YMMV / Plastic Memories

• Adorkable:
  • Isla has some funny faces when reacting to some stuff such as getting a door slammed on her face after her attempt at a foolproof plan that she felt would work.
  • Michiru has moments like this, especially when not working, such as accidentally falling asleep in her room instead of the one she was supposed to be sharing with Isla and Eru. She ends up getting woken up by Tsukasa, and gets embarrassed that he saw her "getting up" face.
• Awesome Art: Dogakobo really took its time adding detail to the show's backgrounds and using clever camerawork tricks to boost the visual quality. Episode 5 also boasted some impressive water effects.
• Base-Breaking Character:
  • Tsukasa. He's either a fantastic protagonist who is loved for his selflessness and his determination to be with Isla at all costs or one of the most generic lead characters in the Spring 2015 season.
  • Michiru has also divided viewers. She's seen as either an abrasive Tsundere whose attitude toward Tsukasa is too much to handle or a well-developed character who genuinely cares about those close to her.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: In hindsight, many viewers saw Episode 5 as this for its sudden dark turns and for introducing new concepts such as Wanderers and R. Security that never get brought up in the series afterwards.
• Broken Base:
  • The use of comic relief in the show. For most viewers, it is either a refreshing break from the sobering nature of the story and a good tool for Character Development or a sequence of lame jokes that spend time which could have been used to further develop the show's settings.
  • By the end of Episode 5, many viewers appreciated the series becoming darker through its reveal of what happens to Giftia when they reach their expiration date. A few viewers, however, think that the episode's sudden change in tone lacks Willing Suspension of Disbelief.
  • The Mood Whiplash in the show can be very polarizing to some viewers. Episode 5's dark tone came abruptly left field when compared to previous episodes. Subsequently, episode 6's constant shifts in mood have left some viewers confused as to what the show wants to be.
• The Chris Carter Effect: The series boasts a solid setting with many questions related to the presence and purpose of Giftia. Unfortunately, the writer's focus on the working and romantic relationship between Tsukasa and Isla means that many plot threads are flat-out ignored, much to Anime Corps' ire.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Eru earned her status as this by Episode 8, largely thanks to her quirky personality and surprisingly deep character development.
  • Despite only making brief appearances, Sherry won fans over for her no-nonsense attitude and her marksman skills (as demonstrated in Episode 6 when she throws a pen to smash Eru's binoculars).
  • Zack gained a considerable amount of popularity for his witty remarks and him trolling his fellow colleagues. His smug smile has even become a meme◊
• Harsher in Hindsight: Part of the reason why Isla's comic relief is being critiqued by some viewers is because she is near the end of her life. As Episode 2 revealed, she only has 2000 hours left to live, meaning her antics of confused speech, diminished dexterity, and bizarre decision-making are the result of her functions slowly deteriorating. This makes some of her comical scenes from Episode 1 to be... not so funny in hindsight.
• Like You Would Really Do It: This was the reaction quite a few viewers had at the end of Episode 5 when Isla was marked as absent, especially since it was before her lifespan was set to expire. Sure enough, they were right as Isla turns up in the next episode alive, albeit in need of repairs.
• Memetic Molester: Eru got this reputation on the internet after her antics in Episode 6 and Episode 8. GIFs of her sneaking into the shower room in Episode 6 and cutout photos of her smiling haven't exactly helped matters.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • Aim for the Bushes, Isla! ^Explanation  Isla decides to jump off the apartment when she's chasing an owner and his soon-to-expire Giftia girlfriend. Given that she... misses the mark, it only makes sense that some mixes the scene with a soundbite from The Other Guys.
  • Sail! ^Explanation  Same scene as above meme, only paired AWOLNATION's "Sail" as found in the Cat Jump Fail meme.
  • Now, REALLY smile for the camera. ^Explanation  Episode 7 shows Tsukasa going to a "your face here" exhibit and making a bizarre face. The internet saw an opportunity...
  • You really wanna know?◊ ^Explanation  Zack has gained a reputation for being The Gadfly of the series by often making snarky remarks to his colleagues. It's no wonder why the likes of 4Chan and Tumblr have adopted his trolling smile.
  • E-ERROR! ^Explanation  If Isla disagrees with something, she'll intentionally try to sound robotic, often stating "error" before explaining her objections. This meme really took off, however, when Episode 7 showed Isla freaking out after Tsukasa collapses on her chest. This has since spread to all of the occasions where Isla has said error.
• Moe: The show's art style has this effect. Although Isla is a Shell-Shocked Veteran, she undeniably qualifies as this.
• The Scrappy: Viewers turned on Kazuki by Episode 9 when she announced to Isla and Tsukasa that she is dissolving their partnership. Kazuki was already criticized beforehand for ditching her partnership with Isla after the disaster with Michiru's father, but her actions in Episode 9 proved to be the last straw for many viewers.
• The Un-Twist: Episode 2 reveals that Isla has little time left in her lifespan (2000 hours, or 83 days, to be exact). While most saw this coming a mile away, it still serves as a sobering explanation for some of her klutzy antics.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • The black market dealers from Episode 4 and 5 could have shown how a black market can exist for Giftia and why such a market might be appealing to its consumers (whether for parts or even jailbreaking for quasilegal augmentations). Instead, the black market was implied to be shut down after the dealers were arrested in Episode 6.
  • Had the presence and the purpose of R. Security been further explored, the story could have taken an interesting twist by making them direct competition (or even replacements) for the Terminal Service Department. This is even more puzzling since the CEO mentioned that the current department was too inefficient in Episode 4, only for him to never materialize any plans to address this issue.
  • More generally, the premise of Giftia in human society and the reason behind their nine year lifespan. When and why did androids become prevalent in human society? Is the limited lifespan a bug or a shady feature? Can Giftia commit crimes, and if so who is responsible? Is their income the same as a human's? Are there guidelines regarding the amount of Giftia a company can employ? Are there people who protest against the presence of Giftia in society? If so, how or why? None of these questions are answered, which unfortunately leaves much of the show's setting unexplored.
• The Woobie: The biggest ones have to be Isla and Michiru. The former for being a Shell-Shocked Veteran who's reluctant to make personal relationships given she's near the end of her life, and the latter for horrifically losing her father to R-Security goons.
• Tough Act to Follow: Critics and viewers would have likely been more forgiving on the series' pacing issues and Mood Whiplash had it not been written by Naotaka Hayashi (the creator of Steins;Gate).