Boku dake ga Inai Machi – 02
Boy meets Girl
What would you do if one second you were your normal adult self and then the next, you suddenly found yourself in the body of your prepubescent self, your mind still remaining at its adult level? At first it might seem like a dream: no adult responsibilities, no bills to pay, elementary school classes in which you have already mastered the material, food provided for you, no job to slave away at.
But then reality begins to set in. You have no remembrance of your old grade school class or classmates or schoolwork that you’ve suddenly been thrown into. You’re now stuck at an age where the validity of your opinion greatly varies. You have to now depend on the adults around you for pretty much everything, taking away the self-reliance that you’ve become accustomed to. You are now stuck with conversations that are only meant for a child’s ear, and those companions of a “similar age” all talk about frivolous subjects you’ve long forgotten or are no longer of any interest to you. Suddenly this “dream” is beginning to turn into a nightmare, and you have no way of knowing how, or even if, you are going to wake up.
This is the world that 29 year-old Satoru Fujinuma has found himself in. And worse, he dare not wake up, since the “reality” that he left behind is even worse than the “dream” that he has suddenly found himself in. Back in 2006, he came home one night after work to find his world shattering around him. His sanctity of his home intruded upon. His only family, his mother, brutally murdered, lying in a pool of her own blood in his living room. The police, with their screeching sirens and accusing glances demand that he comes to the station. His mother’s blood on his hands and his kitchen knife in her back with his and her fingerprints the only ones on the handle, scream out just as loud as the neighbor who serves a witness to a crime he did not commit. And on top of that, he happens to live in a country where there is really no presumption of innocence principle in the criminal justice system.
No, reality is not a place where he belongs right now, and so, with whatever wingless angel granted him the ability to go back in time for the price of stopping whatever disaster happened to trigger it. Satoru’s power of Revival jumps into hyperdrive and sends him back almost 20 years into the past. For the Revival ability realizes something that he does not–that the way to truly prevent this tragedy lies back in the year 1988. But will Satoru be able to figure out the connection?
Gotta Get Back In Time
Seriously, is there really a vital reason we have to have two pair of shoes for school?
Boku dake ga Inai Machi AKA The Town Where Only I am Missing AKA ERASED started off with a bang and quickly shot up to AOTS potential for many, including myself. And this second episode has done nothing but continue to cement that. We come in right as we left off, with Satoru finding himself in his 10 year-old body, inexplicably walking to school just as his younger self would have done every morning. However, he’s more than a little discombobulated at this.
His time travel powers have never done anything like this before. On top of that, for him, it’s been less than an hour since he witnessed his Mom’s murdered corpse and found himself framed for the crime and chased by the police. At first, he just goes with the motions and walks to class just as his younger self would have, but throughout the day, the turmoil and shock begin to catch up with him. How the heck is he supposed to sit still in this 5th grade class as if nothing has happened! He doesn’t have time for this, he’s an adult darn it and he has to figure out what the heck is going on!
Yes, while having the body of a 10 year old, his mind and psyche is almost three decades older. And I have to give it to both of Satoru’s voice actors (Shinnosuke Mitsushima and Tao Tsuchiya) for being able to balance out so well portraying the adult inner thoughts and the child’s outer voice.
Leaving school behind, Satoru’s mind is completely on his mother. If it’s 18 years in the past, then his mother is not dead, and is in fact 18 years younger. However, even knowing this, he has to see her, to touch her, to know that the nightmare he’s been having is no longer reality.
Home Sweet Home
And it’s really the humanity of this scene and those that follow that really set this series apart. The place we grew up for so long under the guidance and protection of our parents, will always be home for most of us. The happy, nostalgic look on Satoru’s face as he takes in his old childhood home, and the subtle smile that he gives as he observes the small apartment with reminiscing eyes, perfectly portrays that. He realizes that his mother would be at work in this timeline, so he falls asleep waiting for her.
He awakened hours later by the sound of her returning and just as natural as can be, Sachiko looks down and greets her young son. Satoru’s eyes become glassy with unshed tears and while it was always there below the surface, covered by the commonplace and the routine, the filial love he has for his mother shines through.
