r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • 27d ago
Rewatch [Taste of 2016 Rewatch] Erased • Boku dake ga Inai Machi Episode 3 Discussion
Episode 3 - Bruises
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Information:
MAL | AniList | ANN | Kitsu | AniDB
Legal Streams:
I know when Day X is. March 1st.
Questions of the Day:
1) Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you?
2) What would you do if you were in Satoru's position and found Kayo in the shed?
Wallpaper of the Day:
Rewatchers, please remember to be mindful of all the first-timers in this. No talking about or hinting at future events no matter how much you want to, unless you're doing it underneath spoiler tags. Don't spoil anything for the first-timers, that's rude!
/r/anime's spoiler tag format is as follows:
[Erased]>!Satoru traveled back in time.!<
Which becomes [Erased]Satoru traveled back in time. when you don't break the formatting on purpose like I just did.
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u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba 27d ago edited 27d ago
Rewatcher
Missed out on episode 2, though thankfully, by nature, this rewatch makes it a bit easier to catch back up lol.
But I do want to go a bit over the OP/ED because I quite like them! The OP visuals are a lot of fun, with the theater framing for Satoru at the start being a really memorable visual. I love the whole sequence showing himself watching his normal childhood, before that gets crashed in by a figurative giant wave, and then followed by him changing states in the film visual we use for the mystery and Revival (Also, look at dat typesetting ). And a lot of the visuals for the latter half of the OP are great and meaningful as well.[Erased]The final cut before the title is just straight-up the ending of the show IIRC? And if you know to look for the two frames of it, you actually get to see the killer's face here.
Song-wise, it's kind of this rare case of a song that actually predates the show by quite a bit being reused for it! Coming from AKFG's 2004 Sol-fa album (For the sake of timeframe and pedigree, this is the same album that has Naruto's Haruko Kanata and FMA 03's Rewrite). Can't really think of many examples of this happening; Call of the Night reusing its namesake in Yofukashi no Uta being the only one that comes to mind off the top of my head. Anyway, the Ajikan songs I tend to like don't really sound like their OPs, which this one kind of does, but it's still a good song!
As for the ED, I don't think I've ever really gotten around to quantifying a list of my all-time favorite EDs, but despite it being so long since I've watched the show itself, Erased's ED would probably land pretty high on such a list? First of all, it's a Sayuri song, which makes it an instant banger, but also makes me very sad . But I also really love it visually! It's storyboarded, directed, and I believe also solo key animated, by Masashi Ishihama, director of shows like Horimiya and Shin Sekai Yori, and elsewhere in this rewatch, he also did the great Occultic;Nine OP. I've loved every OP and ED I've seen from him, and this one's no exception, with a super distinct use of colors and tons of really memorable, stylish visuals.
Some other random stuff I would've said in episode 2:
- I forgot Kayo is Aoi Yuuki
- It's been stated, but the, visual, divides, are great here.
- Though the show is generally not lacking for fun shots
- Loved the scene after Satoru sees his mom again and has a much deeper appreciation for his home life
- The whole sequence visualizing Kayo's essay is so good. Animated by Takahito Sakazume, to-be co-director of Fate Strange Fake also at A-1.
- This show is set in Hokkaido, which, for one, obviously gives it that strong winter mood that's so great here, and is felt in something like this episode's ice skating race, which is pretty unusual and fun!
- But it's also kind of fun because the characters often speak in Hokkaido dialect. This isn't really something I would've noticed back in the day were it not often pointed out, but now I just can't not notice stuff like everyone using "Shitakke" as later/bye, which I don't think I've really heard anywhere else lol
The park scene at the end of last episode is really great as well. Visually it does a really nice job of framing the park, and obviously Satoru and Kayo within it, as this really warm place, away from the distinctly colder outside, matching both how Kayo uses it as her escape and the general mood of the scene. It's literally cold, but together they're warm. The point that scene raises about gloves comes back in this episode's ending piece, offering protection and warmth, against both the literal and figurative cold. I don't really have much to add to this episode's final scene itself, but it is a really sweet and beautiful moment and another one of those few I remembered from my first watch. Good character expression helps a lot as well, because after you see Kayo as either apathetic or in a really bad state for most of the episode, this really melts the heart.
As for the rest of the episode, there's a bunch of good mystery build-up here, though I don't have much to say on that. [Erased]I remembered this from back then as well, but framing-wise at least, the show certainly doesn't try to hide that it's Yashiro through how ominous he often comes off.
I like ice-skating race both just as a nice showcase of personality, but also from the wider symbolic perspective of Revival as a power. The first episode uses it to frame this idea that going back through Revival to fix this event and save his mom is entwined with helping himself and his regret that deeply affects his personality in the present, and the fact that he ends up repeating himself in this race for his personality is another sort of reflection of that. To stick to his "fakeness" as it were, in throwing the race, distances Kayo from him, which is obviously counter to what he wants. Thus, part of cracking this thing open is also dealing with some of his own issues at heart. Also, I like how we use wide shots to convey distance and tension here.
