The Time-Travel Anime Series With A Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score You Probably Missed

I’ve dabbled in anime, seen enough to identify landmarks in the genre, but not enough to become fluent in Japanese or start a cosplaying career. That being said, I think Erased is one example of a standalone masterpiece that transcends the category in a way any TV buff would lose their minds over.

Rich in plot complexity and emotional depth, Erased tells the story of Satoru Fujinama, a 29-year-old pizza delivery guy who dreams of making it as a manga artist and has the ability to travel back in time, usually for a few minutes, to prevent tragic occurrences. But after the death of his mother, he experiences his biggest time hop yet, a full eighteen years into past to 1998 where he is still an 11-year-old schoolboy.

Once he acclimates to his surroundings, Satoru discovers that his mother’s death is somehow connected with a series of child abductions and murders that occurred during his childhood. He realizes one of the victims was his classmate, Kayo Hinazuki, a girl from an abusive household, and attempts to change her fate, and his mother’s, by helping her.

Leaning on his adult memories and experiences, Satoru must re-navigate his childhood life in order to sniff out the murderer and figure out the right sequence of events that will change the future for the people he loves. The closer he gets to Kayo, the more is stake for him to lose, as he desperately tries not to betray her trust and innocence.

It’s well-written, complex enough to hold your attention without requiring an inordinate suspension of disbelief, and knows exactly how and when to tug on your heart-strings. So it’s no wonder it has a perfect critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, and even inspired a live-action Netflix series. Check out Erased for yourself below: