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**SPOILERS**

What a roller coaster ride Erased is. Erased will make you feel so many emotions and make your hopes soar only for them to be absolutely destroyed again. I had so many mood changes while watching this anime that a genuinely didn't know what to feel next. Satoru Fujinuma is an aspiring manga artist who is trying to get his name and work out. Satoru has strange experiences called Revival which shoots him back in time to a moment just before something dangerous happens. Satoru is not only burdened by his ambition, but also his sympathy during Revival.

One day Satoru returns home to find ... his mother murdered in their home. As he weeps over his mother police arrive to find Satoru next to his dead mother and they assume he is responsible. He manages to flee his pursuers then Revival puts him back to his 10 year old self. One key thing to understand about Revival, is that it is not an ability that he can use at free will. Revival is a phenomenon that he cannot prevent. Just this opening alone was one of the best I have seen in anime. Everything fell into place so well and it all lead to a climax you didn't expect. Erased does a great job at answering questions logically. I am not usually a huge fan of time travel, but Erased does it so well and makes it so fluent. When I think of time travel, I usually think of all the stereotypes that follow it such as building this great machine to go back in time and correct mistakes. Erased doesn't have the same motive nor directive. Satoru's Revival phenomenon is used and exists not so much to correct a mistake, but more to discover why it happened that way and find a more positive outcome. I know that may be confusing or contradictory, but let me give an example. Satoru's mother was murdered and he was blamed for the crime, but he didn't have Revival to go back and clear his name and save his mother solely, he did it see who did it and why along with trying to prevent it. Remember, Revival is not an ability Satoru can just snap his fingers to make happen. That completely changes motive and reasoning for using it to me. It makes it more of a "have to" than a "want to."

When Satoru is his 10 year old self, he first runs to find his mother. When he arrives home to see his mother there he tramples her with affection and praise. Satoru also becomes intrigued by a classmate, Kayo. He had remembered that in his adult future that Kayo had disappeared and there were rumors of her being abducted. Satoru befriends Kayo with the hopes of stopping her disappearance. He learns quickly that Kayo comes from a very abusive home and he wants to do everything to try and save Kayo not only from her disappearance, but also her home life. Erased does a great job at really making you see and feel Kayo's abuse and wanting Satoru to save her.

March 1st was the day Kayo had originally disappeared in the future and Satoru was going to do whatever necessary to ensure that didn't happen again. Satoru and Kayo were together almost all day that day. He went home that night happy knowing that he had stopped Kayo's disappearance. When Satoru went to school the next day, Kayo did not show up. He then rushes to Kayo's home to find her mother, Akemi, throwing out Kayo's belongings. Right after witnessing it, Satoru is shot back to 2006 which is his 29 year old self. He is still under the suspicion of his mothers murder. While hiding Satoru finds Airi, who was a co-worker at the pizza place he worked at. Airi is convinced Satoru is innocent and lets him stay at her house. Satoru then the next day went out to investigate. Later that day Satoru comes back to Airi's home to see it up in flames. Satoru rushes in to save Airi finding their Manager there also. The Manager, knowing that Satoru was wanted by the police, took Airi and told Satoru to flee.

Later Satoru is able to meet up with Airi and she describes the man who set her home aflame and says his name is Nishizumi. The police find Satoru and Airi and arrest Satoru and begin to take him away. Satoru spots the guy he saw leaving his mother's home the night she was murdered. This triggers Satoru's Revival and send him back to this 10 year old self again, but it sent him back to before Kayo had disappeared. This means that Satoru had one more chance to prevent Kayo's disappearance and he vowed to make sure there were no mistakes this time. Will he be able to actually save Kayo this time?