As he watches her cook dinner and talk about a forgotten argument they had had earlier that day, he can do nothing but gaze at her and realize how insignificant all of their arguments and emotional strain truly was. He may have a child’s body, but his mind is full of adult maturity as he shows his appreciation for all his mother is and all she has done for him. To realize that simply having a home cooked meal with her at their small kitchen table, is an experience that is without price and that he will never take for granted again.
But now reassured of his mom’s living presence, Satoru’s mind can now turn to other things. Such as, why in the world is he here in this time and place? We as the audience know that Sachiko’s killer is actually the same serial killer that kidnapped and killed Satoru’s classmates in March of 1988. Satoru having been delivered to the point in time of only a few weeks before the crime is to take place, has a job to do if only he can quickly figure out what it is. Thankfully, our female lead fills our MC’s field of vision (and later his mind) and Satoru suddenly remembers everything.
The Girl in Red
Let’s hope her future will be better than the one in Spielberg’s film
This episode we meet Kayo Hinazuki, the young quiet girl in the red coat, who keeps to herself and always stays in the park alone until the street lights come on. And, who also happens to be murder victim number one.
Kayo is expertly played by Aoi Yuuki, fully channelling Rokka no Yuusha’s Flamie, as the girl with concrete walls around her damaged heart who is mature beyond her years, not because she wants to be, but because she was made to be. Kayo is having mother problems as well, and her issues are also life-threatening and damaging. However, unlike Flamie, Kayo is a little girl with no special powers. She has no way of getting out of her abusive situation, and she’s unconsciously and desperately sending out SOS messages that would read loud and clear to anyone that would listen. And it’s adult Satoru’s consciousness that is able to pick up on the signs that his younger self wouldn’t have been able to comprehend. Well, with a little help from his friends.
Yes indeed, back in the day, Satoru actually used to have friends. As a child he would pretend to be someone else in order to fit in and make friends. However, the first time around he never let his that person he pretended to be, actually become him, and eventually he drew away from his friends and became a bit of an introvert and loner. This time however, Satoru can’t afford that. He is determined to not let this Revival go to waste and he will save both his mother and Kayo from their future fates. To do this, he interacts and talks more with his old childhood friends: the nerdy Osamu, the delicate Hiromi, the tough guy Kazu, and the perceptive Kenya.
It is through them that he able to find out more about Kayo, meet with her, and try to become her friend. His plan is rather simple. If he becomes friends with her, he can make sure that she’s not alone in that park on the night she is to be abducted. And so the man who would rarely take the time to talk to others, much less make friends, is now meeting every day with his friends after school, walking with a girl around neighborhood and talking with her about his hidden thoughts, as well as having birthday parties with all his friends. All of these things that he’s has never done in his past life.
And thus you realize that this is not just a story about finding a murderer, or stopping a tragedy, or even saving a lonely abused girl. It’s also about a young man who gets a second chance at life. To use his experiences and knowledge to mend past relationships and to create new ones. To change his own future forever.
A friendship blooms…and perhaps more?
_______________________
But there is still danger afoot and peril lurking in the air, and while we got a few glimpses of the murderer in the year 2006, the man could literally look like anyone in the year 1988. We have no way of knowing if the man is already in town, if he works in a pattern or at random, or even how old he is in this timeline. Or if he is even a man at this time! (18 years is long enough to have a sex change.) Everything is still up in the air and the d-day is approaching…
Another excellent episode from a series that has already proven itself one of the best series of the season. I’m loving Satoru, and to have Kayo played by Aoi Yuuki is one of the best bits of casting ever. The use of widescreen to show the past, while the present is shown in full, is an interesting way to tell one from the other. We get an actual OP and ED this week, and both are fantastic. I didn’t really care for Re:Re: by AKFG before, but it just goes so well with the animation of the opening that I’m loving it now. The ending is a rather sweet one by Sayuri, full of abstract, and yet haunting art animation. The full package continues to take your breath away.
