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Advertorial: ERASED: Masterful Visuals and Hidden Meanings in Plain Sight


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irfanf



Joined: 14 Aug 2015
Posts: 22
PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 10:25 am Reply with quote
Really hoping that A-1 can keep up their work with the culprit reveal and ending.
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thunderkingnue29



Joined: 06 Sep 2013
Posts: 18
PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 10:58 am Reply with quote
Why the copyrights for the photos are belong to Konosuba?
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TokyoSplash



Joined: 04 Mar 2016
Posts: 155
PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 11:40 am Reply with quote
Man this was such an interesting read! Especially the parts about "RED" and Kayo's barrier. I had started to catch on about the red touch when Satoru was about to take out Kayo's mother that one time before Kenya stopped him. His eyes were red in that moment like the killer.
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Zeres



Joined: 16 May 2015
Posts: 11
PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 12:13 pm Reply with quote
I was reading this all the while thinking: "I've seen someone on youtube make eerily similar claims". Then at the end It was actually you Razz
Yeah, ERASED is the top anime of this season no doubt. I especially like the winter feel it gives. In no anime have I ever felt so immersed in the weather atmosphere than in ERASED. Its just works so, so good.
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Alabaster Spectrum



Joined: 02 Sep 2015
Posts: 528
PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 12:38 pm Reply with quote
Man this is some serious shilling even if it's admitted with the advertorial label. I notice it doesn't have an author listed so I assume it came straight from Aniplex of America and/or Crunchyrolls offices since the language reeks of their Japanese wing PR and it asks you to sign up for Crunchyroll at the end. I don't like being solicited like this so I will definitely not be doing that.

In fact it wouldn't even surprise me with this coming out which I've kind of seen before if the powers that be haven't been working the ridiculous overhyping for this series behind this scenes since it's pretty damn unusual even in the modern hype based community and they really seem to want to make it a lynchpin promotion in North America. They may even be behind the sudden influx of new users (as in registered this year and have less than 10 or even 5 posts but talk like they have a very clear agenda and knowledge of it) I've noticed that are ranking the show up on certain sites and advocating for certain shows Crunchyroll seems to be trying to promote as must watches which would also explain a lot.

Suddenly a lot more making sense that seemed off with the anime scene this season so thanks for that much at least whoever is behind this. Frankly I think Crunchyroll and it's communities politics have started doing great damage to the community and are probably where at least some of this sudden wave of must watch hype shows and annoying pressure to get in on them is coming from. They call it Stealth Marketing in Japan but sometimes it's not so stealth.
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whiskeyii



Joined: 29 May 2013
Posts: 2245
PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 1:10 pm Reply with quote
Alabaster Spectrum wrote:
Man this is some serious shilling even if it's admitted with the advertorial label. I notice it doesn't have an author listed so I assume it came straight from Aniplex of America and/or Crunchyrolls offices since the language reeks of their Japanese wing PR and it asks you to sign up for Crunchyroll at the end. I don't like being solicited like this so I will definitely not be doing that.


Er, no. As clearly stated in the end paragraph, this is the same guy on Mother's Basement; he's a prominent YouTube anime reviewer. I mean, more power to you if you don't like blatant "go buy this thing" ads, but I think you're taking your anime conspiracy theory a little far here. o.O
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Alabaster Spectrum



Joined: 02 Sep 2015
Posts: 528
PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 1:54 pm Reply with quote
whiskeyii wrote:
Alabaster Spectrum wrote:
Man this is some serious shilling even if it's admitted with the advertorial label. I notice it doesn't have an author listed so I assume it came straight from Aniplex of America and/or Crunchyrolls offices since the language reeks of their Japanese wing PR and it asks you to sign up for Crunchyroll at the end. I don't like being solicited like this so I will definitely not be doing that.


Er, no. As clearly stated in the end paragraph, this is the same guy on Mother's Basement; he's a prominent YouTube anime reviewer. I mean, more power to you if you don't like blatant "go buy this thing" ads, but I think you're taking your anime conspiracy theory a little far here. o.O


Well that makes sense too I guess.
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Lemonchest



Joined: 18 Mar 2015
Posts: 1771
PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 2:07 pm Reply with quote
I agree, Tomohiko Itou is truly a master of the craft. You've picked some great examples but I thought I'd add some more for further emphasis.

