History YMMV / Erased

** The SerialKiller, [[spoiler:Gaku Yashiro]], is the intelligent and psychopathic [[TheChessmaster mastermind]] behind [[BigBad almost all of the terrible events in the story]], and while the anime adaptation may have given him humanizing characteristics, the original manga version was an utter monster. As a child, the killer felt bored and "empty" in life, and as a result, began performing [[EnfantTerrible wicked actions]] to bring thrill into his life, from drowning numerous hamsters, to luring little girls to his violent older brother who would rape them. After killing said brother and getting away with it, he [[{{Sadist}} became obsessed with the thrill he acheived by murdering people]], and to this end, began kidnapping and brutally murdering [[WouldHurtAChild little girls]] and [[FrameUp framing innocents]] for his crimes, and, when his fiancée became suspicious of his crimes, he [[DestinationDefenestration flung her out of a window]] and made it look like a suicide. Spending decades kidnapping, murdering, and framing innocents, the killer spurs [[TheHero Satoru Fujinuma]] into action when he viciously murders the man's mother and frames him for it. [[spoiler:When Satoru is sent back in time to save 3 children from Yashiro, Yashiro attempts to drown him, now 11 years old, for thwarting his plans, which results in Satoru being plunged into a coma for 15 years, throughout which Yashiro murdered his way into a political position. Luring a now-awake Satoru to an isolated campsite along with Kumi, a young leukemia patient, Yashiro plans to drown Kumi while forcing Satoru to watch, before burning him alive. Even when beaten, Yashiro, refusing to be arrested for his crimes, tries to kill both himself and Satoru in one fell swoop]]. Claiming he is no worse than anyone else simply because he murders people, the killer used his "unfulfillment" as an excuse to perpetrate his decades-long list of atrocities.

* FoeYayShipping: [[spoiler:Yashiro/Satoru]] appears to be the most popular FanPreferredCouple on {{Pixiv}}.

* AwesomeMusic: The theme song, ''Music/AsianKungFuGeneration'''s Re:Re really puts out a mixture of somber wonder and excitement at revealing the truth while showing tender childhood moments mixed with adult hardships.

** The SerialKiller, [[spoiler:Gaku Yashiro]], is the intelligent and psychopathic [[TheChessmaster mastermind]] behind [[BigBad almost all of the terrible events in the story]], and while the anime adaptation may have given him humanizing characteristics, the original manga version was an utter monster. As a child, the killer felt bored and "empty" in life, and as a result, began performing [[EnfanteTerrible wicked actions]] to bring thrill into his life, from drowning numerous hamsters, to luring little girls to his violent older brother who would rape them. After killing said brother and getting away with it, he [[{{Sadist}} became obsessed with the thrill he acheived by murdering people]], and to this end, began kidnapping and brutally murdering [[WouldHurtAChild little girls]] and [[FrameUp framing innocents]] for his crimes, and, when his fiancée became suspicious of his crimes, he [[DestinationDefenestration flung her out of a window]] and made it look like a suicide. Spending decades kidnapping, murdering, and framing innocents, the killer spurs [[TheHero Satoru Fujinuma]] into action when he viciously murders the man's mother and frames him for it. [[spoiler:When Satoru is sent back in time to save 3 children from Yashiro, Yashiro attempts to drown him, now 11 years old, for thwarting his plans, which results in Satoru being plunged into a coma for 15 years, throughout which Yashiro murdered his way into a political position. Luring a now-awake Satoru to an isolated campsite along with Kumi, a young leukemia patient, Yashiro plans to drown Kumi while forcing Satoru to watch, before burning him alive. Even when beaten, Yashiro, refusing to be arrested for his crimes, tries to kill both himself and Satoru in one fell swoop]]. Claiming he is no worse than anyone else simply because he murders people, the killer used his "unfulfillment" as an excuse to perpetrate his decades-long list of atrocities.
** The unnamed, manga-exclusive, and [[PosthumousCharacter flashback-only]] older brother of the killer manages to stand out as horrific and monstrous despite only appearing in one chapter. A sociopathic [[BigBrotherBully bully]], the brother regularly assaulted his own little sibling and other kids at his school. Showing his true monstrosity, the brother formed a partnership with the willing killer where, after the killer lured little girls to him, he would rape them, a process that went on for years and resulted in [[SerialRapist dozens of rapes]]. When the brother [[AccidentalMurder accidentally strangled]] one of his victims to death trying to keep her from calling for help, he tried to [[FrameUp frame his younger brother for the crime]], showing no regret or empathy for his victim. Though only a {{teen|sAreMonsters}}ager, the brother made his mark as the most monstrous character in the story along with his SerialKiller brother.

* SpiritualLicensee: With the use of Time Travel to solve a murder mystery and [[spoiler: the culprit being the protagonist's teacher]], many have called this an anime adaptation of ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange.''

* WhatAnIdiot: Upon finding [[spoiler:his mother's body]], Satoru's first reaction isn't to call the police, but to [[spoiler:chase who he believes is the killer]]. This is one of the primary factors that leads to [[spoiler:the police thinking Satoru is the prime suspect. To be fair however, the killer is very good at framing others and it is highly implied that he timed his exit so that Satoru would notice him and chase him.]]

