Boku Dake ga Inai Machi: The Town Without Me

[Kraco]

http://i.imgur.com/c6i7Z2C.jpg

"A strange phenomenon where one is transferred back to the moment right before something life-threatening occurs. This continues to happen until the cause of the threat is erased. It is as if somebody is forcing Satoru to stop it from happening. Then one day, everything is changed. What truths are revealed when Satoru comes face to face with his own past? How will they affect his future?" -Manga-Updates

Genres: drama, mystery, psychological, time travel
Links: AniDB (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=11292) | ANN (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=17217) | Official (http://bokumachi-anime.com/)
Subber: HS




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SPOILERS BELOW
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The first thing i thought when watching this is that it has a nicer older atmosphere. The MC is 29 years old, so it makes sense. Sure, it has a super power, after a fashion, but the dude's somewhat fatalistic attitude with it was refreshing in itself. Otherwise the feeling this gave was quite close to detective stories and such, which is no wonder considering the plot. I have read some manga where the MC is transferred back into childhood (in one way or another), but usually they don't have anything as heavy going as this.

Still, I wonder why he hates cops? Because he believes they arrested the wrong guy? It was pretty funny that after he found his own mother killed, the first thing he did when seeing the police was to run as if he was the murderer. But then again, the Japanese law enforcement is usually depicted as pitiful in manga/anime, so I guess nobody can blame him.

I'll keep watching. This might be even amusing, among the darker tones.

[KrayZ33]

Sounds cool, will watch it later.

edit: Wow, the first episode was amazing. I'm so looking forward for more.


Still, I wonder why he hates cops? Because he believes they arrested the wrong guy? It was pretty funny that after he found his own mother killed, the first thing he did when seeing the police was to run as if he was the murderer.

To me it looked like he got framed and was scared of being arrested just like that "Yuuki"-guy from his childhood, which he believes to be innocent too.


I really enjoyed every single minute so far, I'm crossing my fingers that this is going to last till the end of the show.

[MFauli]

Great first episode. If I could have one thing changed, its the mc´s past as a mangaka. That´s kinda too famous already to just let it slide.

The mother getting stabbed was a big surprise, she got nicely established and the move in seemed like a permant development. Guess not. Well, a age 52, she probably was "of anime-age" anyway, sighlol.

What I don´t like is the butterfly imagery. I´d prefer a more generic effect, because it being a butterfly shape means that somebody is behind it, manipulating things, rather than it being a weird natural occurence that only our mc has access to.

Not sure what to think about Airi. She´s kinda too much this typical "girl that makes contact to the weird hero, which would never happen irl"-type of girl.

Wonder how long this journey to his past keeps going

[Kraco]

Episode 2 - HS




-- - - - --



Now we got to the meat of this dish. The culture shock was depicted nicely, but also took into account the fact the dude is a veteran of acting more social than he is, so he can also cover a lot by acting here. Another good, and natural, thing is that he's not all about just solving the case but also realised he might do some other little things while he is at it, like thank his mom and in general maybe appreciate more that past time. It's pretty funny how his buddies are all impressed this 29 years old guy has the guts to go and talk to a girl.

I couldn't avoid a slight feeling of all the children feeling a bit too mature all in all. But perhaps that's only because the Kenya fellow seems somewhat special and Hinazuki is damaged due to being abused. Hinazuki's essay was quite forlorn but beautiful and further made her seem to have lost crucial aspects of childhood far too soon. I'll be really sad if Satoru can't save the poor girl.

[KrayZ33]

What I don´t like is the butterfly imagery.


Hmm?
The butterfly is the *perfect* image for what is happening, I don't see any problem with this.


I´d prefer a more generic effect, because it being a butterfly shape means that somebody is behind it, manipulating things, rather than it being a weird natural occurence that only our mc has access to.

What exactly are you trying to say here? What's "natural" about it?
I thought it was rather obvious that this is a reference to the "Butterfly Effect" which, in this case, is actually more of a "snowball" or "domino"-effect.

[MFauli]

Hmm?
The butterfly is the *perfect* image for what is happening, I don't see any problem with this.



What exactly are you trying to say here? What's "natural" about it?
I thought it was rather obvious that this is a reference to the "Butterfly Effect" which, in this case, is actually more of a "snowball" or "domino"-effect.

I generally hate non-sensical stuff, I prefer when everything has a Logical Explanation. The Butterfly only makes sense if 1.) some third-party is creating it, 2.) the hero is subsconsciously producing such imagery, or 3.) the natural Effect of his "Revival" skill simply Looks like that (the worst Option).
Like, imagine that CERN scientist revealed to the press they found the Higgs boson and it looked like a hot loli Girl. Would that make sense?


PS: wtf why are some of the words automatically changed to capital letter? fuck annoying

Edit:ep 2 was fantastic. I feel linke this is THE Anime to watch this season. Feels like Detective conan meets steinsgate meets anohana.

[shinta|hikari]

HOLY LOLI!

HINAZUKI SUKI!

I love his mom too, not in a sexual way, but as a character. That yokai is just amazing. I'd redo 18 years if it meant saving a mom like that. But then again, I'd redo 18 years anyway because then I'd be a 29 year old in an 11 year old body, just like this guy. Oh le legal lolicon mode.

@Kraco - Mature kids are the best. This is my most anticipated show of the season, and it delivers.

[David75]

The present we had in ep1 was in 2004 because 1988+24. Probably because it was the setting of the original setting and they couldn't mess with it ?
Or is it we might cover some time between 2004 and more recent years ?

Ep1 was great, so obviously living as a boy in ep2 was less of a ride. Even if it was nicely presented and remind us that just remembering your seat or childs name isn't obvious at all 18 years after...

That teacher felt a lot like our murder...

[KrayZ33]

Ep2 was really great too.

This was so interesting to watch and him trying not to step on landminds was really satisfying.
The fact that he didn't remember his seat was really nice.

I wonder whether we'll get to see the alternative timelime after he starts to change things, or maybe he'll get more tries than just one like in the movie "Buttefly Effect"

Best show this season so far and if it keeps up like this, probably one of the best/better ones overall.



That teacher felt a lot like our murder...

Why?

[David75]

Eyes, though not red yet, felt the same. Maybe the hairline too, though he had a hat in the future. Maybe face lines, though the angle was different.
Maybe there's the fact that everyone in the future knows the culprit (well mc and mc's mother at least), but can't put a name on him, though that could be anyone else outside of the people we've seen so far.

[KrayZ33]

Dunno, they look totally different to me, glasses vs no glasses, brown vs black hair.

The only thing they share is a penis.

[neflight86]

Good continuation of the first episode, but my favorite part was I actually liked his little friend group. Kids for sure, but not malicious or contemptuous like so many 'modern' children are portrayed. For some reason that little kid with the glasses reminds me of an old friend I haven't seen in years.

I hope he gets to travel back to the present and meet up/look up his detective friend to bring him into the present case. That kid's sharp.

[Kraco]

Episode 3 - HS




- - - - -



Goddam. Hinazuki's situation is even more fucked up than I expected. Perhaps Satoru can change her fate. As it was originally, death might have been a relief. Still, I do wonder if this an individual arc that ends with Hinazuki taken away from the abusive family and leaving the whole town as well. It would be sort of sad if she leaves but Satoru simply continues in the past solving another case, possibly. But maybe this arc is after all the whole story and Hinazuki is thus around until the end. That would lenghten her suffering as well, though.

That fox scene looked highly unrealistic. No wonder nobody believed him. But maybe Japanese foxed are different.

[MFauli]

episode 3 is out
---------------------

Ugh, I wanna hug Hinazuki so much. That smile of her´s at the end, omg. Satoru, make sure to do whatever it takes to save her!!1 :>

God, I would have punched that mom so much. What a bitch. Tbh why didnt he just call the police on the spot? They could probably tell if those wounds are from falling or being beaten. Ugh.

As for who the culprit is, I think it´d be too easy if it was the teacher. And looks like that one smart friend of Satoru is up to something, too. I also wouldn´t rule out that this 23-yo guy actually did it. I mean ... it IS damn weird to invite a young school kid into your home/room when you´re 23 yo yourself. The "accidentially" revealing his porn stash, then commenting on how mature Satoru has become ... it could very well go either way, but that had "pedophile seduction tactics" written all over it.

Speaking on the pervy aspects: Do you think it´d be okay for Satoru to have sex with Hinazuki? If your answer is "no, cause he´s actually an adult", would you be okay with it if it were reveresed, a child in an adult´s body? Ofc this is disregarding that they´re probably too young for sex anyway :P

Edit: Btw I have to emphasize HOW MUCH I love this anime. It´s been a long time since I´ve seen such quality all around in a new anime series. Great art, great animation, great sound, quality character designs, no convoluted, overly complex plot, and a continuous story. Sooo good. And I love the whole "re-visiting childhood" concept. I remember how emotional I got during watching Ano Hana. This here is on par with it, except it has a better plot (although connecting with Ano Hana´s characters was easier cause of the higher age).

[David75]

It only struck me as late as the park scene when Satoru was alone that he might also be in danger.
Sure the killer seems to only be interrested in girls, but by being too much in the way, he could be seen as a nuisance.
Teacher+smart kid scene was indeed strange. And that sly smile the teacher had. Could be a way to distract us from other bits and pieces.

[Kraco]

It only struck me as late as the park scene when Satoru was alone that he might also be in danger.

I'm not sure a serial killer changes targets so whimsically, but he's definitely in great danger if he indentifies the correct man and gets himself spotted. Although if it's not the classic case of psycho killer but some opportunistic pedophile or whatever who just snatches any lonely child, then things could be different. But his mom's killer seemed quite smart and sophisticated, not some dirty dreg.

[shinta|hikari]

I confess.

I killed Kayo!

She was just too cute so I sorta grabbed her. And things just went out of control.

I don't regret a thing.

[Lucifus]

Best show of the season hands down.

Kayo's step-dad/the deadbeat looking dude possibly? Kenya is feeling awfully suspicious for mom stabber.

[David75]

Best show of the season hands down.

Kayo's step-dad/the deadbeat looking dude possibly? Kenya is feeling awfully suspicious for mom stabber.
After that teacher/smart kid scene, it becomes possible to think of two people working together in those crimes. And yes, that kid being the one stabing Satoru's mom.

@Kraco: I just thought to myself that Satoru has to be very smart and careful, because even with his 29 year old wits/knowledge/memories, he's just a 11 years old brat with not much physical or persuasion strenght against adults.
In the first timeline, he wasn't even able to convince his mother the cops were after the wrong guy.
But somehow having his very first huge leap after so many years in the first timeline probably means there's a positive outcome available. The truck scene in the first ep reminds us he sometimes needs to put his life on the line, even to prevent a "simple and short in time" event.

[MFauli]

We also mustnt forget about Satoru´s ability itself. How did it come to be, what exactly is it? Is this a 1 cour-series? If so, I expect that mystery to be solved as part of the ongoing childhood-story. In that case, there might be more to Kayo and those murdered girls than face value. I´m especially suspicious because of that talk between the teacher and Satoru´s smart friend. Wouldn´t put it past possibilites that he, too, has the same ability as Satoru and tries to interfere with the past. Would certainly be exciting.

Btw. why was Kayo so shocked when Satoru said "That´s because I chose not to lie to you"? Without the contect of knowing about Satoru´s real age, what´s so shocking about it? It´s cute, if anything.

[Kraco]

Btw. why was Kayo so shocked when Satoru said "That´s because I chose not to lie to you"? Without the contect of knowing about Satoru´s real age, what´s so shocking about it? It´s cute, if anything.

Because they are both liars. Satoru were even when he was going through his life the first time through, so his special power alone doesn't matter. He has said he's always acting like somebody else in order to get along with people and not look like a social outcast (when he did stop acting after school as an adult, he became what he really is, a loner). That's why the hockey dude, for example, told him that he hates scumbags like that who underperform basically out of pity (since Satoru thought it would be unfair for a hockey player to lose to some random layman in ice skating).

It doesn't need to be mentioned why Hinazuki is a liar. Of course for her the reason is much bigger, but perhaps that gives her the perspective that stopping lying is a big deal. Not that Satoru still could tell her that he's a time traveller... They might be kids, but Haruhi is the only person who would immediately believe it.

[shinta|hikari]

Well, I'm pretty sure that's a very embarrassing line to say and hear regardless of age or situation anyway.

[KrayZ33]

I... I-I'm not sure if my heart is able to- .

Please, just let this show have a happy end.
What was that at the end (last 5 seconds). GAWD help me.

Show's still so good. I really wonder what will happen to Yuki.

[MFauli]

episode 4 is out
------------------------

Fuck everything, if Hinazuki is dead! :/

Oh god, if that´s the case, I hope Satoru gets some Steins;Gate like ability to re-try at will. Screw this. Omg, how happy she was at the birthday party. I want her as a pet and keep her forever, in a 100% non-sexual way. So cute. Sooo cute. Argh.

If she´s dead, then unless the murderer is a special kind of sick fuck, it´s gotta be her deadbeat father. She was at home, afterall.

Tbh I expected that other girl that stole the money to be killed in Hinazuki´s stead. And Satoru´s solution was half-assed either way: Saving Hinazuki from dying on that one day still meant that her murderer would be walking around free. There´s some guy out there with the urge of killing children. That needs to be taken care of to truly change the future.

Wah, fuck. I hate this so much right now. Can I please have a Hinazuki plushie? :/

[Kraco]

I'm really liking the moments when Satoru only planned to think something in his mind, yet ended up uttering it aloud. It's quite fascinating because usually I dislike such scenes due to the lack of realism (I reckon you need some kind of a brain disorder to do that in RL). Here they are very nice because it's always some embarrassing line that makes Hinazuki like him all the more.

Nothing less than a cliffhanger was to be expected from this episode. It was evident early on.

[shinta|hikari]

I want Kayo as a pet and keep her forever, in a 100% sexual way. So cute. Sooo cute. Argh.

I just hope Kayo isn't dead. But even if she did die, wouldn't Satoru's ability kick in this time like how it did for his mother even with the delay?

[MFauli]

Oh, what I forgot to include in my posting above: This episode made me wonder if there´s maybe something wrong with Satoru´s memory. Now, hear me out. I realize that it´s normal not to remember every day of your childhood. But it seemed weird that when you´re in a specific situation that you DO remember to some extent, that you just forget about what follows. Satoru was so fixated on Hinazuki, yet he forget that he met her in the museum originally, too? That scene felt as if some outside force was making him act a certain way, as if he had no choice.

It shouldn´t be THAT hard to think up alternate actions that don´t mimic the original past.

[shinta|hikari]

He wasn't fixated on her in the previous timeline, so most of those memories are fuzzy or gone. Not only that, memories are flimsy things anyway. People change and interpret them however they want, and usually that departs from what really happened.

[David75]

It was fairly obvious the happy end wouldn't comme so easily. After all he didn't switch to his present 29 years old self.
And I think Hinazuki isn't dead yet. Satoru needs to rack his adult brains a lot and think of ways to find and save her.
As said above, saving Hinazuki isn't enough, other girls need to be saved.
I also thought the other classmate could become the next target. Satoru feels like a pivotal element in the events.
The only question is what details matter so much in his 29 years old self they play a role when going back to his chilhood.
Why the long wait and why is it possible to act when he's still a child to everyone else ?

[Kraco]

It was fairly obvious the happy end wouldn't comme so easily. After all he didn't switch to his present 29 years old self.

What makes you think he will? As far as we know, he hasn't previously. The jumps have been so short earlier that once he solved the whatever issue, he was already back to the starting point objective time wise. Logic dictates the same applies here as well. In the first place, if he really manages to change history, it's possible his own history will change a lot. There would be nowhere to jump back to. If everything goes the luckiest route possible, looking at how well he gets along with Hinazuki, the new 29 years old Satoru might already be a father of a couple of kids. He can't very well simply jump to such a reality without knowing anything about it. He has to live up to it.

On the other hand, if this story is really cruel, Hinazuki won't even be a key factor for the current case. In the end he jumped because his mom was murdered. The case ought to be solved by catching the murderer before that particular murder happens. So, Hinazuki could be merely a single cog in the great machine he needs to unravel enough for the police (or some other factor) to deal with the criminal sufficiently. Hinazuki's death could serve as a step for him to reach that goal. Although I'd be really sad if that was the case.

[Ryllharu]

The trigger was the murderer returning to kill his mother, because she had seen him trying to abduct another child in the present.

Satoru was so fixated on breaking the timeline at the beginning by just changing the past, that he's missing the obvious. It's not saving Hinazuki or his mother, it's stopping the murderer at the beginning. It's the only explanation for why he was sent back so far. He will probably keep failing until he prevents the murderer from taking a victim at all.

It would be truly awful if he had to relive it all each time, and seeing his mother killed again just to try once more. I'm sure it will happen at least once over the course of the series, but I think it's too early for that. That's why I think Hinazuki isn't dead yet, but what he changed so far is only delaying the start of the chain. He has to find the murderer first. But now he has time to start looking for suspects.

Even if Hinazuki disappeared on March 1st, She wasn't found until much later when the snow melted, and they imply she was pretty easy to identify, so she wasn't decomposed that much. She was murdered much later than when she was abducted. Satoru has to stop the murder, the abduction can probably still happen any time.

edit:
I think he should be focusing on Jun next. He made for such an easy scapegoat for the murderer. That way, if he fails and ages back up to the present, there will be different clues to identify the actual murderer when a different scapegoat takes the blame.

[Kraco]

I think he should be focusing on Jun next. He made for such an easy scapegoat for the murderer. That way, if he fails and ages back up to the present, there will be different clues to identify the actual murderer when a different scapegoat takes the blame.

