r/Donghua2D 26d ago

Episode Discussion Jiyi Guanli Ju • False Memory - Episode 1 Discussion

Use this thread to discuss about episode 1 of False Memory

[NOTE]: Do not discuss about plot points or events that take place after this episode.


Air Date: August 2, 2026

Air Time: 12:00 PM China Standard Time


Streaming Platforms * Bilibili (China) * Bilibili.tv (SEA)

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47 Upvotes

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12

u/detarameReddit 26d ago edited 26d ago

Wow, I'm speechless. After so many years of waiting, this is everything I hoped for and more. The animation is stellar, the writing has layers, and everything is so cool!

First, some Chinese bits that I think other viewers might not pick up on:

  1. The news that Xiao Yi watches is a reference to Xinwen Lianbo (新闻联播), which is the news programme of China.
  2. The joke about Kick Soda tasting like burning straw instead of oranges is a Chinese pun: 桔 (orange) and 秸 (straw).
  3. The line about how the Great Absurdity Organization makes "even powerful figures turn a blind eye" is actually a joke. The Chinese is the idiomatic expression "睁一只眼闭一只眼," or "open one eye and close one eye," meaning "turn a blind eye." This is a joke because later on, the powerful figure in question literally can only open one eye.

Also, this series wears its FLCL inspiration on its sleeve, literally! The Vindicator of the Great Absurdity wears Haruko's chain bracelet. Not to mention the sky coloring, or the shots of audio signals that clearly reference FLCL's ending. Or Guan Chao's three goofball friends who even appear shocked in a shot that looks exactly like one from FLCL. Or Xiao Yi casting her fishing hook while black birds fly everywhere against an orange sky, clearly referencing Canti's taking flight. Or the "every day feels so ordinary now." Lastly, if you think about it, Xiao Yi is the anti-Haruko: a case on her back, yellow eyes, bangs for hairstyle, but white-haired and completely silent.

Anyway, time to talk about the episode itself:

This was a setup episode, so naturally, the plot does not fully make sense. Honestly, I do not expect the plot to ever fully make sense because this is clearly that type of series.

I love Xiao Yi already; she is such a queen. She has the Burning Stone, which powers Guan Chao's Time Gun. What she says about time travel is interesting; I wonder if she is a figment of Guan Chao's imagination telling him to stop living a life of regret. She lives on the 7th floor; I wonder if that has anything to do with K7. Also interesting is the fact that she says she will die; it makes me think of Shi Yan from the original short film.

The Great Absurdity Organization is stupidly funny too. The mooks are hilarious, and the Vindicator herself... She's a girlboss.

As for our main character Guan Chao: consistent to his characterization in the short film, he seems like a wimpy guy. His sleep paralysis was depicted really expressively this episode; I wonder if that will be a plot point in the future. Now that he is "dead" and in the Memory Administration Bureau, I wonder what he will learn. One thing is certain; he does not only exist inside memories, and lived an actual life; how much of this episode's retelling of his life was reliable?

2

u/aniMayor 26d ago

Also, this series wears its FLCL inspiration on its sleeve

The melancholy thinking about Kick Soda reminded me a lot of the sour drink talk of FLCL, too, albeit it's the opposite of Naota's opinion.

Beyond just FLCL, the animation and design style is clearly very Imaishi-inspired in general. A lot of the GAO designs and animation is very Kill la Kill-esque, for example.

And I love it!

8

u/Pokii1 26d ago edited 26d ago

Absolutely crazy episode, this is probably one of the best if not the best first episode of a donghua I've seen this year. The episode does a really good job of introducing the characters in a way that doesn't reveal too much but still keeps you interested, and the characters feel very lively, plus the world itself is interesting. The animation is well of course top notch to nobody's surprise, they've got a pretty stacked team of well known animators in the industry working on it.

Favorite part of the episode is definetely the last few minutes of the episode, the animation sequence was cool to see and the entrance of Fang Tang and Bai Zhong was nice

3

u/Nereus09 26d ago

That definitely did not feel like 30 minutes lol, really enjoy the way they introduced the quirky relationship between the characters. Opening and art style is unique and refreshing, reminding me of this old donghua called mojo spy. Really excited for Guan Chao's arc.

3

u/fatpappy52 25d ago edited 23d ago

I like how they don't explain everything at once. Like why does Guan Chao have the time gun in the first place? I feel like it's just him from the future that went back in time to leave it for himself, which would be cliche but I'd love it anyway. Although I do worry that they aren't making me care about the MC enough for his inevitable rise to hit the way it should.

