Erased – A murder mystery with a spin

Hey guys what is up welcome back to my blog I’m so thankful that you guys took the time out of your day to read my blog post. Hope you all are safe and healthy. I really need to start reading the manga of all the anime I’ve watched even those that have their story finished because the manga is often times just superior. MILD SPOILERS AHEAD like always.

Satoru Fujinuma, a young man living in Chiba has an ability he calls “Revival”, which sends him back in time one to 5 minutes before something bad occurs allowing him to prevent it from happening. A dejected manga artist, he is suddenly visited by his mother who is murdered in his own home. Satoru’s Revival this time doesn’t just send him back a minute or two before but rather sends him back eighteen years into the past back to his elementary school days because the key to saving his mother lies in solving the murders of students that happened in his childhood. Now on a journey that will help him grow and test his brains to the limit, Satoru battles to save the students and catch the culprit, to change the future.

The series is short and focuses on a few main characters and their stories. Though it may not have a large cast, Erased does manage to make great characters. Satoru Fujinuma is a man who is initially sad with his life even though he has his special power. Seeing him gradually grow into a person who loves life and is a decent human being is really good because it reflects everything that he learns during his journey. Sachiko is the cool and calm mother of Satoru who is most definitely the first character you will like because of how she is pretty much a ‘background character’ and yet has a great influence on the story. Speaking of background characters, we also have Airi who is easy going and yet serious coworker of Satoru. She is the first character to influence Satoru on his journey and pretty much moved the story forward all on her own. There are also other characters like Kayo Hinazuki the first victim of the killings, Satoru’s friend Kenya and the killer.

Erased is a story that builds up slowly. The first volume is something that might even seem boring to some people but once it gets going it gets going hard because the thrill is always on and the guessing of the ‘who did it’ will always keep you on your toes. I loved the tone of the manga, the suspense is kept alive so well and the anticipation of what will happen next is always exciting. The manga also manages to present the psychological moments of the characters extremely well. The manga in comparison to the anime really fleshes out the characters more and gives them depth as well as relevance to the story that the anime lacked which makes the character likable and not seem like they were just there. There’s also the backstory of the villain that makes the story so much more better because of the motives and the inner thoughts.

Your efforts matter no matter how small they may seem. While there are other things about the manga that I can talk about such as the very obvious, ‘fill the hole in your heart’ and the psychology of the killer, the reason I want to get into this, in particular, is that while it’s what the series is all about, it’s never once explicitly stated and while its the obvious thing it is also very subtle. Efforts not mattering is something that not only Satoru but a lot of the characters feel and that feeling is proved wrong eventually because they keep going which is basically how it is with life.

The manga has 44 chapters, 49 with the volume of extras which I do recommend reading. The anime itself has 12 episodes and is a good watch however the best way to experience Erased is and always will be the manga because of better characterization, better twists, and the overall better ending which I have to say is a beautiful ending. If you’re in the mood for some mystery then I do recommend picking up Erased and experiencing it in both forms if you can. While I rate the anime a 6/10, the points that make the manga better bring it up to a 7/10.

So that is it for this post guys hope you got some value from this.  Thank you guys for reading to the end hit me up on Instagram and Twitter with your thoughts and if you have any ideas on what I should write about. Stay safe from the COVID-19. Thank you again and I’ll see you all next week.