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.