Polyethylene Terephthalate (2023)

Interesting story with low production values

I just finished this and have some mixed feeling about it. I did enjoy the story that focused completely on the couple and flipped through the moments of their relationship from beginning to end. There wasn't a over reaching plot or outside forces bring drama into the story. It didn't focus just on pivotal moment but instead showed snippets that you could find in any couples daily life. You could see small changes but it wasn't big dramatic things that signaled a break up. So this felt a little different from the normal slice of life or the few shows that have the watching a couple through moments in their life story line.

When they do break up the story loses some of it cohesion because it is very hard to tell where we are in the story. They do alot of flashbacks and the flow of the story isn't done well enough to get exactly where they are in the story. I think if I had paid more attention to clothes the characters where wearing it might have help, but you shouldn't need to do that. By the end I think I had figured most of it out but I still felt confused while watching it.

The ending was a bummer since they didn't get back together although they parted on good terms. I did like that Kaoru and Ryo's problems focused on coming out and that sometimes it is a deal breaker. I will say the title and idea of the plastic bottle might have sound like an epic idea in their heads but it is pretentious and give the show a silly name that very few people are going to be drawn to.

The production values on this are abysmal. At first I couldn't hear the sound it was so low so I plugged in some noise cancelling earphones to later get my ears blowen out by the volume of regular talking and picking up things like putting a cup down on the table. Most if the show was filming in their room as well but that does fit well into the stories intimacy around the couple so I didn't mind as much. The acting was uneven but it wasn't horrible either for what I'm assuming new actors it was good enough.

This was an good watch if your looking for something outside of the norm and ok with something that feels like a small indie project without a lot of money put into it.

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Interesting, but not entertaining

This production gave real "made by a film student" vibes from the sound quality, to the setting, to the story being told in essentially 1 minute snippets. And frankly, I think this would have been a lot more successful as a 15 minute short film.

The first half hour (episode 1) spans 1 year and 11 months of relationship, while the second half hour (episodes 2 and 3) spans a month of break up. It's an interesting way to tell the story of a whole relationship from beginning to end, but I can't say it was particularly entertaining. There's surprisingly little emotion shown by either character for the entirety of the series, and neither are really that likeable. It's very Japanese though.

If you're a media student, it's probably worth a watch but I can't really say is recommend it to the majority of people.

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