It's the famously incompetent Japanese police we are talking about. I bet the murderer didn't need to do anything at all for the police to arrest and accuse Jun. The cops just catch the very first person who seems plausible and then force a confession out of him and/or railroad the case through so that they can tell the public the serial killer has been caught and someone within the police forces gets a promotion. It's inconsequential if the real killer is still at large or not.

[David75]

It's still pretty difficult to know who's the murder. Jun might not be the murder, but could be a partner in crime.
I just hope the solution really has details in the episodes prior to the reveal.

I wonder, should Satoru get killed if his powers will transfer to someone else.

Thinking back to Kenya, it might be he's a leaper too, trying to save Hinazuki and the other girls. But it might be he failed several times already, explaining his tired/slightly contorted face.

[Ryllharu]

@Kraco: I'm more thinking that they'll have to work around an actual alibi that Jun has for the delayed start of the abductions. In the original timeline, there are eyewitnesses that see him sitting alone all "creepily" on the same night she disappeared. Since they might actually have to try a little harder, these new details might appear in the "10 Most Infamous Unsolved Cases!" book. The kidnapping-murders of these girls is a super famous case that still gets a lot of attention.

Any clues Satoru can gain from a failure if he jumps back again (and from the OP I think we can expect he will) will help him greatly the next time around.

@David: I'm kind of thinking it is more than one person as well. The potential abductor and the killer of Satoru's mom looked quite different. I can't believe that it is just a matter of him being dressed for work versus trying to be incognito while kidnapping kids.

Right now I'm wondering if it is a pair of brothers or something. The kidnapper being slightly less competent, and the other sibling murdering the kids to cover it up and not leave any witnesses. The kidnapper not having any interest in murdering, and the killer taking pleasure in covering the kidnapper's tracks.

Nevermind, they're clearly the same person and his mother recognized him.

[Kraco]

That would be kind of novel as far as I'm concerned, with psychopath stories not being my favourites.

[MFauli]

Well, if we wanna talk potential murderers:

First of all, it has to be somebody that makes it "exciting" to have him be the murderer. Which is why it´s not the teacher. After that one overly ominous scene, it´d be too obvious, thus boring. I´m not sure if they said anything about it, but was there anything implying that it had to have been an adult culprit? If so, Satoru´s friends aren´t an option, either. Hinazuki´s parents also fall under the "too obvious"-category. Yeah, they´re despicable sub-humans, but that´s all.

I think there´s ... hm, four possibilities atm:

- it´s actually Jun. Satoru firmly believes he´s not guilty, so him finding out the opposite would be very tragic and heart-breaking
- Hinazuki is the murderer. No idea, how she killed the other girls, but she´s the first to disappear, right? Would be rather "wtf"
- but speaking of "wtf": It could be Satoru himself. Maybe Satoru´s fuzzy memory is intentional, and he forgot about his own doings from a mental trauma. Again, the "how" is the big questionmark here. That would also explain why his mother was killed: Revenge
- a yet unkown perpetrator.

[Ryllharu]

Uhh...you're dumb.

Jun is on death row...but the kidnappings have still been happening, just lower profile. Satoru's mom recognized the kidnapper at the store when she was with Satoru, and vice versa. The two of them stopped it when Satoru jumped back without ever figuring out why. But his mother did figure it out. She might not know exactly what Satoru does, but she clearly recognized his reaction to having jumped. The kidnapper then killed her because he knew he had been seen. He smirked at Satoru because he knew that Satoru would be blamed for killing his own mother.

Satoru was not the one kidnapping kids in the present day. Same perp. Again, his mother figured it all out, but knew she couldn't officially report it because the statute of limitations had expired (btw, wtf Japan, murder has an 18 year statute of limitations!?). Stupid Civil Law countries. Common Law is obviously better.

[David75]

Back to the culprit:
Should Satoru prevent him/her from starting his crimes, on what basis can the culprit be stopped if there are no crimes they can be punished for ? Or if it's only a short time jail crime ?
Unless the culprit is totally disabled (death, or near vegetable state), just stopping the 3 crimes we know of isn't enough.

[shinta|hikari]

Naruto Punch of Friendship.

[MFauli]

Uhh...you're dumb.

Jun is on death row...but the kidnappings have still been happening, just lower profile. Satoru's mom recognized the kidnapper at the store when she was with Satoru, and vice versa. The two of them stopped it when Satoru jumped back without ever figuring out why. But his mother did figure it out. She might not know exactly what Satoru does, but she clearly recognized his reaction to having jumped. The kidnapper then killed her because he knew he had been seen. He smirked at Satoru because he knew that Satoru would be blamed for killing his own mother.

Satoru was not the one kidnapping kids in the present day. Same perp. Again, his mother figured it all out, but knew she couldn't officially report it because the statute of limitations had expired (btw, wtf Japan, murder has an 18 year statute of limitations!?). Stupid Civil Law countries. Common Law is obviously better.

None of that excludes anybody I mentioned from being the culprit. Almost two decades between then and now. The murderer now doesn´t have to be the same as back then.
And the mother most definitely has NOT figured out anything about anybody being the murderer - IF SO, she would have reported it or otherwise made it public. It´s absolutely laughable to claim she kept quiet just because of some law expiring. She´s portrayed as a responsible civilian, so warning people about this sicko that, if you´re right, just got lucky about the law expiring by now, would have been the least she would have done. ALSO, if the law expired, there would have been no reason for him to kill the mom, eh? If it´s indeed the same culprit, that only put himself in danger again for another 18 years.

[David75]

She only connected the dots right before being stabbed to death...

[KrayZ33]

The only problem I have with this show so far is how fast Hinazuki opened up to Satoru's friends, but then again, since she is with Satoru all the time, I guess she managed to muster up the trust as long as he is right next to her.

Kayo is too cute. Poor girl. Her mom made me really feel uncomfortable and I was always thinking about when she'll hit her again - for the entire episode.
So far I think she's missing because of her mother. At this point, I wouldn't be too suprised if she got sold to someone for abuse or just way too beaten up to come to school.

[Ryllharu]

My guess is she stayed up late trying to knit, and her mother got pissed and hit her in the face (which she explicitly avoided).

[MFauli]

That´s a good guess.

My follow-up guess would be that Satoru uses this shock of thinking she had been killed after all, as a motivation to find the culprit. This is where his friends come in, especially the smart one, and it becomes a full-n Detective Conan-style story.


Btw. in my head the following scene should have happened, because it´d have been awesome: When Hinazuki´s mom was about to hit her and only got stopped by Satoru´s mom, Satoru should have stood a little behind after his mom got going, and told the asshole-mom of Hinazuki´s: "You know, I cannot do anything that would take Kayo out of your dirty hands, because I want her to stay here. But hit her again, and I will make you pay." Just to let that bitch know that he´s fully aware of it all, that he knows what he *could* do, but won´t because he likes Kayo to stay in this town. Would be kinda badass :>

[Kraco]

The only thing giving me hope when watching this show, and all the time realising how overly optimistic Satoru's plan has been, is the single fact that the scene in the official page illustration (reused as the AniDB series page picture) hasn't happened yet...

[KrayZ33]

The only thing giving me hope when watching this show, and all the time realising how overly optimistic Satoru's plan has been, is the single fact that the scene in the official page illustration (reused as the AniDB series page picture) hasn't happened yet...

Do you mean the scene/picture where they are holding hands and she sleeps while resting her head on his shoulders?

Same here then.

[shinta|hikari]

That's only Kayo's corpse.

[KrayZ33]

Stop that.
Btw if you watch and listen closely here

http://i.imgur.com/xjRN74n.jpg

you might be able to hear me going "HNNNNNNNG" in the background.

Protect that smile please. Thanks! That scene was basically when my insides went nuts.
Even more than during Usagi Drop. Really felt like this was her first honest smile in years..... and well, it probably was.

[shinta|hikari]

You know what needs to be mentioned about this series? The stellar voice acting. Everyone is doing a fantastic job, especially the adult and child hero and Kayo.

[KrayZ33]

Ya I thought so too, especially during the very first episode. Adult MCs voice was extremely relaxing.
And while we are at it, the voice acting in that "Surabashii" show (that RPG leveling show) is extremely good too. MC sounds extremely "realistic" to me in there

[shinta|hikari]

BTW, I couldn't hear your HNNNNNNNG because my !!!!HNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!! was too loud and drowned yours out.

[MFauli]

No idea what sound you all are making, because I can only hear my HNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!1 ;P


It is quite incredible, though. I cannot remember the last time I SO wanted to protect a character in an anime. I had a similiar feeling with Ano Hana, but, well ...

If I was Satoru, I would probably take Kayo and run away from home so there´s no chance at all of her getting killed ... which might be exactly what´s happening and thus causing her death. Dammit.

[David75]

The only thing giving me hope when watching this show, and all the time realising how overly optimistic Satoru's plan has been, is the single fact that the scene in the official page illustration (reused as the AniDB series page picture) hasn't happened yet...
I see a dark adult hand creeping up to the left and up part of the picture.
Satoru feels a little strained
The girl on the left could be a depressed Hinazuki or that female classmate that got shut up pretty harshly even if for a good reason.
They are hiding like fugitives.
It doesn't feel like a very positive setting.

[shinta|hikari]

That's coz it's not going to show up in the anime. It's a symbolic picture.

[David75]

It shows the main pitch ideas for the show.
The positive part is Hinazuki trusts Satoru enough that she can lean on him and get some rest thanks to him.

[Kraco]

That's coz it's not going to show up in the anime. It's a symbolic picture.

It looks like the hideout they have been talking about, what with the junk and everything. Who knows.

[MFauli]

episode 5 is out
-----------------

meh, easily the worst episode so far. Hopefully Satoru gets to return to the past as quickly as possible.

[Kraco]

Satoru is so many steps behind the killer that it's not even funny. In addition to that, his possibilities are right now quite limited. With the arson (and a second murder) pinned on him now, he can't very well walk into libraries or anywhere anymore to research. So, even if he had got a unique chance to combine knowledge from the future and the past once he time travels the next time, his ability to do that now will be limited.

It's hard to say whether Satoru managed only to postpone Hinazuki fate, not change it. It might very well be she wasn't a victim of the serial killer to begin with and died due to domestic abuse also the first time through. It kind of seems like he didn't realise the truth about that even now. Although at the same time if he's going to repeat the timeline multiple times, it's hard to see him let Hinazuki suffer the abuse either. He'd do something about that already.

[MFauli]

Now that I think about it though, the murder of the pizza girl might be trigger to grant him another time travel. Akin to how he was able to travel when his mom was murdered.

If I was Satoru, I´d use a 2nd chance to fully observe Kayo ALL THE TIME. His mother is awefully understanding, so if he told her "mom, I fear that something terrible is gonna happen to this cute girl I like, please don´t make a scene when I stay out all night to guard her", she might allow it.

And if that also gets Kayo killed, I´d hope for a 3rd chance and just kill her parents in their sleep. :/

[shinta|hikari]

Just report the parents to the police properly and have them check Kayo's bruises. End of story. If he gets Kayo's trust like he did before, she would admit to being abused. Satoru just needs to fix the final step in his last attempt.

The problem with that solution is it doesn't stop the killer, who is apparently a complete psycho, Red John style. I wonder if the enemy also has a power similar to Satoru's.

[Harima Kenji]

I kind of think his smart friend can also have that power, because he seems way too smart for a kid, even though that is pretty much an anime thing.
I think he needs to tell his mom what is going on so they can work together, or at least somehow warn her that she's going to be killed on the exact date.
I don't trust the manager, either..

[David75]

Kenya becoming a cop/detective and a culprit ?
Somehow it felt the cops arrived very quickly when Satoru's mom was killed. But it might just be the scene cut.
And yes, that manager really did try to trap Satoru. It wasn't just telling the cops.

That probable kill shows how deep in shit Satoru is, the culprit is at least one move ahead of him, if not 2 or 3.

[Ryllharu]

Somehow it felt the cops arrived very quickly when Satoru's mom was killed. But it might just be the scene cut.

And yes, that manager really did try to trap Satoru. It wasn't just telling the cops.

I wonder if the enemy also has a power similar to Satoru's.

I don't think it is anything special in the way that Satoru jumps backward. His enemy is just really really powerful.

I got the feeling that I was not far off the mark the last time that I guessed it was two people, with one of them covering for the other. I was on the right track, but it is either much worse (full blown conspiracy), or only a single person. The key moment in this episode was where Airi caught part of the conversation between the manager and mystery person. That mystery person is either the killer, related to them, or works for them.

The critical element to that scene was the pin the faceless person was wearing. It's either a Japanese Diet pin, or a Japanese Prosecutor pin, almost certainly the former. They discussed that the faceless man arranged the pizza joint to get more business by mucking around with the bureaucratic process. A favor for a favor long ago. The faceless man also figured out that the manager has the hots for Airi, and seemed to empathize with it (though some of that might be my imagination).

That leads me to believe that the faceless man is either the killer/kidnapper himself or the person covering for the kidnapper if it is two people (he's clearly the killer). Big connections, big power, etc. That's why the police showed up exactly when they could catch Satoru, that's why the news is covering it as a major story, and that's why they feel they have enough power to burn down Airi's house without repercussions.

Satoru and his mom wandered into something big back then, but when they connected to it again by mere happenstance, it had become something HUGE.

It's likely that no matter how many times Satoru fails, he won't ever be able to take down this person in the present. They simply have too much power, too many connections, and too much to lose. He has to take him down in the past. Every time he returns to the present, it is only going to get worse and worse because there is no way he can possibly win.

[David75]

I tried to check the official badges of Japan. The design is very similar to the one of the House of Representatives members, ie the Japanese Diet lower chamber.
So that Nishizono clearly has relations with politicians, police, he's also a local mofo as he helped the pizza business at town meetings...
Now it relates to the clamping down of the press too, meaning the guy already had powers 18 years ago.
And I wonder if that tv journalist is the pizza manager father, although it's hard to guess par parentality from faces in anime...

Satoru really needs to think on a larger scale and as pointed before: use his mom skills.

[Kraco]

It's really too bad he ran like a criminal. Even if it's the Japanese police/justice system, they wouldn't immediately convict the son who returned to his own home. Not to mention the murder weapon is missing his fingerprints (if he has such a sucky lock that anybody could have fetched a knife beforehand from his kitchen, then he can only blame himself. Actually he and his mom should both blame themselves for not keeping the apartment door locked in the middle of a fricking city) and there're also possessions missing, such as the phone. It doesn't really take a Sherlock to come to the conclusion he didn't do it. But now he pretty much turned all eyes on himself by running like a real culprit.

[Ryllharu]

His (very awesome) mother gets murdered, still bleeding even, and another housewife witnesses it by chance, but the cops show up even before she would have had a chance to call them (Confirmed later as an "anonymous tip").

He's clearly being set up, and the police would force a confession out of him in their typical style of incompetence.

Running was the only option.

[Kraco]

Yeah, that's the problem with the Japanese police, but on the other hand that same Japan still respects parenthood more than lots of other countries, so I imagine the son being the prime suspect of murdering the mother isn't as "natural" as it might be elsewhere. But running certainly made sure he won't have any say in the matter.

I'm still not sure if this is better or worse for Satoru's own investigation. On one hand with this he's forcing the murderer to pull off more tricks, thus exposing himself more, yet on the other hand his ability to do any research is limited since he's a wanted man who needs to avoid the public. Not to mention he personally still doesn't know what we, the audience, know. At the very least, assuming he doesn't jump very soon, he will learn that the murderer could also track down his visit to Airi's house. So, he can deduce the murderer has some kind of a connection to the pizza joint.

[shinta|hikari]

He needed to run so that more people can die and trigger his power. If he obediently got captured, then Kayo is a true goner.

[KrayZ33]

So, is anyone else curious about how Kayo died?
Because reading what has been said so far, I believe you guys assume it was her mother?

Just wondering if I state the obvious or if my train of thought is rather "exotic" when I say that her mother only gave the opportunity for the killer to do his work and that the killer planned it and knew about what is happening in Kayo personal life.

[Kraco]

That's also possible. The mom and the deadbeat man in the house are mixed users of alcohol and drugs, yet at least the mom still cares for her outward appearance, which requires addition funds. So, it's not impossible she would accept money from some pedophile. However, let's not forget that this killer is not leaving traces behind if he can help it. I deem it exceptionally unlikely he would leave Kayo's mom and the man alive and with the knowledge of who he is. That would be only asking for later blackmailing when they need more money for drugs and booze.

So, no, for the time being I think poor Hinazuki died due to domestic abuse. In fact that might have even be the cause of her death in the original timeline and it merely happened to coincide with the serial killings. The mom could have dumped the body wherever and announced her missing. Just like she did this time.

[MFauli]

Were the dead bodies of the girls found? Just wondering if maybe Kayo died from some disease and her mom simply hid the body. Which would be tragic because it´d render Satoru´s efforts useless.

[KrayZ33]

However, let's not forget that this killer is not leaving traces behind if he can help it. I deem it exceptionally unlikely he would leave Kayo's mom and the man alive and with the knowledge of who he is. That would be only asking for later blackmailing when they need more money for drugs and booze.

I was thinking more about the fact that she gets beaten by her mom on weekends and after she did that, she escapes to that small shed in the backyard and guess who was waiting for her there? It was really weird that footprints (which led away from the house they live in) where there after all.

Imagine this: Mother beats Kayo -> Kayo drags her beaten body to the shed to escape from the havoc she has to endure every weekend -> Killer/Kidnapper is waiting for her there, because he knows she is doing that after watching that family for a while (remember, he did the same thing in the present with Satoru) -> Killer kills Kayo (or.... well, I don't want to imagine it, poor Kayo) -> Mother who knows she is in the shed (like always) finds Kayo's dead body and thinks she overdid it this time -> mother tries to hide it because she thinks she is the killer.

