We’ve all had those moments, those moments when something goes terribly wrong and you were there. At that moment, you probably think about how you could have changed the outcome, if you had done something, anything, it would have heralded a disastrous outcome. Satoru Fujinuma is a man who has a very special ability; the ability to go back in time to moments when he could make a difference. He calls the phenomenon “Renaissance”. Unlike the superpower, he can’t control it. Each time it happens, it’s more like deja vu, except for the fact that he remembers what happened before the incident, rather than during or after it like most of us. He notes that Revival usually takes him back for five to ten minutes, at which point he knows something is about to happen and looks around for something out of place.
At this point, you might be thinking, well, well, who is this guy? The basic summary is that Satoru is a manga artist and works part-time as a delivery boy. There are indications that he is not very successful in his career as a manga artist, as the first episode features his boss telling him that he needs to be “in it” more. Other than that, he’s just a normal guy who has done what he needed to get through life right now. He doesn’t keep in touch with friends, as he later explains that instead of opening up and making friends, he put on a false front in his childhood. The only person we really see him socializing with is his mother, who comes to stay with him. Well, I guess Airi notices her, but he pretty much ignores her.
Let me give you a summary of what this program is about. Naturally, since our main character has this kind of special ability, that’s what it’s going to be about, right? True, but in a very peculiar way. You see, Satoru comes home one day to find his mother murdered by him, this happens after an instance of Revival occurs where nothing seems to go wrong. The thief cleverly sets him up so that Satoru is the prime suspect. He panicked, he runs. That’s when a very powerful revival begins. You know how it’s only supposed to go back five to ten minutes? This time it goes back eighteen years, to a time when Satoru is in elementary school.
I’ll spare you the details, since you might want to watch the series on your own. However, the story focuses on two points in time, one more than the other: the present time, where Satoru has been framed and persecuted, and the past where Satoru is an elementary school student, but just before a series of kidnappings. murders is about to happen. The series focuses more on the latter, but returns to the present a couple of times for a couple of different reasons. The basis of the story, at least in Satoru’s eyes, is that this powerful Revival sent him back in time to this specific moment in order to stop the kidnapping/murders that is somehow related to the murder of his mother. Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t remember much from elementary school. Satoru soon notices this and comments on it at various points as he struggles to remember his friends right now and everything that’s going on.
This story was surprising and pleasantly gripping. The way things play out and the way Satoru reacts to situations and tries to calm them down is really wonderful. It is everything you would expect from a mystery anime. I was afraid that this anime would be dark as I don’t care much about the mystery genre, but the dark scenes are matched if not surpassed by the light scenes. For example, there are many scenes showing the happiness between Satoru and his friends to combat the brutally dark and harrowing scenes involving the kidnappings/murders.
I would definitely recommend this anime to anyone who is a fan of good anime stories. No matter if you like the mystery genre or not, this heartwarming anime story will touch you! I really didn’t expect to get as attached as I did. I found myself screaming in triumph at the end, for particular reasons surrounding the Airi girl, which you’ll just have to watch and find out for yourself. Give it a try, it’s a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, but it’s a beautiful story.