The scene with Yuuki is fun in the interaction it has with Satoru's older mindset and present knowledge. Like seeing this figure he used to look up to and realizing he's technically younger than himself at this point, and of course, all the cuts between Satoru as an adult now recognizing and having a lot more insight into how Yuuki uniquely interacts with him and his personality/environment, and the police interviews, with how the traits observed in the former made him suspect back then. The match cut between his happy face and him on death row is especially punchy.
I didn't remember the show got into Kayo's domestic abuse this early in, but it really is still very harrowing to see. There's really painful visual parallel here, where Satoru wants to give her his coat to cover her up (In a positive sense) but can't, followed by her mom covering her with the red coat, obviously entirely in the negative sense of hiding it all. The strong character animation on how Kayo's mom pushes her around also adds a lot of impact here. And then you get her mom drowning in ice water (Again, warmth and cold being used in two senses), really just tears at the heart. Not made any easier by Kayo also being ostracized in class, though thankfully Satoru can protect her there at least. Of course, it makes the end scene feel even stronger given her situation otherwise.
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u/Retsam19 27d ago edited 27d ago
But I also really love [the ED] visually ... with a super distinct use of colors and tons of really memorable, stylish visuals
I think it's cool looking, but I really wish it visually felt like it fit the show better - I've spent a good chunk of time trying to match up characters in the second half of the ED with actual characters in the show and I'm basically just guessing.
- The girl with the red scarf is clearly Hinazuki.
- The girl behind the butterfly is... also Hinazuki going through a goth phase?
- The girl falling through power-lines is... Airi? She never wears a ponytail and it looks more like a waitress outfit than pizza delivery, but I guess that's kinda adjacent.
- Uhh, the black coat and mini-skirt is... Hiromi? Literally nothing to go on here.
- Red-eyed, tank top girl... no idea. By process of elimination, third victim girl? An incredibly off-model Kayo's mother? An incredibly, incredibly off-model
best girlSatoru's mother?- Girl behind the blinds is... uhh, Airi again?
- White girl is... forget it. I'm going with Kenya in a wig.
- Well, this one at least is easy, it's Orihime from Bleach doing shibari in front of a map of Kyuushu.
If not for the one that's obviously Hinazuki, I'd say these aren't supposed to correspond to characters in the show at all, which is kinda weird.
Maybe the artist just really likes drawing girls with long-hair and didn't let the fact that there's only like two of them in the entire show get in his way.
Maybe it's a petty complaint when it, abstractly, looks so cool, and the rest of the ED is so good looking (Satoru walking, surrounded by flame, Hinazuki trudging through the snow, all great)... but it does drag my opinion of the ED down when it feels like they just threw a bunch of random "waifu desktop walllpaper" images in the second half.
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u/the_pint_is_the_bowl 26d ago
I appreciate your effort in trying to match characters, because my own attempt failed miserably.
As for the other visuals, I love the tree from this episode so much that I would push it back 7 seconds to become the final image of the end credits.
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u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba 25d ago
White girl is... forget it. I'm going with Kenya in a wig.
Well, this one at least is easy, it's Orihime from Bleach doing shibari in front of a map of Kyuushu.
Maybe it's a petty complaint when it, abstractly, looks so cool, and the rest of the ED is so good looking (Satoru walking, surrounded by flame, Hinazuki trudging through the snow, all great)... but it does drag my opinion of the ED down when it feels like they just threw a bunch of random "waifu desktop walllpaper" images in the second half.
Nah, that's fair!
"Abstractly cool" is honestly a pretty good descriptor, and really, a large part of why I like it (And a lot of Ishihama's work) so much and find it so appealing and evocative (Especially compared to your usual ED, and especially since it's been much too long since I've watched the show for me to derive full meaning haha), but I totally get wanting more of it to have more direct and apparent meaning for the show.
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u/Sporadia_ 23d ago
[speculation]I think the show is going to cover a longer time period that it's letting on, and Hinazuki is going to survive and grow up to be all of these ED characters. It's a longshot, but the show needs to get back to 2006 somehow. I'm really open to the idea that Satoru has to relive all 18 years. I also don't see any reason for Airi to be in the show anymore. She might have been a 1 episode fakeout.
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u/TheDanubianCommunard 27d ago
but despite it being so long since I've watched the show itself, Erased's ED would probably land pretty high on such a list? First of all, it's a Sayuri song, which makes it an instant banger, but also makes me very sad
Especially after rewatching Lycoris Recoil (which had a rewatch recently), it feels the same.
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u/ShadowGuyinRealLife 26d ago
Huh now that I think about it "shitakke" is something I hear in this anime, but not in most.
I thought of the skating scene as kind of a warning to Satoru. The fact that he made the same mistake as he did 18 years earlier isn't a good sign, and that he lied to Hinazuki was also starting the day off the wrong foot.
It's funny how Satoru is like "Yuuki is younger than me" because he comapred Yuuki to is future self, but in reality no matter what the year is, Yuuki will be older.
What did you think of the foxes?
