Atri: My Dear Moments

Due to the dramatic rise of the sea levels, humanity has lost a significant part of its inhabitable lands, forcing it to rely on pre-existing technology to survive. Among the many people affected by the tragedy, Natsuki Ikaruga, a brilliant recent graduate who had lost a leg in a submarine accident, is now reduced to living a miserable life on a near-deserted island.

After Natsuki encounters a mysterious woman named Catherine, he uncovers an advanced humanoid robot that belonged to his grandmother Nonko, a renowned climatologist. Atri, the salvaged robot with the appearance and demeanor of a young girl, reveals to Natsuki that Nonko has tasked her with an important mission, but she has forgotten what it was.

Although Natsuki was initially planning to sell Atri, the opportunity to connect with his grandmother's research through Atri makes him rethink his decision. Natsuki once had to sacrifice his dream to partake in a prestigious scientific mission. But as he opens up to his fellow islanders, he discovers that he can still make a difference in a desolate world.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Atri Main

Akao, Hikaru Japanese

Ikaruga, Natsuki Main

Ono, Kensho Japanese

Kamishiro, Minamo Supporting

Takahashi, Minami Japanese

Catherine Supporting

Hikasa, Youko Japanese

Nanami, Ririka Supporting

Haruno, Anzu Japanese

Nojima, Ryuuji Supporting

Hosoya, Yoshimasa Japanese

Saki Supporting

Kawaida, Natsumi Japanese

Yoko Supporting

Bridcutt, Sarah Emi Japanese

Junk Shop Owner Supporting

Tsuruoka, Satoshi Japanese

Yasuda Supporting

Sudou, Sho Japanese

Katou, Makoto Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Aketagawa, Jin Sound Director

Miyagi, Taika Episode Director

Mikamoto, Yasumi Episode Director

Reviews

Jan 20, 2025

somadev

Recommended

This is a romantic version of "Moby Dick," where Moby Dick isn't that terrifying opponent anymore but a little girl. I think it reflects a kind of Japanese-style religious perspective. You can see from ATRI's actions the character's greatness as a robot, or a god, along with its curiosity about humans. The visuals are quite heartwarming. The protagonist is a modern reincarnation of Captain Ahab, and their relationship with ATRI is much closer compared to the original. Compared to the game, the anime references "Moby Dick" more, leading to a more dramatic development, and the characters' personalities are less stable. If you're a fan of ... EVA, you'll notice a lot of familiar elements in this anime.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jan 18, 2025

AngeVNs

Mixed Feelings

As someone who's generally a fan of visual novels, I was interested in ATRI: My Dear Moments since it was written by Konno Asta, who also wrote some of my favorite romance visual novels like If My Heart Had Wings and A Sky Full of Stars (if only THOSE got anime adaptations). Despite its popularity, I was weirdly hesitant and never actually read it. Maybe it was because it’s a linear, all-ages VN or because it’s 10+ hours long. My gut told me I’d stall it since it felt like it’d fit an anime adaptation better.

Thankfully, the anime adaptation came out, and as someone who’s ... watched my fair share of anime adaptations of visual novels, I’m glad this one turned out to be pretty competent. It helps that it’s linear, so there’s no need to worry about cutting routes. I looked up lists of differences between ATRI’s anime and VN and, while I’m kinda disappointed by what didn’t make it in, I’m overall satisfied with what we got.

Konno Asta, to me, is a master of creating wholesome, emotional moments, and when the anime focuses on the emotional development of Natsuki, Atri, and a few others, those are easily my favorite parts of the story. Some of the buildup to these memorable moments reminds me of the best parts of the common routes in If My Heart Had Wings and A Sky Full of Stars.

The characters, in general, are fairly likable. None of them are close to being my favorite visual novel or anime characters, but they fit the setting and plot just fine.

That said, the pacing and plot convenience are definite weak points. Considering the original VN is around 13 hours long, which already feels too stretched for this story, the anime’s ~4-hour runtime still feels all over the place. Even with cuts, the execution is uneven.

While the wholesome emotional character development is nice, everything else is much more hit-or-miss. The first half of the show is mostly slice-of-life. Some parts are kinda nice, but others feel padded out. Apparently, this was even worse in the VN, so I’m glad I never read it.

The worst part, for me, is the melodrama. In the visual novel world, there’s a genre called nakige—stories meant to make you cry or at least hit you in the feels. Sadly, this story doesn’t handle its "sad" moments very well.

A central theme is whether Atri, as a robot girl, has emotions (a heart). It’s a nice concept, if unoriginal, but the obstacles thrown in to explore this theme feel contrived. A few "villains" pop up just to create conflict and question Atri’s humanity, but the drama feels insincere—like it was forced into the story without proper buildup.

