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Quick info on Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi

Episode: 12

Aired: Jan. 8th 2016 to Mar. 25, 2016

Genre: Mystery

Info provided by myanimelist.net

Warning this review may contain spoilers! Please watch the anime before reading or if you don’t care, continue on!

Every year, there is always one or two anime that I always think I’m not going to like but end up absolutely loving. Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi was that series for me this year. Last year it was Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, in case you’re wondering but let’s dig into this series shall we?

 

PLOT

Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi is not your typical mystery anime. We have a man who has the power to go back in time and change the future but that’s about as far outside the real that this anime goes. He doesn’t have super strength, extreme genius, or any other special gifts but just this one thing and (THANKFULLY) there is no crazy group of super humans running around that also have powers that he has to fight! Satoru, is your average unsuccessful writer who works at a pizza shop to make ends meet. That power however, doesn’t work upon command but rather inconveniently triggers every now and again without warning. His ability that he calls Revival will activate and send him back in time a few seconds or so. He will then have to hunt around his immediate area for the deja vu that will tell him who’s going to die before it happens. Due to Satoru having a big heart, the power pretty much forces him to act cause he doesn’t wanna just stand by and watch someone die if he can prevent it. He obviously hates this power cause it often puts him in deadly situations which we see immediately in episode 1.

 

However, unlike many other anime this one doesn’t wait several episodes to pick up speed. Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi is off and running by the end of episode 1. Someone closed to him is murdered and Satoru is put in a very bad situation that only his ability can save him and several others from. A serial killer is on the loose in his hometown and he has to go back in time to not only prevent the killer from killing the ones close to him but to catch them. Revival sent him back all the way to his childhood (1988) where (with the help of some awesome friends) he must piece together clues and stop the murders from ever happening. The story itself was good but the way the anime delivers this story is AMAZING.

 

ARTWORK

Little Satoru and his mother at a carnival in Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi

The artwork was done very well in Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi and complimented the story. That was thanks to the fact that it tries and succeeds in making you understand that there was nothing special about the world and instead it was all about the special people in Satoru’s life. What we got is a world with no fancy colors or effects unless there was really a need for it. The colors popped in the eyes of certain people to make you suspect them even if they’re actually not the culprit and the butterfly  that flew every time Satoru’s power was about to activate had the loudest, prettiest blue color cause it was the most important element in the anime.

 

Another thing I found pretty neat, is when Satoru was in the past it, his present self was still “there” acting like his subconscious watching things play out and speaking, so the scenes were seen through a wide view/cinema style with black bars on the top and bottom of the screen. It may seem strange but when you see how the anime opening changes in episode 2, I think you’ll understand. Switching to the black bar style like that can be quite distracting but in this anime, it worked really well.

 

ENVIRONMENT

Satoru and Hinazuki looking up at a tree that's iced over but looks magical with starts shining above it at night in Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi

This anime takes place in modern day Japan and even though Satoru goes back in time for the bulk of this anime, they only go back to his childhood which considering his adult self wasn’t that old, it was hardly a big leap back as far as time is concerned, so the present and past world were pretty much the same. We are focused in one fictional town that goes without name where all the murders that Satoru has to stop took place.We get to see this town in different seasons and weather as time passed in the series.  

 

I really like how the Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi takes us to several different areas in the town. No one place was used too much and it helped anime’s pace, especially when we jumped back and forth between time.

 

CONCLUSION

So many things are right about Boku Dake Ga inai Machi and I’m sure there’s a lot of points that I missed which is what that comment box down below is for. 🙂 The opening and ending songs are awesome and like many other aspects of this anime, fit the story perfectly. Asian Kung Fu Generation’s Re: Re: and Sayuri’s Sore wa Chiisana Hikari no Youna are amazing songs even though my American self needs subtitles to understand them. Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi was the best anime of the season for me cause it put a spin on the mystery anime and kept me in suspense, anticipating the next show. It truly was a great experience and I encourage you to binge watch it if you haven’t.

 

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