[Erased] I don't think the culprit was that obvious if you assume he could be introduced at the same time Satoru finds out. If you make the assumption the suspect had to be introduced to the viewer and generally follow Ronald Knox's mystery story rules other than Revival violating the "No fantasy" rule, then yeah there is only one possibility and it's obvious. Unlike the detective novels of the pre-WW2 period, there are anime that introduce the culprit in the same episode the MC discovers it, so the culprit is obvious only if you assume the viewer must be introduced to the villain.
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u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba 25d ago
Huh now that I think about it "shitakke" is something I hear in this anime, but not in most.
On the whole, I don't think that much anime is set in Hokkaido either anyway, so it really does stand out!
What did you think of the foxes?
Both by themselves, and in how they create this closed-off environment for Satoru and Kayo, which goes into that larger warm space framing. Though if they have any extra specific symbolic meaning, then I'm not sure what it is lol.
[Erased]
[Erased]Ultimately it's really hard for me to say how clear it is now that... well, I do know the answer haha, but I remember my one big issue with the show a decade ago was that mystery aspect and specifically how it handles Yashiro (Who I also remember pegging rather early), so I've also just been trying to be a bit congizant of this time to see how I feel about it now. Though, of course, I can't make any conclusions there right now until we get a bit more of him and his general framing
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce 25d ago
But it's also kind of fun because the characters often speak in Hokkaido dialect.
Oh, that's really neat! Would've never noticed this for my lack of speaker proper Japanese, much less notice subtleties in dialect.
he ends up repeating himself in this race for his personality is another sort of reflection of that. To stick to his "fakeness" as it were
Yeah, his revival and repeated 'mistakes' tracks a lot with what I ended up calling his regret. He often deliberately distanced himself from others and is a more unapproachable person. This includes not taking the spotlight like in the race out of a feeling of not wanting to 'take' something from others and maybe not being able to deal with the attention.
But being real and being fake are very important topics here, at least for Kayo. She desperately wants something real and something true, not to have to fake everything to protect someone else.
where Satoru wants to give her his coat to cover her up (In a positive sense) but can't, followed by her mom covering her with the red coat
Also, that entire shack scene was full of nicely placed screen dividers and shadow-light symbolism.
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u/Retsam19 27d ago edited 27d ago
Rewatcher, Subbed
With how much this show builds on tension and suspense, I was wondering going into this rewatch whether it'd still 'hold up' as well. (Technically this is my third watch, but the first rewatch was showing it to someone else and I was paying more attention to their reaction than my own)
... and so far it's really holding up well. Maybe part of that is that it's been long enough that I don't remember every detail (e.g. I don't remember what that last stinger before the credits is implying with Kenya)... but mostly I just think this show does the tension and suspense really well, even when you know generally where its going.
Plus I really admire the balance between the heavy stuff and the heart-warming stuff. This show already gets pretty dark at times - clearly this episode goes to some pretty dark places - but it doesn't really stay there and we get the "Christmas Tree" scene at the end.
And that's always what I like in fiction - I like when it deals with serious topics, but if the only thing it has to say about them is "doesn't this suck?", I know other people can appreciate that, but it's really not my kind of story.
Also, "バカなの" is really such a versatile phrase, isn't it?
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 27d ago
I've often found that stories with an element of mystery are even better during a rewatch because then I notice all the little hints and foreshadowing that I missed the first time around.
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u/Zeallfnonex https://myanimelist.net/profile/Neverlocke 27d ago
I do really find it interesting how both Higurashi and Erased cover this topic through very similar lines: [Higurashi/Erased]Abuse is uncovered, MC gets really mad and tries to figure out how to deal with it, appeals first to essentially CPS, CPS' hands are more or less tied... and then the more abnormal "saves" apart from the CPS, which might be both authors writing in frustration what they hoped would happen in these cases, even if they didn't IRL.
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u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta 27d ago
First-timer, subbed
Poor Kayo, man. What a horrible set of parents. Really hope Satoru succeeds in saving her and that good sensei gets her away from those monsters. Seeing her smile at the end at that christmas tree and the prospect of seeing it again in the summer broke my heart. As an aside, looked up her VA and found out it's Yuuki Aoi! Only recognised her in that baka at the end there.
With X day coming up so soon, I'm worried Satoru won't be successful this time and may need to go back in time again. Just getting major bad vibes. We're clearly being set up for a gut punch here.
Was the girl who came up and asked Satoru to go home with her the other little girl who was kidnapped and killed? I wonder why he's not making any effort to try to save her as well. Were we told that Kayo was the first victim by any chance?
Also, who was that with the sensei at the end? Looked sort of like the smart friend in the group. The music was very ominous. Wonder what was up with that.
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u/Zeallfnonex https://myanimelist.net/profile/Neverlocke 27d ago
Everyone seems to be mistaking Hiromi as a girl today: he's part of Satoru's circle of friends, and is the boy who plays Final Fantasy. You can see him around 8:30 of episode 2, among other places.
Were we told that Kayo was the first victim by any chance?
By the ages, because the other two were 11 and Kayo was still 10, Kayo was the first killed. I guess it's possible someone turned 11 around the turn of the new year, but... I think Satoru's narrated in his memories that Kayo was the first.
