ERASED (MANGA)

***Erased***, known in Japan as ***Boku dake ga Inai Machi*** (僕だけがいない街, lit. "The Town Where Only I Am Missing"; abbr. 僕街, ***BokuMachi***), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kei Sanbe. It was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's *Young Ace* magazine from June 2012 to March 2016, and is licensed in English by Yen Press. An anime adaptation by A-1 Pictures aired on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block from January to March 2016, and a live action film was released in March 2016. A live-action drama series was released by Netflix in December 2017. A spin-off manga was published from June to November 2016 and the spin-off novel series by Hajime Ninomae was released in *Kadokawa's Bungei Kadokawa* magazine from November 2015 to March 2016.

## Plot[edit]

The story follows Satoru Fujinuma, a young man living in Chiba who possesses an ability known as "Revival" that sends him back in time moments before a life-threatening incident, enabling him to prevent it from happening again. When his mother is murdered by an unknown assailant in his own home, Satoru's ability sends him back eighteen years into the past and Satoru is given the opportunity to not only save his mother, but also prevent a kidnapping incident that took the lives of three of his childhood friends.

## Characters[edit]

The four main characters of *Erased* (from left to right): Airi Katagiri, Kayo Hinazuki, Sachiko Fujinuma and Satoru Fujinuma (29 years old, background)

Satoru Fujinuma (藤沼 悟, *Fujinuma Satoru*)
Voiced by: Shinnosuke Mitsushima (adult), Tao Tsuchiya (child) (Japanese); Ben Diskin (adult), Michelle Ruff (child) (English)
Played by: Tatsuya Fujiwara (adult, film), Tsubasa Nakagawa (child, film), Yuki Furukawa (adult, drama), Reo Uchikawa (child, drama)
Satoru is a 29-year-old manga artist who also works part-time as a delivery man at Oasi Pizza. Many years ago while he was still a child, his father left him and his mother for which reason he is living in a single parent home. He possesses an ability he calls "Revival," which brings him back to a time before a life-threatening incident occurs and allows him to prevent it.
Kayo Hinazuki (雛月 加代, *Hinazuki Kayo*)
Voiced by: Aoi Yūki (Japanese); Stephanie Sheh (English)
Played by: Rio Suzuki (film), Rinka Kakihara (drama)
Kayo is one of Satoru's primary school classmates and is one of the original victims of the serial kidnapping case that occurred 18 years ago.
Airi Katagiri (片桐 愛梨, *Katagiri Airi*)
Voiced by: Chinatsu Akasaki (Japanese); Cherami Leigh (English)
Played by: Kasumi Arimura (film), Mio Yūki (drama)
Airi is a high school student and Satoru's friendly co-worker at Oasi Pizza. She becomes involved with him when she witnesses oddities such as when he manages to save people from certain life-threatening situations.
Sachiko Fujinuma (藤沼 佐知子, *Fujinuma Sachiko*)
Voiced by: Minami Takayama (Japanese); Sara Cravens (English)
Played by: Yuriko Ishida (film); Tomoka Kurotani (drama)
Sachiko is Satoru's mother and a former news announcer. Her husband left the family many years ago, causing her to raise Satoru on her own. She possesses a sharp eye and is quick to observe any irregularities.
Jun Shiratori (白鳥 潤, *Shiratori Jun*)
Voiced by: Takahiro Mizushima (Japanese); Max Mittelman (English)
Played by Kento Hayashi (film); Masato Yano (drama)
Jun is a stuttering food delivery worker who lives in Satoru's hometown and often approaches lone students around his house. He and Satoru play with paper airplanes. Because he advises lonely children to be more "courageous" and make more friends, he is nicknamed "Yuuki", which means courage.
Kenya Kobayashi (小林 賢也, *Kobayashi Ken'ya*)
Voiced by: Yō Taichi, Tasuku Emoto (adult) (Japanese); Erica Mendez, Xander Mobus (adult) (English)
Played by Seiji Fukushi (film); Jin Shirasu (drama)
Kenya is one of Satoru's primary school classmates who has a strong sense of justice and is very mature for his age with his intelligent choices. He is an aspiring lawyer who has a keen eye.
Gaku Yashiro (八代 学, *Yashiro Gaku*)
Voiced by: Mitsuru Miyamoto (Japanese); David Collins (English)
Played by Shigeyuki Totsugi
Gaku is Satoru's homeroom teacher during his youth and the closest thing he has to a father figure.
Hiromi Sugita (杉田 広美, *Sugita Hiromi*)
Voiced by: Akari Kitō, Atsushi Tamaru (adult) (Japanese); Christine Marie Cabanos, Kyle McCarley (adult) (English)
Played by Kairi Jyo
Hiromi is one of Satoru's primary school classmates who appears feminine even though he is a boy. He is one of the original victims of the serial kidnapping case.
Osamu (修)
Voiced by: Ayaka Nanase (Japanese); Ryan Bartley (English)
Osamu is one of Satoru's primary school classmates.
Kazu (カズ)
Voiced by: Yukitoshi Kikuchi (Japanese); Bobby Thong (English)
Kazu is one of Satoru's primary school classmates. He is much taller and heavier than the rest of Satoru's friends and goes out of his way to appear "masculine".
Aya Nakanishi (中西 彩, *Nakanishi Aya*)
Voiced by: Sayaka Kaneko (Japanese); Corina Boettger (English)
Aya is a student who attends Izumi Primary and is one of the original victims of the serial kidnapping case.
Misato Yanagihara (柳原 美里, *Yanagihara Misato*)
Voiced by: Hina Kino (Japanese); Mela Lee (English)
Misato is another classmate of Satoru's. She has a strong dislike for Kayo and she often likes to pick on her.
Akemi Hinazuki (雛月 明美, *Hinazuki Akemi*)
Voiced by: Akemi Okamura (Japanese); Carrie Keranen (English)
Played by Tamae Ando (film); Noriko Eguchi (drama)
Akemi is Kayo's abusive mother, whose abusive nature was exposed to the public.
Kumi (久美)
Voiced by: Reika Uyama
Played by Miyu Ando
Kumi is a nine-year-old patient who suffers from leukemia.
## Media[edit]

