderers. Wanderers only act on instinct and can no longer recognize their owners. As a result, the Terminal Services are established with the duty of retrieving Giftias who are close to the end of their lifespans from their owners, and erasing the Giftias' memories. To perform this job, the Terminal Service employees work in teams consisting of a human (called a "spotter") and a Giftia (called a "marksman").

The story follows the work and life of such a team in SAI Corp's Terminal Service One office, the human protagonist Tsukasa Mizugaki and a Giftia named Isla. Their relationship grows, and as they both slowly fall in love, Isla is revealed to be nearing the end of her own lifespan.

The anime consists of thirteen episodes.

* Episode 1; "The First Partner": In a world in which science is slightly more advanced, 18-year-old Tsukasa Mizugaki lands a job at SAI, a major global corporation. SAI manufactures and manages androids with human emotions, known as “Giftia”, and Tsukasa is assigned to a department called the Terminal Service. It turns out that the department is for deadwood employees, where the main responsibility is to retrieve Giftias reaching their expiration dates. Tsukasa is partnered with a female Giftia named Isla, who is highly regarded in the office and famous for a wide knowledge of herbs and tea.
* Episode 2; "Don't Want to Cause Trouble": Tsukasa has begun working on his Terminal Service assignments with his partner, Isla. But due to Isla’s constant blunders, they keep messing things up, and Tsukasa keeps getting yelled at by his trainer, Michiru, who acts as his senior despite being a year younger than him. Seeing this, Kazuki, their immediate supervisor and Isla’s former partner, takes Tsukasa out after work. She voices her concerns about his relationship with Isla. For his part, Tsukasa wishes he could understand Isla better. Returning to the office, he finds out that Isla has been busy in her own trainings.
* Episode 3; "We've Just Started Living Together": At the Terminal Service, all employees are expected to live with their partners. Due to this set-up, Tsukasa is assigned to live with Isla. Even though the two share a room, Isla completely ignores Tsukasa at home, never once saying a word to him. She speaks to him normally while at work, which Tsukasa finds confusing. Through the advice of his co-workers, he makes one attempt after another to try to get Isla to open up to him, but it seems like he has a long way to go before he can call himself successful.
* Episode 4; "I Just Don't Know How to Smile": Isla has finally warmed up to Tsukasa, as she is already comfortable in talking to him at home. Michiru seems just a bit bothered by this, seeing how Tsukasa and Isla have grown closer. Tsukasa and Isla have also been assigned a new retrieval assignment: they need to retrieve a Giftia from one of the so-called "Android Children" – kids who've been brought up by Giftias or other androids. To Tsukasa and Isla's surprise when they show up, Souta, the Giftia's owner, suddenly blurts out "I don't want her anymore."
* Episode 5; "The Promise I Wanted to Keep": Approached by a black-market retriever on her way home from shopping, Marcia never makes it home. With her lifespan down to its last 24 hours, Tsukasa, Isla, and the rest of Terminal Service One split up to search for her. Hearing of the situation from Takao, Godou mobilizes the private security firm R. Security. Tension rises as the time goes by, as the same company was involved in an incident from three years ago, when Michiru's Giftia foster father became a Wanderer.
* Episode 6; "Welcome Home the Both of Us"**:** Two days have passed since the Marcia incident, and Isla is still unconscious. In her dreams, she recalls the conversations she had with Kazuki three years ago. Isla is worried that like her previous partner, Tsukasa, too, will dissolve their partnership, but when she woke up, she saw that he had stayed by her side the entire time she was recovering. She wonders why despite the recent tragedy, Tsukasa is smiling like he always had. Eventually, however, Tsukasa is faced with a bitter truth. He learns that Isla has just 1000 hours (or a month) left in her lifespan but declares that he wants to remain partnered with Isla, which makes her happy.
* Episode 7; "How to Ask Her Out": After finding out how little time Isla has left, Tsukasa makes up his mind to ask her out on a date. For some reason, Isla keeps making one mistake after the other, and the timing never seems to be right for him to ask. Much like before, he receives words of advice from his male colleagues. Michiru and Eru also hear about the upcoming date, and they take it upon themselves to instruct Isla on what to do. Isla decides to go to the amusement park for the date. However, while riding the Ferris wheel, Tsukasa faints.
