Boku dake ga Inai Machi

It IS seriously superb! The story is one of the best, for me. I'm really amazed how the author made the story very intriguing. It will made you feel relieved. . suddenly anxious. .angry, sad and mortified. The story also depicts warm relationships between friends, and between mother and child, which is often disregarded.

I'm the type who'll get hooked in mystery stories, and I find it fun to guess who is the real cold-blooded criminal. This manga is very recommendable for all people who loves stories about murder cases and time travel, like me.

The reason I read this manga:
When the first episode of its anime adaptation aired, the title caught my eye. "Boku dake ga Inai Machi"
"That just sounds lonesome!~", I thought. . . Then, I can't wait for the next episode that's why I read the manga as fast as possible.

Boku dake ga Inai Machi draws the reader in with inexplicable time travel connected to the old mystery of a classmate's murder. The classic case of whodunnit is made new again with the supernatural and uncontrollable power of the protagonist, Satoru, a seemingly ordinary man struggling with his career as a mangaka. The story starts out shakily at first, as the reader is thrown into his world trying to understand why it is that Satoru has these sudden moments where the colors he sees are inverted, his head seems to spin, and he must observe the oddity he didn't notice before as he goes back in time for a short while. The protagonist himself doesn't know why this happens to him, either, which is one shortcoming of Boku dake ga Inai Machi.

Nevertheless, the reason for why this happens is not important as how he uses this power. The past few times, he has managed to save a few people's lives because this time travel gives him an overwhelming need to. He keeps his secret as well hidden as he can, but he does worry when someone will notice that he seems to see things that no one else can.

Of course, when Satoru must use his power to save his own life, the story becomes a lot more interesting. At a point when he discovers that there's something that he was missing long ago while also realizing that he needs to flee, his power kicks in to bring him back to when he was a child, right before the murders of classmates occurred. Now he has the opportunity to stop them from happening and possibly expose the murderer.

The rest of the story is filled with details from the murders that Satoru slowly remembers. It also helps that he still has his adult conscious with him when he travels back in time and becomes his grade school self. As a person who loves details and enjoys how much thought goes into detective work, it's thrilling to see the inner workings of someone trying their hardest to solve a mystery. The mangaka skillfully unfolds the story piece by piece as Satoru investigates the past, building his world quite clearly and creating the setting perfectly.

Another nice aspect of this manga is the way the mangaka portrays Satoru's relationships with others from the past and present. Satoru used to be a solitary kid back in the day, but now that he has a second chance to change things, he changes his personality in order to build bonds with friends and get closer to people who are or might be involved with the case. Since Satoru is now so carefully observant, he notices many traits in other people around him. His mother has a habit of uttering a shocking truth and covering it up with a "just kidding." A classmate loves classical music and enjoys reading books that are above the normal grade level. Every character is very individualized and that makes them very real and relatable to the reader. Satoru also grows to care for and love the people he didn't interact with so much in the past. It's endearing and shows a ton of character development despite being in a different body.

Satoru himself is a very brave character. While he does mention that he wants to do good in order to bring about justice, I get the feeling that it's a little bit more than that. Solving this mystery and bringing together his friends gives him closure for the pain that this situation caused him in the past. In addition to having a hand in preventing the most horrible act in his small hometown, he can put his ability to very good use. He once thought it was annoying, but with control to change the past for the better, it's an extraordinary gift.

Otherwise I find Satoru to be an endearing person. He really only wants the best for everyone, and while it seems like he could be construed as controlling, he isn't in the least so. He comes off as a nice person who is concerned for everyone's well-being. Satoru can also be quite tenacious in his efforts, making friends with those who don't warm up to him initially. He also has this cute tendency to say whatever he's thinking out loud sometimes, and then thinking afterwards, "It slipped." He's certainly not perfect in his deductions, but he does do his best.

The art style is a little rough to me. The shading in certain places is a little sparse in some places and the noses and hands are a little big. Otherwise, the art suited the manga just fine. The mangaka does pay attention to drawing setting well when it comes to weather, especially since Satoru is taken back in the past to the winter season when it's snowing. Expressions of indifference, pain, grief, love, and happiness are plain on the characters' faces. I thought the children looked pretty cute, too.

I actually had to stop myself from reading this manga all in one sitting so I could savor it longer. The plot is very engaging, and though I don't like time travel, it's easy to understand and the timelines aren't all messed up like in other stories. Satoru is a noble character and the mangaka does a good job telling the story; I'd recommend this manga to anyone.

Boku dake ga Inai Machi

The Town Where Only I Am Missing




Didn't read the manga until after the anime adaptation. Among other things, I wanted to know whether this whole topic of time travel is explained in more detail in the manga.

If anyone is interested, no, it is not explained. In other words, the manga is just like the anime, with one major exception.
From the point in episode 10 when the breakup came, the anime took a different direction. The manga had a different and longer finale from then on. Among other things, I liked this one more because you had seen a lot more of the main antagonist.




Story

The basic idea behind the plot appealed to me immediately. Basically, it's an approach that is generally promising and offers a lot of leeways.

The course of the plot was also satisfactory. There was a little lack of tension and the conversations were a bit flat too.

What was done right, however, was the atmosphere. Both in the manga and in the anime adaptation. This could lift the somewhat fluctuating tension nicely.

My biggest problem with the plot is the lack of clarification of the skills / events. Time travel is all well and good, but if the explanation is missing, it is only half the cheese.



Drawing

Slightly above average. The draftsman's strength was definitely not in the characters, but in the environment and the presentation.

Characters

Except for the wanted murderer, all characters were mostly monotonous and weak. They have been as normal as they could possibly be. Accordingly, it was difficult to build any interest in them.


Conclusion


It was quite an interesting manga. Basically, I liked it slightly better than the anime. With a little more detail and explanation, it could certainly have gotten better.

I was happily surprised by this manga. It isn't my typical genre so i wasn't expecting to like it very much but i was wrong. This manga starts off kinda slow, not much happens right away when compared to most shounen who aim at hooking the readers within the first few pages. Once the story did get rolling i couldn't put it down. This manga did a great job at keeping me guessing as to what's going to happen next and i usually can do a decent job at guessing what's going to happen. The mangaka does a great job at portraying the different characters personalities and motivations. noting felt cheap, the story was rationally put together. this was overall a great read and i recommend giving it a shot even if it doesn't seem like your genre or that it would be interesting.

Excelent unique story, perfect for those searching for something diferent.
This manga has everything a story should have. Mystery, great character development, strong female characters and big twists in the story.
Each character has a reason to be part of the story. The past story of the protagonists are very well explained and detailed, specially the antagonist´s one.
At first the jumps in time can be a little bit confusing but once the story and the main conflict were presented i couldn´t stop reading.
I think everyone can enjoy this masterpiece even those who are not manga readers.
Will re-read the whole story or at least the first volumes to look for new details that I may have overlooked.

This is my first review, as I joined..maybe 2 days ago? But nonetheless, I decided to write a review on 僕がいない街 or Erased because of how much I enjoyed it.

Story: 9
The story takes place in two places, 2006 Japan, and 1988 Japan, with the two eras revolving around a 29, and 10-year-old Satoru Fujinuma respectively. He has a phenomenon happen to him called "revivals" in which he is sent back in time, to fix something bad that is about to happen around him. I won't spoil the rest of it, because what I need to explain to advance the review is well..spoiler. The only negative thing I have about this storyline is, The revivals. It makes no sense. The revivals are not explained as to why they happen or if they happened all the time, it just comes along out of convenience to the plot. The story itself is deeply thought-provoking, and it's once of the few manga in which I don't cringe at the over the topness of it all.

Art:7
Because I actually read the manga first and not the anime, I can't complain too much about it. It's very crude and a sore sight for many readers who watched the anime first, but the art style itself gives the manga a nice charm. For anyone who watched the anime first, be warned, many of the characters like Kayo, Satoru, and Yashiro, looks extremely different, and it might throw you off a bit.

Characters: 10
I think this is where most of the manga really shines. Everyone interacts fluidly, and nothing seems off. The dynamic between Kayo and Satoru is the best part of it all, though. It's sweet and innocent, and it ditches the stereotypical, blustered, blushing, awkward kind of romance, and instead focuses on more of a friendship than a romance. Everything about each and every one of the characters just felt perfectly aligned.

Enjoyment: 9
Even thought the art was pretty hard to handle, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Nothing felt out of place, and nothing was too over the top. Overall it was a very good read.

Overall: 9
I highly recommend reading this. Even if you don't want to spoil the anime for yourself, the manga provides some smaller subtle details that the anime missed. It is not on par with masterpieces like FMA, but it certainly stands above the rest in terms of quality.

Everyone has a right with regards to their opinion; whether they like it or hate it i'm not judging. Just thought i'd put in some of my own effort to write if its good or bad.

For me I personally felt that Boku dake ga Inai Machi is a worthy manga to check out. Especially for fans or people interested in the Mystery genre. Without being to bias, I try to think more on the good things of what the author is trying to do.
How they want to perceive or show off their story.

For many who have even seen the anime which just started this season; The first episode does indeed give off a pretty strong and lasting impression.
There's a clear path of where the plot is heading down which will lead us asking and wanting answers to these mysteries.
It left me highly intrigued and decided to read the manga. (I binged it, lol)
I do believe this series will catch people's attention and interest.

After reading each chapter i'm left wanting more. Capitvated and hooked.
How can the main character solve this? (Who, what, why, how, where, when, with what)
Strong feelings of suspense, exactly what I would want in a Mystery.

