~Story~ 6/10
The main concept of the series wasn't exceptionally original, a lot of other shows (e.g. Steins;Gate, Charlotte) are based on the same idea: time travelling. However, Erased (I'll just use the English name because it's shorter) used this idea in a surprisingly refreshing way. The plot seems complicated at first, but once you get used to the setting it is quite easy to adapt to it. Our main character is Satoru Fujinuma, a 29 year old with a very strange ability. This ability enables him to travel back in time whenever a tragedy is about to strike a person around him. One day, (warning: minor spoiler) his mother gets killed by an unknown person. Satoru is wrongly accused and this time he gets sent back in time 18 years, which means he is 11 years old in parts of the story. He realizes that the murder of his mother may be connected to the abduction and killing of one of his former classmates, Kayo Hinazuki. I personally think that Erased used the concept of time travelling in a unique way, and the first couple of episodes were really enjoyable. However, the second half of the series were a let down. It already became clear to me who the murderer was around episode 6, I won't say who it is in this review, but what I will say, is that I found the climax to be unsurprising and predictable. I didn't like the epilogue either, it left way too many things open, especially the motive of the murderer. They completely ignored that and that's part of what disappointed me about the ending. The setting in this show was good, but in my opinion, the execution of it wasn't a very big success. It was rushed waaaay too much.
[CONCLUSION]
The story was really promising, but ended up disappointing me. The end was too open in my opinion.
~Art~ 9/10
I don't have a lot to say about the art in this series. It was beautiful and unique. It was quite obvious that this show was animated by A-1 Pictures, it definitely resembled some of their previous works. The only negative thing I have to say about it, is that it didn't feel dark enough at some times. However, the animation of the show really grows on you and you can't really state that the animation was bad, on the contrary, it was very professional. It's just that it might have been a bit too bright at times.
[CONCLUSION]
The art in this show is amazing, however it wasn't dark enough at times.
~Sound~ 8/10
I adore the opening of this show. ASIAN KUNG-FU is a great band and I was happy to hear one of my favorite songs by them as the opening theme of this. The ending of the show was great too, it really grew on me. There wasn't anything special about the OST's, but they were decent.
The voice acting was impressive too, the voices really matched the characters.
[CONCLUSION]
The opening, ending and voice acting were great. The OST's were mediocre, but they did the job.
~Characters~ 5/10
This is, in my opinion, the weakest point of this anime. Because the characters were a bit bland in my opinion. The only person we really got to know was Satoru, because the story was told from his perspective. As for the rest of the characters, I didn't think they were very intriguing. Most 11 year olds acted like adults, and that's what felt really unrealistic to me. I mean, it made sense for Satoru, since he is actually 30 years old.
But Hinazuki for example, she was almost as mature as me... and she's an 11 year old. Also, she wasn't interesting. We were basically just supposed to feel sorry for her. Another example of this is Kenya, who was even more mature than Hinazuki and Satoru combined. Also, he didn't even do anything in the entire anime. The directors made him incredibly smart, but it didn't really make any difference. What's the point in creating a super intelligent character when you're not even going to use him? Kenya is the definition of wasted potential.
I couldn't really take this show serious because of this.
Another flaw considering the characters, was the murderer who (again: I won't say who it is here) apparently didn't have a motive whatsoever. It didn't make sense, and I'd hoped for an awesome backstory explaining why he committed the crimes, but there wasn't anything meaningful considering that.
[CONCLUSION]
The characters in this show were quite generic and disappointing to say at least. The only person we really got to know, was Satoru.
~Enjoyment~
I might have pointed out some major in this series here. These flaws didn't stop me from enjoying this show. Every episode was different and I have to say, when this was still airing, I would immediately watch the new episode after it aired. Even though the ending and the characters were disappointing, this show was still unique and fun to watch in my point of view.
[CONCLUSION]
There are major flaws in this series, but the show never stopped bringing the fun. It was a decent watch, and since it's only 12 episodes long, everyone should just give it a chance.
Yes, this show is far from perfect, but it's not as bad as some people claim it is. I'd recommend this show to anyone who wants to have a good time watching a short but fun show with a fantasy setting. But don't make the same mistake that most viewers made when this show was still airing: don't expect too much of it, because you will be disappointed in the end. Peace.
