One Week Friends - Episode 7

It seems like things are moving on apace for Kaori - now that she's ditched her cold classroom persona, she's found herself at the centre of a burgeoning circle of friends as well as the focus of some mild-mannered gossip about her relationship with Hase.

Speaking of our protagonist, much as he's delighted to see his friend enjoying her new life every day he's also feeling a little left out as the times he once enjoyed alone with Fujimiya seem to have largely disappeared.  To this end, he requests her assistance in helping him study alone purely to enjoy a little time without anyone else around - a big ask given that said study session takes place in their classroom, leaving it prone to frequent interruptions.

This desire to spend more time with Fujimiya extends into concerns about the forthcoming summer holidays - how and when is Hase going to get to see Kaori?  It takes some prodding from Kiryu for him to actually up the ante and make plans with her, and when they meet for the first time over that summer Hase is greeted with a rather large surprise - even though it's a Monday, Kaori instantly recognises and remembers him.

Even into its second half as we now are, One Week Friends' gentle story-telling continues to be decidedly entertaining - its main cast of characters all complement one another well, and there's enough comedy and sense of purpose to everything that occurs to support its more saccharine moments and ultimately leave you with a smile on your face given that it's becoming increasingly hard not to root for the happiness of all its main players.  With an animation style that also supports these endeavours, One Week Friends has become something of a quiet, unassuming friend in itself - one that I very much look forward to checking in with every week.