This way, the killer is never in any real danger in terms of leaving traces and so on.

And if we look at the people who know about Kayo's situation....well, the teacher comes to mind.

[shinta|hikari]

The killer is Satoru's mother. The scenes where she thinks she saw the killer, it's actually her other personality playing tricks on her. In the end, she killed herself out of guilt.

And then her political friends torched pizza friends house thinking it was Satoru who killed her.




This is a joke in case any didn't get it.

[MFauli]

I was thinking more about the fact that she gets beaten by her mom on weekends and after she did that, she escapes to that small shed in the backyard and guess who was waiting for her there? It was really weird that footprints (which led away from the house they live in) where there after all.

Imagine this: Mother beats Kayo -> Kayo drags her beaten body to the shed to escape from the havoc she has to endure every weekend -> Killer/Kidnapper is waiting for her there, because he knows she is doing that after watching that family for a while (remember, he did the same thing in the present with Satoru) -> Killer kills Kayo (or.... well, I don't want to imagine it, poor Kayo) -> Mother who knows she is in the shed (like always) finds Kayo's dead body and thinks she overdid it this time -> mother tries to hide it because she thinks she is the killer.

This way, the killer is never in any real danger in terms of leaving traces and so on.

And if we look at the people who know about Kayo's situation....well, the teacher comes to mind.

Sorry, but I have to call you out on this one.

Kayo being raped would be infinitely better than her being killed. So you should rather imagine her getting banged than getting murdered.

[KrayZ33]

I actually believe, like Ryll(?), that there are more than just 1.

If we assume the murderer was already a middle aged man (between 20-30 or maybe evne older) back when Satoru was a child, then he should be between 40-50 (maybe even closer to 60) years old by now. I could be wrong, but the the one who killed Satoru's mom didn't look that old to me.

So, how likely is it for a middleschool teacher to become a Diet Member in Japan again :D?
The younger culprit could be Kenya? That school scene with him and the teacher doesn't leave my mind, even though I've written it off as the teacher telling him that it's also Kayo's birthday.
But then again, maybe Kenya is actually trying to tell the teacher about Kayo on his own, he seems to know exactly what is happening to her after all.


@MFauli:

No, raped AND killed is not better than just killed.

[MFauli]

You wrote "OR"!!1

[shinta|hikari]

Technically, Mfauli is right in that you wrote "or."

But I disagree with rape being better than killed always. It depends on the person. Some people commit suicide after suffering from the trauma, and some continue their lives while suffering. Worse, there are cases where traumatized people go on to hurt others passively or actively. That said, some move on and lead happy lives too, so I say there is no hard and fast rule.

EDIT: But Krayz phrased the entire line in such a way that death was unavoidable for Kayo, so the "or" was clearly a typo.

[KrayZ33]

I thought I wrote it in such a way that death is certain (because she is clearly dead after all) and all thats up to imagination is what happened before her death, which is why I wrote:

"-> Killer kills Kayo (or, I don't want to say it, but just killing her for no reason and just for the lulz is really weird, so it's not unlikely that he did something else to her beforehand, like torture, rape or whatever sick minds can think off)"

With less words of course :)

and after re-reading my

So, how likely is it for a middleschool teacher to become a Diet Member in Japan again ?
I realized that it's not unlikely at all, in fact, depending on his position ((Federal) Minister of Education and Science for example) it shouldn't be that far-fetched.
At least in Germany, most (if not all) of them were teachers once.
The conversation between the faceless man and the Pizza store owner actually had something to do with a way to school etc. Can't rewatch it right now, but I believe it had something to with traffic-lights and that his shop is in a much better position because of it, or something like that?

edit: man... this show is fun to watch.
I like how they subtly drop hints here and there and don't bother to make it extremely obvious...like Kayo touching Satoru's hand to measure his size for the gloves and all that. (hnnng)

Didn't realize it at all before the *very* short flashback (the best way to present/introduce flashbacks ! Just like it "clicks" in MCs brain at that moment, the viewer will feel the same).

[Kraco]

edit: man... this show is fun to watch.

No, it's not fun to watch. My fun is all the time ruined by the terrible anticipation that something fell will happen to Hinazuki and there's no happy end for her at all. She's the most deserving of a happy end, the poor child, yet the least likely to get one.

[MFauli]

Maybe she did get a happy-end. You don´t know how skilled her rapist-murderer might have been!!!


;P

(that avatar is effecting my real personality^^)

[KrayZ33]

There is hope imho! Satoru's sentence is what got my hopes back up "The past is not set in stone, if I can get back one more time..."

I strongly believe that we'll see something among the lines of the movie: Butterfly Effect. He'll safe her! I'm sure of it, the question however is with whom (if any) will Satoru end up with? Airi wouldn't be a bad catch either.

[shinta|hikari]

Of course he will save her. This is anime. Cuteness is justice.

[Edort4]

This series is going downhill. Not a surprise cause it was hard to keep the premise without falling unto incoherence. Episodes 1 & 2 delivered. Then it started to add filler stuff and incoherence. This last episode was the epitome of that. He just directly thinks and acts like a kid. More so as a pretty dumb kid. Right now dunno whats the point of having him "travel" to the past so far (adult to kid).

It you are going to write it like this (or simply cant write it like it should) just make it that the "travel" is just a few months or a 1-2year (like anniversary thing) after the incident. The kid with the red eyes will grow to be the man with red eyes that kills the mother, and whatever evolution or shit that happens during those years, and whatever is going on with this "powers", but he fucked up with the man/kid being unable of keeping him in character. It was pretty hard to do but it has failed so hard that for me its ruinning it completely. Just thinking how awesome it could be and how mediocre and nonsensical its becoming.

Lets see how this evolves but from favourite show of the seasson (eps 1&2) has gone to garbage that doesnt deserve even a fast forwarding watch.

[shinta|hikari]

I'm not getting anything you're saying. Could you cite examples of the issues you found? What is filler? What is incoherent?

I'm guessing your dissatisfied because the dude isn't Light or Lelouch. That's because he isn't. He's just a normal 29 year old guy who suddenly got his mother murdered and is being chased by the cops. And he has no other friends, apparently. His power doesn't make him smarter.

There's also a reason for the large jump. The only way to stop the killer from killing his mom is to stop him from the very beginning. That means it is literally (physically, etc) impossible for him to stop the killer any time after that. His power is ultra convenient that way, but that's the premise.

[KrayZ33]

I'm really confused, what exactly do you think he is supposed to do as a 11 year old that doesn't know who the killer is?
All he can do is to stop the incident that lead to his mother's death, the murder of Kayo.
If Kayo's isn't dead, there is no reason for his mom to die either because she doesn't have to "remember" or "identify" the murderer... and at the same time, he's able (or trying) to sort out his "mistake" in the past (not talking to Kayo and thus not saving her)

This show has been nothing but 10/10s so far.


Then it started to add filler stuff and incoherence. This last episode was the epitome of that. He just directly thinks and acts like a kid. More so as a pretty dumb kid.

I didn't see it like that at all, what exactly made him look "dumb"? Or act like a kid more so than ever, he's playing the role of a child and has been doing so all the time ever since ep.1
After Kayo got killed, he was getting depressed because he didn't know what to do from now on... it's not like he can control his power and can jump back and forth whenever he likes. His plan, saving Kayo and thus saving his mom, failed.


The kid with the red eyes will grow to be the man with red eyes that kills the mother, and whatever evolution or shit that happens during those years, and whatever is going on with this "powers", but he fucked up with the man/kid being unable of keeping him in character.

I don't understand what you are trying to say here, there is no kid with red eyes so far, if anime eye colours arn't a thing in this show, I'd say the only eyes that stand out are Kenya's amber/yellow ones... and what has that to do with the second part about Satoru's character?

[Edort4]

I was talking about episode 4 there, I lagged behind. He has this weird power that lets him go back in time and change things. Never has gone so far into the past but it isnt something completely shocking, he has experienced it before and even knows what he must be watching for, so I assume that even if this time the rewind is larger he still has sanity.

He is now a kid so he isnt working from 8am to 7pm he has lots of time to think, recall, remember, plan... basically find that "oddity" that has to be "fixed". Instead he is spending it hanging out with kids, taking strolls to mountain, going to museums, buying gifts, having parties and everytime he gets struck by his past memories. Hes had days to think but everything is taking him by surprise. He knows who the (wrong) culprit was but gives 0 fucks, he nows who the targets were so instead of watching, investigating common things, people in their lifes, whatever he wastes days befriending her just for the sake of it.

When I said filler I was talking about all that. Do we really need to watch how he skates or loses a full evenning taking a stroll to mountain? He is panicking even worse than a 10 year kid would over every small thing. I would say that he has a panick attack every episode over the smallests of things.

He is letting the teacher take care of things, he could perfectly go to the police and say that he has heard a child screaming and being hit and even if I know that Japan is a shithole when it comes to morals im sure that things would got really interesting when they see the kid beaten with testimony from a (false) witness, teachers, etc. Even his mother seems to be somewhat suspicious and trusting of him. But he just focuses on having a good bday party. Exactly what a 10y kid would do 100% of time. Trusting adults, giving up at everything, not thinking, not planning., just living in the moment and being awestruck cause he is fked.

Actually the beginning of episode 5 is even worse. So she dissapeared and he stays 2 days at home doing nothing? griefing? and then goes and stays put with the lie about her moving out? no vigilance of the place? of subsecuents targets? no alibi for the retarded guy? not being asked to testify (except her mother he was the last one seeing her alive) wtf? This is nonsense at creationist level.

I dont remember the name of the kid, the one that seems to be smart, has a mix of brown and yellow eyes that sometimes look like redish. Just as the guy he crosses in the 1st episode that has this redish (not pure red) yes and that the mother recognizes and seems to be around his age 30-ish. This is just an assumption, nothing to do with the rant, about this show being some kind of butterfly effect with minor details having huge impacts thus the need of going to the past etc. I mean if later on everything (even those that I call "filler"-nonsensical parts) makes sense and is connected, interrelated and explained I will gladly come here again to be owned and pray for mercy .

[Kraco]

All that which you called filler was meant for saving Hinazuki. His hypothesis was that Hinazuki was targeted because she was a bullied loner and he would simply need to change that and get her past the exact original date of disappearance. So, he made her a normal kid in that sense, with friends and things to do, instead of just an empty park where she would loiter to avoid going home. Sure, he still did things wrong which is why he failed. But in the first place he was no super smart hero. He was a failure at life, more or less. He only solved the previous time jump cases because they were incredibly clear, like that one case demonstrated where he jumped back some tens of seconds at max and immediately spotted the sleeping driver. No need to be Derrick to solve that case. I'd assume the other cases have been more or less similar.

People do stupid shit all the time because they believe they know what they are doing. Many of the worst accidents caused by humans happen due to that.

If I don't recall entirely wrong, the teacher said officials have visited the Hinazuki household a couple of times already, but the mom is cunning and came out clean.

[shinta|hikari]

I think the reason Edort is complaining is because this show likes to leave the viewer to connect the dots. There are reasons for most of his complaints. The show just doesn't slap it on your face.

What cannot be resolved is his desire for a genius main character. You won't get that in this show. This isn't Death Geass.

[Edort4]

I know I know I ask to much and rant even more. I wish I could lay back and just go along but common at least to some extent you gotta be with me on this. U get a guys life ruined for a chocolatte bar and no1 gives a shit about a child being abused that even teachers know about? Cops dont ask the prominent witness? He cant think for shit in the past but as soon as he wakes in the present starts "deep" thinking again? Its too inconsistent to feel natural.

[shinta|hikari]

The chocolate bar was found with the dad. It was hard evidence vs. a child's testimony. Crime is crime and will ruin your life, especially if you were set up (which the dad probably was).

The authorities were sent to investigate Hinazuki's abuse, but the family was always out whenever the inspectors came. That, and Kayo herself always denied all the claims. It's ridiculous sounding but realistic. It's more of a Japanese cultural thing where each family is left to their own devices. That's also why bullying is so prevalent in that country even now. You also have to consider that Satoru's youth was almost two decades ago, when laws weren't as good as they should be now.

Satoru was thinking the whole time in the past. He even had a plan. The problem is he underestimated the killer, who he didn't know a damn thing about. Add to that the fact that he was a kid who no one would believe should he admit to his powers, he really had no other choice but to behave the way he did.

EDIT:
I actually think the apparent incompetence of the authorities in general in the show is intentional. Either it's to show the general trend in their world, or a critical message the author is trying to get across, especially if the killer is a powerful figure. It's an individual versus the system conflict.

[Kraco]

If you look back at the episodes, he did helluva lot. He also did many things that people would find embarrassing and thus would rather avoid, especially in an Asian culture where getting embarrassed is an even bigger deal. However, he didn't do the correct things, he just believed he did until proven painfully wrong. After that, when he realised he failed, he was simply stricken by depression and a feeling of helplessness like anybody would be when their vital plan failed incorrigibly.

That being said, I'm not exactly sure of what he should have done in the past. It's an exceptionally difficult situation with very little intel at his disposal. Considering they live in Japan, he can't do too much of anything that would inconvenience people either, including his mom.

[KrayZ33]

He is now a kid so he isnt working from 8am to 7pm he has lots of time to think, recall, remember, plan... basically find that "oddity" that has to be "fixed". Instead he is spending it hanging out with kids, taking strolls to mountain, going to museums, buying gifts, having parties and everytime he gets struck by his past memories. Hes had days to think but everything is taking him by surprise. He knows who the (wrong) culprit was but gives 0 fucks, he nows who the targets were so instead of watching, investigating common things, people in their lifes, whatever he wastes days befriending her just for the sake of it.

The reason he can't do much is because he IS a kid.

School from 08:30 to ~15:00 maybe even 17:00 if there are club activities. And then what? Go to her home and grab her and steal her from her mother? He thought alot about how he could rescue Kayo and he came to the conclusion that making her a more difficult target, would lead to her not being target at all. It was clearly not "just for the sake of it" and that was extemely obvious... I'm pretty sure it was explained too.


He is letting the teacher take care of things, he could perfectly go to the police and say that he has heard a child screaming and being hit and even if I know that Japan is a shithole when it comes to morals im sure that things would got really interesting when they see the kid beaten with testimony from a (false) witness, teachers, etc.

His plan was to NOT make her a loner, the teacher actually had a point when he said that if it came out, the kids might discriminate her even more. So it would totally work against his own plans. So leaving it to the "adults" is actually the best thing to do for him.. after all, he couldn't do much more anyway... he told someone that she is getting abused, the teacher agreed and said actions are being taken. No difference to what you described... if you go to the police and tell them that, they'd tell you the same thing. (the "we are doing something" part). He has no reason to believe that the teachers in his school arn't trying their best to solve the situation.


Actually the beginning of episode 5 is even worse. So she dissapeared and he stays 2 days at home doing nothing? griefing? and then goes and stays put with the lie about her moving out? no vigilance of the place? of subsecuents targets? no alibi for the retarded guy? not being asked to testify (except her mother he was the last one seeing her alive) wtf? This is nonsense at creationist level.

What are you talking about, he visited her house several times after the incident and noticed a police car there, what was he supposed to do as a 10 year old? Break into the house or something? When the police is watching on top of that?

Meh, in my opinion you weren't paying enough attention tbh.
I'm fairly content with how much the author thought about this situation... it's all running on the premise that the japanese police is absolute garbage and corruption being a thing, but I actually believe that too, so no problems for me her. After reading some travel/business stories, it has gotten to the point where I actually fear the japanese police a little.

[Kraco]

I'm fairly content with how much the author thought about this situation... it's all running on the premise that the japanese police is absolute garbage and corruption being a thing, but I actually believe that too, so no problems for me her. After reading some travel/business stories, it has gotten to the point where I actually fear the japanese police a little.

If all the stories are true, the biggest organized crime syndicate in Japan aren't the yakuza clans but the Japanese police.

[shinta|hikari]

Don't forget the teacher's association.

[Edort4]

Oh well I guess im alone in this one. Just trying to picture it.

Saturday morning in yakuza town.
Knock! Knock!
-Police, Open! - Knock! Knock! - someone home?
-... no? no one here....
-Oh well kiddo. You heard that. No one is home, sorry. Better luck next time. Off to the panchiko guys!!
-Damn clever mastermind of evil. That woman is too stronk, cant beat that. Well so lets go mourn a bit. I mean there are like other 3 o 4 possible victims but I dont give a fuck. Im not here to find a murderer, clues or wtf is going in. Im just hot for this 10 y/o grill. Will have to try again. I want popsicle.

[shinta|hikari]

I'm actually curious about what you think he should've done. Could you give us an idea of your alternative?

[KrayZ33]

Ya, me too... I mean, he IS physically a 10 years old. And this it not Detective Conan where he can skip his daily routines over days or even weeks.

[Edort4]

I dont know. He could at least plan a few things and try to remember all he could. The plan of trying to befriend her its moronic in my opinion but if you are going to play it that way at least try to stablish a chain of events, situations, what you did, what you saw, etc. I dont remember much of when I was 10, not that I had such an impact moment in my life, but if I try I can tell a few things from that age.

He knows about dates, he knows about some of the victims, he knows who the wrong culprit was. He could stalk Hinazuki the day of the incident, maybe even catch a glimpse of the one who took her or even scare him. Set some kind of trap making some shit up about him being injured in the park at 8 pm. He could provide an alibi, or convice him to stay home or somewhere visible, or even try to get his help, for the retarded guy so police cant put the easy blame on him and force them to keep looking. It may not help directly in the past but he could get more info and force ppl to search in depth if he fails and goes to the future again.