He can’t let that girl to be thrown away like trash.
About IreneSharda
A Chicagoan biochemist, teacher, and an aspiring virologist, with a love for science only rivaled by my love for movies, animation, and anime. Both a lover of action/adventure and romance, I'm a girl who walks the entire spectrum. Mecha, Sci-Fi, Psychological Thriller, Romantic Period Piece, if it's has a good story, I'm there.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
I have to give it to both of Satoru’s voice actors (Shinnosuke Mitsushima and Tao Tsuchiya) for being able to balance out so well portraying the adult inner thoughts and the child’s outer voice.
What’s more amazing is that none of them ever did voice acting prior to this.
The anime director amusingly said he’d rejected numerous VAs for the role of child Satoru, because they sounded too much like typical Shonen Jump leads.
In the directors’s words:
“The role of Fujinuma Satoru is not that of a hero but that of someone who escapes. I looked for people who could fulfill that role and came upon two names.
I couldn’t feel much anger from Tsuchiya-san even when she strained her voice, and I thought that part of her was very much like Satoru. It was the sort of performance that evoked a defeatist attitude…[and] had a good balance when it came to sounding like a child.
As for Mitsushima-san, he’s done a lot of narration and commercials along with his wide breadth of acting roles, such as his live-action films and so on. Satoru is a character who performs a lot of monologues… I’ll consider it a big success if people can connect Satoru’s growth as a character with what the two actors came up with in the recording sessions. I’m looking forward to the payoff.”
The new question is whether the live movie version, due March 19th, can follow in the anime’s footsteps. Star power is guaranteed – Fujiwara Tatsuya (L from the Death Note movies) will play adult Satoru.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
It’s funny that he would say that, since I actually feel quite the opposite. While young Satoru is no shounen hero, he’s also definitely not a defeatist.
Older Satoru? Perhaps. But the young version of him is actually quite the optimist as many a child tends to be. He is determined to stop this tragedy as best he can and he will face every challenge as best as he can. He’s going up against a very real and dangerous threat, and he’s only in the body of a 10 year-old boy.
As for a real life version, I honestly don’t see many of those, but I hope it’s not a single movie. This anime is already rushing through things to get it done in a single cour, I don’t know how they could do it in a single movie.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Is this from something that wasn’t presented in this episode? Because I while I recall him telling Kayo that he puts on an act with other people, I don’t recall anything about doing things differently this time around.
But also, isn’t this something that everyone goes through? People act around other people. Everyone does, all the time. Part of growing up is learning to accept that.
I’m pretty sure that the early suspect is the teacher at the school. Or at least I thought I saw him at the school. But there’s probably going to be a lot more than that going on.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Yes, he did put on an act as a child in order to gain friends, but we can see that something changed him over the years where either he didn’t think friends were worth it, or he just lost touch and got tired of pretending, because we can see where he was in the future as a pretty solitary guy who didn’t even think his life really mattered.
This time around though, you’ll notice small changes from what would have happened originally. Before, he wasn’t thinking about Kayo, and so never sought out his friends for advice, giving them a chance to talk more. He would have never had these one on one talks with Kenya, who seems to want to reach out to Satoru, if he’ll only let him in. In an effort to reach his Kayo, he’s having birthday party with his friends, something he’s never had before and probably didn’t have after the tragedy in that past timeline. He’s becoming more social, and at this point, I don’t think he’s consciously pretending like he was when he was a kid. He doesn’t really have time to. His mind is on the events that will happen in the future, and he’s not really thinking of fitting in like he would as a child.
I kind of wish the anime had time to fit in all the nuances of Satoru’s growth that we would see subtly woven throughout the story, but they are doing a good job with what they have.
As for everyone putting on an act, I agree. However, like they said in the episode, there are many time were we naturally begin to adopt parts of the “act” as a part of us, and that is how we grow and change and our personalities develop. I think in the original timeline, Satoru got a lot of inspiration from Yuuki, who was a role model to him. After everything went down, and Yukki got sent to prison and then a divide formed between him and his mom when she didn’t listen to him about Yuuki. I think Satoru actually regressed and become less social and wanting to be alone until we basically got the man we saw in the beginning.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Without a doubt one of the better series this season.
