「暴走」 (Bousou)
“Out of Control”

…Another revival! And we’re taken back to Satoru and Kayo’s first date. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect because I didn’t think that Satoru could revive back to a specific time and place repeatedly but it’s likely linked to his current situation. This is probably one of those pivotal moments where Satoru could make a difference to his present timeline (under tragic and stressful circumstances) and thus why he’s transported back. I love the emotional scenes that really touch your heart when he sees Kayo and his mother alive again. It must take such a toll on you when you jump back and forth between timelines.

Finally – the other mysterious 11-year-old boy that everyone has their eyes on, Kenya makes his move. And possibly in the most suspicious way ever. He claims that Satoru has “matured” and “turned into a different person” but Kenya himself, acts like an adult too! His observations, the calmness of his voice and just his demeanor isn’t like an 11-year-old’s. Even Satoru (as a 29-year-old) acts more like a kid! Just in the short amount of time that Kenya has been observing Satoru, he’s already noticed a lot about him. Why would an 11-year-old care so much about another 11-year-old staring at a girl? If Kenya liked Kayo, then that explains why he’s so anxious about Satoru these days (and seems so knowledgeable about Kayo in general). However, if not, then I just find it very odd that he even notices these things at all. No one else in class seems to notice the changes in Satoru’s behavior (definitely not his other friends) and the fact that Kenya literally stalks Satoru? That’s a bit extreme. Why would an 11-year-old do that? Don’t most kids just want to eat, play and have fun? What else do you have to be worried about?

Besides Kenya’s suspicious actions, Satoru himself is finally pulling some moves and doing more than last time. He actually has a plan! And personally, I think it’s actually a very smart plan, even if it includes Kenya. I still haven’t decided if I trust Kenya or not yet – he is a kid, but he seems a bit too smart for your average kid and we did see him talking to Gaku late at night. Not that Gaku is a bad guy… maybe it’s just all bait. Anyway, I’m so proud of Satoru this episode for making some bold moves to physically try and save Kayo’s life. Not just by befriending her but by kidnapping her! You go Satoru! And somehow Kayo agrees to this crazy plan to live in a bus for a few days. I guess there’s nothing to lose when your other option is being beat when you get home. Something about seeing Kayo relax and eat cup noodles with Satoru felt so comforting to me. It’s like they’re both runaways, living in a heated abandoned school bus who only have each other. About the only mistake to Satoru’s plan though, had to be the inclusion of other people. Clearly he trusts Kenya (and his other friends), but you just never know so you can’t be too cautious. The more people that know of Kayo’s location, the more likely she is to be found out. However, I still give Satoru the credit for going this far and making strong attempts to keep Kayo away from home. Let’s hope it pays off. The most interesting scene to come out of his endeavors were when his eyes glowed red for the first time. A sign of a killer? I think it’s just a symbol of his intent to really push Kayo’s mother down the stairs.

The man at the end – to me – is probably either Yuuki or the murderer. I’m guessing Yuuki because he sounds like he is either a pedophile or knew Kayo prior to these events and is genuinely happy for her to have friends. I thought it was the latter but he does have an ominous aura around him that makes him untrusting (and makes him feel like a stalker). It’s the shifty eyes I’m telling you. My other guess would’ve been the actual murderer entering the school bus. That might be a bit too obvious though and I don’t think the author would give away the killer so quickly. If he’s smart enough to find Kayo in the bus, I hope Satoru is smart enough to use this as bait to lure out the true murderer. I wouldn’t want to see another case where Kayo ends up missing (and dead) so for the sake of Satoru’s sanity, this better be his last revival and he better succeed.

40 Comments

  1. “I didn’t think that Satoru could revive back to a specific time and place repeatedly but it’s likely linked to his current situation.”

    In the manga Satoru is shown using revival repeatedly to go back to the same point (sometimes even voluntarily) to solve issues through trial and error.

    NB
    1. You have a good point. I don’t know if the cops can do anything other than look for Kayo though. Unless Kayo says that her mother is abusing her herself, she’s just going to end up back home with the same thing happening. I hope that’s not the case though because this revised storyline already looks like it’ll end up differently.

  2. Kenya is my favorite character. He’s Satoru’s logical voice of reason.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Zen
  3. I’m just praying Kenya really isn’t the culprit because he’s such a cool friend. I really enjoy their interactions together and hope they work together to find the real culprit. If it wasn’t for him following Satoru, Satoru may have committed another stupid mistake by instigating an attack on the mother and waste his last revival chance.

    ChromeNova
    1. If you havent figured out who the culprit is by now. . .You`re painfully slow. especialyl since the show has been painted Giant Sign on the back of the culprit since he walked in the damn show.

      endah
      1. Why do you have to be so negative? Just because you’ve figured out who the culprit is, everyone else who hasn’t has to be “painfully slow”? There are other ways to brag without insulting people.

        JayDrink
      2. Dude, come on… The only think missing is a giant arrow pointing at the killer, and a massive thunderclap whenever the killed enters a room. If you haven’t figured it out, you really ARE painfully slow.

        DmonHiro
  4. I had an interesting thought after watching this episode:
    I think (and I don’t read the LNs nor mangas), the killer has a similar power to the hero, if not with (slightly?) more control over it.

    Kailord
  5. “About the only mistake to Satoru’s plan though, had to be the inclusion of other people”.

    I dont know about Kenya, but I think Satoru took in Hiromi (the girly boy) because if you look at the list of victims, he was also murdered after Kayo during the kidnap/murder incident. Just my guess though.

