I am here again with another anime highlight, and I decided to do a much darker story.  This anime highlight will be on the dramatic, supernatural anime called Erased.  Check out the video by iKuZze on youtube below (viewer discretion is advised as there are sensitive topics in this anime and AMV):

Erased is the story of the down and out manga artist Satoru who has a unique ability.  Every once in awhile he experiences what he calls Revival where he is transported 1 to 5 minutes back in time to prevent a terrible occurrence from happening.  Satoru is never sure why he has this ability except that he has had it since he was young.  After a terrible accident is prevented by one such Revival moment and Satoru is hurt in the process, his mother comes to stay with him.  It is quickly revealed that something awful happened in his hometown when he was a young boy: several local children were kidnapped and later found murdered.  His mother and several others were certain that they had caught the culprit, but, due to certain new events happening, Satoru’s mother starts to have her doubts.  A tragic occurrence happens to Satoru (which I will not reveal for spoiler purposes) and he is transported back further than he has ever gone before to his childhood days before the first child is abducted.  Satoru races to change the past in order to change the future, but nothing is ever as it seems.

This anime is short and very dark.  It touches on some very sensitive topics like child abuse which may not be something that everyone can handle.  It certainly was hard for me to handle, but I think it not only shined a hard light on the horrors of child abuse, but also realistically portrays what a child goes through.  I liked that it did not shy away from such an awful topic, but faced it head on.  Kayo Hinazuki’s (the first victim) has a sad life, but we also see some joy as Satoru befriends her in order to save her.  This anime shows just how much one word or friendship can mean to someone in that situation.

This anime also has a very well thought out and well paced story that jumps backwards and forwards in time.  I liked the flow of the story and how plot points are revealed.  It becomes a cat and mouse game that spans throughout different time periods of Satoru’s life as he tries to hunt down the child murderer.  I liked the intense drama and progression of events that reveal more about the characters and the murderer.  The mixture of realistic human drama and this supernatural ability was nicely done.  You grow to really root for the young Satoru as he tries to save every child that the kidnapper takes.  I won’t go further into detail about the plot as this is a shorter anime.

I also really enjoyed the artwork in this anime and how realistically it is drawn, but also how it used color in conveying theme and even subtext.  There were some really nice images that stood out to me like red eyes in the rain and a icicle Christmas tree, but you have to watch the anime to find out what those are.

So if you are in the mood for a well thought out dark drama check out Erased.  I know I was pleasantly surprised.  It is an easy binge watcher as the entire story is completed in twelve episodes.  It is definitely worth the watch.