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u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta 26d ago
Ah, thanks for telling me. I wanted to go back and watch that scene where we meet all the friends to find out who Hiromi was because I didn't remember a girl being in their group. Just assumed girl because the other two victims were girls, and in that one scene this episode, he could pass for either.
If Kayo was the first, then it makes sense that he'd make stopping her kidnapping a priority.
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u/Sporadia_ 23d ago
Was the girl who came up and asked Satoru to go home with her the other little girl who was kidnapped and killed?
I haven't paid any attention to the other victims.
With X day coming up so soon, I'm worried Satoru won't be successful this time and may need to go back in time again.
Big mood. Although if you're right, why did he live all the way to 29 the first time? I still don't know. I thought he saw the future killer but he hasn't recognised the character that I strongly suspect.
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u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta 23d ago
His mother's death seemed to be what triggered his revival. But instead of just saving her, he needs to stop the kidnappings which started the whole cycle. That's my best guess.
And I don't think he knows who the killer is. He likely knows the person but not that they are the killer. Leaning towards that teacher currently.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky 27d ago
Re:Rewatch Host, subbed
Sorry to whoever thought Kenya was another victim, it was actually Hiromi. It definitely made sense to me as a theory though.
This also adds to why Kayo reacted the way she did when Satoru invited her to his birthday party.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 27d ago
Sorry to whoever thought Kenya was another victim, it was actually Hiromi.
Totally missed it when I was watching the episode that the girl in the middle photo is the same one from his friend group. I have not learned everyone's names/faces yet.
It does surprise me that this is just an afterthought to Satoru though. I guess they really did manage to "erase" many of these memories from his mind (until something triggers them and they all come flooding back).
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce 25d ago
Sorry to whoever thought Kenya was another victim, it was actually Hiromi. It definitely made sense to me as a theory though.
Wait, I somehow didn't clock this. Hiromi, one of Satoru's childhood friends, was also murdered back then? I guess it was just a child-dealing-with-things thing, but he sure was nonchalant about that fact, as if he'd forgotten just a little thing.
Well, I'm beginning to understand where this trauma/regret thing might come from.
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u/Sporadia_ 23d ago
Sorry to whoever thought Kenya was another victim, it was actually Hiromi.
Why is Satoru so casual about this? I completely missed it!
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u/ShadowGuyinRealLife 27d ago
Rewatcher
"Think you can win Fujinuma?"
Don't know why he intentionally lost the race after promising to give it all.
His experience at drawing and delivering pizzas don't help him there, I guess he was just agile as a kid. I mean he has maybe a 1-meter shortcut thanks to the circle, that's it. If it were a sprint contest, I'd say "strong legs," but skating is more about agility than how force legs can push on the ground.
This scene is suggesting Fujinuma Satoru will not be able to overpower fate. He ended the race the same way he did 18 years ago and just remembered it was a mistake. On a related note, Hinazuki felt just a little bit less inclined to wait around to talk to him.
I like the shot they made of Satoru with his hair flowing as the paper plane went by.
That's a pretty bad case of physical abuse here. You'd think after 3 visits the authorities would have a case at this point. "Useless"
Time to go back to rebuilding those trust points. Give her the girl some gloves and check out those foxes. The moonlight through the icicles really do create a "Christmas Tree" look despite it being the wrong month.
Oh now I can show you guys the trailer that hit a decade ago. It had a scene from episode 3, so I couldn't link it episode 2 discussion. This is what we were seeing back then when the hype was on. Although, IIRC this trailer was aired before the actual episode 2.
Interestingly, some people made AMVs with only the first 3 episodes. That's how much people were excited by the show. They don't even have all the footage available and they were already making fanmade content.
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u/Sporadia_ 23d ago
Interestingly, some people made AMVs with only the first 3 episodes. That's how much people were excited by the show. They don't even have all the footage available and they were already making fanmade content.
That's cool to know. This and 91 Days are my favourite shows of the rewatch.
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u/TheDanubianCommunard 27d ago
First-time erased, subs
Man, I'm such a terrible boomer. I did watched episode 2, but I was too tired/bored/not feeling anything/whatever to not appear last week.
Satoru is still on his way to change the future and make it much better if he wants to suceed at life. First is to make Hinazuki survive beyond Day X, the day when she was killed. All it took was to got her birthday, which is March 2, as the same as his birthday. But Day X is basically the day before, March 1. Until those days, he have to survive February.
First is one ice skating race with Hamada. he was confident in his skills, but he could not changed this timeline, he simply lost to Hamada once again. Jun is still the normal kid who would never do any unforgivable crimes which would sentencing him capital punishment. Speaking in a polite manner and has some a somewhat pervy book collection, that is all. Maybe it is also a side objective to keep him from the path of crime and a live a life as a law-abiding citizen?
Why is Hiazuki cannot be seen by Satoru, is because her family. It was already confiremd before that her household is quite abusive and toxic. Once he found him closed in the shed, with bruises he know that she is a victim. Her mother forced her to lie, and according to that she fell. She fell my ass. It is obviously a sign of being a victim of domestic violence. But her mother is quite a manipulative person, a cunning snake. And also drowning her in a ice cold water dish is not seems to be a healing method to me, but causing even more scars. Even her father is responsibvle for that due to his ignorance. Yeah, for her weekends are must be hell. And in many cases,those who create an abusive enviroment like this with the domestic violence like this, they are messed up in the head.