* Episode 8; "The Fireworks I've Never Seen": Tsukasa meets an owner who requests that a new operating system be installed in her Giftia that is due for retrieval. He wonders if there are any cases where a Giftia is able to recover their old memories for some reason after a new OS is installed, but no matter whom he asks about this, the answer always remains "No." Around that time, a Giftia named Andie is sent over from Terminal Service Three to search for a retrieval target. When Eru sees Andie, she is overjoyed to see her and calls her by the name "Olivia". As it turns out, Andie is actually her former best friend Olivia, who has now taken a new identity after having her OS replaced. Realizing what this means for Isla and him, Tsukasa decides to take a leap in their relationship by taking Isla to the the carnival and confessing his love to her.
* Episode 9; "After the Festival": After confessing his love to Isla and being unceremoniously turned down, Tsukasa is left drained and dazed. Isla herself is in a panic after Tsukasa's declaration. Their colleagues at Terminal Service One are all filled with concern for the both of them. At Michiru's suggestion, Tsukasa and Isla stop living together, and the dorm assignments are switched around: Isla moves into Eru's apartment, while Tsukasa moves in with Zack and Michiru. As the end of Isla's lifespan keeps drawing near, the question of whether or not staying away is the right thing to do is raised. When Michiru asks Isla about her feelings for Tsukasa, she answers that she does return his feelings. When Tsukasa returns to his dorm room, Tsukasa finds Kazuki already there. As Isla also arrives, Kazuki announces she intends to dissolve their partnership.
* Episode 10; "No Longer Partners": Tsukasa and Isla are ordered by Kazuki to dissolve their partnership. When Tsukasa asks her for a reason, Kazuki replies that office romances are taboo. Their co-workers at Terminal Service One are surprised as they have never heard of such a rule. Meanwhile, Kazuki teams up with Isla again for the first time in three years. She finds herself increasingly irritated by the way Isla tries to distance herself from Tsukasa because of the reason that "it's better for the both of us", so she decides to slap some sense into her former partner by saying that tearing herself away from him will only create painful memories for him. The next day, she returns to the office, approaches Tsukasa, and proclaims that she wants to make more memories with him until the end and that she is in love with him.
* Episode 11; "Rice Omelette Day": With Kazuki's plan proving to be a success, Tsukasa and Isla are now officially boyfriend and girlfriend. Their co-workers at Terminal Service One watch over the innocent couple, supporting them along with a dose of good-natured teasing. Learning that he'll need to make use of a "surprise element" in order to make the relationship stronger, Tsukasa racks his brain, wondering how he can make Isla happy. At around the same time, Isla is consulting Michiru, wanting to prepare some kind of "surprise" for Tsukasa as well. After the happy day, Isla also allows Tsukasa to read her latest diary entries, both of which recount the days she spent with him. When Tsukasa goes to sleep, Isla adds a new entry, in which she expresses her hope that she would be able to spend another wonderful day with him.
* Episode 12; "Filling Up with Memories": Isla knows that she cannot free herself from the inevitable. At night, she breaks down into tears, wondering whether she still exists or not. Both she and Tsukasa put on a brave front during the day, and their co-workers at Terminal Service One shower them with gifts that they can enjoy together – movie tickets, dining tickets, and the like. Deciding to take their co-workers up on their kind offers, Tsukasa and Isla make plans to take the day off from work and go out, but they decide to carry on as they are. After their last retrieval mission, their co workers decide to hold a party in commemoration for Isla's last retrieval mission. After the party, Tsukasa asks Isla what she told Sarah before erasing her memories, and she replies that she told her of her hope that she would be reunited with the person she cherished.
* Episode 13; "I Hope One Day, You'll Be Reunited": It is the morning of Isla's retrieval. Tsukasa and Isla are watching the sun rise from their balcony. After cleaning the apartment they've shared, they arrive at work earlier than usual, where they're greeted by Kazuki. She stops Isla from going about her usual office tasks by confiscating her employee ID, shooing them out of the office with "Get lost!" With time for themselves on this last day, Tsukasa and Isla head for the amusement park and bare their hearts to each other one last time. Nine months after Isla got retrieved, he returns from a training course to resume work with Terminal Service No. 1, and is introduced to his new Giftia.