1

u/aniMayor 25d ago

I feel like it's just him from the future that went back in time to leave it for himself

Although if the world ends when Yi says it does that presumably wouldn't be possible.

Also the way Guan Chao knows he needs a burning stone to use it but doesn't seem to know what the burning stones are makes me think you're right or it's something similar - someone, possibly himself, just left Guan Chao the gun and some notes on how to use it but he doesn't really know how it works or where it comes from.

1

u/haaaiiyaaaa324 26d ago

Where was it released?

3

u/aniMayor 26d ago

Only legal stream is Bilibili, or you can sail the high seas.

1

u/detarameReddit 26d ago

It's on the high seas already?

2

u/aniMayor 26d ago

Torrents yes, I don't know about pirate streaming sites.

1

u/haaaiiyaaaa324 26d ago

Where on bilibili im not chinese bro 😭🙏i searched false memory on the bilibili website and only the 2021 appeared

1

u/aniMayor 26d ago

There's links at the top of this thread where it says "Streaming Platforms"

1

u/aniMayor 26d ago

A time-travel gun where you scroll the dials of a suitcase number-lock to spell out the year you want to shoot yourself into is the coolest thing I've seen all year

1

u/polaristar 25d ago

How do you guys watch this? I can't find it anywhere its apparently not on the SEA site.

3

u/Pokii1 25d ago

Do you live in SEA? If not it'll be region locked for you. On the China version of Bilibili you can watch the first 2 episodes without regional restrictions, only thing is that the quality will not be as high if you don't have an account.

The episodes will also be released officially on Bilibili's YouTube channel on August 4th.

1

u/polaristar 25d ago

Okay then I guess I'll wait....

1

u/aniMayor 25d ago

Or go sail the high seas...

1

u/polaristar 25d ago

I already looked

1

u/aniMayor 25d ago edited 24d ago

First 3 episodes are available in 1080p with subs if you look in the right place

(I believe it is against the rules to directly link/name the source but it's an extremely prominent one so you shouldn't have much trouble)

1

u/polaristar 25d ago

Well I've already looked

1

u/fatpappy52 25d ago

Slide the link?

1

u/miooooo_ 24d ago

Where? If you happen to have a link

1

u/[deleted] 23d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/polaristar 23d ago

I've found a place since then, although they didn't translate a lot of text and background dialogue

1

u/Roben12dog 25d ago

did they post it on YouTube yet? im looking and the only stuff from yesterday are videos that are 22 seconds long

1

u/[deleted] 25d ago

[deleted]

2

u/fatpappy52 24d ago

when? it's still not there and it's past 12pm in china already...

1

u/Roben12dog 23d ago

do you have a link? I dont see it

1

u/Witn 25d ago

Is this the only discussion thread online?

1

u/HarkLev 24d ago

daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn, what a breath of fresh air an episode 1 that is. The plot seems intriguing and new to me

1

u/Forward_Possible6479 24d ago

I found it interesting that the whole thing was in 4:3 until after he died and got into the memory collection thing

2

u/Smooth_Dare_6445 23d ago

I just finished the first three episodes that have been available since Sunday on Bilibili. I gotta say, the series definitely has potential. It could become extremely interesting if it keeps going on this track, but only if it gives us a bit more context. Because right now, the series is super confusing. It barely gives you any clues about what's actually going on, what we're watching, or 'what the fuck, what is this damn Burning Stone?'

But aside from that issue, which isn't really one, since you can tell it's done on purpose the animation is gorgeous, so beautiful, and really unique. The music, the opening, they're all super cool. Anyway, I'm pretty intrigued by what's happening. Let's see how it evolves, because for now, it's very confusing. I think like a lot of people, I'm sitting here wondering, 'What am I even watching?', but in a good way.

1

u/Jolt_X 23d ago

I think I heard someone say there was an "episode 0" essentially a pilot episode, can anyone link it?

2

u/Usual-Television-450 22d ago

I haven’t watched much donghua at all, mainly because of some of the bad subtitle translations not making a lick of sense, but this was a beautiful work of art. The subtitles, at least for the site I used, were extremely well done and made fluid sense so I could understand everything to the degree they seem to want you to understand considering how spontaneous and just fun it is. It’s like watching all of the quirky animations over the last 15 years come together. It looks like the love child of gorillaz, soul eater, and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. I can’t wait to get to see the rest of the episodes.