Created by Kei Sanbe, “Deleted (Boku dake ga Inai Machi)” is a much-loved manga that received an anime adaptation while it was still in publication. As with many anime that air simultaneously with the source material, the endings don't match because the studio couldn't predict what Sanbe had in mind for the conclusion. This made the conclusion of “Erased” controversial.

“Erased” can be watched in a single weekend, more than enough time for manga fans to question the anime’s plot. In the manga, Satoru is able to travel back in time to correct a tragedy. Before the main conflict of "Erased," he could only travel back a few minutes. However, this changes after his mother's death, and the 29-year-old is forced to return to his elementary school days to prevent the murder of a classmate. Both the manga and anime follow these stories until Satoru returns to the present. It's at this point that the two versions diverge significantly.

Both the "Erased" anime and manga were quite popular, and the franchise spawned several iterations. The anime is perhaps the best-known of these, but it's also incredibly controversial due to its ending. While the "Erased" manga and anime had fairly similar conclusions in some respects, occasional changes to the story upset fans of the source material.

After waking up from a 15-year coma, Satoru goes to physical therapy, where he meets Kumi, a young woman suffering from cancer. His memories of Yashiro—the killer—and his life before the manga's main events are also blocked until he reunites with Airi. It is then that Yashiro returns to the spotlight with a plan to "kill" Kumi and frame Satoru.

Fortunately, Satoru, Kenya, Sawada, and Sachiko come up with a plan to keep Kumi safe while they're camping. For several chapters, Yashiro and Satoru set traps for each other until the final confrontation on a bridge, where it is revealed that Yashiro did not plan to kill Kumi, but simply wanted to lure Satoru into killing him. After Satoru tells Yashiro how he defeated him, his former master sets the bridge on fire. He intends to die with Satoru, but Satoru jumps off the bridge with him, sending them plummeting into the lake, where Kenya, Sawada, Sachiko, and Kumi await them at the end of the anime “Erased.”

In the anime “Erased”, the confrontation between Yashiro and Satoru is limited to the hospital. After progressing with his physical therapy, some paparazzi try to take pictures of Satoru, but Yashiro destroys the images. He also addresses Satoru directly, rather than observing him from afar. Later, Yashiro takes Satoru to the rooftop and Satoru reveals that he remembers everything. The audience also learns that he told Kenya and Hiromi that Yashiro is the killer.

Yashiro demands to know how Satoru knew her future and tells Satoru that he sabotaged Kumi's operation to make it look like Satoru had killed her. He also plans to push Satoru off the roof so people will think he committed suicide; however, Satoru deduces that Yashiro hasn't killed him yet because he needs him in his life, which Yashiro confirms before knocking him down. Ready to commit suicide as well, Yashiro discovers that Satoru planned the whole thing. Satoru survives, Yashiro is arrested, and Kumi is rescued, ending Yashiro's game in the anime "Erased."

While the main points are the same in both versions of the “Erased” ending, with Yashiro being brought to justice before he can kill anyone, major deaths avoided, and Satoru living a fuller life, the anime rushed its ending. The adaptation is only 12 episodes long, dedicating two to Satoru's return and his final confrontation with Yashiro. Meanwhile, the manga is 44 chapters long, and Satoru's return to the present begins in chapter 33, while Yashiro doesn't return until chapter 37.

This allows the “Erased” manga to focus more on Satoru’s rehabilitation, make the return of his memories more organic, and establish some of the key variables for the final confrontation. It also expands the confrontation, offering the audience another cat-and-mouse game between Satoru and Yashiro. In short, the ending of the "Erased" manga showcases the intelligence of these two characters, while the anime's ending is more revealing.

Also, the way Yashiro uses Kumi is very different. In the manga, Satoru believes for several chapters that Kumi's life is at risk and works hard to prevent it. The anime, on the other hand, reveals that Kumi's life is indeed in danger in the midst of the final confrontation. The manga's approach highlights Satoru's heroic side and Yashiro's cunning side more than the anime.

The ending of the “Erased” anime takes a lot of liberties, but it was really necessary at the time. Just like the “Soul Eater” and “Fullmetal Alchemist” anime, the anime was produced while the manga was still in the publishing stage, so when the anime had to end, the manga’s conclusion was still unknown. The anime had to create its own conclusion, which might work well for those who haven't read the manga yet, especially since it still gives Satoru a happy ending and addresses his complex relationship with Yashiro in a short amount of time.

However, for some fans of the source material, viewing this murder mystery as condescending didn't do Erased's plot justice. Additionally, in 2017, a live-action Netflix series adaptation was created that many readers considered more faithful to the manga than the anime. Not only did it provide more development to some characters and scenes, but it also greatly improved the overall pacing, as the episodes were longer and there was more time for certain plot elements to evolve.

Another reason fans didn't like the anime "Erased" was the romantic partner Satoru ended up with, or rather, didn't end up with. The anime does little more than hint that Satoru and Airi have a future together, but he was also several years older than Airi. Other fans hoped that Satoru and Kayo would end up together after everything he did to protect and save her, but she didn't wait for him while he was in a coma, and rightly so. When it comes to fan ships, there are few things the fandom forgives, and the “Erased” anime didn’t deliver the ending everyone was hoping for.

©2016 三部けい／ KADOKAWA