Erased (manga)

Erased, known in Japan as Boku dake ga Inai Machi (僕だけがいない街) (abbreviated BokuMachi (僕街)), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kei Sanbe. It was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Young Ace magazine from June 2012 to March 2016, and is licensed in English by Yen Press. An anime adaptation by A-1 Pictures aired on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block from January to March 2016, and a live action film was released in March 2016. A live-action drama series was released by Netflix in December 2017. A spin-off manga was published from June to November 2016 and the spin-off novel series by Hajime Ninomae was released in Kadokawa's Bungei Kadokawa magazine from November 2015 to March 2016.

Plot

In 2006, 29-year-old Satoru Fujinuma, a struggling mangaka living in Chiba, possesses an involuntary ability known as "Revival" that sends his consciousness back in time moments before a life-threatening incident, enabling him to prevent it from happening again. When his mother is murdered by an unknown assailant in his own home, Satoru's ability sends him back eighteen years into the past where he is given the opportunity to not only save his mother, but also prevent a serial killer from taking the lives of several of his childhood friends.[4]

Characters

• Satoru Fujinuma (藤沼 悟)
• Played by: Tatsuya Fujiwara (adult, film), Tsubasa Nakagawa (child, film), Yuki Furukawa (adult, drama),[7] Reo Uchikawa (child, drama)[7]
• Satoru is a 29-year-old manga artist who also works part-time as a delivery man at Oasi Pizza. Many years ago while he was still a child, his father left him and his mother, for which reason he is living in a single parent home. He possesses an involuntary time-based ability he calls "Revival", which brings him back to a time before a life-threatening incident occurs and allows him to prevent it only by glimpsing a glowing bright blue butterfly, the appearance of which may symbolize the unpredictable effects the unique supernatural ability has not only on himself, but those around him.
• Kayo Hinazuki (雛月 加代)
• Played by: Rio Suzuki (film), Rinka Kakihara (drama)
• Kayo is one of Satoru's primary school classmates and is one of the original victims of the serial kidnapping case that occurred 18 years ago.
• Airi Katagiri (片桐 愛梨)
• Played by: Kasumi Arimura (film), Mio Yūki (drama)[7]
• Airi is a high school student and Satoru's friendly co-worker at Oasi Pizza. She becomes involved with him when she witnesses oddities such as when he manages to save people from certain life-threatening situations.
• Sachiko Fujinuma (藤沼 佐知子)
• Played by: Yuriko Ishida (film); Tomoka Kurotani (drama)
• Sachiko is Satoru's mother and a former news announcer. Her husband left the family many years ago, causing her to raise Satoru on her own. She possesses a sharp eye and is quick to observe any irregularities.
• Jun Shiratori (白鳥 潤)
• Played by Kento Hayashi (film); Masato Yano (drama)
• Jun is a stuttering food delivery worker who lives in Satoru's hometown and often approaches lone students around his house. He and Satoru play with paper airplanes. Because he advises lonely children to be more "courageous" and make more friends, he is nicknamed "Yuuki" (ユウキ), which means courage.
• Kenya Kobayashi (小林 賢也)
• Played by Seiji Fukushi (film); Jin Shirasu (drama)
• Kenya is one of Satoru's primary school classmates who has a strong sense of justice and is known to make insightful choices. He is an aspiring lawyer who has a keen eye.
• Gaku Yashiro (八代 学)
• Played by Shigeyuki Totsugi
• Gaku is Satoru's homeroom teacher during his youth and the closest thing he has to a father figure.
• Hiromi Sugita (杉田 広美)
• Played by Kairi Jo
• Hiromi is one of Satoru's primary school classmates who appears feminine even though he is a boy. He is one of the original victims of the serial kidnapping case.
• Osamu (修)
• Osamu is one of Satoru's primary school classmates.
• Kazu (カズ)
• Kazu is one of Satoru's primary school classmates. He is much taller and heavier than the rest of Satoru's friends and goes out of his way to appear "masculine".
• Aya Nakanishi (中西 彩)
• Aya is a student who attends Izumi Primary and is one of the original victims of the serial kidnapping case.
• Misato Yanagihara (柳原 美里)
• Misato is another classmate of Satoru's. She has a strong dislike for Kayo and she often likes to pick on her.
• Akemi Hinazuki (雛月 明美)
• Played by Tamae Ando (film); Noriko Eguchi (drama)
• Akemi is Kayo's abusive mother, whose abusive nature was exposed to the public.
• Kumi (久美)
• Played by Miyu Ando
• Kumi is a nine-year-old patient who suffers from leukemia.

Media

Reception

Volume 4 reached the twelfth place on the weekly Oricon manga chart,[60] and, by June 15, 2014, has sold 73,983 copies.[61]

The manga was ranked sixteenth in the 2014 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Top 20 Manga for Male Readers survey.[62] It was nominated for the 18th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Reader Award.[63] It was also nominated at the 7th Manga Taishō, receiving 82 points and placing second among the ten nominees.[64] It is nominated at the 8th Manga Taishō.[65]

The staff at manga-news.com gave the French edition a grade of 17.33 out of 20.[15] On Manga Sanctuary one of the staff members gave it an 8 out of 10.[66]

See also

• A Distant Neighborhood, a 1990s Japanese manga about an adult re-living his teenage life

External links