Erased Review

Erased (Boku dake ga Inai Machi) is an anime that will not be erased from my mind. It has a phenomenal story complemented with fascinating characters, a cool style, and a strong message. I found myself hooked from the very first episode, and every episode after that had the same effect on me.

The story starts with Satoru Fujinuma (29), an underachieved pizza delivery man, who gains the ability, “Revival.” This allows him to travel a few minutes before an accident occurs. He uses his ability as a calling to save anyone he can. Tragedy strikes when Satoru’s mother, Sachiko, is murdered. Satoru is framed for the murder and Revival kicks in. However, this time, he is transported back to his elementary school days. He is now 10 years old with his 29-year-old mind still intact, which makes for some very funny situations. Satoru finds that he can relive his youth. He takes advantage by reconnecting with his mom, and his elementary school friends. There is also a bigger picture for Satoru; he must stop a chain of murders before they happen.

This anime does a fantastic job balancing the tone of the story. It is suspenseful as you are following a kid trying to stop a murderer. However, it also has slice of life elements as we follow Satoru in his youth. All the clichés as there: school days, hanging out with friends, birthday parties, dates, etc. This is what makes Erased great. You are not constantly on edge or constantly focused on light-hearted stuff. Erased can balance out the elements, which makes for a great viewing experience.

SPOILERS BELOW

Although Erased is not completely revolutionary in its story telling, the huge plot twist was a success. Throughout the story, we are itching to find out who the murderer is. There are several suspects and one was painfully obvious, Satoru’s homeroom teacher, Gaku Yashiro. Before the reveal, I was certain it was him, but I did not want it to be that easy. I wanted something that would completely blow my mind and give me a “wtf” moment. Erased still managed to do that for me. Sometimes, it does not matter if you already know that something is going to happen, it will still have that shock factor. Erased managed to execute that shock factor perfectly, especially since the reveal also put Satoru’s life in jeopardy. I was literally on the edge of my seat when Yashiro sadistically told Satoru that he was the murderer. It was a great twist.

The characters of Erased are just great. We have our protagonist Satoru who we can connect with. He is unsatisfied because he feels like there is something that he needs to do. He seeks out a sense of fulfillment in his life. Revival gives him a chance to achieve his desires. More importantly, it is Satoru’s will that allows him to follow through. He really wants to change himself so he can help people. Sachiko is a textbook definition of a great mother. She is supportive, loving, strong, and independent. She felt like a mother to each and every one of us. Kayo Hinazuki is the first girl who was supposed to be murdered by Yashiro. She falls under the stereotype of damsel in distress, but that is okay. We learn about her painful past and just how strong she is for a 10-year-old girl to continue living under gruesome conditions. Her pain is recognized and we want to see her rise above it, so she can truly live her life.

A very strong supporting character is Airi Katagiri. She is Satoru’s coworker in the future who shelters him when he is on the run. She is very clever and strong willed. When Satoru is all alone in the future and he has lost all hope, it is Airi who helps Satoru through it. The other supporting characters are the backbone. We have Kenya Kobayashi, a friend willing to support Satoru’s cause. He is very intelligent and brave for going along with Satoru to stop Yashiro. It is also Kenya that reassures Satoru when he was feeling uncertain. Satoru’s friend group is a great support. They are fun and also supportive. More importantly, they give Satoru a chance to breathe and relive his youth. Supporting characters are what helps the main characters and the story shine even brighter, and Erased created so damn good supporting characters.

The antagonist, Yashiro, was perfectly designed. We learn about his demented desires and his twisted reasoning. He is both fascinating and terrifying, as he can disguise himself as a trusted teacher when he is a brutal murderer. Yashiro is a mirror character to Satoru. He is also seeking a sense of fulfillment, and it is actually Satoru that gives it to him. Yashiro meticulously plans out every move. He will execute his plan to perfection, and it is absolutely shocking to him when Satoru stops him. Enraged, Yashiro wants to beat Satoru, but he is also conflicted. This is because Satoru knows Yashiro’s future. Yashiro cannot help but to be connected to Satoru. He cannot get rid of Satoru, and it is both a feeling of rage and relief. He goes through an inner change and finds his sense of fulfillment through Satoru. This is a great development for an antagonist.

The style of Erased changes when Satoru jumps back in time. It starts off as full screen, and then switches to wide screen. This is for the audience to picture themselves watching Satoru’s past, as if a time movie theater exists. The movie theme reoccurs when we see Satoru’s memories; it is a film strip displaying his memories. Since we are dealing with time travel, sometimes Satoru’s memories are disconnected with time because of his changes, and the film strip breaks. The theme of film adds an interesting perspective to the story. It is visually enticing, and it gives you an idea of what is going on in Satoru’s head. Time travel, as we know, is a complicated idea. A lot of stories just has the character time traveling without really focusing what is going on inside the time traveler. Erased captures Satoru’s state of mind by showing us the film strip of old memories from the past, the future memories, and new strips of memories being added as he changes the timeline. It is a great style to add to an already great story.

The main message that I got from Erased is purpose. Everyone has different goals, but ultimately they all seek out some kind of purpose. Roadblocks can sometimes prevent that person from achieving their purpose. We enjoy fiction stories such as Erased because there is an element that does not exist in the real world, and we think that element can help us with achievement. In this case, the element is time travel. How cool would it be if we actually had time travel? It will make everything easier, right? Erased helps us take a step back, and has us focus on the thing that we truly need, which is our will to achieve.

Erased is a perfect example of what makes anime shine. Yes, the clichés are there. Yes, it is a different style from our Hollywood way of telling a story, but a great story is a great story no matter where it came from. Erased told a great story with awesome characters. Everything was there: interesting story, character development, and a strong message. The execution of Erased was near perfect. I will give it a 9/10.

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