    Atsu
  6. I was a little disappointed. Given what he knew about the horrible and brutal way she died
    the first time, if it were me, I wouldn’t let go of her hand. I’d try to convince and confide in
    my mom to:
       – let her stay at the house after the birthday party; or
       – convince her to stay with another friend; or

      ☞ stay at the bus 100% of the time with her (even cutting school to do so); or
       – convince my mom to call the police.
    Having said that, we don’t know who is at the bus at the end of the episode; we assume
    it’s the killer.

    At least, the “staying at the bus” was foreshadowed with the comment about leaving tracks
    in the snow a few episodes back when they talked about visiting their “secret hideout”.
    So, that can be used to explain how the (possible) killer found Kayo.

    Questions / plot holes in my mind:
       – Why is Kayo 1st? I’dve thought that his changing of events would shift the interest of the
         killer to another of the children murdered at that time.
       – I’m happy for the warm friendship / budding love developing between Satoru and Kayo.
         But, as far as I know, there was no suggestion that he discussed with her any notion that
         she was in jeopardy. I can understand her developing trust in him, but her unquestioning
         agreement to be abducted was a little out of what I expected of her personality and her
         circumstances.

    Anyway, if Kayo is murdered again Show Spoiler ▼

    will he be able to finally right it through another “revival”?

    mac65
  7. The amount of cliffhangers in Erased is ridiculously high that I got used with it. Nonetheless, it is a very good show.

    And YES… I don’t think something bad will happen Kayo with that ending. I think it is Show Spoiler ▼

    . So everything is still daijobou.

    PS: Hinazuki is really special, isn’t it? UGH.

  8. Cherrie, you only arrived to these assumptions because this episode was really bad adapted.
    There’s nothing mysterious about Kenya, the anime just omitted his story.
    Yuuki too, it’s foul play making he have those reactions when questioned about Kayo.

    What a disappointment these three episodes.

    Panino Manino
    1. I haven’t read the manga so it’s definitely the adaptation that makes me feel that way >_> it’s all the music and shifty eye movements that make characters more suspicious then they probably are. The anime probably doesn’t want to deliver the murderer on a platter that easily =X but it makes it hard for the audience to trust anyone then.

      1. Yes, your impressions makes perfect sense based on what the anime showed to you.
        It’s just that the tricks in use are pretty obvious. Anyway, the reality is not so obvious, keep watching.

        Panino Manino
      2. @Panino Manino
        I read the other day some comments from manga readers that they hoped the anime doesn’t give away the killer too easy like the manga did. If that were true, then from my viewpoint, the producers did just what it takes to achieve that. You’ve gotta give it to them for making the anime more intriguing the way they did, even if it were false suspicion. I personally applaud their approach.

  9. I love Yuuki-san so much! I don’t even care how this show ends, as long as he gets a happy ending. Well, not really, but I definitely want him to get a happy ending. Regarding Kenya, this episode actually reassured me that he can be trusted. He’s such a good friend. Personally, I didn’t find it suspicious that he stalked Satoru, I honestly expected him to do so. But sure, he definitely seems to be a bit too smart for an 11 year old.

    I have to say.. From the moment Satoru started his plan, I kept thinking to myself that he better include Hiromi or I’d be very disappointed in him. I was so relieved when I saw him playing cards with them in the end.

    By the way, any chance the ice skating kid will come back into the story somehow? The one Satoru intentionally lost to.. Usually in a show like this, every scene is relevant so I wonder if that’ll somehow come back to bite Satoru in the ass.

    JayDrink
  10. I think I’m gonna risk putting utter faith in Kenya.
    If he were a bad guy, then why would he stop Satoru from pushing Kayo’s mom off the stairs? If he were a bad guy, he’d simply let Satoru do this criminal act and then let the police take him in, so that he’d be out of the way.
    The person at the end. I don’t know what to think if he was Yuuki. Why would he follow them there if he isn’t the killer? He doesn’t come off as some obsessive kind of man who finds solace in toddler friends. If it were the killer, however, then I really find it lame how he doesn’t relent on going after the same victims. Why Kayo? She isn’t the only toddler girl in the town. Like I said last episode, we still lack motive. I think the next episode ought to give at least a hint of that.
    Just don’t let her die, Satoru, for the love of god.

  11. I’m a little concerned about the pacing of the show, actually. There are just 5 episodes remaining and we’re a little less than halfway through the source material. Crossing my fingers and hoping that this doesn’t end up being a turbulent racehorse to the end…

    Zen
  12. This show is miles ahead of all the gratuitous shows featuring kids that have come out lately because the studio and director are taking this seriously and treating the kid characters like human beings with thoughts and feelings not detached wish fulfillment fetish full like black bullet, no game no life, prisma illya, nanoha, and nanoha vivid does with its characters. There’s a level of realism in how the characters act and deal with the situation at hand. Kenya reminds me of Arnold from Hey Arnold in how he’s mature but it’s a believe able maturity that some kids have at that age. Kayo may seem like an kuudere character at first but like with Eva there’s more to it then that, she’s not that way just to enhance a quirk about her.

    1. Dude, those shows you mentioned all take place in some sort of fantastical world, and the children there are not normal by out standards. Of course someone who fight monsters behaves differently then a normal child. Of course the genetic clone of one of the most powerful mages in the world doesn’t act like a regular 10 year old. All the characters in Erased are supposed to be regular normal children like in our world.

      DmonHiro
    2. Dude. That was a far out analogy if I am asked. These are fantasy series where the characters are expected to act like that.

      If you are that itching to compare it with its peers, look no further as The Perfect Insider and Ranpo Kitan were aired last year.

  13. I’m agreeing on how Erased is great in terms of storytelling and character interaction. By the way just because I pointed out negatives with the other shows in my above comment doesn’t mean I still don’t find most of them enjoyable you can like something and be critical of it at the same time.

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