'ERASED' Anime Episode 1 Review: Satoru's Nightmare

Previously, I used to hold the idea that most anime series did not do well with pilots. The first episode holds the most intense weight in American television, but it almost seems to be the opposite for anime where the first episode is a peace offering for fans to bear with the writers as they take their time getting to the really important story arcs.

But it's likely not a coincidence that anime series that manage to pull off truly riveting pilots often winds up becoming extremely successful and popular series.

In the case of "ERASED," it is likely the best anime pilot I've seen since I declared "Sword Art Online" one of the best first episodes of anime in history.

In some ways, I had high expectations for the "ERASED" anime because of the critical acclaim of the manga series. But because anime is a different medium, there is always the chance of dramatic missteps. "ERASED" makes no missteps in the first pilot, setting up not only the situation of Satoru's miniature trips back in time, but also crucial story and character building that is emotionally engaging.

The moody inner monologue of male protagonists is probably one of the most overdone elements in the mystery genre, but here it feels fresh and earned. Immediately, the audience is pulled into Satoru because of the depth of emotion explored in the first three minutes where he explains the extremely philosophical concept of true and false regret.

Then, there is the slow build toward the shocking but oh-so-right ending. The pacing of this episode is impeccable. Though the point of a mystery is to anticipate the moment when things will no longer be normal and tragedy will strike, the type of tragedy that sends Satoru catapulting into a situation that will undoubtedly explore his ideas about regret is one you don't see coming immediately.

This is likely because of how each plot point is placed carefully. First, there is the disrupting situation of Satoru's mother coming to live with him, which builds into her thinking about the mystery surrounding his childhood classmates, and then more tiny bits of information are introduced naturally as Satoru continues his daily life. In short, it is guaranteed that every new scene is more intense than the previous once.

Again, there are almost no missteps in character, story, dialogue, or scene construction in this first episode of "ERASED."

Overall, the first episode of the "ERASED" anime series is riveting, emotionally moving, and as with A-1 Pictures most of the time, beautifully animated. "ERASED" could seriously go off the rails into filler land, but this first episode would still be what I consider close to perfection.