(L+CR) Isshukan Friends [One Week Friends]

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by Random Wanderer

It doesn't really matter whether or not Fujimiya's amnesia could exist in real life. That's one of the things fantasy is for: to tell stories that real life cannot. The point isn't the realism of her memory loss, but the feelings of the people who have to deal with its effects, one way or another. And that is something I believe this series is doing a good job of conveying, no matter how realistic her amnesia may or may not be.

There, a work of fiction means that it did not happen but could under the right circumstances (i.e. science fiction). A work of fantasy is one where not only it did not happen in real life, it simply cannot happen (in this world at least).

[Gan_HOPE326]

Originally Posted by mangamuscle

There, a work of fiction means that it did not happen but could under the right circumstances (i.e. science fiction). A work of fantasy is one where not only it did not happen in real life, it simply cannot happen (in this world at least).

No, a work of fiction is anything, including fantasy (and often science-fiction is actually straight out impossible). What you are talking about is realism. However, it's kind of a blurred line: there's absolute realism (Silver Spoon), absolute fantasy (Kill la Kill) and lots of degrees in the middle. A common approach is choosing a single, "miraculous" exception which infringes realism and then draw realistic conclusions from it. There was a great writer and one of my favourite authors, Nobel laureate José Saramago, who worked exactly like this most of the times: what if Spain got detached from Europe and started floating in the Atlantic? What if a man met a perfect copy of himself? What if people stopped dying? And then everything outside the premise worked out perfectly straight.
Isshukan Friends takes the same approach, it uses a (slightly) unrealistic hypothesis to tell a story that's still enough about reality and human relationships to be relevant to us. You could classify it as "magic realism" rather than straight out fantasy.

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by Gan_HOPE326

You could classify it as "magic realism" rather than straight out fantasy.

But I will not. Your opinion as well as some other is that this is "magic realism", my opinion is that this is "incredible realism", something that many people would deem impossible but in closer inspection it might be possible.

Spoiler for examples:

1. Spain drifting from the continent, it might happen if the tectonic plates move in that direction. Spain drifting in our lifetime without killing thousands of people due to the earthquakes, you need magic for that.
2. Meeting a perfect copy of yourself, we know cloning will be possible, it is a matter of when, not if and as there have been advances in accesing and manipulating the brains memory. Now, meeting yourself, for that you need magic (or some very potent drugs).
3. People might stop dying, if humans learn exactly how the body functions down to the molecular level, it is bound to happen that it can be repaired from the damage we call aging. Now, resurrecting someone if there are no physical remains, you need magic for that.

Of course all this depends on whether the author intends to give this story closure and how will he(she?) do it. So ATM no one is right or wrong, it is a schrodinger >_<

[FireChick]

Saw the first episode of this earlier. The first few minutes were a bit confusing, but the rest of it was very good and well paced. I liked the chemistry between Kaori and Hase (whose voice annoys me for some reason). What I like best is how awesomely it shows how simply talking to someone and getting to know them better makes for a good friendship and reveals so much about a person. While I don't like Hase's voice, I like how, unlike most male anime characters, he's actually proactive and actually wants to pursue a clean relationship with Kaori. Plus, he's more talkative than his best friend (who he refers to by his first name! That's a first!), and understands through talking with Kaori that she's not a cold, calculating person like everyone in her class thinks she is.

[Random Wanderer]

Originally Posted by mangamuscle

But I will not. Your opinion as well as some other is that this is "magic realism", my opinion is that this is "incredible realism", something that many people would deem impossible but in closer inspection it might be possible.

Spoiler for examples:

1. Spain drifting from the continent, it might happen if the tectonic plates move in that direction. Spain drifting in our lifetime without killing thousands of people due to the earthquakes, you need magic for that.
2. Meeting a perfect copy of yourself, we know cloning will be possible, it is a matter of when, not if and as there have been advances in accesing and manipulating the brains memory. Now, meeting yourself, for that you need magic (or some very potent drugs).
3. People might stop dying, if humans learn exactly how the body functions down to the molecular level, it is bound to happen that it can be repaired from the damage we call aging. Now, resurrecting someone if there are no physical remains, you need magic for that.

