Take a photo of a barcode or cover
rosepetals1984 's review for:
Erased, Volume 1
by Kei Sanbe
Initial reaction: Another one of my favorite series that I read earlier this year but forgot to track. 4.5 for this first volume, review to come eventually.
Full review:
Starting off this retro review, I read this in 2020, but I can't remember the exact day/month I read it. So I'm just going to leave it as marked for December.
To start off this review, I watched the anime for "Erased" or "Boku dake ga Inai Machi" (Loosely translated: "The Town Without Me") and I fell in love with it. Naturally I gravitated to the manga series by Kei Sanbe to do more of a dive into the story and revisit the characters.
And as expected - reading the manga gave me so many emotions all over again.
The version I have of this series is the first of several omnibus hardcovers issued from Yen Press. It collects #1-10. The story resolves around 29 year old Satoru Fujinuma, part-time pizza delivery guy, mostly struggling aspirational manga artist. Despite his ordinary circumstances, Satoru has a special ability that only he can control: he can rewind time with an ability he calls "Revival". He's used this ability to avert several impending disasters that only he seems to be aware of changes across the different alterations. But much like the consequences of such a "Butterfly Effect", where one thing changes, other things are bound to happen, and not always for the better. I definitely appreciated getting to know Satoru in the present day, being charmed by the people in his life from his mother to his cheerful friend Katagiri.
A traumatic loss in Satoru's life sends his life into an unexpected tailspin, lending to his ability sending him all the way back in time to his childhood, with no measure of knowing how he can get back or what it means for the present day. He realizes that to avert the crisis that lingers in the present, he has to revisit the horrible disappearance and murder of one of his former classmates, Kayo Hinazuki. The story does an excellent job of allowing you to get to know Satoru's classmates, viewing a more intricate eye to his past, and gathering the pieces he needs to slowly unravel the mystery. There are cute moments of camaraderie between the characters, but also many moments that are harrowing and heartbreaking to watch given Satoru's attempts to change events on a narrow timeline. This volume ended on the cliffhanger that I thought it would given the events of the anime, but I'm eager to pick up the next volume again as soon as I can do so. It's so well written, engaging, and had me hooked from beginning to end.
Definitely one of my favorite manga series, and I'm looking forward to reading and reviewing the rest of the series.
Overall score: 4.5/5 stars.
Full review:
Starting off this retro review, I read this in 2020, but I can't remember the exact day/month I read it. So I'm just going to leave it as marked for December.
To start off this review, I watched the anime for "Erased" or "Boku dake ga Inai Machi" (Loosely translated: "The Town Without Me") and I fell in love with it. Naturally I gravitated to the manga series by Kei Sanbe to do more of a dive into the story and revisit the characters.
And as expected - reading the manga gave me so many emotions all over again.
The version I have of this series is the first of several omnibus hardcovers issued from Yen Press. It collects #1-10. The story resolves around 29 year old Satoru Fujinuma, part-time pizza delivery guy, mostly struggling aspirational manga artist. Despite his ordinary circumstances, Satoru has a special ability that only he can control: he can rewind time with an ability he calls "Revival". He's used this ability to avert several impending disasters that only he seems to be aware of changes across the different alterations. But much like the consequences of such a "Butterfly Effect", where one thing changes, other things are bound to happen, and not always for the better. I definitely appreciated getting to know Satoru in the present day, being charmed by the people in his life from his mother to his cheerful friend Katagiri.
A traumatic loss in Satoru's life sends his life into an unexpected tailspin, lending to his ability sending him all the way back in time to his childhood, with no measure of knowing how he can get back or what it means for the present day. He realizes that to avert the crisis that lingers in the present, he has to revisit the horrible disappearance and murder of one of his former classmates, Kayo Hinazuki. The story does an excellent job of allowing you to get to know Satoru's classmates, viewing a more intricate eye to his past, and gathering the pieces he needs to slowly unravel the mystery. There are cute moments of camaraderie between the characters, but also many moments that are harrowing and heartbreaking to watch given Satoru's attempts to change events on a narrow timeline. This volume ended on the cliffhanger that I thought it would given the events of the anime, but I'm eager to pick up the next volume again as soon as I can do so. It's so well written, engaging, and had me hooked from beginning to end.
Definitely one of my favorite manga series, and I'm looking forward to reading and reviewing the rest of the series.
Overall score: 4.5/5 stars.