He could make shit up about whatever he wants. I mean almost no adult would take a child seriously but when kidnappings and corpses start to appear and you know things its quite probable they will listen.

He may not be able to stop Hinazuki from being taken (and I have serious doubts that this wasnt "easily" feasible) but he could do thousands of things to make sure its the last and even catch the one(s) who did it. He could tell his mother he saw an stalker robbing pantsu. The day he found Hinazuki beaten he could call police to tell them her mother stole a chocolate bar. That shit puts SWAT on the case.

So probably except staying all day at home jerking off anything would have been more productive than what he did by my book.

ps. what disturbs me is the fact that he is only focused on preventing Hinazuki from dissapearing. Thats pretty important ok but what about the culprit? what about the other kids? So he saves her and job done? Fuck those other childs and fuck that there is such a person free even doing it in the present? You gotta go step by step but common.

[KrayZ33]

Ok first of all

I dont know. He could at least plan a few things and try to remember all he could.
What gave you the impression that he didn't try to remember? You have to realize that Kayo is an unknown book for him, he didn't pay *any* attention towards her in his past. He didn't know her mother beats her on every weekend either.. because he didn't care back then.


ps. what disturbs me is the fact that he is only focused on preventing Hinazuki from dissapearing. Thats pretty important ok but what about the culprit? what about the other kids? So he saves her and job done? Fuck those other childs and fuck that there is such a person free even doing it in the present? You gotta go step by step but common.

And this is why I believe you arn't thinking enough (or not seeing things from his point of view), he has absolutely no clue who the culprit is and doesn't have any info nor reason to save the other kids, he doesn't even know about their whereabouts when they were alive. How can he possibly plan something so dangerous and complex if he doesn't know when it happened, where it happened and who he is facing?
If I'm really honest with you, I don't even believe you when you say you can remember anything *specific* from age 10 that could help you in a situation like that other than what Satoru remembers, like when and where he saw Kayo for the last time and what kind of person she was. Anything more specific would be rather unnatural (just like when he didn't know where his seat was). I was unconscious once and got hit by car once (probably not even close to what Satoru's mind faced back then but still...), all I remember is where it happened and whether it was dark or bright outside (car accident was a rainy day). The days and weeks before that or what happened later on the same day? No freaking idea.
On top of that, his parents, the school and the community actively tried to hide and to make the children forget about it if I remember what Satoru's mom or Satoru himself said correctly.

And lets not forget he has to start somewhere and Kayo was one of the first (if not the first) to disappear.


He could stalk Hinazuki the day of the incident, maybe even catch a glimpse of the one who took her or even scare him.

that's what he did. Remember that she was in the "safety" of her home when he left her. He made sure to spent as much time as possible with her, up to the point where Kayo couldn't even finish her present in time.


He knows about dates,

only vague.


Set some kind of trap making some shit up about him being injured in the park at 8 pm. He could provide an alibi, or convice him to stay home or somewhere visible, or even try to get his help, for the retarded guy so police cant put the easy blame on him and force them to keep looking.

That trap part is really wishful thinking, and he wants to *save* Kayo. Every plan that comes after her death is already a failure.

I'm really not convinced by anything you've written so far and would even go so far and say that you have no reason to dislike this show *yet*, at least not if you are actually looking for a more "realistic" (ya, time travel, I know) story without deus ex machinas.
I'm aware how silly that sounds... you are obviously free to like or dislike whatever you want, but your reasoning seems flawed to me.

[shinta|hikari]

@Edort - I read what you wrote, and honestly, I'm glad Kayo's life is in Satoru's hands, not yours. No offense. Not everyone is a genius. It's like you missed half the stuff presented in the show. Krayz already mentioned most so I'll stop here.

[Ryllharu]

I sum up my feelings about this series the same way others have:

HRNNNNNNNGGGG

Bring on more feels.

Yuuki Aoi and Akasaki Chinatsu both killing it here with their respective characters. If he does ultimately save and end up with Kayo...gotta admit, gonna feel a little bad for Katagiri.

That said, Minase Akiko may finally have a true rival in Fujinuma Sachiko for the title of Best Anime Mom Ever. Less of a milf, true, but no less intuitive and connected.

[shinta|hikari]

Harem end. He has other girls to save, right?

[lelouch]

He was a failure at life, more or less. He only solved the previous time jump cases because they were incredibly clear, like that one case demonstrated where he jumped back some tens of seconds at max and immediately spotted the sleeping driver.

The driver had a heart attack, he wasn't sleeping.

[Kraco]

If he saves Hinazuki without Hinazuki being transferred to some far away place, it's hard to imagine they wouldn't end up together. That would most likely result in a timeline where the dude never even meets Airi. So, there would be no need to feel sorry for her. It's also possible he will never particularly get to know the other girls since he can't very well use the boyfriend strategy on all of them.

It would cool to see an older version of Hinazuki, to witness how pretty she gets if allowed to survive. I hope the show ends with such a sight.

[Edort4]

@Edort - I read what you wrote, and honestly, I'm glad Kayo's life is in Satoru's hands, not yours. No offense. Not everyone is a genius. It's like you missed half the stuff presented in the show. Krayz already mentioned most so I'll stop here.

And you are right on that. My goal would be to prevent my mother from dying and I from being framed of killing her. Hinazuki is just a collateral. She died 2 decades ago, if with my "machinations" she is to be saved I would be joyous but unless there is a 100% proof (not just some feeling in my pants cause I like underaged girls) that only saving her I can change what I came for I would just see her as another mean to my end.

If she dies and I catch the killer I would be sad but my mission would be accomplished. Seeing how after whatever happened to Hinazuki there were still more kidnapings I would doubt her to even be so crucial if I act as a rational being. Someone was to be the trigger (if we assume this guy started here) if u "save" Hinazuki without knowing from what/who the serial psycopath would still keep going and I guess that seeing what happened at ep1 on the park and to his mother I would have some clues to think that whoever it is it must be related to me or my mother in some way.

Its not that I hate the show. I really enjoyed it for the first episodes. 3 & 4 seemed like total nonsense and bs to me and 5 was just crazy. Manager holmes, tyson airi, kidnaper goes into their job sniffing, then goes arsonist and uses the mothers phone, tracks mate even the 17 y/o girl knows this and phones remember in what tower you were at the time of messaging even if u later plant the phone to the MC it would still be inconsistent, not even syaing that police does some work and has the phone undersurveillance at all moments, just to get rid of a kid... dunno I find it lousy.

[shinta|hikari]

Anyone can like or dislike anything. I just find your reasons for disliking this show flimsy at best. The alternative you offer doesn't even make sense with your initial posts. At first you said he was wrong for not trying to save the other girls when he failed to save Kayo, now you say he should focus on just saving the mother and trying to catch the killer. This flip flopping sounds like you're just searching for reasons to dislike the show instead of having them first and then disliking the show.

Satoru's thinking was clearly explained. He wasn't even sure if he could change the past, seeing as how his actions seemed to mimic it without him meaning to. That's why he focused on doing at least one thing (he thought was) in his power, which is to save Kayo. It's his first concrete step in trying to stop the killings, not the final goal of his trip.

In the end, he failed to do even that, leaving him with no other clues as to how to save the others. It's not that he just got depressed and gave up. He simply did not have the info and resources to save the other girls.

TBH, I really just think it all boils down to you wanting him to be much smarter than he is, and that's fine. That doesn't make him stupid. He just isn't a genius.

The nonsensical stuff to you aren't really nonsensical. Everyone else who watches the show has explained the logic behind Satoru's actions and why it is quite believable given the context. This is similar to Mfauli not getting that OPM is a parody. It simply doesn't coincide with the direction that you want. It's a story about a normal guy sent back in time with limited info, not some emotionless (how can you NOT like Kayo?) genius sleuth who is destined to catch a killer on his first try.

And sorry, I tried understanding your last paragraph and failed.

EDIT:
I tried again and sort of got the phone thing. Turning off the phone disables any GPS tracking, so the killer can keep it off until he used it. When the killer used it to message the girl, it was intentional in order to frame Satoru for the killing. The mother's phone went missing when she was killed, and the main suspect is Satoru, which means that any messages coming from that phone are from him. That makes him the prime suspect for killing the pizza girl, assuming the police are able to retrieve the message in some other way other than the burned celphone inside pizza girl's room.

The killer is very thorough. He simply kills anything and everything that might know about him as soon as he can, as he did with Satoru's mother. The only reason Satoru is still safe is ironically because he is living under a bridge.

[Kraco]

An anime director got his reputation tarnished and almost ended up in a prison because the Japanese police was dead sure that if a crime was performed from a certain IP address, then the owner of that IP address is automatically the mastermind of the whole crime. Only after a public outcry (because the person was connected to the anime world and thus the case was followed by otaku, that is, people who can actually tell a computer and a vacuum cleaner apart unlike the Japanese police) was the case properly studied and it turned out to be remote control malware installed on his computer and he had no fricking idea what was going on. The ANN article (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-10-06/gundam-00-assistant-director-masaki-kitamura-released-by-police).

So, yeah, you can forget about the Japanese police checking phone location inconsistencies and other shit. I doubt they have ever even heard of such things, apart from the anti-terrorism and anti-espionage groups. He might or might not have been doomed when he found his mom dead, but he was doomed the moment he ran.

[shinta|hikari]

What phone inconsistency, though? I explained one aspect in my post before yours. Did I miss anything else?

[Kraco]

He can't turn it off as he would be unable to turn it back on. Unless he even has contacts that would help him crack the pin code.

[shinta|hikari]

You're assuming Satoru's mom's phone has a lock. I don't have one. The killer wouldn't be able to text using the phone if it was locked.

But even if it was, I'm pretty sure it's not hard to find someone who can crack a celphone lock. People do that for a few bucks in my country. Maybe the killer can even do it himself from net videos lol. You can just crack it at a temp location, turn it off again, and move somewhere else. Then turn it on and send the message. Japanese police, or most local police for that matter, aren't the FBI.

[Kraco]

Perhaps. Then we would have one more corpse: the person who cracked the sim card for the murderer.

[KrayZ33]

And you are right on that. My goal would be to prevent my mother from dying and I from being framed of killing her. Hinazuki is just a collateral. She died 2 decades ago, if with my "machinations" she is to be saved I would be joyous but unless there is a 100% proof (not just some feeling in my pants cause I like underaged girls) that only saving her I can change what I came for I would just see her as another mean to my end.

In addition to what Shinta wrote:

His "ability" (time travel) seems to always bring him to a point where he can prevent what is going to happen.
Wouldn't that mean that his 18 year time-travel to the past, a few days before Kayo disappears, mean, that the person of interest is her, no matter how you look at it?

And remember what he said in ep.1? When he talked about how he *has* to look for anomalies and how he has to prevent or defuse the situation no matter what and he can't explain why?
Do you understand why he has this "urge" 4 episodes later?

Exactly, it's because of what happened to Kayo and his inability to do something back then, even though he (believes he) could have.
Him being back at that time most likely triggers his urge to "do the right thing" even more than ever before, either conciously or subconsciously... my guess is the latter. Why? Remember that his present-time-and-now-deceased mom told him that he was "on the brink" back when all this happened, and Satoru wasn't even 100% sure about what she was referring too? It seems like he barely escaped depression or some other kind of mental illness back then. His mom probably didn't even want to mention it further because she feared it could come back to him.

Finally he is able to redo that scene, that one decision that (so he thinks) could've prevented her death.
All these small hints about his motivation and his reasoning are spread throughout the whole series so far and this is why I believe this show is so great, it doesn't slap it into your face with 5min flashbacks or extensive train of thoughts but all the hints and explainations are there and thats the best kind of storytelling there is imho.

The attention to detail is so big in this show (I always feel as if I have to say "so far" though) and the overall level of quality (throughout all criteria, pacing, animation, storytelling etc. etc.) is ways above what most animes (maybe not all, but I would have to think really hard to find something better right now) could ever hope to reach.

edit: this came out a tad more fanboy-ish than I hoped, but I think I judged this show objectively so far.

[MFauli]

new episode is out
----------------------------------


so assuming he´ll go back to childhoo, he now has two options: idle around, then return to present and see who this guys is ... or try savin Kayo again, at the risk of changing the future, where the perpetrator will be gone then.


Oh, and FUCK those two women. "What´s an adult doing here?", you mean, like yourselves? And at least one of you didn´t have a baby. Fuck you.

[Kraco]

Satoru learned a whole lot in this episode. He knew very little beforehand, now he knows a lot. The killer even got so arrogant he couldn't help but come to witness the arrest, to leer at Satoru. That's what happens when your plans proceed perfectly for years.

I reckon Satoru could now land at a slightly later time. He doesn't anymore need to win Hinazuki on his side since she's already her tiny girlfriend. So, rescuing her from the shack would be far easier, if it gets to that point. But then again, he also needs to go after that name he learned or things might not change for good. Saving Hinazuki is only the beginning.

[Ryllharu]

I don't think Satoru got a chance to look at the "previous suspects" list. Airi called her phone just as he was about to look at it. He only knows the "remaining suspects," which he strongly believes aren't the true killers.

Now that we've gotten a slightly better look at the killer, I find it hard to believe that he is all that much older than Satoru. They might even be close to the same age. That means that Satoru could be looking for a peer or at most a high school student. This gives credence to the "multiple suspects" hypothesis, because I doubt the modern day killer was murdering up to 6 middle school girls (and one boy) all on his own. More like joining in the act and now taking up the mantle.

Though, given that I also assumed Hiromi was a girl who hung out with the boys in the class, and the leading theory is that he was murdered to throw off suspicion from people close to the victims...the likelihood that a classmate (or relative of a classmate) is involved is astronomically high. They'd be pretty much be the only ones who would know.

[MFauli]

Touching on the very basics of the mystery: WHY did the perpetrator murder those girls? They weren´t raped, right? If that´s the case, there must be some special motif behind the killings (especially since this is an anime! :P). What could it be?

With the murderer being not too far from Satoru´s age, like Ryll mentioned, I cannot shake off the feeling that Satoru is somehow the root of those crimes. Not necessarily by committing them himself in some sort of schizophrenic act, but in that he somehow triggers something that leads to those deaths.
This is even more important when we extend the girl-murder case to the anime´s overall mystery of Satoru´s "skill". Since this is a 1-cour anime (righ?), it´s pretty much a necessity to clear up the matter of his ability (unless the author leaves us hanging in the most frustrating manner) during this murder-case.

If that is correct, then I think the whole thing is a lot more personal for Satoru than just being a friend of Kayo and having his mother murdered because of it. And it´s very likely that the perpetrator knows of Satoru´s ability or has it himself.

[lelouch]

Why is this show so good? Is George RR Martin writing this? If not, they should team up and write the greatest epic ever.

Game of Time Traveling Thrones.

[miyama_ryu]

I don't think Satoru got a chance to look at the "previous suspects" list. Airi called her phone just as he was about to look at it. He only knows the "remaining suspects," which he strongly believes aren't the true killers.


I think Satoru has seen the "previous suspects" list, since he looked very frustrated and said he has "hit a roadblock" that the suspect was not on the list when Airi told him about the suspect she believes saw the schedule. That wouldn't have been the response if Satoru hadn't seen the "previous suspects" list as well.

[shinta|hikari]

You know another thing that makes this show good? Internal monologue. A lot of shows, especially those adapted from VNs and LNs, forgo the internal monologues of the protagonist, taking away a gigantic chunk of content and characterization (i.e. Grisaia, SAO).

It's bad to overdo it, but cutting it away completely is a dumb decision, I think.

[KrayZ33]

Oh man, that scene where the women suspected Satoru to be unemployed seems to be a real issue in Japan. These people are nuts, seriously.

I've heard this being said in a documentary once too where a german manager went over to Japan as a company boss.
He was totally shocked when he realised that they work from 7:00-19:00+++ (inofficially, like.. he came out of his office really late and saw them walking around) and they were all like: "Well, we don't leave before our boss leaves, that would be rude"
The way he handled that situation was rather funny. The next day, he went into their respective work areas at ~16:30 and said: "I'm leaving now, and if you arn't done with your work for today by now, you are working inefficiently, so you guys better finish up fast".
Obviously japanese people don't want to be told that, since they'd lose face and managed to finish their work 3-4 hours faster after that, but they were actually scared to go home because other people and their neighbours might think they are unemployed. Turned out they were just slacking off most of the time... and did nothing productive. One of them said something along the lines: "well, at first I didn't want to do it (because of what I wrote earlier)... but I realised that he is right, we really didn't do much and it's nice to see my wife and family sooner"

WTF is wrong with them? Holy shit.... I thought it was a special case but now I know he was totally right. They enslave themselve to work because they fear that other people might look down on them if they show up at ~15:00 @ home and by the looks of it (after watching this ep), THEY ARE ACTUALLY DOING THAT. Japan and it's scumbag society, god damn.

I couldn't help but realize that the author might criticise behavior similiar to that, maybe even japanese people directly. Just look at it. Everyone is *so* superficial. No one bothers to realize Kayo's problems and no one sees how kind and beautiful she truely is, the police is quick to assume the wrong because of "how things look" to them, people don't bother to believe or trust someone as soon as they see something "suspicious" or rather, they don't bother to ask or think it over first.
And then there is Airi, who is doing the polar opposite - someone that is actually able to believe or trust someone. A glimmer of hope that there actually is someone that believes you and that you yourself can believe in for the very same reason.
And also the murderer, who is probably using that superficiality to rise in rank and power.
It's as if the murders are there to show that he is able to do whatever he wants as long as people stay the way they are... and he's been doing that for years and will do it for years to come(!).


