Erased

Last updated: 1 November 2026

About Erased

Satoru Fujinuma has an unwanted gift: when something terrible is about to happen, his mind is thrown a few minutes back in time so he can stop it. He calls it Revival. Erased begins in 2006, where 29-year-old Satoru is a struggling manga artist delivering pizzas in Chiba. When his mother is murdered and he is framed for the crime, Revival does something it has never done before, it sends him back eighteen years, into his ten-year-old body in his snowy Hokkaido hometown in 1988. There, Satoru realises what he must do: stop the kidnapping case that shadowed his childhood, starting with his classmate Kayo Hinazuki, a lonely girl who was the killer's first known victim. Animated by A-1 Pictures in 2016, this 12-episode thriller is a complete, tightly told story about regret, friendship and a second chance to save the people who matter.

Erased is a TV anime from 2016, first released in Winter 2016. It belongs to the Mystery and Thriller and Supernatural genres and is listed as a completed series. The summary above is written by the AnimeYug team in our own words.

Official Trailer

▶ERASED Trailer · Aniplex USA

Story & Plot

Satoru Fujinuma calls it 'Revival': a sudden rewind of a few minutes that lets him spot and stop a tragedy, whether he wants to or not. In 2006 he is a failed manga artist delivering pizzas, and Revival is just another burden, until the day he comes home to find his mother murdered and the police hunting him for it. Cornered, Satoru's ability explodes: he wakes up in 1988, eighteen years earlier, in his ten-year-old body in snowy Tomakomai, months before his mother dies and weeks before his classmate disappears.

Satoru understands at once: the 2006 murder and the 1988 kidnappings are one case, and saving the victims of the past is the only way to save his mother. His first target is Kayo Hinazuki, a neglected classmate who sits alone in the park after school, in the original timeline, the killer's first victim. With his adult mind, his childhood friends and sheer stubbornness, Satoru races to fill Kayo's empty days before the killer's schedule reaches her. But someone in town is watching the children, too.

Why Watch Erased

• A time-travel mystery with a clear rule and a hard deadline. Every episode ends on a hook.
• The friendship between Satoru and Kayo is one of the most moving in any thriller anime.
• A complete story in 12 episodes: the killer is found and every question is answered.
• Yuki Kajiura's score and Sayuri's ending 'Sore wa Chiisana Hikari no Yō na' set the perfect mood.
• The opening 'Re:Re:' is Asian Kung-Fu Generation re-recording their own classic from Sol-fa.

Who Is It For?

Erased is a mystery thriller for older teens and adults. It centres on child kidnapping, murder and abuse, handled seriously rather than graphically, there is little gore, but the themes are heavy and some scenes are deeply upsetting.

Satoru Fujinuma

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Kayo Hinazuki

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Airi Katagiri

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Sachiko Fujinuma

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Kenya Kobayashi

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Gaku Yashiro

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Jun Shiratori

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Hiromi Sugita

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Osamu

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Kazu

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Voice Actors

The Japanese voices behind the main characters of Erased.

• Satoru FujinumaPizza deliverer with the Revival ability; sent back to 1988
  Japanese voiceShinnosuke Mitsushima (adult), Tao Tsuchiya (young)
• Kayo HinazukiLonely classmate Satoru must save from the killer
  Japanese voiceAoi Yūki
• Airi KatagiriCo-worker who believes in Satoru when no one else does
  Japanese voiceChinatsu Akasaki
• Sachiko FujinumaSatoru's mother; sharp-eyed former reporter
  Japanese voiceMinami Takayama
• Kenya KobayashiClever classmate who becomes Satoru's ally
  Japanese voiceYō Taichi
• Gaku YashiroSatoru's trusted homeroom teacher
  Japanese voiceMitsuru Miyamoto
• Jun ShiratoriKind young worker, nicknamed Yuuki, who befriends children
  Japanese voiceTakahiro Mizushima
• Hiromi SugitaGentle classmate in Satoru's circle of friends
  Japanese voiceAkari Kitō
• OsamuClassmate and friend in Satoru's 1988 group
  Japanese voiceAyaka Nanase
• KazuCheerful classmate and friend in Satoru's 1988 group
  Japanese voiceYukitoshi Kikuchi

Staff & Production

Original Creator

Kei Sanbe

Animation Studio

A-1 Pictures

Series Director

Tomohiko Itō

Series Composition

Taku Kishimoto

Character Design

Keigo Sasaki

Music

Yuki Kajiura

Manga & Source Material

Erased is based on Kei Sanbe's manga Boku Dake ga Inai Machi, serialised in Kadokawa's Young Ace. The anime adapts the manga's original ending, with the final stretch compressed to fit the 12-episode run.

• Written and illustrated by Kei Sanbe
• Serialised in Kadokawa's Young Ace magazine from 2012 to March 2016
• The main story is complete in 8 volumes; the side-story Erased: Re brings the total to 9 volumes
• Erased: Re, a collection of stories about the other characters, was released in February 2017
• Published in English by Yen Press

Music

Erased uses one opening and one ending theme. The opening is a special re-recording: Asian Kung-Fu Generation remade their 2004 song 'Re:Re:' from the album Sol-fa, a fitting choice for a story about reliving the past.

Opening Themes

• “Re:Re:”by Asian Kung-Fu GenerationCurrentOpening theme (2016): a re-recording of the band's 2004 song

Ending Themes

• “Sore wa Chiisana Hikari no Yō na”by SayuriCurrentEnding theme (2016), written by composer Yuki Kajiura

Series Timeline

1. 2012

   Kei Sanbe's Erased manga begins in Young Ace magazine.

2. 2015

   The TV anime adaptation is announced in June.

3. 2016

   The anime airs from 8 January to 25 March on Fuji TV's Noitamina block; the manga ends the same month; a live-action film opens on 19 March.

4. 2017

   The side-story volume Erased: Re is released in February, and a live-action drama series premieres on Netflix in December.

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