Erased: A Time-Bending Thriller That Divides Anime Fans

Erased

“A Time-Bending Thriller That Divides Anime Fans”

When it debuted in 2016, everyone was buzzing about the anime Erased. As I learned years later, the series grew a divided opinion between those who followed each new episode and those who became disappointed in the anime mid-season. However, I remain unaffected by the opinions of others about a series, and I didn't know anyone who had watched Erased when I first watched it. Luckily, after watching it again to refresh my memory about this anime, let's begin with the review!

A-1 Pictures, the studio known for popular series like Sword Art Online and "Your Lie in April," produced Boku dake ga Inai Machi. The series was directed by Tomohiko Itō, who previously helmed Sword Art Online and Silver Spoon. Taku Kishimoto handled the series composition, drawing on his experience writing Usagi Drop and Silver Spoon to craft the emotional narrative. Keigo Sasaki, who served as both character designer and animation director for all 12 episodes, designed the characters. The series featured music by renowned composer Yuki Kajiura, known for her work on Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Sword Art Online. Yoshikazu Iwanai masterfully handled the sound direction.

Erased follows the story of Satoru Fujinuma, a 29-year-old aspiring manga artist who can travel backward in time to prevent terrible things from happening. After a loved one's murder, he travels further back in time than ever before to avert the tragedy. Erased's premise grabs your attention, and the first episodes showcase the series' ambitious scriptwriting. The story spans two timelines—present and past. Of course, we have a small first arc of past events after the incident that made Satoru travel 18 years earlier when he was in elementary school. Satoru’s main objective is to prevent the murder of his classmate Kayo and to save his mother in the future. This "arc" was undoubtedly the best-worked arc presented by the series, enchanting me in a way that made me put Boku Dake at the top of my expectations of the season. These episodes showcase good directing and entertaining situations. Simultaneously, Satoru has the most interesting relationship with himself (which I will explain a little later), and excellent suspense, worthy of a thriller, is portrayed in the series.

However, problems do arise later in the plot due to excess drama. One of the series's weakest points was undoubtedly the introduction of industrial amounts of drama and the constant habit of underlining the same symbolism repeatedly in several scenes so that the viewer would notice vital clues. Many already know the murderer's identity from the series' beginning. The indication became clear around episodes two or three, as they highlighted the murderer in a not easily overlooked way. It was as if they were shouting this at the viewer. Because of this, the quality of the script drops significantly, and events now seem forced.

The protagonist always has the chance factor on his side, and certain characters, irrespective of their intentions, behave as if they were mere props to be used in the episode with Satoru before exiting the scene. All this created a lousy run of episodes that I did not like because of how rushed they were. Some episodes lacked quality execution and excessively relied on cliffhanger endings to tease the next episode. I understand the usefulness of cliffhangers, but when they are used episode after episode, they lose their purpose and have no impact. They use it only to "thrill" the audience by appearing surprising.

Let’s be clear: Erased is not a terrible series without excellent development. It has a better script and story than most other anime. However, by setting high standards for their first few episodes, they left the viewer feeling somewhat dissatisfied later on. Furthermore, what sets it apart from numerous other series from the same studio is its clever execution. Still, in the end, it found itself in trouble for having miscalculated a manga adaptation of forty-something chapters with about thirty pages each in twelve episodes (anime). It appeared that there was insufficient source material to adapt the series effectively. In the final episodes, Erased had to accelerate the pace to cover all its original material, which it achieved. Still, in a somewhat incomplete and trimmed way, its only objective was to reach its conclusion.

Satoru

As the protagonist, he could be more interesting, outstanding, and intelligent than the main characters. Still, his development throughout the series is quite juicy, bringing out a friendly personality in him. Observing him think like a twenty-nine-year-old during his youth, occasionally succumbing to his childhood and repeating his past mistakes, was a delightful experience. Throughout the series, he begins to change positively, but at some point, his complex dream of becoming a "hero" leads him to take it very seriously, a trait they reinforce at the end of the series. His behavior, which initially maintained a reasonably accurate balance between his adult and child mentalities, transformed. At times, I was surprised to see that despite his actual age, Satoru was one of the few characters who behaved like a child his age, with positive and negative moments depending on the situation. How do I explain the idea of acting like a child of his age? I will explain it next.

Satoru’s Childhood Friends

By going back in time, children become recurring characters in the series. Most of these characters do not exhibit typical childlike behaviors for reasons that remain unclear to me. Of this group, I especially highlight Kenya and Kayo. The first had a reasoning capacity much greater than that of an individual of his age (sometimes I even believed that he was the most intelligent in the series; with that, I say it all) that passed the absurdity line. I respected Kayo for her character at the beginning of the series. Many children in their family situation tend to be quiet, reserved, and even asocial. The dialogue they engaged the girl in, including topics like "we are all liars," lacks justification. A girl her age will not have such philosophical thoughts as that, much less at a young age.

The Anime Villain

He is another victim of the series' excessive use of drama. I don't blame the anime for highlighting the symbolism every time it appears, as the manga also exhibits this clear error. However, if they had the freedom to change a considerable number of events in the Erased adaptation, the development and handling of this character could have been much better, especially when closing his story.

On the technical side, Erased undoubtedly deserves favorable recognition. Character design is standard. But what I like about the artistic aspect of the series is the mixture of colors, creating a pleasing atmosphere of mystery with well-worked backgrounds and a more than decent level of detail. Although the camera work was good, it occasionally appeared lost; however, the quality remains excellent. This and their efforts to create specific scenes make for an enjoyable series. As I previously mentioned, the exaggerations, such as the portrayal of red as the "color of evil" in the murderer's eyes, Kayo's blows, and violent scenes, were not to my liking. However, other applications, such as displaying the timeline's settings in film format and then returning to normal, were small details that I noticed and appreciated.

When it began airing in 2016, Erased received universal praise, particularly for its emotional storytelling and suspenseful narrative. However, the fandom became divided as the series progressed, particularly regarding its controversial ending. While some viewers appreciated the show's ability to maintain tension and create emotional investment in characters like Hinazuki, others criticized its rushed pacing in later episodes and predictable mystery elements. The series sparked extensive discussions about its handling of time travel mechanics and character development. Despite mixed reactions to the ending, Erased maintained strong viewership throughout its run and continues to generate debate among anime fans. The adaptation made several changes to the manga source material, particularly in the final confrontation between Satoru and Yashiro, as the anime was produced while the manga was still ongoing.

Honestly, it's not one of the first anime that comes to mind when someone asks me for recommendations for a thriller or suspense anime. Despite the series' potential to become a classic in its genre, it ultimately proves to be an enjoyable anime to watch. I recommend it not because it is a masterpiece. It is a series that explores intriguing subjects, and despite its flaws, it is an enjoyable anime.