Btw super hyped for episode 7, that ending was such a tease.
I could be wrong here, but unless they wanted to make it extremely clear in the next episode anyway, I think they might've given away too much of the murderer's face. (and he looked a whole lot older in that pizza store imho)

[David75]

Don't worry, every culture and society have their problems.
Satoru has to deal with it too, though it's not his main problem.

[shinta|hikari]

There are actually places that deal with REAL unemployment, not imagined ones, so yeah, Japan is better off still.

[Kraco]

Is it even really so? Japan, like any old industrialised, service heavy countries is full of jobs that don't stick to the traditional office hours. There are endlessly people who must accept evening and night shifts at work. Those bastards whispering about his unemployment are also using services that require people to work outside of their primary concept of working hours. So, are those people then supposed to sit indoors all day long until they go to work? If he wasn't a wanted man, he should have educated them.

But then again, I reckon most people do realise this and those women were merely regular idiots.

[shinta|hikari]

But then again, I reckon most people do realise this and those women were merely regular idiots.

Most people ARE regular idiots.

[KrayZ33]

Dealing with unemployement is hard, dealing with it while also being despised and seen as the embodiment of failure is pretty hard to endure too, probably even harder.

[shinta|hikari]

It's not probably. The way you phrased it, you mean unemployment + stigma, which is obviously harder.

If I had to pick one or the other though, widespread unemployment (and poverty, the natural effect) is much worse than bad treatment of much fewer unemployed people.

[KrayZ33]

Well, I wonder... widespread unemployment (over a long period of time) is harder for the country for sure, but what japanese people face, because of their own absurd way of thinking, is extremely hard for each affected citizen.

These people are adults and they still act like children. For example, I'm pretty sure Yuki wouldn't have any problems finding *adult* friends or work (outside of his family) in my country. He talks in a funny way? "oh my god, lets look down on him, how could he properly represent our mighty company and if I hang out with him, they'll think I'm retarded"

[shinta|hikari]

Better than starving to death. This is literally a "first world problem" scenario.

[Buffalobiian]

-Caught up on this, and it's heavy. I actually had to take breaks.

-Statute of Limitations re:murder : and I found this article.. (https://tokyo5.wordpress.com/tag/statute-of-limitations/) basically showing much the change was driven by objective/convenience.

-Red eyes are used inconsistently in this show. They might be an indicator of intent or ulterior motive, but that's as good as it gets.

-In the OP, the government official looks a bit like our MC.

http://i.imgur.com/2QceZJG.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/UekzjJA.jpg


It doesn't fit in with the 'physics' of this world since (?)everyone's jumping into their former selves. The idea of the MC toying with his past self to trigger his own adventure isn't new however. Killing mum could have been the only way to save Kayo.. or something? Still, no evidence of double-selves in timelines yet.

-I thought Kayo's death was the real one, and the rest of the disappearances were just fabricated to cover up the fact Kayo was murdered by relatives. I don't think that's completely ruled out yet.

-Satoru's memory could have been fuzzy from the start because of the effect of various time-leaps and intrusions - which would mean that everything's pre-destined.

[Kraco]

Episode 7 - HS




- - - - - -





I'm starting to think that when Satoru is thrown back in time into a kid's body, the undeveloped brain affects him, making his thought processes simpler, his ability to formulate plans and predict outcomes compromised, even if he still possesses the memories of an adult. With the memories he should have plenty of life experience, but it honestly doesn't seem like he's reaching that far. The plan this time had some huge flaws. It wouldn't exactly take a Sherlock to follow Satoru and other kids to that hiding place. The footprints in the snow alone would be enough for a good part of the journey. Somehow Satoru failed to think about that, it seems, even though Hinazuki being alone in that park and being alone in that abandoned bus is so analogous that it's incredibly difficult not to see the parallel. When he left her there alone for the first time I already thought that's really bad planning.

I have no idea where this is going to go next. Maybe the visitor is Yuuki and nothing happens. Maybe it's the killer, although this would be the first time we would have seen him in action like that. Who knows. Truth to be told, I don't know how to interpret Yuuki's reaction when Satoru accosted him. If he was like that in front the lazy cops looking for an easy arrest, he was done for.

[MFauli]

FUCK! Gnarling my teeth at that cliffhanger >_<

Yes, I really don´t understand Satoru´s thought process here. Even if he ignored being followed the first time they went to the bus, it should have been obvious that there´s a higher risk with every time they go and come, especially when they added another confidant. To be honest, I have no idea how he convinced Kayo of staying at the bus ... did I miss that scene?

Anyway, if I were Satoru, I´d make sure that Kayo is never alone. Have either him or his smart friend stay with her, if necessary include the girly boy, too, although he seems to be at risk of being murdered, too. But damn, just don´t leave Kayo alone there :/

Oh my god. My heartrate is still higher than normal, I hate that cliffhanger so much. Please don´t let it be the murderer.

And regarding Yuuki: Was that initial reaction supposed to be a comedic moment? Because he reacted like a criminal that just got busted ... like, totally. That was super weird.

[David75]

I hope this is a trap for the killer... But it's quite a dangerous setup.
Even more so when the culprit showed Satoru he's several steps ahead, and he proved that several times already.

[Kraco]

I hope this is a trap for the killer... But it's quite a dangerous setup.
Even more so when the culprit showed Satoru he's several steps ahead, and he proved that several times already.

I considered that for a moment, but ask yourself: If a murderer was after your girlfriend, would you use her as a bait with no backing from the police or anybody, in a location as unsecure as the one in this ep?

It just feels so unbelievable that Satoru would make a mistake this gross after telling himself this is his last chance and he'll do anything to save Hinazuki. That's why I don't know what to think.

It would be awesome if it was Satoru's mom, but the intruder looked like a man.

[shinta|hikari]

The biggest mistake he made was not telling his mom. He should open up to everything. The obvious weakness Satoru has in the current situation is his youth, which is why you need adult allies. His mom is the most obvious choice.

I mean, if he was ready to push that lady off the stairs (which he should have done), he could at least risk being labeled insane. If Kenya accompanied him to explain to his mother, it would've worked. The kid is more eloquent than Satoru at any age.

It's definitely not the killer meta-wise. It's either Yuuki or his mom, but that doesn't excuse his stupid planning.

[MFauli]

Just now I wanted to write "maybe Yuuki is watching over Kayo from somewhere near the bus", but that wouldn´t make sense, since Satoru wants Yuuki to be as far away from her as possible. Nah, no matter how you look at it, Satoru´s current plan doesn´t make much sense.

But I still wonder if any of you guys can answer my above questions or if you wondered the same.

[shinta|hikari]

Kayo followed Satoru because she's in love with him. No convincing necessary.

Yuuki's reaction was a fake out for the viewers, for us to suspect him of being the killer even for a moment. It also makes sense in their reality because Yuuki is an extremely awkward person with odd reactions that probably got him convicted in the first timeline.

[Buffalobiian]

Regardless of whether Satoru told his mum or not, she'll come to the rescue. She's on top of this.

Satoru's plans are mostly to kinda fuck shit up. See, Yuuki's alibi doesn't mean much if Kayo's murder doesn't happen (or doesn't happen on that day) if you think about it right? It's mostly done to throw off whatever pre-determined plans the murderer has in an attempt to catch him out.

The kids can't all stay with Kayo forever since they're still kids and must make it back home before bedtime to not rouse suspicion.

[KrayZ33]

I had alot of problems with how he handled things at first, but then I thought a bit about how he can't change things too much either, because that would make things even more unpredictable for him.

While he is, now, already on uncertain turf again, he can at least rule out a few or alot of things happening (or at least he thinks he can).
So maybe he is doing it on purpose - he might've chosen the wrong path again, but at least I can still understand why he's doing it that way.

We all think telling his mom would be for the best, but while she's an awesome, understanding mom, what if she takes things into her hands and starts messing it up. "I'm going to call the police, you arn't allowed to leave the house" (and all that kind of stuff).
What if his possible actions get limited instead.


"Last revival" -> why waste it by "trying" something out with lots of uncertainties.

[shinta|hikari]

So he decided to kill Hinazuki-san? I'm not buying.

And his mom is a good enough investigator and an open enough mind to notice his "power" and act on his advice in the future, as well as find out the killer's identity. I'd say relying on her is better than anything Satoru had done in this new timeline.

[David75]

The more he grows found of Hinazuki, the more painful it gets to fail over and over again (think Steinsgate)
I guess we have too little to guess what happens next.

[KrayZ33]

So he decided to kill Hinazuki-san? I'm not buying.

I don't think it's fair to call it that. I even agree with him not letting her go home... it's just that I would rather try to invite her to my home instead.



And his mom is a good enough investigator and an open enough mind to notice his "power" and act on his advice in the future, as well as find out the killer's identity. I'd say relying on her is better than anything Satoru had done in this new timeline.

There is absolutely no way I'd believe a 12 year old that he could time travel without proof. This is typical for shows like these, you'd think "Man, why doesn't anybody notice it?" - but in reality, a world with no superpowers, that is just ridiculous.

She didn't even "bother" enough to actually believe him when he said Yuuki wasn't the culprit.

[shinta|hikari]

The thing is, he HAS superpowers. He has ways of making her believe because he has a 29 year old brain. If he can't even do that, that's his failure. His mom didn't believe him back then because he was a kid with no evidence. This time, he can convince her or fool her or whatever, but it doesn't change the fact that getting her to help save Kayo is the best move he has.

Hinazuki-san is the mother, not Kayo.

[KrayZ33]

Hinazuki-san is the mother, not Kayo.

edit: oh, nvm you meant Kayo's mother


The thing is, he HAS superpowers. He has ways of making her believe because he has a 29 year old brain. If he can't even do that, that's his failure. His mom didn't believe him back then because he was a kid with no evidence.

So what, just because he has it doesn't mean I believe him... unless he can proof it, how do you proof it though? Especially when your memory of the past is basically non existent, it's not like he can use anything that happens in the future.

[MFauli]

Yeah, shinta, how exactly would he proof his superpowers? You wouldn´t remember everyday stuff to predict, so he´d be left to predict big events in history, and unless those happen just around the corner, tough luck. And having a 29 yo brain ... so what? He was a mangaka. So he can draw well. Totally unheard of for kids to enjoy drawing. Likewise any sort of knowledge ... his mom would just praise him for being such a smart kid and that´s it. Being a timetraveller comes in last in terms of "reasonable explanations".

[shinta|hikari]

Explain stuff a kid wouldn't know or understand to his mother. A 12 year old kid shouldn't be able to talk and communicate like 29 year old guy. He doesn't need to prove time travel. What he needs to prove is his truthfulness.

The idea is not to open up with the time travel story. First you ease the mother into thinking that something major changed about her son (like how it happened with the smart kid), and then explain the details one by one. If that fails, the mother thinks her son is making shit up, the end. If it succeeds, he gets an ally.

Do you guys really think that mom, who supported his crusade to save Kayo, will ground or punish him for trying to explain things to her? At worst, she won't believe him. Satoru himself that his mom might even praise him for getting caught doing a crime while trying to save Kayo.

And I also said that he can try fooling his mother into it. For example, he can say that he saw Kayo's mother beat her in front of him, brutally even. Now he becomes a witness, and the beating becomes an actual crime. With Kayo under police protection, she is safe from the killer. It doesn't matter if he is lying because he knows the beating is true. Now that Kayo trusts him, she'd at the very least admit to being beaten to save Satoru from being labeled a liar and punished.

In fact, he can actually beat himself, and then blame Kayo's mother just to make it more believable. There are so many better ways to fix this situation given what he knows, but he chose a pretty dumb solution, part of which was pushing Hinazuki-san down the stairs.

You know what's funny? Apparently, so many people know about Kayo getting beaten, including his mom, the teacher, his friend... I mean, wtf? Why hasn't it been stopped? How many witnesses do you need to start a proper investigation?

EDIT: I remembered one important piece of convincing info. Satoru knows the guy who is his mom's old coworker/friend. Kid Satoru doesn't know him based on the flashbacks. That's already info he could only get from the future, and depending on how maturely and coherently he explains it, it can convince someone reasonably well.

[Kraco]

If he was smart enough to convince her mother he's a fricking time traveller, he would be smart enough to come up with a plan to save Hinazuki without needing to reveal his time travelling powers. But, alas, he's not in the possession of an above average IQ. The biggest problem was mentioned by MFauli: He would need to reveal solid information from the future that nobody would possibly be able to guess, but what are the odds of suitable events happening right then and there, furthermore, events reported on the TV, newspapers, or the radio so that the mom could verify them? No convenient www around, after all. Simply knowing some reporter dude isn't enough, surely. The mom would just suspect he overheard something or was spying on her. Further confusing her mother is no good. He could lose all of his credibility in the worst case.

[shinta|hikari]

So what if he loses all credibility? Is he making use of his credibility right now? All he is doing is act like a kid, which makes his 29 year old self useless.

The only way to argue risk vs. reward is if the more conservative method actually accomplishes something and the risk is actually valid. In Satoru's case, neither is true. His method (trying to kill Kayo's mom, stashing Kayo in a bus alone) is way too dangerous, and he isn't making use of his mother's trust anyway by sneaking out at night.

Like I said, you don't need to prove time travel. All he has to do is appear sincere, and his mother will likely believe him. Don't you guys remember how Satoru's mom reacted when he saved that girl from being kidnapped? Did he have to prove time travel back then? No, his mother just moved according to his request. That's the kind of person she is. I wouldn't suggest talking to her if she was a prude. She is clearly a very open-minded, intelligent person. All Satoru needs is to gather enough circumstantial evidence, act like a proper adult, and explain properly. There are limits to the lies a 12 year old can come up with. His mother will be forced to believe him if he lays down everything he knows. I mean, how can someone his age suddenly become a genius, gain so much life experience, know so much about Kayo's case, and even know the reporter?

Even excluding that, my idea of lying about witnessing Kayo's abuse or faking an attack on himself is still a far more effective way of protecting Kayo than leaving her alone in a bus.

[Buffalobiian]

You either show that you're sincere by not lying, or you become willing to do anything to achieve your goals including lying/deceiving. I don't think you can do both and get away with it for long. Not in a situation like this. Especially when you're not Light-tier.

If I chose to reveal this to the mother I'd do it matter-of-factly while knowing I knowing it's a gamble. My last line would be to tell her that I don't expect her to necessarily believe me, but to not obstruct my actions because they're important to me.

[shinta|hikari]

That's exactly what I'm proposing. It's one or the other, but both are options he didn't take.

My main problem with the recent developments is his inability to learn from his mistakes. He keeps repeating the wrong things and even attempting utterly stupid ones without proper planning. He already did this twice for crying out loud.

I actually think killing Hinazuki-san is a good idea, but getting caught by your friend while doing so? That's beyond stupid.

[KrayZ33]

I actually think killing Hinazuki-san is a good idea, but getting caught by your friend while doing so? That's beyond stupid.

As if he could possibly know that he's being stalked by one of his friends for 2 days already.
I'm not even sure if killing her was part of his plan, looked more like a coincidence to me.

[shinta|hikari]

You generally look around and make sure it's safe before trying to kill someone. Y'know, witnesses are a bad thing for killers.

Doesn't matter if it was his plan or coincidence. What matters is he actually tried to do it, which means he thought it was a good idea at the time.

[KrayZ33]

You generally look around and make sure it's safe before trying to kill someone. Y'know, witnesses are a bad thing for killers.

Doesn't matter if it was his plan or coincidence. What matters is he actually tried to do it, which means he thought it was a good idea at the time.

No to both. Thats just not what it means to kill someone on impulse.

[shinta|hikari]

So you're saying he simply stopped thinking and tried to kill the mother with no plan?

Good job Satoru! They ought to give him an award for being so smart.

[KrayZ33]

So you're saying he simply stopped thinking and tried to kill the mother with no plan?

Yes.



Good job Satoru! They ought to give him an award for being so smart.

A human is just that, a human. This has nothing to do with being smart or dumb.

[shinta|hikari]

It has everything to do with being smart or dumb. The ability to control one's impulses is what makes us human, not having impulses.

I was being lenient towards Satoru's actions in his first revival, but this is his second attempt. Falling prey to impulses and not thinking things through is being stupid. I'm not even asking him to be a genius. Just don't do blatantly stupid shit.

[KrayZ33]

It has everything to do with being smart or dumb. The ability to control one's impulses is what makes us human, not having impulses.

That's comming from the person who said killing her is a good idea.

He's personally affected by this, unlike you. The second attempt is even more crucial and taxxing on him, because in his timeline, he will have no chance to proof his innocence anymore.

And what is that statement even supposed to mean, that every man and woman, who ever acted on impulse is dumb and probably not even human? Animal instincts and occurring emotions are part of our live and that will always be the case. Even our laws realise that.

[shinta|hikari]

Yeah, killing her is a good idea. Getting caught while doing so is stupid. I thought you understood that after reading my posts. You seem to be mistaking "being smart" to "being moral," which is not the case.

He also has a lot more time and energy invested/dedicated to his situation than I do. Yet despite that, he almost threw it all away by acting on impulse instead of coming up with better plans. The stakes have always been high. That doesn't excuse acting stupidly.

[KrayZ33]

We should stop arguing here, because I don't even agree with you that he's acting stupidly, he acted naturally.

And

Yeah, killing her is a good idea. Getting caught while doing so is stupid.

This is the biggest bullshit I've read here in a while tbh... but then again, probably not. It's absurd nonetheless.

[shinta|hikari]

Natural and stupid aren't mutually exclusive, though. People do stupid shit all the time.

EDIT:
Just read your edit about my statement above. I basically meant humans have the ability to think and should do so, mainly because you brought up the human excuse, which is actually true. People act on impulse and make mistakes. Those are natural. That doesn't make those actions, and the people doing them, right or smart.

