It seems nobody remembers Quantum Leap anymore, because otherwise fewer people would’ve complained about the time travel in Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi/Erased. The time travel mechanism isn’t important to the story it wanted to tell, it doesn’t matter how it works or where it came from; just as in Quantum Leap you might as well explain it as an act of god. The world needed to be put right hence Satoru travelled back in time. A tool, not a theme.
Similarly, the more I think about, the less I think that this was ever meant as a real mystery. Again, the serial killer aspect and the need to prevent his mother from being murdered is a tool to get to the real meat of the story, which is that Sataru gets to do over his life not only so that he can save his class mates and mother, but especially so he doesn’t end up in his mid-twenties as a failed mangaka. He learns to make friends, learns to trust people and learns to accept their help when before he tried to do everything on his own. That’s why the thriller aspects of the plot are the weakest and the heart of the story lies in how he learns to get along with his friends, not to mention his relationship with his mother.
No Comments