Erased Anime Review: A Really Addicting Murder Mystery!
Erased is a thriller anime that tells the story of a man, Satoru, who finds himself mysteriously time-traveling back to his life as a 6th grader. While in his 6th grade body, and with the awareness of a 29-year-old man, he knows his purpose in the past is to change the course of history and save his classmates from becoming victims of homicides. This show is available on Netflix & HBO Max and is super binge-able and fun to watch! Each episode is an exciting exploration of the different characters, and you’re at the edge of your seat trying to figure out who the culprit is. In addition, the animation is done by A-1 Pictures, a studio that has always been able to deliver on gorgeous visuals.
If you’re a fan of mystery stories, you need to watch this! In a way, it reminds me of Detective Conan, because of the whole “grown-up person’s conscience embodying a kid’s body and solving mysteries” kind of story trope. But instead of each episode being a different mystery to solve, this show is 12 episodes dedicated to a longer and drawn out mystery. Like any good crime story, Erased keeps you guessing. You’re at the edge of your seat wondering why the murders happened and if the main character’s actions are capable of them. The ending is also very satisfying and departs on an endearing message of friendship. The storyline all the way up to the villain reveal was extremely solid for me. I wanted to keep watching after every episode ended!
I had a hunch about who the villain was by midway through the series, but the reveal was still pretty shocking. Towards the end, it didn’t really click for me why the villain did the things that he did. Maybe this person was so far-fetched with his psychopathic thought processes, that they were beyond my comprehension. But, villains that are written to be more relatable to audiences are extra despicable, and I clearly didn’t find his far-fetched thought-processes all that relatable. In this case, I think there was a bit of a lost opportunity to delve deeper into the villain’s backstory and explore the incentives to other murders he may have committed.
In conclusion…
Erased is an awesome show and I would highly recommend it! Try it to get your thriller fix, as well as some feel-good slice-of-life moments. Also, keep me posted if you guess the killer right early on HAHA.