# Characters

* **Tsukasa Mizugaki** (水柿 ツカサ, *Mizugaki Tsukasa*) is the 18-year-old male protagonist. After failing his college entrance exams due to medical problems, he eventually gets a job through his father on Terminal Service One, although he initially does not know what they do. He is assigned as Isla's spotter and soon becomes attached to her, unaware that she is at the end of her lifespan. When he finally finds out, he refuses to abandon Isla and continues to be her partner. He has developed feelings for Isla ever since their first encounter, but only realizes it during their partnership.
* **Isla** (アイラ, Aira) is a beautiful young giftia with long silver hair. She has a tendency to trip and fall on objects, and causes those around her to feel the fleetingness of life. She is said to be a veteran at the department and was once partnered with Kazuki as her marksman. After that, all she does is serve tea at SAI Corp, until Tsukasa arrives, to which she becomes his marksman and is put back in the field again, despite having less than 2,000 hours until the end of her lifespan. She eventually develops feelings for Tsukasa.
* **Michiru Kinushima** (絹島 ミチル, *Kinushima Michiru)* is a 17-year-old employee who works at SAI Terminal Service One and is Tsukasa's superior. She seems to be developing feelings for Tsukasa, but refuses to admit it. She was raised by a Giftia, so she empathizes with the "android children", people who were raised by Giftia or other androids. She had tried to protect her guardian from being retrieved, resulting in him becoming a "Wanderer", and he was later shot down by members of the private security firm R. Security, resulting in her longstanding hatred of them. This experience has since resulted in her joining Terminal Service One.
* **Zack** (ザック, *Zakku*) is a Giftia with the appearance of a high-class young boy. He is Michiru's partner. He loves to tease people around him and reveal their innermost secrets.
* **Kazuki Kuwanomi** (桑乃実 カヅキ, *Kuwanomi Kazuki*) is the director of field work, a Spotter at Terminal Service #1 and the second in power only to the manager of the department, Takao Yamanobe. She was once Isla's spotter and is highly protective of her former partner, being downright scary to her coworkers. She seems to be weak to alcohol, and has an amputated leg that was the result of an attempt to retrieve Michiru's father three years ago.
* **Constance** (コンスタンス, *Konsutansu*) is a Giftia who works at SAI Terminal Service One. He is Kazuki's current marksman and is known for his gentle personality.
* **Yasutaka Hanada** (縹 ヤスタカ, *Hanada Yasutaka*) is a veteran employee at SAI Terminal Service One, where he has been working for ten years. He has a casual attitude and a lack of motivation, which is unusual for someone with his experience at the Terminal Service.
* **Sherry** (シェリー, *Sherī*) is a Giftia who is Yasutaka's marksman. She has a serious personality. She tends to get annoyed at her partner's attitude and that he sometimes skips work. When angered, she can be as scary as Kazuki.
* **Ren Kawarake** (土器 レン, *Kawarake Ren*) is an employee at Terminal Service One. He is described by Zack as a "pencil pusher".
* **Eru Miru** (海松 エル, *Miru Eru*) is an engineer in the Giftia maintenance team, who has been on the job for only two years. She is also an "android geek" who particularly dotes on Isla. Her friend, a Giftia named Olivia, was retrieved years ago, but had her OS replaced and is now living a new life as Terminal Service No. 3 marksman Andie, much to Eru's initial dismay.
* **Takao Yamanobe** (山野辺 タカオ, *Yamanobe Takao*) is the section manager of SAI Terminal Service One. He originally had a job in sales, and as a result, he doesn't have any actual field experience with his current job. He seems to have trouble communicating with his daughter.
* **Mikijiro Tetsuguro** (鉄黒 ミキジロウ, *Tetsuguro Mikijirō*) is Eru's supervisor and the head of the Unit Testing Room, which is designed to measure the physical skills of a Giftia.