I liked the setting of a high-tech world where a city was devastated by rising tides. However, outside of a few great flashbacks, the story does a poor job making me care about this world. Most of the focus is on personal struggles and growth within a small part of the city. So, when the plot suddenly shifts to world-level stakes, it feels out of nowhere. The forced nakige ending—why does every robot girl story need one?—felt too predictable.

At the end of the day, I still enjoyed the ATRI anime well enough. The likable characters and their emotional growth carried the show. But the forced melodrama, poorly built-up plot elements, overly padded slice-of-life, and predictable nakige stuff made it a lot less consistently enjoyable than it could’ve been.

If this had been a ~2-hour movie focusing on personal growth with properly paced setting drama, I’d have liked it a LOT more.

As it stands, it’s an enjoyable enough show, just a bit messy.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jan 6, 2025

Kyou_Ryuu

Not Recommended

THE GOOD:
The setting is very interesting: the sea level has risen so much that humanity has lost most of the inhabitable land. Technology is so advanced that humanoid AIs were developed, but people are forced to live in nearly deserted islands because of lack of resources, with little to no commodities. While it's not the most original idea, I'm a sucker for this kind of sci-fi premises.
The MC also has a deep background, with his disability and everything that comes with it. The first half of the show, based on his character development and the progression of his relationship with Atri, is the best in ... terms of writing (despite the "loli issue", see below).
If we talk about production, character design is worth of mention, as well as the OP by Nogizaka46, which is catchy and has a lot of personality. Animation is most of the times above the seasonal anime average.
Unfortunately, there's not much else to praise.

THE MEH:
The cast is the first weak point of the series. All the supporting characters are defined by a single motivation (if they have any), and a single trait. This makes them one-dimensional and, in the end, boring and predictable.
And while this might be somewhat acceptable, although not ideal, it's unforgivable when it affects the FMC, Atri. In her case the problem partially lies in the plot: due to her amnesia, her true motivations are unknown to her and to the audience until pretty late in the show, but nonetheless she is "programmed" to act as if she knew them. This makes her the least relatable character of the bunch, since she does "things" but neither she nor we understand why. With amnesiac characters authors need to take extra care so that the audience can sympathise with them: here they failed egregiously. It's a pity because Atri's antics and quirks are fun to watch, but in the end she feels shallow and more of a comic relief (or a plot device) than a protagonist.
Moreover, her apparent age can be a bit problematic: a loli-robot acting like a pre-teen who is the love interest of a college student? It was not the main issue of the show for me, but I can understand if viewers are turned away by it.

THE BAD:
And here comes the real boogeyman: the plot itself.
It doesn't really develop the premise, which is a sin in and of itself. The worldbuilding is kept generic, with little to no explanation.
The story heavily relies on "stupid characters doing stupid things" in order to progress: see for example Catherine's act against Atri and Natsuki on the boat, or Yasuda half-assed attempt to recover Atri.
Plot points simply "happen" without being properly anticipated. With the exception of Yasuda's goals, which are hinted at from the beginning (and end up in a disappointing fashion despite all the hype), events occur out-of-the-blue, sometimes derailing the plot from its apparent path, they often feel like deus-ex-machina and are awfully written, heavily relying on infodumps. The last few episodes of the series are unwatchable because of them, and that's where this show's rating took a nosedive, for me (it was a solid 7 until ep. 8).
If the story only had Natsuki's and Atri's development as the main focus, instead of trying to pull off lacklustre sci-fi crap in the second half of the season, it would have been a lot better.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
One of the most disappointing shows of 2024 for me. As I said, I usually love premises like the one used here, and I tend to enjoy the end result regardless... the authors must have botched the writing quite miserably for me to give such a low score.
Recommended only if you are in withdrawal from sci-fi and no other shows are available.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Atri: My Dear Moments Episode 13 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) KANLen09 - Oct 5, 2024	119 replies	by Jagerschnapps »» Feb 10, 6:31 AM
	Poll: Atri: My Dear Moments Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 ) KANLen09 - Sep 28, 2024	60 replies	by Jagerschnapps »» Feb 10, 5:56 AM
	Poll: Atri: My Dear Moments Episode 11 Discussion IzanaSolos - Sep 21, 2024	46 replies	by Jagerschnapps »» Feb 10, 5:24 AM
	Poll: Atri: My Dear Moments Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 ) IzanaSolos - Sep 14, 2024	86 replies	by Jagerschnapps »» Feb 10, 4:42 AM
	Poll: Atri: My Dear Moments Episode 9 Discussion ( 1 2 ) KANLen09 - Sep 7, 2024	60 replies	by Jagerschnapps »» Feb 10, 4:10 AM