In my opinion, the most predictable human step taken in such a circumstance, much like what’s being presented in the series as an example, is to undo everything that’s believed to be a broken moment in one’s life for the sake of improvement. Having an adult mind in the process would be tedious because in that stage of life, impatience is a near constant aspect. The consequence, if contemplated, is that person, in one way or another, would cease being themselves due to the made changes. Because a person’s personality is mostly forged from memories of past events that they’ve learned from.
A personal liking I’ve found in the series in the form of its lead and side interest. I’ve always found the socially detached characters far more fascinating than the socially dependent. As opposed to following the crowd and submitting to peer pressure among other things, they forge their own path with a clearer mind.
I like that they don’t let themselves get overwhelmed by others in their decision making, even if it’s a bit out of normality. As shrewd and underhanded as Satoru’s plan was to get closer to Kayo, I was fully rooting for him.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Oh I don’t know, I don’t think he’s really being underhanded. He knows this girl is going to get murdered and she’s not in a very good situation even before that. He wants to become friends with her to save her, and yet there does seem to be a connection between them as well, so we’ll just have to see how their friendship progresses.
Satoru’s life is going to be forever changed by this, that’s for sure.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Perhaps the person his Revival is supposed to save is him. You’ve thrown some harsh light on who the killer might be. It might be him. Now that would be a twist…
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
What light? I have no idea what you are talking about? -_-
Don’t count on me for clues, you know better than that. 😉
I’m not quite sure what the Revival’s purpose is. Satoru has said that it has never happened in reference to himself before. But then again, it has never gone back this far before either. However, no matter what happens, Satoru will definitely be changed for good.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Light? You’ve said we know nothing about his killer…taking that as a given, and given how different they animated the “killer” from the rest of the scenery? I’m making a leap to the killer being Satoru himself, cause that sounds interesting….
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Couldn’t be more true. Aoi Yuuki has an amazing voice range when she plays characters who are either children, teens or adults.
Children:
Kohina Hiruko (Black Bullet)
Mina Tepes (Dance in the Vampire Bund)
Sunako Kirishiki (Shiki)
Nina (Gangsta)
Teen:
Akira Renbokouji (Kakumeiki Valvrave)
Hibiki Tachibana (Senki Zesshou Symphogear)
Adult:
Diane (Nanatsu no Taizai)
Clementine (Overlord)
Even the characters in our avatars are played by her. How’s that for coincidence? 😉
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Hmm, I totally didn’t hear her as Akira or Nina, but then again, I’m just beginning to be able to recognize Japanese seiyuu by voice. It took me a while to remember their names and then to match the voices to them. It’s easier for the English VAs, but the more I’ve become involved in seasonal anime, the more I’ve been able to recognize names and the voices that go with them.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Yeah, it takes time but you’ll get the ability. After I’ve made watching anime online a routine, I can pick out which seiyuu is playing a character just by listening to their voice. Some are so distinct you can’t mistake them if you try.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I’m getting them but it’s slow. I’ve begun to recognize the veterans that you see everywhere. Kaji Yuki, Daisuke Ono, Takahiro Sakurai, Koji Yusa, Fukuyama Jun, Sho Hayami.
Girls are a little harder for me since many of them sound so similar to each other. I only identified Aoi Yuuki this time around because she sounds pretty much exactly the same here as she did in Rokka. And I loved Flamie so much that her voice stuck with me.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I wouldn’t say that so easily anymore these days. Lately, there’s been a whole new generation of English voice actors coming in. So much that I’ve given up trying to keep track. At this point in time, I can only remember the veterans.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I pretty much just remember the veterans here too. The Vic Mignognas, the Eric Vales, The Luci Christians, the Steven Blums.
The new guys I could probably get too, but I haven’t watched many dubs recently.