Apr 2, 2016
Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi has been one of the greatest mystery animes and has gotten overwhelming positivity from the community since episode 1 and deserves it. The plot is solid, the art and animation is amazing and the music is enjoyable. The anime had a satisfying ending in my opinion and it was just an absolute treat to watch. However, there are slight problems with this anime and I can see why some may think of it as flawed. Be warned, this review contains spoilers.
Cons
- The concept of "Revival"
-The obvious hints towards the killer
- Unoriginality
-The characters
- The ending (to some)
...
was very dissapointing
The concept of revival is really... eh. It seems like they didnt want Satoru's time travel ability to be to generic so they included this ability to make the time travelling seem more unique. The only time a 5 minute revival is important to the story is the first one that Satoru is seen undergoing, and that one had only slight importance. Furthermore this concept is really not explained well. Where does it come from? Why does Satoru have it? Why does it stop happening after the coma? I realise that explaining this might have put made the anime have a more fantasy magical feel, but a little clarity of this key plot concept wouldnt hurt.
The killer is the teacher. You'd have to be a real fool not to have seen that coming. Hints were dropping like WWII air bombings! (I apologise if i have offended anyone who may be affected by the WWII air bombings) but seriously, candy in his car, appearing in during the most creepy moments and the finger drumming. I didnt really see the point of dropping the clues, i get that they want us to think about the identity of the killers and give us little pieces of the puzzle but dont give us the whole damn set! This one potentially ruined the anime for most viewers.
The cliche murder mystery solved through time travelling is a plot that most people have heard of. There are so many examples, to name a few anime like this: Steins;Gate and Higurashi which both use this plot but implement its own unique concepts. Erased just straight up is about time travelling and murder mysteries.
Characters werent special, they really werent. There may have been an exception for Hinazuki and Satoru's mom, but the others were really bland.
Look, i dont understand why this was a problem, the ending was great. There were only 2 problems i saw,
1. The reasoning for Yashiro being unable to kill Satoru was poorly explained
2. the fact that it ended.
Pros
-Sheer intensity of plot
-Production quality
The plot for this was great. i mean great. It's the first anime to make me set an alarm to get up in the middle of the night just to watch the new episode. The plot certainly is intriguing and draws you in and each episode you get pulled more and more into it's story. The cliffhangers just make this series an absolute joy to follow throughout the 12 weeks that it aired. It may be a simple murder mystery, but somehow, it seems much more than that. Once you have watched Erased, you will understand.
The production quality is one of the factors that just makes this anime so much better. Its A-1 pictures, its directed by Tomohiko Itou, director of Ano Hana, Monster and Death Note, and the soundtrack is just as good as the art. you cant find any flaws here.
Why people hate this anime:
Boku Dake ga Inai Machi is viewed currently as a flawed anime, and I see why. But the anime community nowadays love to view all the popular anime with a glass half empty mindset just so they have an opinion thats not mainstream, and it pisses me off becuase you have great anime like OPM and especially this one that get undermined because people want to have a special opinion. Guys, this anime was good, and im not being a fanboy or anything. There definitely are people who hate this anime for valid reasons and i "bear no hatred towards you" but if you just wanna seem like a special snowflake then dont try and persuade others to avoid watching a great anime. If it was considered lackluster then it wouldnt have picked up the hype.
TO SUM UP
It is a great anime, a GREAT anime. There definitely are problems, but you wouldnt notice them if you watch this anime with a critical perspective. You will be disappointed at times, there is no denying that, and if you have a different taste from mine then you will be really disappointed, but its worth a shot.
My final score for this is
8.5/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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