So the song used in ERASED is actually six years old, but a studio recording was probably made just for the show. I think that there couldn't have been a better song picked for this show. It really is such a great match for the themes presented. The way Asian Kung-Fu Generation's song are, almost force the listener to reflect on themselves and make a change. In Naruto, the main character tries to go against everyone's judgement on him being a cursed child and tries to become a hero. In ERASED however, the main character is shown as someone struggling with making something out of his life in his late 20's. Now this is an extremely important part of the plot which revolves around him fixing a part of his past which will in turn change him into a better person.
The main character's occupation is shown as a manga artist who's in need of good inspiration while working part time at a pizza place to cover for his expenses. It's assumed from the beginning that him going back in time and changing this important part of his life will be what he will illustrate in a manga. This is used as a means of breaking the fourth wall and making the story feel incredibly realistic. Aside from the great plot setting, I can't help but admire how great the directing is. It's not something you can easily notice without watching a large number of anime but the directing of this show was seriously superb. It felt like all of the events occurred with great timing, the plot moves a bit slow but the director knew which parts he shouldn't dwell on for too long. The pace is one that only exists in the most critically acclaimed shows which shows that this show really does have great potential. After listening to a podcast of a group of people reviewing the shows of this season, I found that we shared the same insights on ERASED. On a side note, most of the show will occur in the environment of middle school children. I don't know if adults will feel this more than a highschooler would, but I feel extremely nostalgic when being exposed to such an environment. I don't hate it; in fact I think it's a great element to the show and makes it extremely relatable to any viewer.
To wrap this up I'm going to explain the emotional aspect of this show. I've watched countless shows that have made others cry, and I have never once cried. Although I didn't cry to ERASED, I come very close to breaking into tears every time I hear the opening song. I also nearly cried when a certain character died, and when an emotional event occurred in episode three. I have never come that close to crying for any other show, and I can already tell by now that sometime soon I will cry. As for the ending of the show, I know that there's no way I can help myself from crying. Some people might say, "Why would I want to watch something that'll make me cry?" in a defiant tone. What a few people don't understand is that experiencing sadness really lets us think. People these days generally seek pleasure and well, more importantly a good and stable job. Not many people slow down and really reflect on the world and their surroundings in general. For this reason, people really shouldn't stray away from reading or watching depressing things, they help us grow and they're a part of living. Life can't only be filled with happiness because without sadness, we wouldn't know what happiness really is.
