Title: Erased Vol. 2
Author: Kei Sanbe
Publisher: Yen Press
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action
Publication Date: June 20, 2017
The Story
The second volume of Erased (Boke Dake ga Inai Machi) picks up when Kayo Hinazuki disappeared after Satoru’s birthday party. It was revealed that Kayo was kidnapped and murdered, thus causing Satoru to realize that he failed in changing the past. This triggers revival which sends Satoru back to 2006 where he is on the run for murdering his mother.
While on the run, Airi ends up helping him by giving him a place to stay. It is here we realize that the killer picked up on Airi as well and attempts to murder her by burning her house down. This act not only tries to silence Airi, but also frame Satoru by making it look like he enlisted Airi as an accomplice and now that he didn’t need her anymore, it was time to get rid of her. It made matters worse when Satoru showed up to her house to rescue her, but in the end, his manager at the pizza parlor ended up saving the two of them and taking the credit. Airi was placed in the hospital and was also considered a suspect in the murder.
Meanwhile, Satoru meets an old friend from his mother’s days as a reporter who has been working on Kayo’s abduction case from 18 years ago. After gathering more information, Airi escapes from the hospital and meets up with Satoru, but the police followed her and arrests him. As he’s being dragged away, he noticed the eyes of the man who could be the killer and it triggers revival, sending him back to 1988, the day before the birthday party. Satoru notes that this will be his final revival. The volumes ends a few chapters after that, but I believe I’ve spoiled enough already with my summary so far!
I really loved this second volume as a lot of the pieces of the puzzle were put into place, but there’s still so much more mystery surrounding the killer. We got to find out about the killer’s motives and his methods and how he likes to frame people with crimes in order for the investigation to navigate away from him so that he can go out and continue to commit more kidnappings and murders. With Satoru going back for a second time, his determination does produce different results, but he had to throw caution to the wind in order to produce them. It also ended on a bittersweet moment because you realize just how much Kayo and Satoru’s relationship had grown and now the end results had forced that development to come to a screeching halt!
Despite that, the story was very engaging and it made me keep turning the pages. Even with the book being near 400 pages in length, I finished it in one sitting because there wasn’t one dull moment in the book to make me want to stop and take a break. It really does keep you that engaged!
Characters
Oddly enough, Satoru doesn’t really change all that much. The only thing that changes about him is that his confidence grows once he realizes that there are people who believe in him and are working to support him. This happens in both 2006 and 1988 in the forms of Airi and Kenya respectively. That confidence caused Satoru to act more boldly which produced the more desirable results at the end of the volume.
Kayo underwent some big changes as she was no longer shy or reserved around people. She had finally found friends who cared about her and she realized that what they were doing was all for her benefit. Plus, how could you not get emotional when she woke up at Satoru’s house and experienced what it was like to have a proper breakfast with a family for, quite possibly, the first time in her life? The fact that she was so moved by something as simple as breakfast showed just how much she had changed. She finally realized what having a proper life could be like.
Outside of this, there wasn’t that much development. One could argue about Kayo’s mother and how her actions against Kayo were explained, but even with that explanation, you don’t really feel sorry for her one bit (or at least I didn’t.) It just seemed like an excuse to abuse Kayo and she really didn’t take responsibility for it, even with the backstory. Akemi was still a terrible mother and no matter what was explained, there was no real good reason to forgive her.
Final Thoughts
Kei Sanbe is continuing to produce an amazing story! It’s safe to say that the characters have all settled into their roles nicely and all that is left is to uncover the killer and stop him. With Satoru’s victory, we are getting closer and closer to discovering the truth!
Once again, Yen Press impresses with the quality of the book. It follows the same style as the first book with it being a plain white hardcover with a silver emboss along the spine all wrapped in a nice jacket. The first volume of Erased had such a plain white cover, but volume two goes the extra step and gives us a beautiful full color cover from one of the biggest turning points in the volume. The opening color pages are also very well done and it holds up the quality that Yen Press is known for. My only complaint is that the hardcover makes it tedious to hold a book that size for a long period of time. Being right-handed, my right thumb and index finger got a bit sore towards the end of the volume.
All in all, this was still an amazing installment of the series and since this is being presented in omnibus form, we only have two more volumes to go. For those who like murder mystery with a time travel twist, this is a series that shouldn’t be ignored. The anime received a perfect five star rating from me and the manga is fast on its own track to getting the same score!
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This item was provided for review by Yen Press