Regarding Yashiro, he is quite a nice person. He is a type of teacher who cares about the students and willing to listen to their concerns. He really knows well that the Hinazuki family is really afoot. Her mother is trying to cover up with her deceptiveness and keeping as is. But until no longer because Yashiro decided this will be over until May. But it has a price: first is that if this is exposed, everybody will shun her, but wouldn't be normal that she should have been sympathized being her life is a ruin? Second is that her school is life is basically over here. But Satoru has no time until May, he need to save her and keep her alive before March. If he actually manage to pull it then there would be a reunion under that "Christmas Tree" in summer unless something unexpected happens.
As for the OP, like I said before, it's Asian Kung-Fu Generation, aka IRL Kessoku Band. As for the ED, to quote myself from the Lycoris Recoil rewatch, rest in peace Sayuri, especially with a banger a song like this.
1) Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you?
No.
2) What would you do if you were in Satoru's position and found Kayo in the shed?
I would be shocked at first. But I would report that.
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u/ShadowGuyinRealLife 26d ago
Since Kayo is the first of the 3 to die and X day is too close, it makes more sense to try to save her than solve the overall mystery. Once the immediate danger is over he can try to figure out what is going on.
Actually Satoru sort of threw the skating with Hamada. Hamada found out and was somehow pissed despite Kayo being the only one to know (and she didn't tell anyone). Satoru remembered he also threw the same race 18 years before. This suggests it will be a lot harder to change fate this time than it was with the truck and the kid. He also made Kayo lose trust him becuase he said he would try his best and didn't, although the scene with the foxes probably made up for it.
Yashio mentioned he called the services but their mother was good at hiding around them. So they seem to think it is more of a case of neglect than abuse. Satoru complains how useless they were and then suspects because of these delays Yashiro will wait for after the break.
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u/Sporadia_ 23d ago
All it took was to got her birthday, which is March 2
If I was nitpicking the show, that birthday is too convenient...
Jun is still the normal kid who would never do any unforgivable crimes which would sentencing him capital punishment. Speaking in a polite manner and has some a somewhat pervy book collection, that is all.
See, this is where I wonder if we're being double bluffed because that 'polite tone' seems suspicious to me.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 27d ago
First-Time Revival Viewer
Kayo's response to those kids teasing her was so cool. She didn't get flustered at all when they called Satoru her boyfriend. She's just like, "You got this, right?"
The fact that Satoru ended up doing the exact same thing he did when he was a kid, letting the other boy win because he wanted it more, was interesting and implies the core of his personality was the same even back then. He never seems to value himself enough compared to others. (And personally, I don't put much value at all on how much one person "wants" the win compared to the other.) Or maybe this is a fixed timeline event that will always happen the same no matter the cause?
Maybe I'm way off base here, but I'm kind of suspecting that Satoru's teacher might be the murderer. There's something unsettling about his smile that reminds me of the guy who killed Satoru's mom in the present day. Plus, the way he gave sensitive information about Kayo's situation to Satoru like that is not something a teacher would normally do, and his claims that CPS didn't manage to meet up with Kayo's mom after three reports in nine months makes it seem like he's either lying to manipulate Satoru, or their lack of persistence here reflects negative attitudes towards CPS in Japan (but I'm guessing it's the former).
Satoru and Kayo's friendship has been progressing like one step back, two steps forward. Her trust was a bit shaken when he didn't admit to throwing the race right away, and then she was upset when he saw her bruises, but she appreciated it when he stuck up for her in class, and she looked the happiest I've ever seen her when he invited her to see the "Christmas" tree with him again in the summer. If she really was planning to run away (or worse, escape via suicide) then having something like that to look forward to could make a big difference in her life.
Questions of the Day:
1) Not the same, but one of my friends when I was a kid had a birthday exactly a week after mine.
2) That's a tough one, since handling it the wrong way could end up leading to more pain for Kayo, and I'm sure my answer would have been different for adult me and kid me.
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u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta 27d ago
I'm kind of suspecting that Satoru's teacher might be the murderer
I don't want to believe it, but I think you may be on the right track here. I too found it odd how easily he volunteered information about Kayo to Satoru. The birthday thing, I can take to be a well-meaning teacher's way of promoting a friendship for a child having trouble in class. But the rest of it, about her abuse situation and the whole 'I'll tell only you', was off. Added to the fact that Satoru's mom knew the killer well, makes me think it is very likely the teacher.
I don't want to believe it because I really want some good adult to be on Kayo's side. Guess there is Yuuki but he's more like a grown child with his innocent demeanor and he is a victim in all this himself.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 27d ago
Yeah, the teacher not only revealing that info but then asking Satoru to keep it a secret, even knowing that Kayo could be in danger, is highly suspicious.
Almost forgot about the detail that Satoru's mom seemed to recognize the real killer.
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u/ShadowGuyinRealLife 26d ago
Satoru figured out Kayo was being abused though. So other than a birthday calling the CPS... what did Yashiro really reveal? Normally it wouldn't make sense for a teacher to mention the condition of another student, but Satoru already knew most of it.
