I finished watching this short but sweet anime titled One Week Friends. Like most of the anime series I have been watching recently, it was recommended and reviewed here on Beneath The Tangles. The animation and character focused story hooked me immediately and I felt as if I was watching real people live life.
If you haven’t watched the show then you should check it out; it’s very touching and one of those anime that pull on your heart a little. The main concept is memory loss, since the female protagonist has trouble remembering her friends every week starting on Monday. Basically, you can be her friend and have fun together but when the week starts, she won’t have a clue who you are. This is not a real life condition, but it’s interesting to see the reactions and emotions that go through each character because of this phenomenon.
Not being able to remember something or someone precious to us can be irritating since our memories are very important to us. It got me thinking about the meaning of our thoughts, experiences and consciousness. Whenever we as people go to an event, experience something new or spend time with friends the purpose is to create a memory. Without them, pictures and videos would be worthless and so would many of the exciting places we go to. If you couldn’t recall what happened after it’s over, why even go? When we see Kaori unable to remember the places she went with Hase-kun, it makes him sad and frustrated since it seems like it was all a waste.
I started to think about that and how it relates to God’s thoughts towards us. God calls us His friends, and He thinks about us every single day. It’s not about how long you prayed, or how much money you gave to a charity or church. It’s not about all the good things you did for someone, He loves us and unconditionally.
John 15:14-15
14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.
Psalm 139:17-18
17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
It truly gives me comfort to know that God has a plan for my life, one filled with abundance and blessings (Jeremiah 29:11). The problem we often have is actually believing that He does, because we are constantly surrounded by our own problems and the misery of the world we live in. The one thing you can count on though, every day, is God has not forgotten you.
Maybe you’ve had a bad childhood, a bad day or a bad year! Maybe you don’t have great memories like some other people you’ve met, or your friends haven’t been as kind as Hase-kun, Kaori, Shogo or Saki (I have had both great friends and others who betrayed my trust and spread rumors about me). Whether you’ve lived a perfect, beautiful life filled with experiences or you haven’t seen much outside your town or city, God still thinks about you. Male or female, regardless of race or class He loves us each individually and knows what’s going to happen before it does.
Psalm 139:16
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
He is a God of love and compassion. He forgets our sin when we seek Him to forgive us. God is not out to destroy us or erase us, His love is too big for that. The issue is when we reject Him, we run from Him, we deny Him even though He continues to bless us. Haven’t you ever noticed that there are people who don’t care a thing about Christ or God’s word yet they live very comfortably or opportunities open up for them? That happens because of His grace, leading them to Him so they recognize who those blessings are coming from.
Isaiah 43:25
25 “I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake
and will never think of them again.
Today, I want you to think about how much God has blessed you with. If your reading this, then you already have some kind of electronic device so that’s one, and you probably have a place to live so that’s another. God is our friend, He goes with you wherever you go. Make memories with your Heavenly Father, spend time with Him in prayer, worship and when your around others.
Show the world that they are missing out on the greatest Friend in all the universe.
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It seems that the anime is like the “50 first dates” movie.. thank you for sharing this to us.
Thanks for the comment Sakura. Yeah it kind of is like that movie haha. True
This anime could be seen as a metaphor for God’s love, I think, too. He does some pretty amazing things for us, and we thank Him, and then a week later we’re so angry it’s like we forgot everything He did. But He keeps coming back, anyway, at the times He has an opening. Reliving that week. Which so often is when we feel like we can’t stand being sinful anymore, because it’s tormenting us. All of a sudden, there He is, the warmth in the darkest part of your Heart, reminding you that He still cares.
I did something stupid recently, hurt my friends for a stupid selfish reason. And in that moment that I couldn’t stand the person who had done that, couldn’t stand to be in my own body—There He was, again. And I asked for His forgiveness, too. I asked other questions, too: “I can’t go ahead alone. It goes against my conscience and moral compass on a really deep level. Can’t you save him too?” “Why do You keep coming back? I don’t deserve it.”
But nonetheless….I really appreciated it. I think everyone who’s felt it does. They, too, hope He “comes back next week” and sees something different than before.
Hey there Luminas, thanks for the well thought out comment as always 🙂 I do appreciate your thoughts on my work.
Great way of looking at it, I didn’t see that angle as well. I myself fail God at LEAST once a week (I don’t keep track) but it’s His grace, mercy and love that keeps me on my knees. His love, His sacrifice and blessings leave me in tears, in eternal gratitude for everything that I have.
I hope you see that as well. Try not to let a day go by without just saying “thank you Jesus” because without Him we don’t have anything….
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