[KrayZ33]

But it's only stupid when they get caught... I guess?
If someones is actually able to avoid tax, he's smart... if he gets caught (by someone who's activiely looking for him), he's stupid?


Those are natural. That doesn't make those actions, and the people doing them, right or smart.

Yes, but you totally fail to sympathise with him on an emotional and situational level and can only see things rationally from the comfort of your couch.

[shinta|hikari]

You are clearly mixing up intelligence with morality. Those two aren't the same thing, and not even related.

A lot of smart people become criminals. Just look at politicians and serial killers. Heck, Kayo's killer is a great example.

[KrayZ33]

I'm not mixxing it up, I'm not even aiming in that direction. I'm calling you out on saying "he's stupid" when your own plans arn't even close to being flawless or helpful.
You have problems with him acting naturally, without considering why he does things the way he does.
On the other hand you don't seem to have that much of a problem to understand his reasoning when it's pointed out for you.

This is literally a "penalty shot" situation, where the scorer decides to kick the ball in the bottom left corner... too bad the keeper jumped in that direction. Yet there is this one guy saying "He should've shot in the right corner".

[shinta|hikari]

My plans are better than his, at least. I already stated them in my previous posts, so I'm not gonna repeat them.

If you specifically mean killing the mother, it's actually a good idea. He just has to do it without anyone catching him. Pushing her off the stairs will actually suffice IF there weren't any witnesses. The thing is, he didn't even check, because as you said, he acted on impulse. Just to be clear, this scenario assumes that she'll actually die from the fall. If the stairs aren't high enough to ensure that, then the entire thing is a no go.

If the mother dies, the police will have to step in. Kayo might get sent to a facility, but at least that keeps her safe. Safer than being alone in a bus, at least.

The best part is Kayo will be free from her mother's abuse.

And I do consider why he is acting like that. I even understand it. But I don't like it, nor do I think it's the right course of action. It is certainly stupid.

[Edort4]

Not going to write about the master plan of leaving Kayo alone for long periods of time and not even trying to hide traces or the 10 steps killing push of her mother. Nor the alibi for the night that nothing happens for Yuuki.

I actually wonder why he thinks that this is the last time he could use his "power". Going from 1 to 2 is harder than going from 2 to 3 in any experiment. He already achieved a 100% increase with his 2n chance. Getting a 50% increse could be imposible but doesnt seem logical to think that way.

I think that the guy going into the bus its actually a friendly. Its strange clothes to be Satorus mother but I doubt its the killer.

Did we get any hints to why its so fking vital for the killer to kill Kayo first? They even said he did it in some other town previously so she isnt the trigger. I also didnt understand why killing the girly boy after the 1st time travel change was any clever move.

It feels like if some characters aknowledge of someting being clever spectators will think its clever. That could work with dumb people (like satoru) but is crappy writting.

ps: Did the news reporter say that kayos mother was jailed for beating her daughter and leaving her to die of freeze in the shed? But then they said that the boot prints on the shed matched Yuuki and that led to him and some pedophile content he had or was his fathers pedophile library or was the killer (that goes around town into every crime scene over and over again, very clever, to say hi?) that planted it? I must admit that im no longer even thinking when watching this series. Its like a Clusterfuck of nonsense actually.

[Kraco]

Unless this is somehow a part of Satoru's plan, I almost hope it's the killer and Hinazuki disappears/dies again, even though I want nothing as much as her ending up happily ever after. Because if it's not a part of Satoru's plan, then this whole situation is even worse than the untouched timeline or his first attempt. There's still some risk for the killer to carry a body away from the housing area and later return it, while there's absolutely no risk visiting an abandoned bus in the middle of nowhere. It would be a different thing if Satoru had made a bigger effort of involving more people, especially adults, but in that case Hinazuki living in the wreck of a bus would be quite unlikely. No sensible adult would leave a little kid there all alone. Oh, right, Satoru is actually 29 years old, but we all know he's not overly sensible.

[KrayZ33]

Did we get any hints to why its so fking vital for the killer to kill Kayo first? They even said he did it in some other town previously so she isnt the trigger.

It's vital for Satoru to not let her die, and that's what this is about.


I also didnt understand why killing the girly boy after the 1st time travel change was any clever move.

Then you should rewatch that scene where it was explained.... or actually start thinking, which you've given up on as you said yourself.


Because if it's not a part of Satoru's plan, then this whole situation is even worse than the untouched timeline or his first attempt. There's still some risk for the killer to carry a body away from the housing area and later return it, while there's absolutely no risk visiting an abandoned bus in the middle of nowhere

True, but at the same time, he can't really target her. First of all, he can't (from what we know) make it look like someone specific killed her and that seems to be "his thing", (is it not?) and I wonder if a killer like ours would risk an open investigation.

Then I wonder whether the "Clubroom" is actually as abandoned as we think it is...I too think it's weird, but then again' it's next to a grade school or something.

[Kraco]

Episode 8 - HS


- - - - -




Holy shit, Satoru actually did beat the murderer in pure luck. It's actually quite funny that the visitor was the murderer all pissed off after failing to retrieve Hinazaki from where he thought she is, only to miss her by three meters at the last place he would have expected her to be in.

It's unbelievable how much I enjoy watching good things to happen to poor Kayo.

Man, that "Yeah". What a smooth operator.

[MFauli]

Omg, I can´t! When I was about to start watching, I remembered last week´s cliffhanger and honestly pondered for a moment, if I actually WANT to watch this :/ Then I did and first was like "ok, not a bad person, it´ll turn out fine". Only for it be revealed that it WAS the murderer! Fuck, fuck, fuck!
And this confirms that Satoru really had no smart plan in play, it was sheer luck that Kayo survived in the bus. Truth to be told, the murderer should have noticed the warmth and smell coming from somewhere inside the bus that should have been ice-cold.

But Satoru made another mistake, although it´s only the 2nd biggest problem: Instead of simply forsaking the bus, he should have made an effort to find out who the murderer is! Something could have been done, since he knew the murderer would return to the bus. Which, however, leads us to the number 1 problem:
HOW can Satoru EVER stop the murderer, when no murder has been committed? Unless you catch him right in the act PRIOR to murdering the victim (which would be way convenient), there has to be at least one victim to convict somebody. Taking a police officer to the bus, confronting the to-be murderer and pointing at the tool won´t work. Bullshit excuses will be made with ease then. So if Satoru truly intends to stop any killings from happening, there´s only to options imo:

1.) Kill the to-be murderer
2.) Confront him by himself and do the best Naruto-speech that has ever been given

Both options leave a lot desired.

Sidenote: Satoru´s mom is totally hot. Would love to take a bath with her, too. And since she didn´t age in 20 years, she´s the perfect woman lol.




Man, that "Yeah". What a smooth operator.

Best fucking scene, LOL. Really makes you wonder if he´s brain capabilities revert when he jumps back in time. It´s so weird. He simply shouldn´t have any such thoughts or turning red; it´s a little girl, a grade school girl. If these scenes continue, this anime´s final episode will end with Satoru having turned a pedo criminal himself from all the contact with Kayo. Only half-joking here.

[Edort4]

Maybe I was to hard on this show. It could actually be somewhat a master piece. This last episode took a turn into full Fargo mode. The bad guy getting mad and staying 2 meters away from his victim felt a lot like Justified/better call Saul.

Almost everybody is stupid in their cores, people dont think before acting, your normal joe works on impulses and luck and police are utterly obnoxious and lazy. Criminals arent smart, not even this suppossed evil genius, is just everybody else that cant reason added to a corrupted system by mediocrity.

This could be a great satire and a critique of Japan and their traumatized, phobia filled and dumbed society.

[Harima Kenji]

Nice turn of events.
I also wanted them to keep an eye on the bus to see who the killer was (they still might), since it's a golden oppertunity.
It seems Kayo is going to be okay now, but that would end it there, unless the focus shifts to finding the murderer, since the 2nd victim was shown this episode, and Satoru mentioned that she'd be killed soon. Gave me the thought that he'll 'use' her to find the killer. Given the fact that his mother is now involved in saving Kayo, the murderer might still hold a grudge agains her for taking away his prey.

Besides all that.. damn Kayo's life sucked. Besides getting the crap beaten out of her all the time, her breakfast was Kenny McCormick level...or even worse. It's surprising that she's able to smile at all.

[shinta|hikari]

Aside from the dumb ass killer and the fact that Plan B should've been Plan A, this episode took this show back on track.

We got more sweet Kayo moments, and a fucking bath scene involving 2 of the hottest anime girls this season, and both are in polar ends of the hotness type spectrum!

Kayo's VA is doing a godly job. Her voice is cute as hell and fits Kayo's kuu/dandere looks and personality. Not only that, the subdued crying scene was absolute excellence. You can really feel that the child has been abused when she can't even cry in earnest.

Seriously, what was the point of the previous episode? See how cool yokai mom is? See how much Satoru trusts her? What the hell was with that dumb ass bus plan? If they take out the entire bus idea, this show would be blameless. I could even forgive Satoru's impulsive killer instinct.

EDIT:
Speaking about dumb things, did you know that the English title for Boku Dake ga Inai Machi (A Town Where I'm Gone) is "Erased?" What the hell is that?

[MFauli]

and a fucking bath scene involving 2 of the hottest anime girls this season, and both are in polar ends of the hotness type spectrum!

There´s nothing "hot" about Kayo ...


Speaking about dumb things, did you know that the English title for Boku Dake ga Inai Machi (A Town Where I'm Gone) is "Erased?" What the hell is that?

Yeah, I knew, and i hate it. But I hate all english titles of anime. Last I remember I absolutey hated was Sakamichi no Apollon, something "Kids ... Slopes ... whatever".
Either keep the Japanese title or make it a more literal translation. But don´t make up bullshit. When a friend of mine complained to me he cannot memorize the japanese title, I told him to call it "Gelöscht" then (German translation of "Erased"), to make fun of how bad the English translation ist.

Ah, ffs, now I keep fantasizing about bathing together with Satoru´s mom. Help.

[shinta|hikari]

There´s nothing "hot" about Kayo ...

Look at my sig and say that to my face.

Just to be clear, I'm not saying you should find lolis hot. I'm saying I find lolis hot. To each their own.

[MFauli]

Look at my sig and say that to my face.

Just to be clear, I'm not saying you should find lolis hot. I'm saying I find lolis hot. To each their own.

Okay, sorry. Admittedly, I´m already 30, so finding lolis "hot" would be awkward for me, compared to the attractions of a youngun like yourself ;>

[shinta|hikari]

Dang, you're actually 30?? I always thought that was a fake age and you're actually 15 or something.

I don't expect to suddenly find lolis not hot in the next 4 months, so I don't think it has anything to do with age (see Satoru, the 29 year old). Lolis are immortal! Kayo is immortal!

[Kraco]

Isn't Satoru in love with Kayo? It would be pretty sad to love someone romantically without finding them attractive. He keeps telling himself he's 29, but in fact he's not 29. He's... Well, whatever those kids' age is currently. But then again, it might be better this way since it perhaps allows him to treat Kayo in a more suitable way fitting a victim of heavy abuse. Despite his awesome answer to the mom, I don't expect him to make any strange moves.

[MFauli]

He´s a cheater, though. Assuming he manages to get rid of the murderer, he´ll have used his 29 yo wits to make a 9yo girl fall in love with him. That´s not right! And I also wonder if, when he jumps back at the happy end, his brain will suddenly be filled with new memories, because of course he´ll have been married to Kayo for the last 20 years ... that he didn´t actually experience!

@shinta: I´m actually 16 on the inside, but yeah, my passport says 30. See ya soon!

[shinta|hikari]

I actually hope he doesn't jump back at all. He catches the killer and then lives his life all over again, this time more meaningfully thanks to Kayo.

Kayo can become his adopted sister with benefits. Then he can hunt down pizza girl in the future and make her the legal wife. Then he can woo the Yokai into bed and make himself the ultimate clubhouse sandwich harem.

[KrayZ33]

EDIT:
Speaking about dumb things, did you know that the English title for Boku Dake ga Inai Machi (A Town Where I'm Gone) is "Erased?" What the hell is that?



What's wrong with it. Short and fitting. Fits even better than the original if you ask me.

[MFauli]

btw, it should be "A town where only I am gone/don´t exist".

and goddam, shinta. I didn´t even know about the term "sister with benefits" until now ...

[shinta|hikari]

What's wrong with it. Short and fitting. Fits even better than the original if you ask me.

Because it doesn't respect the original Japanese title. It's not that hard to translate the title, and it isn't even that long. Why change it?

Erased sounds like an action flick, to be honest. It doesn't carry the slice of life and mystery feel of Boku Dake ga Inai Machi.

[KrayZ33]

This story isn't even remotely "slice of life" and it covers the mystery part quite well... also the time traveling/changing past theme and Kayo's/Satoru's story.

Who gives a fuck though and why.

there are so much worse.

For example, Mononoke-hime is not "The Spirit Princess" but Princess Mononoke, and no ones is named "Mononoke" in that show.

Maybe I'm just used to it because we germans have a history of changing movie names.

[MFauli]

Maybe I'm just used to it because we germans have a history of changing movie names.

Well, I´m German, too, and your posting makes no sense. Translating "Mononoke hime" into "Princess Mononoke" is a super-literal translation. Nothing got re-interpreted in the translation process. You could even argue the translation is too literal, since they left "mononoke" untranslated.
Then you´re saying you´re used to changed movie titles because of German history? How does that come together?

Also, Germany isn´t exactly famous for changing titles, but infamous for adding unnecessary subtitles. :>

[KrayZ33]

Well, I´m German, too, and your posting makes no sense. Translating "Mononoke hime" into "Princess Mononoke"

So, what's Mononoke supposed to mean? There is no character called Mononoke in the show, what is a Mononoke.


Then you´re saying you´re used to changed movie titles because of German history? How does that come together?

Also, Germany isn´t exactly famous for changing titles, but infamous for adding unnecessary subtitles. :>

You probably don't even know the original titles my friend.

Face/Off -> Im Körper des Feindes -> In the Body of my Enemy

or

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl -> Fluch der Karibik -> Curse of the Caribbean
and then the second movie: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest -> Pirates of the Caribbean - Fluch der Karibik 2 (wtf?)

etc. etc.

or some older stuff from Arnold: "The Running Man" -> "Der Zweite Mann" -> "The Second Man"

So yeah, I'm probably just used to it, sometimes they are even better than the original and I don't see a problem with this.

[shinta|hikari]

The story has slice of life elements in it, like his school activities and home scenes. Remember Edort complaining about filler-ish stuff? Those are it. I'm not saying it's a slice of life show, but it's a show set in a town in Satoru's youth. "Erased" erases all that from the title (lol). Go and ask someone what they think a story titled "Erased" is about and you'll get what I mean.

Putting all that aside, changing the title completely is nonsense. It could've been easily translated. That's always been my stance in localization, but you're free to disagree.

[MFauli]

So, what's Mononoke supposed to mean? There is no character called Mononoke in the show, what is a Mononoke.

Yeah, but nothing got changed, which was the point of this discussion. "Boku dake ga inai Machi" should be "The town where I only I do not exist". Instead it became "Erased". That is completely out of nowhere. Leaving "Mononoke" like that is a pure translation decision, turning it into something else entirely is a interpretation decision, and a bad one at that. It´s as if they had turned "mononoke hime" into "Forest of Gods" or some shit.


You probably don't even know the original titles my friend.

It might have been more prevalent in the past, but for the past 10+ years? We get the original English titles or literal translations of them. Not saying that´s 100% for all movies.

[shinta|hikari]

Whoa, seeing how the Germans switch titles makes me understand why Krayz is so tolerant of it. In my country, we use the original English titles of all Hollywood movies. In fact, we use English titles for a good chunk local movies too.

"In My Enemy's Body" LOLWTF.

[KrayZ33]

Yeah, but nothing got changed, which was the point of this discussion. "Boku dake ga inai Machi" should be "The town where I only I do not exist". Instead it became "Erased". That is completely out of nowhere. Leaving "Mononoke" like that is a pure translation decision, turning it into something else entirely is a interpretation decision, and a bad one at that. It´s as if they had turned "mononoke hime" into "Forest of Gods" or some shit.

It's not, the movie translates to "the princess of spirits" or something similiar, why not use it? It's a fitting title too because that's what San(?) is pretty much.

They decided to translate the -san -hime -dono - part but not the important part... why not?




It might have been more prevalent in the past, but for the past 10+ years? We get the original English titles or literal translations of them. Not saying that´s 100% for all movies.

"Die Hard" is still "Stirb Langsam"... pretty much the opposite as "Die Hard" means "you can't kill him" and we translated it as "he dies slowly"

Black Eagle became Red Eagle and all that kind of stuff, as I said... we have a history of changing titles and as you mentioned, even adding nonsense.

Oh remember "Taken"? - No you don't, because we call it 96-hours... not even 96-Stunden, no, 96-hours. We gave an english title, a new english title.

[MFauli]

Again, turning "mononoke hime" into "princess mononoke" isn´t re-interpretating/changing the original. Turning "Boku dake ga inai Machi" into "Erased", is.

And as I said, there´s still sometimes weird, unnecessary title changes, but it´s gotten way less frequent. Btw the sequel to 96 hours is called "96 hours - Taken 2" in Germany lol

[KrayZ33]

Again, turning "mononoke hime" into "princess mononoke" isn´t re-interpretating/changing the original.

But it also fails to translate anything meaningful. Mononoke isn't a name... people don't realize it and actually think San is called (Princess) Mononoke because of that.

If they had done it right (even if they chose not to translate the meaning of Mononoke), you'd actually have to call the movie The Princess of Mononoke... or "Die Mononoke Prinzessin"

[shinta|hikari]

Or they could call it "The Forest Monsters," in German, of course.