Of course all this depends on whether the author intends to give this story closure and how will he(she?) do it. So ATM no one is right or wrong, it is a schrodinger >_<

And my point is that it doesn't matter how real it is or not, because the cause and the nature of her amnesia isn't actually the point of the story. Sitting around arguing about the reality of it only harms the experience, if not for yourself then for others.

[Flower]

I would agree that arguing about it messes things up pretty fast.

But I would add just one thing here - and that is for those who have experienced a severe disassociation from life as a result of trauma and then have been able to make beginnings to step out of it the way Kaori is presented is very, very real on a personal level and hit home very hard, even if the particulars may be different or "fantasy-like".

[Azulet]

Well that diary thing just made things a lot easier!

I really adore the art and the main guy character (realistic or not, i like how he doesn't give up).

Is it just the art style or is everyone in some kind of constant blushing/awkward face/embarrassed state?

Must be tough though, not knowing the meaning of your own diary and having people walk up like they know everything about you.

[Gan_HOPE326]

Originally Posted by mangamuscle

But I will not. Your opinion as well as some other is that this is "magic realism", my opinion is that this is "incredible realism", something that many people would deem impossible but in closer inspection it might be possible.

Spoiler for examples:

1. Spain drifting from the continent, it might happen if the tectonic plates move in that direction. Spain drifting in our lifetime without killing thousands of people due to the earthquakes, you need magic for that.
2. Meeting a perfect copy of yourself, we know cloning will be possible, it is a matter of when, not if and as there have been advances in accesing and manipulating the brains memory. Now, meeting yourself, for that you need magic (or some very potent drugs).
3. People might stop dying, if humans learn exactly how the body functions down to the molecular level, it is bound to happen that it can be repaired from the damage we call aging. Now, resurrecting someone if there are no physical remains, you need magic for that.

Of course all this depends on whether the author intends to give this story closure and how will he(she?) do it. So ATM no one is right or wrong, it is a schrodinger >_<

Well, yeah, but if you read those books you'd see that the specific WAY those exceptions were implemented were kinda "magic" (Spain drifts away smoothly but quickly and there are no earthquakes, the "copy" is just some random dude who happens to be perfectly identical, down to acquired details like scars etc. with no logical explanation, death simply stops for no reason, not because of some new tech, it's more like the grim reaper taking a holiday - even the terminally ill keep staying ill and suffering, they just refuse to die).
Point being, call it as you want, "magical realism" is just a literary term used to address stories that aren't straight out fantasy because they mostly refer to everyday or historical reality, that aren't science fiction because they don't provide scientific or technological explanation for what happens, but still have one or two elements that absolutely don't make sense as far as "logic" is concerned. These "magical" elements are often used for the sake of symbolism/metaphor, representing in a literal way some real life issue, or to explore human nature through the reaction to something unusual happening. They sometimes aren't necessarily "magic" as much as improbable or ambiguous. So by convention I'm going to say this is a story I would classify in this genre, as Kaori's condition isn't entirely believable but it certainly acts perfectly as a metaphor or a stand-in for many real life problems. I don't think this is going to be "solved" either, I think the point of the story is going to be how you learn to cope with these problems, not how you magically solve them (because they usually aren't solved), and honestly, anything would feel like a Deus Ex Machina - barred something like Kaori remembering his friend through the Power of Love, which could have at least a symbolic meaning, but honestly, that really seems too corny for this series.

[LoweGear]

So caught up to the anime finally, and.... it's as face-meltingly adorable as the manga In particular, despite my opinion that the manga art is superior, Kaori is just too adorable here.

Can't wait for next week's ep, which should adapt Chapter 3... oh the snark is going to be spectacular

[MeoTwister5]

The scene where she pretends to remember him, but actually only remembers a vague as showcased by the erased person in her memory, is actually an anime original addition and personally conveys her emotions really, really well.

