High schooler Yūki Hase notices that his classmate Kaori Fujimiya is always alone and seemingly has no friends. After approaching her and becoming better acquainted, Kaori reveals that every Monday she loses all memory of her friends. Despite learning this, Yūki endeavors to befriend her anew every week.
One Week Friends began as a one-shot manga by Matcha Hazuki and was first published in Gangan Joker September 2011 issue. A full serialization later followed in Square Enix's Gangan Joker from January 21, 2012. After spanning three years, the series came to an end in the February 2015 issue of Gangan Joker which was published in Japan on January 22, 2015. Despite the end of the serialization, a special chapter will later be included in the magazine's May 2015 issue when it is published on April 22, 2015. The chapters was collected into a total of seven tankōbon volumes, the first of which was released on June 22, 2012. The final volume was released on April 22, 2015.
Volumes
Anime
An anime television series adaptation by Brain's Base began airing on April 6, 2014. The TV anime is produced by Brain's Base and directed by Taro Iwasaki. The opening theme is "Niji no Kakera", sung by Natsumi Kon, with lyrics and composition by Ai Kawashima. The ending theme is a cover of Sukima Switch's 2004 single "Kanade" sung by Sora Amamiya, the voice actress of female protagonist, Kaori Fujimiya. The anime has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks in North America.
Live-action film
A live-action film was released in February 2017. The film is directed by Shōsuke Murakami and written by Yōko Izumisawa.
Reception
Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network gave One Week Friends an overall B+ rating. He wrote that the premise can push its dramatic moments a little too far and almost nothing happens throughout the first half of the series. Regardless, Kimlinger praised the plot's character development, saying that it saves the first half with its progression through little events; he added that the dramatic scenes are nicely underplayed to help viewers care for the characters. Kimlinger wrote that Brain's Base and director Tarou Iwasaki provide the series with a style that's perfect, calling the minimalist backgrounds evocative with the right mood and the character animations superb, saying "that makes the show what it is: a sleeper delight, plain and simple." The manga has had over 1 million copies printed in Japan.
