Artist Matcha Hazuki’s 2012 series “One Week Friends” shows the efforts one might take to preserve a friendship.

Yuuki Hase has a small crush on his classmate Kaori Fujimiya and also notices that barely anyone interacts with her. There is a strange coldness to her but he does his best to have a welcoming face. The two start having lunch together on the roof but Kaori tells him not to continue being so close to her. For a long time, the young girl has terrible memory to the point that she loses whatever occurs within a week except for those concerning her family. She has yet to find a way to make those recollections stick and easily gives up on any chance on makings bonds with her peeps. With that heartbreaking revelation, Yuuki puts more effort to stay by Kaori so that she can remember the wonderful experiences.

Hazuki presents a poignant story in “One Week Friends” wrapped in a gentle package with her soft and simple art style. She also switches from small 4-koma panels and full page layouts in the volume, giving emphasis to the key moments to series while showing some of the small moments that Kaori might forget. While those being forgetful might shrug it off, memory loss is a serious medical condition to many especially within the elderly. There are some menacing people that would take advantage of their situation, but it is good to see that Yuuki puts most of his selfishness aside to help Kaori.

Studio Brain’s Base released a 12-episode anime adaptation of “One Week Friends” in Spring 2014. The series is available on Crunchyroll for streaming. Director Shosuke Murakami released a live-action film based off of the manga in February 2017. Volume Two of the seven-volume series will be out on shelves in March 2018. For more information on the manga, visit publisher Yen Press’s site.