Did ERASED’s finale ruin the whole series?

ERASED anime had me hooked to it since the first episode, it’s a murder mystery thriller, but with a fantastic twist- Time Travel.

The finale, though, didn’t live up to its expectations and left fans disappointed as the show had such a fantastic build-up. It was so fast-paced that the show was ruined with such a rushed finale.

Keep reading to find out how the finale ruined the series

I’m allured like a curious cat to such a series where the protagonist hops back and forth in time, trying to fix the present reality.

However, every action causes a huge ripple and leads to an entirely new storyline, which is mindboggling. Kinda reminds me of Tokyo Revengers.

Why were fans disappointed with the finale?

Fans were disappointed with the finale for several reasons. To begin, it deviated immensely from the manga.

While the anime was being produced, the manga was also ongoing, so the creators had to create a rushed, inconclusive ending without proper character development and explanations, which was quite disappointing.

Guess what? The Netflix Live Action series for ERASED did a much better job of capturing the real essence of the manga and took its sweet time developing the characters and the plot.

It escaped the Live Action curse just like Netflix’s One Piece Live Action.

In the manga, we actually get to learn about Yashiro, his past with his abusive brother, and why he kills children who have a spider thread looming over their heads.

In the rushed anime, he is a typical child serial killer, it’s much better to delve into the killer’s past and what shapes them as you understand their motives.

Another important aspect is that in the manga, the ending was carried out smoothly in a much-planned manner, answering all the pop-up doubts in your head.

Meanwhile, the anime’s ending was inconclusive, I mean, how did Satoru even outsmart Yashiro? How did Satoru know that Yashiro would take him to the rooftop and push him off as well?

Also, the roof was pretty big, man, Yashiro could have pushed him off from any point. The protective landing was right below Saturo.

All these pop-up questions make the ending highly inconclusive and don’t leave you satisfied.

This is why most fans were disappointed with it and felt like it ruined the whole show.

Let’s not forget the shipping aspect, which was completely ERASED from the show itself. The bond between Kayo Hinazuki and Satoru Fujinuma.

After everything Satoru did to keep her out of harm’s way, fans expected him to end up with Kayo, I mean, even the poster has Kayo leaning on him.

They had a special bond, and the way the anime depicted them, the ending felt rash.

However, there’s another perspective to this: when Satoru actually saw Kayo 15 years later, he was so happy he was crying as he finally saved her.

Let’s not forget that he was about 30 years old, stuck in his childhood body, where he spent time with Kayo.

He was a fully grown man, so perhaps his instincts were only that of caring for little Kaya like an elderly brother. I’m going to leave this up to you.

I would highly recommend reading the ERASED manga to make up for your disappointments.

Also, give the Tokyo Ghoul manga a shot, as it is much cooler and delves into the plot and character development, unlike the anime, which just fast-forwarded the whole show at 1.5 speed like YouTube videos.

About ERASED

“Erased,” also known as “Boku dake ga Inai Machi” in Japanese, is a mystery thriller anime that follows Satoru Fujinuma, a struggling manga artist with the power of “Revival,” and after a tragic incident, he’s sent back 18 years to 1988.

There, he realizes his time travel is connected to a series of abductions and murders from his childhood. Satoru must prevent these events to achieve justice and fix the present. The anime is a gripping tale of mystery, redemption, and the importance of protecting loved ones.

ERASED is based on a manga written and illustrated by Kei Sanbe. The manga was serialized from June 4, 2012, to March 4, 2016.

The anime adaptation of “Erased” was released in 2016, spanning over 12 episodes, and was produced by A-1 Pictures and directed by Tomohiko Ito.