ERASED – Episode 9

Another fine episode of ERASED this week. This one was more plot-focused than the last (I know, gross), but it had plenty of individually strong scenes, and even some nice character moments with Mr. Yashiro. I don’t really know how I’m supposed to take those scenes, really – the show just doesn’t have enough characters for him to not be a reasonably likely choice to be the killer, and so it’s hard to fully engage with bonding scenes between him and Satoru. But awkward narrative mechanics aside, the scenes were well-constructed enough, so I guess I can’t really complain.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode notes below!

ERASED

Some great shots to open this. The closeup on the mom, the crows, the child custody people crowding in on Hinazuki’s mother

And Hinazuki’s grandmother shows up. Jeez, the teacher really pulled together quite a plan here

“I know very well how hard it is for a woman to raise a child on her own.” Single moms all around, and also another echo of needing a community

“I bet those tears were out of self-pity. Kayo wasn’t moved either. She wouldn’t look at her weeping mother.”

Some ambitious shots here. A pan down to include the house as Hinazuki talks to Satoru, and a shot pulling back with the car, relying on CG buildings in the background as Satoru runs

Wow, this shot that pulls up and then spins with the bird is beautiful

Satoru listening to his hero theme song while plotting his next rescue, lol

And now he’s trying to save both of the other kids. But his method seems flawed – it’s not like stopping these particular events will stop a dedicated serial killer. He has to find the killer – be creating a better future, not just preventing a worse one

“Sensei, why aren’t you married?” Followed by a very cute awkward moment by the teacher. This episode is really pushing him as a surrogate father

His dashboard’s full of candy. In another cute moment, he says it’s his guilty go-to pleasure since quitting smoking. But of course, candy is also suspicious in this situation

“You trusted me enough to tell me about it. So I want to believe in you, too.” There it is

“I won’t let anyone be alone!”

3 thoughts on “ERASED – Episode 9

  1. I felt kind’ve let down by this episode. The lengthy opening scene’s melodrama really bugged me.

    • Mm, and the scenes where Kenya and Hiromi commit to believe in his new idea felt forced to me as well; his friends’ sudden, strong commitment to his barely explained suspicion felt forced by the author’s need for his story to work more than it felt like a natural product of the world’s mechanics, story, and character interactions.

  2. Trust being the recurring theme, I can’t help but NOT trust the storytelling. I feel like it’s framing Sensei as the killer too deliberately. If I were to trust Satoru on this one, I’d think he’d know well enough that it’d take more than just a pull back and glasses to change one’s appearance (he did get a glimpse of the killer twice, and it should’ve joggled his memory if he DID look like his teacher, so what gives?). At least that’s just me hoping for some twist that ties in to the themes of the story.

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