Heartwarming / ERASED

"Let's come see it again, in the summer. This Christmas tree."

• The whole relationship between Satoru and Kayo. While it starts off a bit rocky, with Kayo exhibiting some serious Troubling Unchildlike Behavior and being generally abrasive to Satoru, the two bond over their honesty with each other and through Satoru's sheer determination to defend her from both scrutiny at school and abuse from her mom. And through these experiences, Kayo grows into a much stronger, much kinder, much more loving person - a far cry from her normally abrasive self. It's honestly touching to see just how compassion and determination can change a person's whole outlook and personality.
  • When Satoru awakens from his coma, Kayo meets up with him. A fully grown young woman...and a mother. Satoru put it best, tears flowing abundantly from his eyes:
    Congratulations, Kayo.
• The series-wide journey of Satoru bending his back over just to save others' lives and atone for his inability to act on time. In the end, he's seen as a hero to his friends and loved ones.
• Satoru's mom when Satoru reveals that he graduated high school, finally "overtaking" his mother who didn't graduate high school. Trying to deny that she's crying, Sachiko congratulates both Satoru and Kumi. Really goes to show how much their relationship has grown since Chapter 1 and across timelines.
• Sachiko being such a doting maternal figure to Kayo and doing things like giving her a bath and going out of her way to make a big breakfast for her. The latter especially significant as she had her hands on Kayo’s shoulders as Kayo was crying over receiving an actual meal for the first time in a while. Knowing her, Sachiko probably understood that Kayo didn’t have much to eat and was moved by Sachiko’s generosity.
• Kenya becoming a willing accomplice of Satoru's, spurred on by his friend's selfless determination in saving Kayo and all others in danger of being killed.
• The final scene: Satoru reuniting with Airi. Even after coming in terms with the fact that the memories of his old timeline might fade away and wordlessly saying goodbye in his own way to Airi when he saw her at the train station to regain his memories, it seems that fate has brought Airi back to Satoru. Especially heartwarming is the look on Satoru's face when he realizes who's running to join him under the bridge, from confused to shocked to tearing with happiness. The future may be unclear, but as the two pairs of footsteps in the snow in the last panel illustrate, it looks like Satoru has accepted fate's gift of giving him the chance to rekindle with Airi.
  Satoru: The future is always blank. Only your willpower can leave your footsteps there.
  • What is also heartwarming and attests to Satoru's character is the fact that he never viewed Airi as some sort of "reward" for everything he had sacrificed to save his friends, just as he was happy for Kayo when he discovered his efforts allowed her to start a loving family. Instead, he quietly accepted the fact that his relationship with Airi was something that was sacrificed in order to ensure the safety of his friends. Nevertheless, it seems that he may not lose his relationship with Airi after all.