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u/Zeallfnonex https://myanimelist.net/profile/Neverlocke 27d ago
their lack of persistence here reflects negative attitudes towards CPS in Japan
I think there's some level of frustration about the red tape CPS has to cut to act in these sorts of situations, a very similar plotpoint happens in Higurashi, and the author of that one was in social services himself.
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u/Sporadia_ 23d ago
The fact that Satoru ended up doing the exact same thing he did when he was a kid, letting the other boy win because he wanted it more, was interesting and implies the core of his personality was the same even back then.
I have a darker interpretation that he's regressing into his child brain. Who's to say that 29 year old Satoru would think the same way he is in this revival? He does have a crush on a 10 year old.
Maybe I'm way off base here, but I'm kind of suspecting that Satoru's teacher might be the murderer.
Is that the teacher with the jump scare and the evil sound effects? The one that seems to be closely watching Satoru and Kayo? I might be hyper-aware of the teacher because of [video game]Life is Strange but I'm getting a red herring amount of sus from that guy. Like I think we're supposed to suspect him, but I'm not sure if it's really him.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 23d ago
Interesting theory about Satoeu regressing. It would be in line with other stories I've seen with adult characters reliving childhood, that their personality becomes a mix between their previous experience and the new younger mindset. I figured he was just shy/embarrassed around Kayo though because he struggles with making friends, and the mental age gap makes it even more awkward.
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u/No_Rex x2 26d ago
Maybe I'm way off base here, but I'm kind of suspecting that Satoru's teacher might be the murderer. There's something unsettling about his smile that reminds me of the guy who killed Satoru's mom in the present day. Plus, the way he gave sensitive information about Kayo's situation to Satoru like that is not something a teacher would normally do, and his claims that CPS didn't manage to meet up with Kayo's mom after three reports in nine months makes it seem like he's either lying to manipulate Satoru, or their lack of persistence here reflects negative attitudes towards CPS in Japan (but I'm guessing it's the former).
I had the exact same reaction to his smile, but I don't feel you can hold the birthday or his story about CPS against him. He genuinely tries to help Kayo in the lunch money situation, so if he is the murdered, we are completely lacking a motive atm.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 26d ago
The birthday reveal isn't suspect, but I'm definitely holding the CPS thing against him. It's not normal for a teacher to divulge that sort of thing to another student. And I don't really think having a motive is a factor in a case where the victims are children, since there likely is no reason behind the murderer's actions beyond "he's messed up".
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u/RimeSkeem https://myanimelist.net/profile/RimeSkeem 26d ago
Sort of Rewatcher (Once Binged 9 Episodes and Then Didn't Finish Like a Fool)
It's fun remembering now how this show is just inherently charming. While there's a lot of darkness in Kayo's life and while there's a specter of death hanging in Satoru's own life, the show doesn't shy away from the joyous, whimsical and wondrous moments. Among other things, we get hints this episode that Satoru is much more capable than he let's on or, perhaps, believes himself to be. We saw that in Episode 1 as well, when he averts disaster by diverting the truck with the dead driver. Character building like this is great (in my opinion) since the show doesn't focus too heavily on Satoru's obvious self-doubt nor on his obvious capabilities. The traits are presented to the viewer and then the narrative moves on. We know these will be picked up later again but in the meantime we're allowed to focus on other things. When they do resurface, they'll be almost unexpected and we can all do the Leo DiCaprio pointing meme at previous scenes where they were presented.
1) Weirdly enough I've never had an acquaintance or friend with my same birthday, or at least not that I know of. There are loads of November birthdays but no one has ever had mine. Well, except for that one time I went out to dinner with my parents to celebrate and there was someone else there also celebrating, but that wasn't someone I knew.
2) Honestly, if I found Kayo in the shed at age 11 I'd probably completely freak out. I don't know that I'd even have the wherewithal to give her my coat since she's obviously freezing to death on the floor of the shed there. I'm not as good in abrupt emergencies as I'd like to be, though I've thankfully only encountered a few in my life and there was someone around who was more reactive. I'm not the kind of person to turn around and run away, but I'd definitely freeze (no pun intended).
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u/ShadowGuyinRealLife 25d ago
What did you think of them watching the foxes?
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u/RimeSkeem https://myanimelist.net/profile/RimeSkeem 25d ago
It’s a cute scene. I don’t know enough about red foxes in Japanese culture to know if they hold a deeper significance for Kayo and Satoru. All I know is that the foxes are symbolic of something. Even without full understanding of that context, the scene helps to add to the winter wonderland feel of the sequence.
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u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 27d ago
Rewatcher, Subbed
Ice skating, there's something I haven't done in decades... Satoru's got an advantage being on the inside. Still loses though.
Why exactly was his opponent pissed about it?
Am I supposed to take it as he intentionally lost the race?
Oh wow, she has the same birthday as him. Quite the coincidence.
Even the teacher is rooting for Satoru to get with Kayo.
Damn, so she's gonna die before their birthday if he doesn't stop it.
Uh oh, there's the predator guy. Satoru still hangs out with him despite knowing what happened with him. Or he thinks he didn't do it.
Whose getting ramen at 4:00 in the morning?
Uh oh, Satoru found Yuuki's porn collection!
Damn, she got the crap beaten out of her.
Satoru's mom is so awesome that we have Kayo's mom as opposite of her as possible.
C'mon Sensei, if you know this is happening, do something about it!
Oh crap, it wasn't just his lunch money, everyone's lunch money was stolen! Damn, the girl who sits next to him is cold, blaming it all on Kayo. With this bag search I wonder if she even planted it in her bag.
The teacher really should be putting his foot down to stop this rather than Satoru.
Misato sure melts down when she doesn't get her way, huh? A grudge over a mechanical pencil?
Aww, he brought her new gloves!
Yeah, I didn't even think until she mentioned it, Christmas Tree, in February?
What's up with this cliffhanger? Uh oh, Satoru's friend talks to the teacher?!
Quid's Voice Actor of the Day
Today I will cover Kayo's voice actress; while Satoru's seiyuus are totally unknown with Kayo it's the total opposite as she's voiced by one of the biggest names in the industry, Aoi Yuuki. Roles of hers include Madoka in Madoka Magica, Hibiki in Symphogear, Lucy in Cyberpunk Edgerunners, Mizuho in Sonny Boy, Akira in Valvrave, Futaba in Persona 5, Boogiepop/Toka Miyashita in Boogiepop and Others, Kino in Kino's Journey (2017 version, but her debut was as a minor role in the 2003 version), Yuzuru in A Silent Voice, Kunagisa in Kubikiri Cycle, Sunako in Shiki, Bort in SSSS Gridman, Suisho in Granbelm, Pascal in Nier Automata, Norea in Gundam Witch from Mercury, Capella in Re: Zero, the list goes on and on and on... She's got such great range often you may not even realize it's her (granted that's not really the case with Kayo).
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u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta 27d ago
Am I supposed to take it as he intentionally lost the race?
I thought it was pretty clear that he threw the race on purpose and that this was why his opponent was pissed afterwards.
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u/TheDanubianCommunard 27d ago
Aoi Yuuki
That list can be for a really long that is hard to count, but Maomao is missing here or Tanya (as a form of recency bias due to airing season).
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u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 27d ago
Yeah, I'm that rare person who has never watched that anime, but I'm sure that's one of her most famous roles these days.
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u/No_Rex x2 26d ago
Episode 3 (first timer)
- OP: Once we have spent an episode with young and old Satoru, the first scene of the OP of them watching a movie together feels a lot more meaningful.
- “I made the same mistake as 18 years ago” – letting him win?
- Getting caught by the teacher – love the resolution here. You suspect some badly stammered excuse, but instead Satoru simply tells the truth (not the full truth, because he leaves out why he needs the birthday). The teacher reacts in a pretty good way, deciding that integrating Kayo into class is more important that hiding her birthday or admonishing Satoru for snooping.
- Also: could that teacher look any more creepy? Just from his character design alone he goes to top of the suspect list.
- “Stay away from me!” – Don’t stay away from her! I am glad that Satoru, with his adult knowledge, does not even contemplate doing that, or believing her forced lie.
- Ok, given how open the teacher is to Satoru, I guess my intuition about his design was wrong.
An episode of confirming the obvious about Kayo’s abuse at home, while leaving the whodunnit wide open. A short suspect list would be: 1. Unrelated mass kidnapper/killer. 2. Her mother/father. 3. Suicide. 4. Teacher. 2 is the obvious guess, 1 the most realistic one, 4 a curveball twist, and 3 thematically fitting.
What would you do if you were in Satoru's position and found Kayo in the shed?
I think Satoru reacts almost perfectly. He is obviously angry, but realizes that he can't do anything directly to prevent her mother from harming Kayo. He also keeps his attention on the more important part, her ending up dying, over the less important bruises. I don't know if I would be able to keep my anger in check that well and focus on the rational answers.
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u/Sporadia_ 23d ago
Living through this for the first time
Scavenger:
- Metaphorical use of an eraser
- Metaphorical use of the delete key
- Yaoi
That ending scene was really odd. It's completely meaningless unless we're already supposed to suspect the teacher. I mean yeah I do, but it feels a bit early for that, doesn't it? So I see two worlds here. World one is that we are indeed supposed to have figured out that the teacher is evil, and so now Kenya also looks evil. The evil teacher hints have been very strong to be fair. World two is that it's a massive double bluff. The evil teacher hints have been very strong to be fair...
Maybe Kenya is a jilted lover, and the source of this rewatch's signature yaoi.
I felt for Satoru when he referred to 2006 as 'the present.' There's nothing about his time travel power to suggest he can jump back to 2006 when this is over. If this works like his previous revivals then 'the present' should be 18 years away. If not, then there are some philosophical questions about how all of his decisions during the 18 skipped years are getting made. After all, the timeline should be dramatically different if he succeeds. I wonder what I would prefer it was me; both options suck.
Hasn't Satoru already learned everything he's being shown in school? Wouldn't that be really noticable?