[KrayZ33]

More like: "A Tale of Wisps and Willows" because "willow" also means "reißwolf" in german (shredder) and "reißen" is what a wolf does to a sheep and double meaning with Will-o-wisp and shit....and... all that.

Get it? GET IT? thats some german thinking right there.

[MFauli]

Or call it "Prinzessin Mononoke", a title that is distinct and instantly recognizable and unique.

[shinta|hikari]

Most Germans understand English, right? If so, why the need to change the titles?

[KrayZ33]

a title that is distinct
Ya, because we all know what Mononoke means, right?


Most Germans understand English, right? If so, why the need to change the titles?

I don't know. As I said, we actually use our own english titles that are different from the original english title.

edit: I just asked my brother "How was the female lead in Princess Mononoke called again?" - "Mononoke, you dummy."

Just saying...
Well, lets discuss the show.

[MFauli]

I think it´s because German media are somewhat proud of their localization process. I mean, you have exactly two big dubbing nations in the world: Japan and Germany. Yeah, France and the US do dubbing, too, but the US does it mostly for cartoons. But only Germany dubs EVERYTHING. I mean, we even dubbed those Jackass-movies, which was weird as hell. But thanks to that, German dubs are also really good in general, much like Japanese dubs are the finest in the world.

So, maybe when you value translation/localization to this degree, translating the title comes naturally.


Ya, because we all know what Mononoke means, right?



Everybody knows what movie is meant when you mention it, so, yeah.

[KrayZ33]

Everybody knows what movie is meant when you mention it, so, yeah.

You do realize that this applies to every movie ever? That has nothing to do with being distinct.
"Oh ya, that movie with the wolf girl called mononoke, right?"

[MFauli]

You do realize that this applies to every movie ever? That has nothing to do with being distinct.
"Oh ya, that movie with the wolf girl called mononoke, right?"

That´s not true at all. No idea what you´re talking about.

[Kraco]

What the hell are you guys talking about? Get a new room (thread) for that stuff.

[lelouch]

I feel like murderer flags are being dropped all over the teacher for multiple reasons:

1. When they did angle on his face from a side-view, it looked almost exactly like the side-view of that hatted man in that first episode when he was caught in the act.

2. There is no reason for him to be given this much screen time.

3. The camera keeps pausing on him for a second or two too long after his interaction is done. Again, no reason for this.

4. During conversations that he has, you don't always hear everything that he has to say. No reason for this to happen....unless he's the f'ing killer

[shinta|hikari]

It's a red herring. They're making it too obvious for him to be the real killer.

[Buffalobiian]

The teacher could still be the killer in my book, red-herring or not. The mum's keeping him in the loop of things too. She's supposedly a good judge of character but I don't think she's foolproof.

Everybody thought that the killer was angry and just randomly kicked that box in the bus and dropped his shit there. I thought he did it on purpose. He bailed on the killing because things didn't go according to plan. Even if he killed Kayo right then and there, he couldn't set up his scapegoat (Yuuki) this time since Satoru ruined his first attempt.

I interpreted that as a "Fuck you, I'll be back".

[shinta|hikari]

That'd be fucking awesome if true.

The only thing better is some clubhouse sandwich futon action.

[Kraco]

The teacher could still be the killer in my book, red-herring or not. The mum's keeping him in the loop of things too. She's supposedly a good judge of character but I don't think she's foolproof.

Everybody thought that the killer was angry and just randomly kicked that box in the bus and dropped his shit there. I thought he did it on purpose. He bailed on the killing because things didn't go according to plan. Even if he killed Kayo right then and there, he couldn't set up his scapegoat (Yuuki) this time since Satoru ruined his first attempt.

I interpreted that as a "Fuck you, I'll be back".

That sounds strange. If he was so analytical and free of passion, why would he be killing in the first place? It's not like he'd be murdering the abused daughter of random addicts for some higher political reason. If the target is offered to him on a gold platter right after he failed to snatch her after going through more trouble, I'd find it unlikely he wouldn't seize the opportunity.

[MFauli]

That sounds strange. If he was so analytical and free of passion, why would he be killing in the first place? It's not like he'd be murdering the abused daughter of random addicts for some higher political reason.

Isn´t that THE big question, though? We´re watching a show about a boy who can leap back and forth through time, we´re at episode 8, only 4-5 episodes remaining. And somehow we´re being told a story about tragic, but not that special murders. With how obsessed the murderer is to kill Satoru´s friends and incrimate him, it almost feels as if these past murders have a deeper meaning than just "duh, I felt like killing some innocent brats".

[Buffalobiian]

That sounds strange. If he was so analytical and free of passion, why would he be killing in the first place?

I don't know why he kills, but given everything we've seen so far across the years, I'd say calling him analytical is pretty spot on.

At the very least he loves to make sure someone else takes the blame for his acts.

[Edort4]

If I recall correctly it was stated that he had killed before and did so after this series of crimes. The "obssesion" with Kayo may be that he is just plainly psycho and its his target cause she fills some characteristics and had a plan to do his "thing" with her. Most serial killers choose victims and stick to them even if they get an easier target/chance with some1 else.

He knew they left her alone in the shed and planned along for the 2nd time murder (she is no longer staying alone in the park, 1st time murder) so he should be planning a 3rd time murder. If he knew she was in the bus he would have done a new plan based on that info and not ruining this new chance.

Yuukis alibi would work for the night the window was broken and the father (and neighborhood) woke up and made a ruckuss. The night the killer went into the bus was another one.

I still have troubles with the smart friend. He is too fking clever, composed, methodical, considerate. We can assume that just happens to be a normal functioning genius (part of that 0,1% of population) to be there by sheer luck (and didnt skip grades cause whatever) but im not buying it. ¿What if Sastoru isnt the only with the power of going back in time?

[shinta|hikari]

Wasn't Yuuki's alibi police protection? I think the death threat Satoru left under the rock was supposed to trigger that reaction. So the cops are gonna be watching Yuuki for a week or so to make sure he doesn't get killed.

[David75]

Isn´t that THE big question, though? We´re watching a show about a boy who can leap back and forth through time, we´re at episode 8, only 4-5 episodes remaining. And somehow we´re being told a story about tragic, but not that special murders. With how obsessed the murderer is to kill Satoru´s friends and incrimate him, it almost feels as if these past murders have a deeper meaning than just "duh, I felt like killing some innocent brats".
The girl from the other school where the bus is isn't related to Satoru, and the next girl in the first timeline too.
Then in the second timeline, it's true the killer targeted satoru's trap friend.

[Kraco]

I don't know why he kills, but given everything we've seen so far across the years, I'd say calling him analytical is pretty spot on.

Well, yeah, analytical is the wrong word. Though I don't know which one to use. I meant to say that he's killing for no intelligent reason. Like not eliminating business/love competitors or anything. So, while killing for no particular reason but his own urge to kill, I don't see why he would spare Hinazuki simply because she wasn't in the shed but already in the very bus he would have carried her. Sure, framing Yuuki might not have worked, but is framing somebody more important than killing for him?

Looking back at the mom's murder, I find it hard to believe he could 100% count on managing to frame Satoru (because that whole incident relied on Satoru acting like an idiot), yet he wanted to kill the mom right then and there. Getting rid of Satoru was merely a bonus under those circumstances.

[shinta|hikari]

Since he's a serial killer, the method is just as important as the target. They don't kill just because of opportunity. They enjoy how they pull off the deed, including how they get away with it. There's a method to the madness.

Framing Satoru for his mom's murder was not a sure deal, but that goes for any frame up. There was a pretty good chance of it happening, so the killer took it. This time, there was no one else to take the blame for Kayo's death, except maybe Satoru kid version for putting her in that bus, but no reasonable judge would conclude that.

I'll be really, really impressed if Buff's theory turns out correct.

[Ryllharu]

I don't know why he kills, but given everything we've seen so far across the years, I'd say calling him analytical is pretty spot on.

At the very least he loves to make sure someone else takes the blame for his acts.
I'm starting to think the latter part is what he actually enjoys. His abduction and killing methods are so mundane and...dispassionate? He's really separated from the act of murdering (for the most part, until he stabs Sachiko). Spraying a beaten unconscious Kayo until she freezes to death and picking her body up later, or smothering another girl with charcoal briquettes in a bus, or whatever he did to Hiromi and all the other children.

It's the framing others part that he truly likes. He was present for when Satoru got picked up by the cops, smirking, taking it all in. That's the compulsion.

The game is framing someone else so completely that suspicion never falls on him, and being there when the person he framed gets caught is the sick pleasure that he basks in. It's almost like the kidnapping and killing children is just the means to an end. The murders are secondary, the framing of another is the actual goal.

Sachiko and the professor both believe he sets a pattern before moving on. It seems to be getting someone else caught. When Sachiko spoiled his latest plot in the present, he switched to framing Satoru for stabbing and arson.

I realize I said it about three times in this post, but it really is starting to build up that way.

[lelouch]

I don't think it's a red herring.

We know it's an adult male, and I don't know many other adult males in this show that could be a suspect. I also doubt they're going to make the villain someone who has not yet been introduced in the show given how late in the game it is.

[MFauli]

Well, I mean, if that guy that went to the bus is the perpetrator, then that only leaves the teacher as the murderer. What other adult do we know? Kayo´s dad, but he was a bit fatter than what we saw of the guy at the bus iirc.

Tbh, either options would be disappointing, because they´re too obvious.

[David75]

Let's not forget the age... After all, in 29 years old Satoru's present, the culprit feels quite young.
So in kid Satoru's present, the culprit really is young, but already an adult. So around the early 20's.
That's if we have only one culprit.
At some point, I thought it was the journalist, he had his red eye scene too, and he can get lots of data on anyone to prepare for his crimes.
But the culprit apparent age did not match.

[Edort4]

Sachiko and the professor both believe he sets a pattern before moving on. It seems to be getting someone else caught. When Sachiko spoiled his latest plot in the present, he switched to framing Satoru for stabbing and arson.

I realize I said it about three times in this post, but it really is starting to build up that way.

Wasn't he trying to abdcut a child in plain day? Its possible to do that and whatever you have planned and frame others afterwards but... aint that way too risky if your goal and satisfaction is just to frame others? Im pretty sure that there are easier ways to do it than abducting a child in plain day infront of a supermarket even in clueless Japan.

Also I still dont know if the killer is just 1 guy. I swear that at fisrt episode it looked young (30s) and had like a moustache and the shady official looks like and old satoru (late 40s-50s). Maybe is just bad drawing or that I'm reading too much into it dunno.

[MFauli]

Btw wouldn´t it make sense for the killer to be Yuuki after all? The murderer was angry. Somebody here assumed it was because Satoru made Kayo´s original murder impossible. But what if it´s because Satoru caused the murderer himself, Yuuki, to be unable to go out and go through with his plan?
It´s kinda over the top to be this angry about a missed opportunity, unless the perpetrator is a chess-mastermind, who values a well-thoughout schedule over anything else.

[Edort4]

I think Satorus mother ruled yuuki out when she recognized the guy and remembered who he was. See tought about how she should have listened to Satoru when she was dying and life passed in front of her eyes.

It could be like a double twist but I hope not. This show really needs coherence even if its just once.

[shinta|hikari]

Yuuki is in jail in the future.

[MFauli]

Well, then the murderer is the teacher. Good job, anime, at keeping it a secret for the twist! ;>

[Buffalobiian]

Well, then the murderer is the teacher. Good job, anime, at keeping it a secret for the twist! ;>

OR whoever the teacher decided to call at the end of this episode!

Those brown leather shoes are supposed to be important. I bet you it's the 'mistake' that will lead Satoru to him.

[shinta|hikari]

Yeah, they wouldn't make a scene about a footprint otherwise.

[MFauli]

episode 9 is out
------------------

Huh, what´s with the fugly girl at the end? Ma ii.

Good to see Kayo successfully saved. Now I´m actually most curious how future Kayo is like. Bet she´s a stunningy beauty!

I´m glad that Kayo´s mother wasn´t forgiven, it was made clear that she´s a bad person, no matter the circumstances. And it´s true. Herself being the victim of abuse is an explanation, not an excuse. But WTF, Satoru´s mom is kinda suicidal, isn´t she?! That swing with the shovel would have killed her, had little Satoru not pulled her back. W T F. That was too lucky. Don´t understand why they didn´t simply use the scene to make her look badass, but somebody who waits for a shovel coming for her face isn´t badass, no matter how calm. phew

And then there´s obviously the candy-in-the-car scene.
This is now the second so-called red herring scene. First one we got with Yuuki. Now we´ve got one with the teacher. Using the candy to lure in children? No no, he quit smoking, that´s his substitute. Sure.
But then there´s the fact that Yuuki regularly meets with the other girl ... WHY?! I´m sorry, even if it turns out that Yuuki is innocent, he´s a goddam weirdo. When you´re 23, you don´t hang around with little school kids.

So now´s the question: Yuuki and the teacher are the only two elder male characters we know from Satoru´s past. Is one of them the killer or are both red herrings? If so, who IS the perpetrator?
I cannot imagine it to be a new, yet unknown character, because it´d be somewhat random, thus unsatisfying.
Therefore, I expect some sort of twist, either that Yuuki AND the teacher are the killers, worked together, and somehow the teacher used Yuuki to stay off prison. OR one of Satoru´s friends is the killer. His smart friend, once again, appeard TO smart. "analysis", aha. That´s how an elementary schooler talks.

[Ryllharu]

Huh, what´s with the fugly girl at the end?

Because Satoru is a dumbass. He still thinks that protecting the victims will help him prevent his mother's murder. Kayo was the most vulnerable, the easiest to start the chain, but he's approaching this backward. He should be using the girl he knows will be the next victim and the clues they gathered from pure luck to find the killer, preventing everything.

Hiromi isn't going to be next or second, he's always third. His purpose is to throw the police onto someone else's trail, but while also accidentally proving that Yuuki is innocent to the people who knew him.

The more Satoru changes the past, the less he can rely on what he knows unless he jumps forward again and gets flooded with altered memories. In allying with Kayo at the beginning, he alienated this other girl. She's bothered by what they've been up to for all kinds of reasons (probably something stupid like she has a crush on one of the boys) ever since he humiliated her about the missing money that she accused Kayo of stealing.

The altered timeline will have the girl following them to get back at them, or whatever the scenario might be. That in turn puts her outside, alone, vulnerable. She will be the new victim number 1, then some girl from the other school, then Hiromi again.

Satoru saved Kayo, but hasn't changed anything that leads to his mother's eventual murder. He's only delayed the start of it and changed some of the potential victims.

[Edort4]

I almost got hanged and torched for saying he isnt thinking and doing this wrong. He needs to get the killer, maybe even set a trap to catch him red-handed but now he is doing the same he did with Kayo. I still dont understand why didnt he stalk the bus until he see the killer. Unless its a joint effort between more than 1 killer (some kind of sect) if he knows who it is its way easier to follow him than to protect 2, 3 or even more potential targets.

At least he got some reinforcements, so it not totally overwhelming, but still it makes no sense to me how he expects to change things by making the killer target other children and only being reactive and not proactive.

I would say he is treating symptons. Not causes. And that can only take you so far.

[MFauli]

At this point, if he wants to reap any sort of success, he HAS to tell everybody the truth, both his friends and his mother. It doesn´t matter if it sounds crazy, it´s about life or death, and I´d say he´s been a real role model for somebody his age (lol), so it´s not like some kid obsessed with manga and games is going up to his mom saying "mom, there are aliens!". If an earnest child like Satoru tells it in the right way, he should get their support. It might not even be them believing him 100%, but it might make them believe enough that there is a real danger around. His smart friend already is like that, saying he thinks it´s all 99% nonsense, but he cannot dismiss that 1% chance. That´s what Satoru needs to rely on, and with his mom, too.

I simply don´t see how Satoru can solve the problem without others´ help.

[shinta|hikari]

I think that girl at the end likes Satoru, and the reason she bullied Kayo is because Satoru acted like he likes her.

Now that Kayo is gone, I've lost 99% of my interest in this show. But 1% tells me I'm still gonna stick around hoping Kayo comes back.

[lelouch]

Kayo comes back.

yeah...in a BOX!!


Bus getting cleaned up immediately after Satoru reveals that's where they were to the teacher? I think this series will end in one of three ways:

1) Teacher is the killer
2) It will leave who the killer is "open-ended" in one of those annoying fucking endings where you don't know for sure...in which case i'll still believe it's the teacher
3) Might be the kid -- they've been focusing too much on him for his own good. and he had that weird fucking grin on his face when talking to Satoru

[shinta|hikari]

yeah...in a BOX!!

That's fine too. Eternal loli FTW.

[Buffalobiian]

I'm still in this for pizza girl.

Wasn't that bus also the clubhouse of some random kids at the elementary school? Putting murder tools there seems a bit dangerous.

Not only did the bus supplies get evacuated after Satoru revealed his hideout, but the killer also went with footprint-hiders this time.

Satoru's also the best stalker in this show' He's got those skills down pat.

[KrayZ33]

I didn't like that "mental breakdown" of Kayo's mother, it felt really forced.

The "ending" to Kayo's arc was overall rather underwhelming... but the funny thing is, Satoru thinks so too. At least it looked like he would've prefered it to go somewhat differently.

[Ryllharu]

It's supposed to be, that's why they specifically mention that Kayo had no sympathy for her mother, nor did Satoru or his mother. Kayo's mother only felt bad for herself. Not what she had done to Kayo over the years, just her own fate. "My life has been so hard," instead of, "Look at what I've become, everything I hated."

