Boku dake ga Inai Machi/ ERASED: ANIME REVIEW

Welcome to another review post here on World of Anime Girl,

When it comes to the anime I am reviewing today, I need to say that I have actually been avoiding it since it came out in January, 2016.  An then suddenly, a couple of days ago, I decide to give it a chance and guess what happened. I completed the anime in one night. It was one of those 12-episode-long anime that have a complete story in just 12 episodes and after you actually finish it you feel sad because there is no more. Making a second season wouldn't make sense so we are left with an amazing but unfortunately short story that has the title: Boku dake ga Inai Machi or just Erased. 

PLOT AND STORY LINE 

Picture this, every time an accident is about to happen you get the chance to go a couple of minutes back in time to figure out what is wrong or what might cause the accident and eventually prevent it from happening. That is exactly the way Fujinuma Satoru uses his power he called "Revival", or better said the Revival happens on its own without Satoru's influence. One day, after Satoru is accused of murdering a person very close to him he is sent back in time, not for a couple of minutes but years. Eighteen to be exact. It is the year 1988 and Satoru is still in Middle School. Soon, he realizes that the murder might be connected to the abduction and killing of one of his classmates, Hinazuki Kayo. Given a second chance now, Satoru does every thing he can to save her. 

Boku dake ga Inai Machi is a mystery, supernatural, seinen anime that really exceeded by expectations. The story is simple yet highly intriguing and extremely catchy. Right from the beginning the story catches your attention due to some hints that actually introduce us to the story. 

Let's now concentrate on the mystery in the anime. After watching some anime that really require your concentration, this anime looks like child's-play. It actually concentrates more on preventing the accident rather than solving the mystery. The mystery  is solved later on but more as a result of happenings rather than actual 'detective' work. True you could kinda predict who the culprit was but the story alone was still interesting. And exactly the mix of simple yet intriguing made me like the anime. It might not be the best anime in the mystery genre but the enjoyment is still a 10/10. 

Talking about the story alone, it is a story about friendship and family. In addition, it is an extremely emotional one too. Thing is, most of the story is about 11-year-old kids. And even tough they are just kids, it is remarkable how much they care about each other and how much they take everything so serious. Still, how much serious can kids take something like that? They made a game out of it and thought about it as playing the superhero. 

One of the things that would have made the anime better is a story with more depth to it. Also, I have read some comments on the anime from others and most of the think that the anime lacks more infromation and detail about Satoru's power, they think about it as a plot hole. But I actually like it more this way. They could have explained it, no big deal, but this way they left it to your own imagination to figure it out. As it is now, I think it is some kind of power given by the Universe or God because he wanted him to change the things back in 1988. And to be honest, the thing about his powers and how it actually took him back with a purpose is the most interesting part of it. I am still thinking about it and the possible metaphysical background of his power (What an influence Philosophy lessons have). 

In short, the story is interesting, it has no plot holes and with more work and effort into the mystery plotting it would have become even better. 

CHARACTERS

The bunch of characters in this anime are unfortunately not that special. They are some kind of 1-dimensional making it very hard to establish a emotional connection between the character and the watcher. You can see that they are in pain, that they are happy or sad but you can't feel it. It's probably one of the hardest jobs to establish that connection but it is still possible. True one thing caught me in the end but saying what it is would be just a huge spoiler and since NO SPOILERS is the first rule in my reviews...

ANIMATION AND STYLE

Well if this is not a great animation we have there. I mean that is something you always expect and get from an anime made in 2016. So no big talk about that. The style on the other hand varies from anime to anime and Erased had it's style done very well. Especially the characters look different and unique whereas the backgrounds and settings are also very interesting, like for instance their secret hideout, or the fake Christmas tree etc.

CONCLUSION

If you want an interesting mystery anime but you don't want to get a headache afterwards make sure to give this anime a chance. Boku dake ga Inai Machi is the bast rated and most hyped anime of the Winter 2016 season and if so many people liked it, you'll probably too. Enjoy!