* HypeBacklash: When a single show towers above the rest of its season, even gaining a 9+ rating and spot in the top 10 on [=MyAnimeList.com=][[note]]An anime rating and listing website which currently boasts nearly 200,000 active members[[/note]] after only four episodes, this will obviously be the result, but this series has managed to be one of the most divisive in recent times, even more so than ''Manga/OnePunchMan''.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: The hilarious candy scene in episode 9 is made much less hilarious when you find out [[spoiler: the compartment used for candy is also where Yashiro hides laxatives and the "dating tips" were used by him to abduct children]].

* RealityIsUnrealistic: Some have criticised the abuse Kayo gets put through by her mother as too over-the-top, and have criticised Kayo's mother herself for being too one-dimensional a character. However, there are indeed cases of parents being that abusive to their children, tragically enough.

* HypeBacklash[=/=]LoveItOrHateIt: When a single show towers above the rest of its season, even gaining a 9+ rating and spot in the top 10 on [=MyAnimeList.com=][[note]]An anime rating and listing website which currently boasts nearly 200,000 active members[[/note]] after only four episodes, this will obviously be the result, but this series has managed to be one of the most divisive in recent times, even more so than ''Manga/OnePunchMan''. Depending on who you ask, it's either a masterpiece of human drama and a wonderful TearJerker, or a completely unsubtle bunch of {{Glurge}} that only got so popular because ViewersAreMorons.

* CounterpartComparison: A badass, [[GoodParents loving]] MamaBear with good perception and designed with a prominent mouth and lips. Are we talking about Sachiko or [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse Garnet]]?

* CounterpartComparison: A badass, [[GoodParents loving]] MamaBear designed with a prominent mouth and lips. Are we talking about Sachiko or [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse Garnet]]?

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Kenya, to the point where he received his own spinoff novel in the form of ''Another Record''.

*** In the anime at the very least, this moment isn't played for sympathy really as Satoru comments. [[spoiler: neither he feels moved by the overly exaggerated expression of sadness and he can see that Kayo isn't either. He even says that Kayo's mother's tears were probably of self-pity than of true sadness.]] What it really serves to show is that having bad things done to you is not a justification for taking it out on other people, [[spoiler: a sentiment that is echoed later with Yashiro. Feeling empty on the inside and having an abusive and monstrous brother doesn't justify his later murderous sprees as he would like to convince you.]]

** ''ERASED'' also has a triple meaning, as Satoru is a manga artist and thus probably erases mistakes a lot when writing his books.

* AlterativeCharacterInterpretation: Some people see Satoru as a pedophile. While his attraction towards Airi can be justified since she's well within Japan's age of consent, he also gets rather flustered with the 11-year-old Kayo and he constantly has to remind himself that he's an adult. However, you could also justify that Satoru, being in his approaching-puberty body, just isn't in control of his hormones.

* FandomRivalry: With ''{{Manga/Ajin}}'', ''LightNovel/KonoSubarashiiSekaiNiShukufukuO'', and ''Manga/ShouwaGenrokuRakugoShinjuu''. Alongside of ''Erased'' all three of these shows were often labeled as "anime of the season" by their respective viewers. However while ''Erased'' fell victim to SeasonalRot and HypeBacklash those three shows ended up being {{sleeper hit}}s with ''all of them'' getting second seasons. The most notable of the rivalries would be with ''Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu'' however because many people who had watched that alongside of ''Erased'' were the most vocal about their dislike towards ''Erased'' and how ''Show Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu'' was the true anime of the season.

* BaseBreaker: Kayo Hinazuki is either [[TheWoobie the most pitiable character in the entire series]], or an example of Sympathetic Sue at its finest.

* UnfortunateImplications: Very much like the AllGaysArePedophiles trope (which is interestingly invoked in-universe), the show makes a controversial move in its portrayal of Yuuki as a stutterer. You ''rarely'' see stuttering characters in anime, unless it is played for laughs, but here, where Yuuki is featured as one yet it is treated rightly as a casual trait and not the center of its characterization, is also implied that he is mentally retarded as well. It unintentionally enforces the popular belief that people with that kind of SpeechImpediment is mentally "wrong" in a classical way.

* FandomRivalry: With ''{{Manga/Ajin}}'', ''LightNovel/KonoSubarashiiSekaiNiShukufukuO'', and ''Manga/ShouwaGenrokuRakugoShinjuu''. Alongside of ''Erased'' all three of these shows were often labeled as "anime of the season" by their respective viewers. However while ''Erased'' fell victim to SeasonalRot and HypeBacklash those three shows ended up being {{sleeper hit}}s with the latter two even getting second seasons. The most notable of the rivalries would be with ''Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu'' however because many people who had watched that alongside of ''Erased'' were the most vocal about their dislike towards ''Erased'' and how ''Show Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu'' was the true anime of the season.

