[Boku dake ga Inai Machi]A great mystery, that ended too soon. Spoilers obviously.

Let me start by saying this entire post is sprinkled with spoilers, and if you have not seen this, you need to stop right now.

I will not use the spoiler bracket throughout the post, because we'd end up with blocks of black, and I'd like to avoid all of that extra work.

So once again, from this point onward, the entire series will be spoiled, and its your own fault for continuing.

Moving on.

I'm not entirely sure how I came across this series. I think I was doing something in Eve Online, and the opening came up on my youtube playlist.

Before I get into discussing the series as such, I want to share my opinion in its production.

Music 9/10

The pacing and tone was adequate at all times. It created the correct atmosphere, eased up tension, or created it. I'm not giving it a 10/10, because it was not memorable. The OP/ED although awesome, I discovered by myself, not through the anime.

VA 9/10

I'm a bit of a fan of Aoi Yuuki, so I am somewhat biased, but in general the voice acting was very well done. That scene where Kayo cries over breakfast is heart wincing. The rest of the cast delivered a good-if-not-great performance. Shinnosuke Mitsushima nails the "eh this is my life now" tones very well, and does a great job at conveying feelings through a mostly monotonous tone.

Art 7/10

I have mixed feelings with the Art of the series. In some instances, they do a stellar job at animating and placing characters on backgrounds or interacting with the environment. One such instance is when Satoru runs out of the school the first time, you can see his footprints on the snow match a long stride of someone running, versus Kayo's short stride corresponding to someone walking. And later, they completely forget how stairs work.. Also, why are their lips so weird? Is it a trend to get excessive botox before age 40 in Japan or something?

Pacing 7/10

I am painfully aware it was only 12 episodes. I feel this series could've used a few more. Maybe not 24, but certainly more than 12. By episode 9, I was convinced the conclusion would be rushed. We were not done saving Kayo, and we still had 2 other victims, plus the culprit, plus the future's resolution to tie up. During the first 9 episodes though, I was thrown between anxiety and hearty laughs.

I love mystery novels/books/movies. I have this habit of trying to piece together the puzzle before the narration hints me the answer. (One weekend, my dad invited me over for a movie afternoon. One of the movies was "Shoemaker". I guessed from the moment the protagonist's neighbor was introduced who he really was. I wrote it down on a napkin, and placed it under the TV's remote. By the end of the movie, my dad snatched it before I could, crumpled it up and threw it at me.)

This anime managed to keep me second guessing my predictions. The way it focuses on certain elements, such as the characters making emphasis on snow and trails, and a few episodes later showing you trails and footprints, was a fantastic way of shaking me off the trail. I had my suspicions, but I was not 100% sure until the reveal hits on episode 10.

 

With that out of the way, here I go.

 

Boy, that was a tough watch. I'm by no means a softie. I'm from the internet, back when the internet was the wild west and forum rules were treated more like suggestions. I used to frequent a certain /b/oard, and I've seen my share of fucked up shit. During my early teen years, I also saw The Butterfly Effect (which I immediately drew parallels to, even on Kayo's circumstances). What I'm trying to say is that i'm not fazed easily.

And yet, this was tough to watch. I truly felt sorry for Kayo. They were not pulling their punches much. The abuse was pretty gruesome. Yes, they draw a line and I suppose the worst parts of it are just left to our imagination, but with the amount they showed, I guess they couldn't put the rest of it on national TV.

To further compound to that effect, the little sparks of hope and joy she displays make her situation all the more heart wrecking. Here is a child who is living through hell, and here she is given a glimpse of tranquility and happiness, only to return to that hell a few hours later. Those small bursts of hope could make all the difference, but by that same token, are a reminder of how shit her situation was, and I felt that down to my core.

Then there's the way she dies. Fucking brutal is the most appropriate way I can think to describe it. I had to stop and take a small break, when her murder was described. That was some heavy shit.

As I said before, the series does a very good job at throwing you off the lead, by showing you different perspectives of the same events, or by giving you seemingly random hints or shots of an object, a name tag, a snow trail, or a candy wrapper sticking out of a glove compartment. I had my suspicions, but the way they played it out made me second guess and keep looking for more clues or hints.

Throughout this entire turmoil of anxiety and anticipation, there were adorable moments. The Christmas tree, or the night at the Fujinuma household, or the surprise birthday party were all well timed, and well executed.

And then, we reach the reveal. I was angry at myself for second guessing my original suspicions. I had a very strong feeling the teacher was the main culprit by episode 7, which was thrown off by episode 9. "Yuuki" was a good inclusion to the plot. Lets be honest, a 20something year old talking to fucking 5th graders alone is cause for alarm. And yet, the series does a very good job at showing us "Yuuki" through Satoru's eyes, which dismissed any suspicions I had right away.

The reveal was also very well done, though by the time Satoru and the teacher meet outside of the restroom, I was prepared for it. I guessed that the seat belt that wouldn't buckle would also fail to unbuckle. When they drove towards the river, I suspected that the teacher would drive the car into the river, or just beat Satoru with a crowbar..

I did not expect the time leap, nor the circumstances surrounding it. How Satoru survived is never explained, and that does bug me. How did we go from "I picked up my student at the ice hockey practice" to "Shit, he is stuck in my car, which is halfway submerged in a freezing river, and oh btw I'm bone dry over here" without raising any flags? This is, in my opinion, a crucial oversight.

The resolution felt extremely rushed. The conflict is not addressed, it is simply exposed, explained and concluded without really outlining anyone's motives. Satoru wants to be a hero for reasons, and the teacher is a psycho who gets a kick out of killing. You can't explain irrationality, and I get that. The teacher is irrational. He kills those he considers doomed, and he does it for no other reason than for funsies. I feel this is a week ending to an otherwise great plot and character.

Over all, I absolutely recommend this, though know you will have to stomach graphic physical abuse of a 10 year old girl.

Submitted October 28, 2018 at 12:31PM by Aeris_24 https://ift.tt/2Avf56i