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I have not read any of the LNs so I shall not reference from them here on. This is my opinion after rewatching it for the first time.

DRRR!! is one of those anime that you cannot explain in words but only by experiencing it. People complain about the anime having no backstory but that's what I liked the most of this anime. Although it sounds sloppy to not possess a backbone to the plot, DRRR builds itself from the ground up, not relying on any pre-mentioned details.

Another point of this anime I appreciate is the multiple perspectives. You are often shown what had ... happened and not before but fear not! Since this series does an excellent job of transitioning so I never felt confused or dazed at the heat of the moment.The multiple perspectives also good since at that moment you experience what a couple of the characters are talking and feeling and when that perspective changes you get a different set of dialogue and emotions. It's great because it adds substance to the multiple characters.

Speaking of characters, initially you feel they're shallow and just cardboard cutouts but as the story progresses you find that they're not their just for show but they have a role in the main story and contribute to it. I liked that a lot since shows like the recent Mayoiga fail to do just that.

The story that felt empty at the beginning begins to feel more and more complex with more mysteries being introduced at every corner.This may overwhelm some people but I had no problem and the very idea of finding the truth of the each segment of the story is what kept me watching. There are a few mature topics dealt in this anime but not in any distasteful manner that it was just there for 'shock value.

Also watching the characters interact is a joy since I believe it's a testament to their various personalities and traits. The comedy in this anime doesn't feel forced and it feels natural.

The OPs and EDs were excellent but I never got into the rest of the OST but I will that they had the right atmosphere for the right scene.

In conclusion, I think that DRRR!! is a great anime that is sure to entertain.

I genuinely had low expectations for this anime and I was pleasantly surprised. ERASED or Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi is an entertaining watch but it does have a few flaws that makes me lose a few points with it. This is not an 'objective look' at the anime but my honest opinion. I may be wrong and will admit if there are any and if there are grammatical errors in my review I shall edit them once I sot them so please bear with me for now.Please note that I have not read the source aka the manga of ERASED and therefore I will ... not compare the faithfulness and adaption quality of the anime to the manga. Also please note that THERE WILL BE MAJOR SPOILERS ! Don't say I didn't warn you :P Now on with the review!

I know the premise of time travel has become quite common in anime in recent years but I still love the concept of jumping back in time so that you could help someone that didn't get help in the past, undo past mistakes that had devastating consequences on your current future etc. It's one of those tropes that helps in exploring the human nature such guilt of not being useful to someone to our love for someone that we desperately wish to save them from a horrible fate. In other words, this trope can be molded to create different scenarios with varying results that impacts character development and the initial plot entirely. Therefore the 'Time Travel' device can be used in many ways so it doesn't become trite.


To start off with a good note, I shall talk about the positive aspects of this anime. I loved the soundtrack for this anime;I just couldn't stop listening to it and I especially loved the opening and ending tracks. Kudos to the artists involved with the music for this series because the music was great add to the 'mysterious' atmosphere of the anime. I often hate annoying characters since they often trigger me to cringe heaven when I'm shown one but wow none of the characters had the tiresome cringe factor. Even though character development for this anime is heavily criticized for this anime, I did like how the cold and edgy Satoru broke down to tears when he saw his mother alive after he was pushed back to the past from his 'Revival' ability. I also like how he begins to start caring for his peers and that trait gets carried over to his future when he's sent back to the future. This anime does have a lot of heartwarming moments, many of them consisted of Kayo, who was often physically abused by her mother, getting the proper love and treatment from Satoru and his mother. Speaking of Satoru's mother, damn she's the best animu mom ! The animation and art quality is really good, never had a single moment where my eyes didn't believe what they were seeing.

Now for the displeasing parts of the anime. I did say that most of the characters behaved their age seeing that they were around 10-11 years old. But it did strike me as odd how Kenya behaved, as if he knew that the kid Satoru he interacted with wasn't the kid Satoru that he knew. We may not know for sure as we never did get a big glimpse into how Satoru behaved when he was a kid or maybe Kenya was a bit too smart for his age. Also even if it wasn't relevant to the main aim of the plot/story, we didn't get to know how Satoru gained the Revival ability and how it's mechanism worked because without knowing how it activates you start to think that the moment when he got the second chance to use his Revival, it was just convenience because at that moment he just screams for a second chance and he gets it.

The ending for me is a bit of a mixed bag for me. You see the great lengths to which Satoru goes through in order to prevent the serial kidnapping murders from happening especially with the case of Kayo, but in the end the 'Satoru X Kayo' ship doesn't move from the dock. It was disappointing for me since you see both of them bond over time in the past. Also I honestly thought the motivation for murder by Yashiro was weak because it's more of 'edge' if you get my drift. Ok so you drowned a bunch of hamsters to only raise the only one that survived and that reminded you of Satoru when he didn't die but was in a coma so you couldn't kill him? Suppose the statute of limitations for your attempted murder didn't pass and Satoru woke up and testified against you, it would be OK because he was that 'hamster? Or were you going to kill him if he woke up before? At this point my words may sound, maybe truly, like drivel but I just find his motivations a bit too hard to believe. Or maybe he was just a psycho from the start, this is the version that I wish to believe. I wouldn't make such a huge deal over his background but it just kind of interrupted the flow.

In conclusion, despite the flaws of this anime, I still found it to be an enjoyable and heartwarming experience.

I had high hopes for this series since I had read the manga before and I'm really happy at what the anime accomplished. My review may seem vague but it is like that to prevent any spoilers from leaking out since revealing a spoiler would instantly spoil the experience for prospective viewers.

Starting with the story, it reminded me a bit like Ghost In A Shell and Psycho Pass because it involves a particular section of the police force fighting against crime in their own unique way. The Section 9 of Himitsu deals with investigating the memories of dead suspects or witnesses by hooking up ... one's brain to a powerful system called the MRI system that allows you you witness their last moments. What I liked about this system is not that it's revolutionary or cool for a mystery anime but because it's not actually a perfect system to catch criminals. I won't reveal those weaknesses since they will reveal themselves in the anime as you watch it.

The format of the episodes are episodic and some episodes are broken up into parts. But what I like is that facts and details in previous episodes are referenced in the next ones. I like this sort of format since it doesn't bother me, the viewer, by making me continuously recollect thoughts of previous episodes. I say this because Himitsu is great anime for people who want to chill and enjoy a mystery anime without having to repeatedly recollect what happened before.

Moving onto characters, I like them. They're all likable in a certain way. Not much to say but from my experience of watching this series I never had the urge the punch one of the main characters. But I do have a small problem with the pacing; Sometimes the action or tension in the episode persists till the last few minutes of the episode but that tension is suddenly cut-off by a weak often anti-climatic, unsatisfying conclusion to the mystery. Sometimes even by deus ex machina if I recall.

Finally lets talk about art and sound. I was never put off by the OST or Art but I do hear lots of people complaining over the 'shoujo' graphics. Well I truly believe that's personal preference because it wasn't that horrible or the music didn't sound like nails against a chalkboard. But the art and sounds aren't that remarkable to be honest.

It does have a few flaws such as with the pacing near the end of an episode and fairly simple mysteries surrounding a case because the anime shows you many hints implicating the truth. But I enjoyed this series to the end, although the ending was rather abrupt, and would recommend to any casual viewer who wants a simple mystery and psychological anime that won't damage their brain.