### Manga[edit]

The original manga, written by Kei Sanbe, was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's *Young Ace* magazine from the July 2012 issue (shipping date: June 4, 2012) through the April 2016 issue (shipping date: March 4, 2016). The first *tankōbon* volume was released in Japan on January 26, 2013, and the eight volume was published on April 27, 2016. The series is licensed by Yen Press, who released the first volume in February 2017. The Yen Press hardcover editions combine two of the original volumes per book, while their ebook editions match the original volume numbering. The series is licensed in France by Ki-oon. Sanbe wrote a spin-off manga titled *Erased: Re*, which was serialized in *Young Ace* from June 4, 2016 to November 4, 2016. It was published as the ninth volume of the series in Japanese on February 4, 2017, and in English by Yen Press on September 18, 2018.

### Live-action adaptations[edit]

Main article: Erased (2016 film)

A live-action film adaptation of *Erased* featuring Tatsuya Fujiwara as Satoru Fujinuma debuted in cinemas throughout Japan on March 19, 2016. The theme song is "Hear ~Shinjiaeta Akashi~" (Hear 〜信じあえた証〜, *lit. Hear ~A proof that you could trust~*) by Chise Kanna.

In March 2017, Netflix announced a live-action adaptation of the manga series, co-created with Kansai TV. The Netflix Original series was released worldwide on December 15, 2017. Unlike the anime and live-action film, the live-action web drama covers the manga fully and does not deviate from the source material. The drama stars Yuki Furukawa as 29-year-old Satoru Fujinuma, Reo Uchikawa as Satoru as a child, and Mio Yūki as Airi.

### Novel[edit]

A spin-off novel titled *Boku Dake ga Inai Machi: Another Record*, written by Hajime Ninomae, was serialized in Kadokawa's monthly digital novel magazine *Bungei Kadokawa* from November 2015 to March 2016. A volume collecting the chapters was released on March 30, 2016.

## Reception[edit]

Volume 4 reached the 12th place on the weekly Oricon manga chart and, as of June 15, 2014, has sold 73,983 copies.

The manga was number sixteen on the 2014 *Kono Manga ga Sugoi!* Top 20 Manga for Male Readers survey. It was nominated for the 18th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Reader Award. It was also nominated for the 7th Manga Taishō, receiving 82 points and placing 2nd among the ten nominees. It is nominated for the 8th Manga Taishō.

The staff at manga-news.com gave the French edition a grade of 17.33 out of 20. On Manga Sanctuary one of the staff members gave it an 8 out of 10.

## See also[edit]

* *A Distant Neighborhood*, a 1990s Japanese manga about an adult re-living his teenage life