Plastic Memories

In a near-future world, androids called Giftias are so human-like they form real bonds with the people around them — they laugh, cry, make tea, fall in love. But they come with an expiration date: roughly nine years and four months before their memories degrade and things go very wrong. Tsukasa Mizugaki, a kid who just bombed his college entrance exams, lands a job at the department responsible for collecting Giftias before their time runs out. His partner is Isla, a quiet Giftia with a talent for herbal tea and not much else, at least on the surface. Their job is basically knocking on doors and telling people it's time to say goodbye to someone they love. The first retrieval alone — taking a child-type Giftia from the elderly woman who raised her — sets the tone for what this 13-episode TV series is really about. It's not the sci-fi premise that sticks with you, it's how the show uses that premise to ask uncomfortable questions about loving someone when you already know the ending. Doga Kobo balances the heavier moments with genuine warmth and some comedy that actually lands, so it never feels like it's just trying to make you cry. If you liked the bittersweet romance of Your Lie in April or the way Angel Beats! handled grief with humor, Plastic Memories hits a similar nerve. It also shares DNA with Chobits in how it frames human-android connection, but leans way harder into the emotional consequences. Keep tissues nearby for the back half.