[Guardian Enzo]

Historically, when Brains Base is on their game they do anime-original material in adaptations better than just about anybody.

[Flower]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

The scene where she pretends to remember him, but actually only remembers a vague as showcased by the erased person in her memory, is actually an anime original addition and personally conveys her emotions really, really well.

Agreed - I also thought it was a very effective touch, but also one that intrigued me.

I wonder if the mangaka "a.o.k.'d" that? It is an interesting artistic addition (without getting too literal into explaining or defining it, of course).

[Dawnstorm]

Originally Posted by Gan_HOPE326

They sometimes aren't necessarily "magic" as much as improbable or ambiguous. So by convention I'm going to say this is a story I would classify in this genre, as Kaori's condition isn't entirely believable but it certainly acts perfectly as a metaphor or a stand-in for many real life problems.

I definitely agree with this assessment. This show feels very much like magical realism (which makes it different from, ef).

I don't think this is going to be "solved" either, I think the point of the story is going to be how you learn to cope with these problems, not how you magically solve them (because they usually aren't solved), and honestly, anything would feel like a Deus Ex Machina - barred something like Kaori remembering his friend through the Power of Love, which could have at least a symbolic meaning, but honestly, that really seems too corny for this series.

I'm not sure about this. She remembers her parents, and if there's some sort of coming-of-age story in that, "healing" might follow naturally. I don't know yet where they're going with this, but I wouldn't rule out a slow "healing" process.

I also wouldn't rule out that it's a permament condition.

And finally I wouldn't rule out that we won't know either way at the end of the anime. (How much material is there?)

[Flower]

The manga chs in English are up to something like ch 15 if I remember correctly - maybe the third volume?

[jeroz]

I really shouldn't be watching Memento 2 weeks ago. When she wrote something extra on the diary I keep thinking about "Don't believe in his lies".

In some way that makes this a very unique experience for me. The fear of something, that most likely won't eventuate, extremely fked up will happen during the story. Whether that will make a more positive or negative outcome will still to be determined, but it does add a special flavour to my own experience.

[SeaDoor]

I'm ok with this minor suspension of disbelief because it appears as though the story will be well handled. Now looking forward to following this series.

[NaweG]

Originally Posted by Flower

The manga chs in English are up to something like ch 15 if I remember correctly

Chapter 18, which I suspect takes us beyond where the anime will go assuming it's only 12-13 eps. Though I would presume it will end on 15 or 16 since chap 17 starts a rather dramatic new arc. Unless they want a major cliffhanger to justify a second season...

[bakaouji]

So the cause of her condition was some kinda past trauma after all. Something terrible must've happened to her in her childhood that involved her friends, which led to a kind of selective memory loss where she only forgets people who she considers her friends.

It's interesting that Fujimiya didn't notice something as obvious as this before. I wonder if this special symptom would've come to light if Hase hadn't suggested Fujimiya to befriend his friend.

Shogo's inherently a good guy but I think he's got a mild case of Asperger's. The guy has absolutely no tact and just spits whatever is on his mind. There's time when you ought to be direct and there's a time when you take the delicate approach. I don't think Shogo concerns himself with such basic social cues which kinda prevents me from liking him completely.

On the positive side, I suppose he's the type who'd never backstab you since his mild autism promises to keep everything aboveboard for better or for worse. He acts like he doesn't give a sh!t about anything but he's astute and observant. And I guess he's considerate in his own little autistic way.

Anyway, this was another sweet episode which, as usual, favored subtlety over melodrama. And there's definite progress each week despite the resets. We learned more about the nature of Fujimiya's condition which opens up a slew of possible ways to treat her.

[HandofFate]

I like Shogo, he's the kind of cool type character that doesn't speak much, but is a good friend with a set of values he's strongwilled in.

The type of friend every MC needs.

[eceso]

agree i like shogo's character, you need those no bs types sometimes

great episode