* SeasonalRot: The show was one of the most hyped up anime of the Winter 2016 season and the first episode received universal praise from most anime viewers. In the early episodes of the show it became so hyped up that it ranked in the top 10 on many anime databases and was already being crowned as one of the greatest anime of all time. That was until the halfway point for the show where many felt it started falling apart. Aspects such as the Airi episodes at the halfway point, Satoru being given the IdiotBall treatment in later episodes, [[spoiler: Kayo's removal from the story after her arc is completed, the CaptainObviousReveal of the killer being Yashiro, and the rushed ending]] lead fans to believe that the show ended up being a massive let down. The rot was so bad that it even made a few viewers look back on the early episodes and claim that ''Erased'' was "never good in the first place".

* BaseBreaker: Kayo Hinazuki is either [[TheWoobie the most pitiable character in the entire series]], or an example of SympatheticSue at its finest.

** The unnamed, manga-exclusive, and [[PosthumousCharacter flashback-only]] older brother of the killer manages to stand out as horrific and monstrous despite only appearing in one chapter. A sociopathic [[BigBrotherBully bully]], the brother regularly assaulted his own little sibling and other kids at his school. Showing his true monstrosity, the brother formed a partnership with the willing killer where, after the killer lured little girls to him, he would rape them, a process that went on for years and resulted in [[SerialRapist dozens of rapes]]. When the brother [[AccidentalMurder accidentally strangled]] one of his victims to death trying to keep her from calling for help, he tried to [[FrameUp frame his younger brother for the crime]], showing no regret or empathy for his victim. Though only a [[TeensAreMonsters teenager]], the brother made his mark as the most monstrous character in the story along with his SerialKiller brother.

* FandomRivalry: With ''{{Manga/Ajin}}'', ''LightNovel/KonoSubarashiiSekaiNiShukufukuO'', and ''Manga/ShouwaGenrokuRakugoShinjuu''. Alongside of ''Erased'' all three of these shows were often labeled as "anime of the season" by their respective viewers. However while ''Erased'' fell victim to SeasonalRot and HypeBacklash those three shows ended up being [[SleeperHit sleeper hits]] with the latter two even getting second seasons. The most notable of the rivalries would be with ''Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu'' however because many people who had watched that alongside of ''Erased'' were the most vocal about their dislike towards ''Erased'' and how ''Show Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu'' was the true anime of the season.

** Satoru's faces [[DidIJustSayThatOutLoud when he echoes his thoughts.]]

*** This happens in a [[{{understatement}} particularly tense]] moment in episode 10, and coupled with an oddly drawn facial expression, it might induce an unintentional chuckle.
*** The entirety of the first half of Episode 09 is even worse in regards to Kayo's mother's Hidden Depths. The reason she mistreated her own daughter was [[spoiler:because her husband was also an one-dimensional evil father that happened to mistreat his wife - which then led her into unleashing her own abusive nature.]] This was supposed to be a TearJerker as [[spoiler:she was revealed to be more human and broken than what was believed (her mother wasn't a good parent either, as her sudden appearance alongside Satoru, Sachiko, Yashiro and the Child Services before it was enough to trigger this whole mess)]], but for the most part it's just a failed RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap moment of a character whose backstory was just parroting characterization.

* WhatAnIdiot: Upon finding [[spoiler:his mother's body]], Satoru's first reaction isn't to call the police, but to [[spoiler:chase who he believes is the killer.]] This is one of the primary factors that leads to [[spoiler:the police thinking Satoru is the prime suspect. To be fair however, the killer is very good at framing others and it is highly implied that he timed his exit so that Satoru would notice him and chase him.]]
** Interestingly this is changed in the anime, where Satoru first reaction is to [[spoiler: go to his mother's body to see if she's still alive (This action in the manga causes a revival that kicks him back outside his door 2 minutes prior in time). He's then seen by a neighbor, who gets the wrong impression, and then the police show up. Satoru then tries to run from the police, which is understandable given the circumstances.]]

* HypeBacklash[=/=]LoveItOrHateIt: When a single show towers above the rest of its season, even gaining a 9+ rating and spot in the top 10 on [=MyAnimeList.com=][note]An anime rating and listing website which currently boasts nearly 200,000 active members[/note] after only four episodes, this will obviously be the result, but this series has managed to be one of the most divisive in recent times, even more so than ''Manga/OnePunchMan''. Depending on who you ask, it's either a masterpiece of human drama and a wonderful TearJerker, or a completely unsubtle bunch of {{Glurge}} that only got so popular because ViewersAreMorons.

* FandomRivalry: With ''{{Manga/Ajin}}'', ''LightNovel/KonoSubarashiiSekaiNiShukufukuO'', and ''Manga/ShowaGenrokuRakugoShinjuu''. Alongside of ''Erased'' all three of these shows were often labeled as "anime of the season" by their respective viewers. However while ''Erased'' fell victim to SeasonalRot and HypeBacklash those three shows ended up being [[SleeperHit sleeper hits]] with the latter two even getting second seasons. The most notable of the rivalries would be with ''Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu'' however because many people who had watched that alongside of ''Erased'' were the most vocal about their dislike towards ''Erased'' and how ''Show Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu'' was the true anime of the season.