"ERASED"

Thriller...with kids?

Beside "Showa Genroku Rakujo Shinjuu" the anime to watch this season is "ERASED."  Satoru is a mild mannered pizza delivery guy/mangaka...with the ability to go back in time to prevent accidents.  Just a few minutes, just enough to say, save someone from being hurt in a car accident.  Crimes that happened during childhood come back to haunt him when his mother becomes involved in a possible recurrence of the crimes.  Satoru goes back in time 18 years to become his 10 year old self.  Can he protect the victims from the past and his mother in the future?  The show is very well paced, almost like a well paced movie thriller. Each episode ends in a cliffhanger that leaves you frustrated that you have to wait another week to see more.  There is something compelling about these little kids confronting these life and death situations with their limited power as children.  The time travel gimmick actually works and gives a sense tension as if watching a live action movie.  Hopefully, the show will not crash and burn at the end, which is entirely possible with these types of plot driven shows.  Waiting for episode 8 right now...

"Showa Genroku Rakujo Shinjuu" anime

A refreshing change of pace from moe girls and idol shows, "Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu" is a show for adults.  A man is released from prison and he goes straight to a rakugo master to learn the art of rakugo.  The show then flashes back to the master's youth and his training in rakugo.  I only learned about rakugo from watching this anime.  It's a one man comical play where the man sits on his knees on the stage the whole time while acting all the parts himself.  The art is sensational.  It's based on a manga by Haruko Kumota, who is actually a famous BL mangaka.  But this is not BL.  Although with the art style, it feels like it could turn that way very quickly, but never quite does.  There is a close relationship depicted between two male characters, but most of relationship seems to be one man's struggle to compete with another's natural ability to perform rakugo.  There are a lot of long sequences of one character doing 5 to 10 minute rakugo bits, which can be off putting for some.  But I find watching these let's me enjoy a Japanese pastime that I will never be able to enjoy in person.  So far, I've watched the six episodes available.  So far most of the show has been in flashback mode.  I know there will be an upcoming tragedy and the way the show slowly reveals the upcoming tragedy is very subtle.  I look forward to every episode each week.