The only one who got overwhelmed with emotion on a sincere level was the teacher. He's a good person. At this point, I'd be really disappointed if the major bullshit twist was he was the murderer. It's incredibly unlikely, but lots of series are capable of ruining themselves when the author gets caught up in their own plot twists and paints themselves in a corner where deus ex machina is the only way out. They might end up that way anyway, if they don't start foreshadowing the actual murderer in the past.

[KrayZ33]

The only one who got overwhelmed with emotion on a sincere level was the teacher. He's a good person. At this point, I'd be really disappointed if the major bullshit twist was he was the murderer. It's incredibly unlikely,

Why would that be a "bullshit twist". It all comes down to how they present the murderer... reasons and motives and all that. It would be alot worse if it's someone we havn't seen yet or with no connection to the victims.

So the teacher is actually still a prime suspect, considering Satoru's mom has to know the murderer and the murderer himself has to know about Juki(? that was his name right?), about Kayo's circumstances and that the boy (forgot the name) is not a girl.

So it can't be anyone totally unrelated to these children.
It would be even more obvious if we find out that the teacher is also teaching at that cram-school for example.

[Ryllharu]

Why would that be a "bullshit twist". It all comes down to how they present the murderer... reasons and motives and all that. It would be alot worse if it's someone we havn't seen yet or with no connection to the victims.

It really helps when you actually include the whole sentence. I already explained it.


It's incredibly unlikely, but lots of series are capable of ruining themselves when the author gets caught up in their own plot twists and paints themselves in a corner where deus ex machina is the only way out. They might end up that way anyway, if they don't start foreshadowing the actual murderer in the past.
- The teacher could have pretended to help, while ensuring that he'd still have the opportunity to abduct her. He is in the prime position to do so. The Child Services people and the grandmother could be fakes. They're not.

- He barges into the apartment earlier. That would have been an opportunity to have him look like he's scoped out the place a few times before. But it was the Child Services people who led their group to the back door.


Instead, the series has spent considerable time making him look shady, when he's been helping the whole time. The mysterious phone calls? To Child Services, and tracking down the grandmother. The hidden stuff in the glove compartment (rushed a bit it seems)? Candy, but not for luring little kids, to quit smoking. They want you to think it is him.

The only reason it would be him is if the author fucks up, realizes there's no place to introduce the real murderer properly, and comes up with some sinister bullshit backstory for an existing character that had no foreshadowing. It happens in thriller novels and movies all the time. Usually something stupid like a random phone call, or a newspaper clipping that comes in the mail, or was left on a desk as an afterthought. No foreshadowing, no hints, just a quick turn from supporting character to villain.

When the audience can't play along, because the author is deliberately withholding information or doesn't have a properly developed idea themselves, there's no point in watching a thriller series.

Same problem as Rokka no Yuusha.

EDIT:
I knew I'd find someone who can explain it better.


There is a distinct difference between "suspense" and "surprise", and yet many pictures continually confuse the two.

We are now having a very innocent little chat. Let us suppose that there is a bomb underneath this table between us. Nothing happens, and then all of a sudden, 'Boom!' There is an explosion. The public is surprised, but prior to this surprise, it has seen an absolutely ordinary scene, of no special consequence. Now, let us take a suspense situation. The bomb is underneath the table, and the public knows it, probably because they have seen the anarchist place it there. The public is aware that the bomb is going to explode at one o'clock and there is a clock in the décor. The public can see that it is a quarter to one. In these conditions this same innocuous conversation becomes fascinating because the public is participating in the scene.

The conclusion is that whenever possible the public must be informed. Except when the surprise is a twist, that is, when the unexpected ending is, in itself, the highlight of the story.

[shinta|hikari]

In short, the teacher is likely a red herring (http://literarydevices.net/red-herring/).

[KrayZ33]

It really helps when you actually include the whole sentence. I already explained it.

ehh... not really



The only reason it would be him is if the author fucks up, realizes there's no place to introduce the real murderer properly, and comes up with some sinister bullshit backstory for an existing character that had no foreshadowing. It happens in thriller novels and movies all the time. Usually something stupid like a random phone call, or a newspaper clipping that comes in the mail, or was left on a desk as an afterthought. No foreshadowing, no hints, just a quick turn from supporting character to villain.

When the audience can't play along, because the author is deliberately withholding information or doesn't have a properly developed idea themselves, there's no point in watching a thriller series.

You are basically saying that as long as the viewever doesn't get a glimpse about the murderer's motives, it's not thrilling.
I say revealing a motive, if there is one, at this point in time is pretty much the end of the story, unless you make it so that anyone could have a reason.
The thing is, there is nothing you can gain from killing random children, which means the motive is the killing itself and that means it could be everyone. And we know that the murderer is killing randomly, or rather, sets other people up for the fun of it, pretty much ever since episode 1-2.

So it's quite the opposite... the author fucked up if it's anyone but the teacher tbh. It can't be Yuki, because Satoru's mom said so before she died and the only other male character we've seen who could be the culprit is the teacher - or any person alive we haven't seen yet, but *that* would be bullshit.

[MFauli]

Perpetrator is Satoru himself. In the future where he´s older, he managed to control his ability, so now he doesn´t have to rely on random travels back into his younger body, no, he can travel time like we imagine one would, keeping your current body. Future Satoru is a broken personality, murdering those children to provoke his younger self. Why? To prepare him for what´s gonna happen to him in the near future.

There, my outta-nowhere prediction. I only don´t know who else would be the murderer, if we assume that the police officer he saw in the present IS it, meaning that it´s gotta be somebody who´s already older in his childhood´s time.

[Buffalobiian]

-In the OP, the government official looks a bit like our MC.

http://i.imgur.com/2QceZJG.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/UekzjJA.jpg


It doesn't fit in with the 'physics' of this world since (?)everyone's jumping into their former selves. The idea of the MC toying with his past self to trigger his own adventure isn't new however. Killing mum could have been the only way to save Kayo.. or something? Still, no evidence of double-selves in timelines yet.

-Satoru's memory could have been fuzzy from the start because of the effect of various time-leaps and intrusions - which would mean that everything's pre-destined.


There, my outta-nowhere prediction.

Thank you for your "out of nowhere" prediction MFauli. But we all know credit really goes to Hououin Kyouma.

[MFauli]

Thank you for your "out of nowhere" prediction MFauli. But we all know credit really goes to Hououin Kyouma.

You worded it weirdly, so it doesn´t count!!1 :>

Nah, you´re welcome :P

[kmkze04]

Man am I glad I picked up this series.

Anyways to jump in, I really don't think it's the teacher, Yuuki, or Kenya. But, I am seeing Yuuki is central to at least the three loners so far, he's definitely an easy set-up for anyone who trails him, and I do think he's actively luring children in but doesn't actually go through with anything. Plus there was the "tell" at the start when Sachiko said she was wrong about Yuuki, as well as the fact he's in jail when Sachiko is murdered. Same goes for the teacher, as he would be an easy assumption since he knows basically all he needs to about the children and can gain their trust easily. The car scene was another red herring not only with the candy but about "lowering their guard". I've heard of people using candy as oral fixations for smoking, just like gum or the like. So far all the adult males introduced in 1988 aren't working for me.

Satoru is slowly learning how to more or less "stalk". At the start he was stupid, and I think that's the way the story is intended. He was obviously a pretty loser 29-year-old, the only thing he knew how to do well was react to his Revival, but otherwise the storyline following him only being desperate to mess up the plan of the killer rather than entrap the killer makes a lot of sense. He only started getting a little smarter with the help of Kenya, who we can see is pretty much genius level. If Kenya was the one with Revival, he probably would've caught the killer on the first shot. Conversely, if Kenya is the killer, unless he's just messing with Satoru, he'd have swept Satoru clean off the board by now without any trouble.

Buff's theory is really good, especially considering that along with the physical similarities of Sachiko's killer, there's hints that "the same MO over and over again" and faking things until they become real (repetition again) can also be applied to Revival being a bunch of repetitions that eventually corrupted Satoru because he kept having to re-experience the same pains, giving rise to a sick alternate personality. Ignoring the holes in that which can be twisted into playable ground by anime physics, the only hole that I can't see filled by that theory is now there is an assumed adult killer in 1988. We see Satoru may have adult thoughts, but definitely never an adult body on Revival. So unless we end up with a time travel Revival (lame, I sure hope not), it's not any of the children, even though I'd like to meet a sadistic and vengeful Kenya or Satoru. Two killers or a copycat, I don't think it's likely either. And Sachiko definitely said "that man" in the first episode which alludes to only one killer. Probably more of an ageless type like herself. Oh, and the resemblance in the OP may not have been meant to be resemblance so much as just showing the three girls as the main targets of the killer. Red eyes I think just plain implies violence in this series also, not a telltale color like in Durarara or otherwise.

So for now I think the actual killer is yet to be truly introduced. Kind of like Aya Nakanishi, we're only getting to meet her now after seeing her photo a couple of times. I think the killer is going to be a real surprise reveal at the end. Someone probably in Sachiko's past but not a big figure in Satoru's. Likely going to be used for some kind of segway into a second season.

[MFauli]

episode 10 is out BIG SPOILER DO NOT READ UNTIL YOU´VE WATCHED IT!
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Fuck this cliffhanger! lol

Tbh I don´t know how to feel about this. On the one hand, introducing a whole new culprit would have been bad. On the other hand, it being the teacher is kinda lame, too.

Then again, it made for a really nice creepy-moment, when the teacher suddenly had this Light-smile on his face.

As for the episode´s ending, I fully expect Yashiro to jump in an rescue Satoru because of his "I saw your future!"-line.

Yashiro has to be complimented, too, because what normal adult would actually suspect a little kid of actively sabotaging your evil plans? It takes a bit of a genius to think this out-of-the-box to even consider it. That also explains why he´d react to "I saw your future!", because any normal person would just shrug it off as the desperate rambling of a soon-to-be dead.

Two episodes left, eh? I wonder if we´ll get a better explanation as for WHY Yashiro-sensei did all that - or planned to. He´s been taking about filling the hole in his heart, but that´s kinda lame. I hope there´s more to it.

Tbh I kinda expected Satoru´s smart friend to be in the trunk of the car, lol, but I guess that won´t happen.

Oh, and props the fat friend making that girl his gf.

[Kraco]

Episode 10 - HS



- - - - - -




It's weird to read kmkze04's post when the episode was already out...

I'm not sure how to feel about this. On one hand it made a really poor mystery (actually hardly a mystery at all), but on the other hand if you don't consider this a mystery at all in the grand detective stories sense, but kind of like Satoru's journey to fill the holes in his soul, then it's okay, I suppose. He way always a very average person, so to make him a great detective for the sake of having a better story would be a stretch in believability, but it still doesn't change the fact it's annoying when the most obvious person is the culprit, so much so that nobody would want him to be the culprit, but there simply wasn't anybody else around like has been said numerous times. Another annoying thing is that while he wasn't any genius, he was a bit too stupid considering he should have had 30 years of life experience in his back pocket. With this I mean how he never thought of his own safety. He knew there was a killer of children around, but when was there a single scene during this show when he would have worried about his own skin?

Dunno what happens now. Will Satoru simply wake up soon afterward a few days earlier, or something? This has been quite a good ride nonetheless, so I hope the last eps will serve something nice still. Such as seeing what sort of a beauty is the older Kayo, har har.

[Ryllharu]

What a disappointment.

I literally have no other words.

[shinta|hikari]

Same here. This could've been so much more, but it failed ever since the bus. If they really wanted the teacher to be the culprit, they should've added a few notable red herrings.

I thought Satoru would at least take around a box cutter all the time considering his position, but no.

And getting stuck to a seat belt is ridiculous. There is no way a person, much less a child, can't escape from that. Assuming the seat belt is already maxed out (and that's a nonsensical assumption because Satoru actually leaned forward in the seat), you just have to slip downward to the floor. If it isn't maxed out, you just pull more of the belt in and slip out upward. The teacher should've at least cuffed him to the wheel before leaving him to die.

[David75]

Also, I remember that when totally submerged in cold water you fall into coma a lot faster.

So from ep1 it was the teacher as I thought, although when I wrote that I had doubts because the 2006 culprit felt a bit young. But this is anime.


Now, that teacher seems to be seeking some kind of relationship. It would be lame if his ultimate target is Satoru's mom...
That idea aside, there's the question of a possible manipulator.

[kmkze04]

Kraco I had just posted that last night after marathoning the first 9 haha. While I agree with almost 30 years of experience in his back pocket, Satoru could be smarter, like I said in my post he's obviously not in the higher percentile. I've found his actions consistently low level, so I have no problem with him being stupid. Also, while he may have a lot of life time, that doesn't mean he has any experience in dealing with anything like this, so stupidity plus inexperience I think more or less is portrayed well in his character. He never has any brilliant moments that take him out of that box.

That aside, I was off on my bet. I knew it the moment Yashiro looked out the door when we know Misato was in the bathroom for sure. Barring her climbing out the window, which doesn't seem to fit since she's not under the impression she's being watched by anyone, there was no way she could have slipped out.

I definitely was a little disappointed it ended up being Yashiro, but at least it was presented well. And let's face it, aside from Revival, this series played very well on real life, and someone with that much power over children is a natural predator, so to speak. So the choice of the teacher was quite realistic.

So next bet is on how Satoru escapes. Obviously supermom is at home. The older Shiratori may have noticed, but I don't think that's a likely rescue candidate. Actually that's one part that I didn't like, that Yashiro reveals he has a bunch of dummy cars of the same makes and color. While that creates disposable vehicles, there's no sense in that to fool a child, and people are still going to recognize his car. Yuuki might randomly be around, but I don't think Yashiro would leave the scene until he's sure of the death. Misato didn't even know Satoru was there and she was shown in the bathroom.

Which pretty much leaves Kenya. He's the only one bright enough to think of following Satoru to the game, though how he'll manage to trail a car as far out as they went... the trunk area like MFauli suggested might actually be an option since we do see that the rear end of the car is above water. Kenya could have been smart enough to hide in there and pull Satoru out (Kenya would be the one smart enough to carry a boxcutter) and they hide in the rear compartment until Yashiro leaves. That's my guess.

Oh and Shinta, I think it's sort of implied by the difficulty of putting on the belt that it's been tampered with, probably locked tight in place. It's near impossible to squirm out of a locked belt from the seated position, and considering the panic that's setting in, throwing the seat back and slipping upwards probably isn't high on our dull Satoru's list of ideas.

Did anyone else really enjoy the scene with Kenya being put to shame by Aya though? Watching him finally sweat over something gave me a good laugh.

[Kraco]

The problem with squirming out of the seat belt is that he could have only done that after he was in the cold water. After all, if he had done it earlier, the teacher would have just killed him more brutally. This would look like a murder no matter how stupid the Japanese police are, so it doesn't really matter if Satoru is drowned corpse or has his neck twisted. But sure, already right after the teacher stepped out, he should have been already taking out as much of the seat belt as possible to prepare himself. Too bad he was too stupid for that, despite having so much time in his hands. Forget about box cutters because this 30 years old soul considered himself a superhero. Superheroes are invincible!

[Buffalobiian]

Did anyone else really enjoy the scene with Kenya being put to shame by Aya though? Watching him finally sweat over something gave me a good laugh.

Yes, that was great. Then it span all the way around and fatty won her over with passion ROMAN!

Regarding Kenya hiding in the trunk, I don't think that sounds right. That would have meant he had to predict what Yashiro would have done, AND pick that car boot lock before getting in. If he was wrong, he'd mysteriously be in that boot.

I do expect him to pick up on Satoru being missing however. He's been playing Satoru's game long enough to know the most at-risk person is the one alone at any one time. He won't be rescuing alone though. He'd find Yuuki at the stadium watching the game, and somehow he'd get the transport to there. I'm not sure if he had a scooter.

Symbolically it'd be appropriate for Yuuki to rescue. The story started with Satoru feeling remorse for not doing more for Yuuki, and one of the first thing Satoru did was to ensure Yuuki had an alibi. For him to come full round and ultimately save Satoru's ass is simply fitting.

I suppose you could say that Satoru's mum could fit the same symbolic role, but that would put her in Deus Ex God-Mum tier levels of "seen it coming". Yuuki then gets left as just some loner who got framed.

[kmkze04]

Hmm Buff do you think Yashiro locked his car? I'm not entirely sure he would. It's a dumper and there's nothing suspicious, he was also giving rides to those other schoolgirls. I don't see any problem with the locks being left open. And by now Kenya seems like the type bright enough to be narrowing his own list of suspects, he's definitely figured out Satoru's game as well so seeing that Yashiro is the likeliest of the bunch and the only one present, he could've been keeping an eye on the gym and crept in when he saw Yashiro and Satoru coming out.

But definitely agreed on that Yuuki would be the best symbolic savior at this point. I just don't know where he'd come from. Other than the kid group, Yuuki is the only bigger character missing from the final flashes of the episode. If we assume that was intentional, he's probably going to be it.

The theory of Kenya using Yuuki to get out there has the trouble of that we've never seen Kenya meet Yuuki (not that I remember) and I haven't seen Satoru mention Yuuki to Kenya either, so a smart kid would probably be avoiding Yuuki rather than enlisting his help.

If anything, I'd think Yuuki was just there and noticed something off with Satoru, or was maybe watching Misato, and followed them out to the boonies. Difficulty with that is what would scrawny Yuuki do against a killer watching the car sink?

[Buffalobiian]

To be honest, I think everyone should lock their car.

As for Yuuki, the least he could do in the situation is yell for help. Yashiro is getting away with murder. Having someone see it is a good enough start.

Kenya knows about Yuuki at the very least. He was tailing Satoru for "two days straight", including the night Satoru bricked Yuuki's window and almost pushed Kayo's mum down the stairs.