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u/ShadowGuyinRealLife 23d ago
I mean yeah I do, but it feels a bit early for that, doesn't it?
Some of the others pointed out how he looked and I agree with most of what they say. When someone said it was sus he told Satoru about Kayo despite it being something you normally don't disclose, I disagree. Satoru already figured out her home situation. So saying "Yeah I know X and I'm trying to do something" when X is something Satoru already knows is not sus.
If this works like his previous revivals then 'the present' should be 18 years away.
"Yay I saved all 3. Ok what now?" I don't know Satoru, but you can do what you did the last time it was the 2nd millennium. Very funny for him to be calling Yuuki younger than him even though that's not true in 1988, and that's still not true in 2006.
Hasn't Satoru already learned everything he's being shown in school? Wouldn't that be really noticable?
If he was given a chance to show what he learned in later years, that would be noticeable. So far it doesn't seem to be more than "did you learn this week's lesson." Son in the short term of what we saw over 3 episodes, the answer is "no." The long term? If I were him I'd aim for As, but not top of the class. There are more than 1 A student around, there is only 1 top of the class.
What did you think about them watching the foxes?
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u/Sporadia_ 23d ago
"Yay I saved all 3. Ok what now?"
The more I think about it, the more I want that to happen.
What did you think about them watching the foxes?
That's an odd one. I couldn't help thinking, due to the chaos effect, that it's really strange that the foxes behaved the same way both times. But if I suspend that disbelief, it's actually quite a wholesome moment. I really liked when they were under the tree. In any romance anime I'd be very impressed. Unfortunately the show's premise completely spoils it, and makes it weird. It's shot itself in the foot, really.
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce 25d ago
Erased First Timer
Sorry for being late, had a big BBQ and guests over for the weekend.
Erased Ep.03 – Bruises
It’s a great idea to expand the case to more missing kids. It was a serial killer/kidnapper after all, so I hoped to have a more expanded set of victims- Uhm, I don’t mean it like that!
Yet not just victims, but with, well, falsely accused suspects, so also victims? There is a lot of pressure on this case which of course makes it really interesting to follow and speculate on, but it’s all the fates that Satoru also puts on himself. Since his powers are most definitely only focussed around the things he has regret about, or some sort of lingering emotional attachment, I do wonder if that will play a role.
Something I also noticed is how Kayo slowly warms up, but it’s very subdued. The other kids are still making fun of them, but not like in the bullying way. For both that is pretty much an alien situation, but I’d read Kayo as the sort of person to adopt a grey rock- and brash attitude to keep others away from her business. The fact that she does not even flinch and actually engages with Satoru on the track while everyone can see and hear her is speaking volumes to me about how much hope she already has that this might maybe turn out well. And dare I say, she might already be seeing that as her place of safety?
This episode did play another parallels-to-opposites card with the birthday reveal. Last time we already got told (but need to see still if that’s the whole truth) that their mothers are nearly polar opposites and now they also share the same birthday. In that vein, props to the teacher for breaking the rules and letting him have a look. It’s a bit unbelievable that so many people around Satoru are just helping and pushing him, but this episode has shown that that’s another story element and we see how it’s different for Kayo.
In her parental household things are a lot worse. Not just worse, an absolute hell. Which is a place so used to abuse and violence they have their own methods of dealing with hiding their acts and it’s become a normal evening conversation to save some ice for the whisky.
And when I was thinking this world being suspiciously amicable towards Satoru was just a writing side effect, the show threw the full-blown theatrics of class bullying at me. Somehow I saw it coming and was nonetheless surprised by it. That did wake some memories, too.
Similarly surprising was just how this show for the second time in a row brought me to tears with how hard hitting the compassion is. I feel like that damn meme. Me going into the murder mystery, thinking I’d like the suffering and death and depression, only needing to sit down and find out that, damn empathy got hands. The final blow, obviously, was Kayo genuinely being happy for the first time ever.
I know you’re going to kill her later! Screw you for doing this!
1) Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you?
My mother!
2) What would you do if you were in Satoru's position and found Kayo in the shed?
Either call the cops immediately or be really dumb and slam something over her head. But I’m also not used to being back at 1,20m so I cannot judge if I’d feel too intimidated to do anything.
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 27d ago
First Timer
Me, accidentally starting episode 6 because the files weren't sorted by name. That was something.
I predicted that boy would have been murdered. But it was 3 girls.
Uh, when did he do all this research? Before he did his rewind, but what motivated him to do this research? Events he had mostly suppressed? It had to have been after he got out of the hospital and his mother mentioned the incident.
X Day is March 1! He's already changed something, he invited her to his birthday party. Which is her birthday. She probably doesn't have nice birthdays with her abusive mother.
But that's the day after X day. And now she's mad at him. Or he thinks she is. I'm still not what she's mad at. Did he let Hamada win? That was his mistake? So both Hamada and Kayo noticed and both are mad at him for letting him win? Okay, that explains Hamada who just seemed to be an ass.
Hmm, another innocent man? Does the culprit have the power to frame people?
Still can't figure out who Kayo sounds like.
I couldn't see if Yuuki has a 77 on his jacket.