Now some things can be seen as cliche or "I knew it"; I don't find that too much of a problem here.
You have a good story here, with foundation, twists and turns. One or two cliches shouldn't deter one's opinion too much from liking it.
(Compared to a lot of other cliches that happen in fighting/shonen mangas no offense still love those)

My review is based on how much I've read which does include the raws.
Pretty grateful that my curiosity got the better of me and I gave it a go.
I have very much enjoyed reading it so far and hope that my review was of help for those interested. Boku dake ga Inai Machi's anime is definitely gonna be on my radar for watching.
Giving this a 9/10. (10/10 = me very bias which I want to give it that haha)

A compelling thriller series with a fairly mature approach to the "revisiting your childhood" idea. Treads a lot of heavy topics, and engages you impressively well. Superb pacing, knows when to change focus between story plots (and intertwines them all well). Several moments during reading I felt a genuine "OH SHIT", specifically due to clever authorship (using manga layout tricks I couldn't really describe without spoiling things).

Highly preferable to the Anime (or at the very least, a high preferable ending). I recommend you read before you watch, or at the very least read volume 4 (the manga finale) after finishing the anime, to see the true ending.

This manga has had it all for me, up until nearing the end of the story.
It was perfect. I was excited and wanted to know more, wanted there to be more of what I'd grown to thus far like.
It was even good after the "major change" in the story, but that was only for a short while.
In the last few chapters my connection with the story dropped.
I was attached, but then that what I was attached to disappeared.
I just think that this manga, this story has had something perfect up until a point, but then had unsuccesfuly taken a turn, aiming for an effect that with me was a failure which almost ruined it all.
For me the effect was negative.
It decided to break its course from the well-established one that I'd grown to love.
It bugs me because I, now that I think of it, feel as if the story that I fell in love never got finished and that I was left with a single option which is to read another story with the same characters and that serves as the continuation to the story that I love(the remainder of the chapters).

I think it could've been done much better, albeit that would probably also mean very differently..
It's not like my displeasure is caused because "omg my favoruite ship didn't set sail", it's that I think that the last arc is poorly done.
I mean, I have enjoyed the story so much until that certain point. Then when the event occured, my connection to the story grew even more, but that only lasted for a short while because I had begun realising that.. How do I say it..
The story simply started kinda heading for another focus, a focus which was not what it had had built up within me up until that point as the focal point of the story.

The following 1 sentence is spoiler-ish:
10/10 untill the "river dip" and shortly thereafter.
6.5/10 from there-on.

The characters are all loveable, and how loveable they all are and what they had is what I grew to love, the story connecting them.
This manga has it's thing, but it turned out that I myself have misunderstood the manga and that it is actually something slightly different from what I had grown to see it as before the end-game chapters. :/

Regarding the side-stories, which don't have a dedicated listing on MAL but are accounted for in the listing of the main manga(the ERASED manga has 44 chapter, and it has 49 chapters here on MAL because of the 5 chapters from the side stories volume being accounted for in it) they continue on in the perfection which to me was this manga before the final arc, so the side stories are a 10/10.

EDIT:
I guess I've missed the intended focal point of the story..
"A city where only I am missing".
Still, I think that the ending arc is shabby, so I will bump the overall score from 8 only to a 9.
I stick to what I've said, this manga has something perfect, up 'till the part where it turns out I missed the intended meaning..
Would've been all 10s had it stuck to what I thought it is, or, had the final arc been done somehow "better"..
It's a great story overall, now that I've changed how I view the story, but the end arc is somehow not on par with what everything before it is.

Before I begin my review, I want to say that my reviews are not the best. If you want a in-depth review on the series, I probably will not to be able to deliver, but you can stay around if you want.

Boku dake ga Inai Machi is a really interesting series. It's concept is pretty interesting and it's like nothing I've ever seen before. I came across this manga series after looking at the anime for the next season. Boku dake ga Inai Machi was in there, so I looked at the synopsis of it, and decided to read the manga. Was not disappointed.

The story is the most interesting part about this series. A struggling manga author by the name of Satoru Fujinuma has an ability to prevent deaths by going back in time to find what is wrong. These are called 'reruns' and they happen every time someone is about to die. Something bad happens and Satoru is getting framed by a serial killer who murdered someone close to him. After that, he is sent back in time to 1988 to prevent the death of his classmate, Hinadzuki Kayo.

The art style of this manga is very good, because it actually fits with the series. It goes very well with the series, and I don't know how else I could describe it.

The characters are all pretty good, I like most of them, except for the bastard serial killer that I have no idea who he is. Hinadzuki Kayo is the one that went in my favourites list, because, I don't know, I couldn't choose, and Hinadzuki has no favourites, so I decided to give her some love.

Overall, I'd give this series a 8/10. I ended up putting this series in my favourite mangas. This series is very interesting and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes Mystery. (at least I think it's a mystery)