Itou knows the importance of getting the most dramatic impact out of a scene. Consider when Satou's mother dies. The assailant takes her by surprise, stabbing her in the back. A stab in the back carries the most dramatic impact because it both emphasizes the surprise of the action but also, perhaps, suggests that she is being stabbed in the back in more ways than one. Her reaction on seeing the obscured face of the killer further suggests this to be the case, since she recognizes that it is connected to what she was thinking about just before being shanked.

However, this presents a quandary. Being stabbed in the back is dramatic, but is Satou were to walk in on her having been killed that way, there would be no suspense as he'd instantly recognize that she's been murdered. That's not dramatic. A lesser director might have taken continuity into consideration &, for instance, had Satou's mother turn around in the moment before being stabbed, so that the knife went into her gut. That would allow for her body to be in such a position that Satou wouldn't know what's wrong with her until he's rolled her over, getting incriminating blood on himself in the process.

But Itou is a director that knows such minor details are not important so long as the scene achieves sufficient dramatic impact that the viewer doesn't think "hang on, didn't she get stabbed in the back?" It's not like they'll rewind five minutes to check. It doesn't matter if there's no continuity between two scenes, so long as each scene achieves maximum dramatic impact on the viewer.

Consider when he quantum leaps...I mean Revives back to when he was ten. He's running from the police, covered in blood apparently about to leap off a two story balcony. That's dramatic. But that also poses a potential problem. After all, if he revives back to the future, might he not still be in the same situation? But again, that is a minor detail that a man with an eye for detail like Itou knows to overlook. After all, given the arbitrary way Satou travels back to the past, there's no reason he couldn't jump back to the future having somehow evaded the police. It doesn't matter how, just so long as he has. After all, there's a 17 year old girl whose life he needs to endanger.

Erased is great. A fantastic addition to the child abuse is drama genre that seems all the rage. After all, if Shitatsu taught us anything, it's why settle for kicking a cat when you can run it over? That's dramatic.
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v1cious



Joined: 31 Dec 2002
Posts: 6202
Location: Houston, TX
PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 2:41 pm Reply with quote
Alabaster Spectrum wrote:
Man this is some serious shilling even if it's admitted with the advertorial label. I notice it doesn't have an author listed so I assume it came straight from Aniplex of America and/or Crunchyrolls offices since the language reeks of their Japanese wing PR and it asks you to sign up for Crunchyroll at the end.


I don't understand where you're getting that from. The show is already really popular, it's not like Crunchyroll is shoving it down anyone's throat.
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Dayblack



Joined: 08 Jun 2015
Posts: 148
PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 3:54 pm Reply with quote
director of SAO
Adaptation in the following chapters will be very bad.
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HuuskerDu



Joined: 29 Feb 2016
Posts: 93
Location: USA
PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 6:35 pm Reply with quote
A-1's adaptation is quite beautiful to watch and is deftly woven on an emotional level. The added little extra touches (e.g., the foxes) really help to heighten the bond between Satoru and Kayo.

However, the anime's adaptation of the mystery part of the story is another matter. There are some major differences/errors that basically make it impossible for anyone to logically solve the whodunit mystery based on what is shown.

Here is an example from episode one:

spoiler[Look carefully at the perp at 13:02 and 16:15. Notice the hairlip. We see the perp in full profile with his upper cheeks in plain view (no crease) and his hair. Note his apparent age, which seems to be the same as Satoru's (mid-late 20s), way too young to have done the kidnappings in 1988. Now compare that to the half-hidden face shown at 17:36, which is clean shaven with the cheeks out of view (and a wider chin). This person conspicuously and carefully hides his cheeks when he walks past Satoru while wearing a hat to hide his hair, making his age completely indeterminate. Conclusion: Two perps with different faces, one young and one old. ]

However in the manga:

spoiler[The stabber in vol 5 has a hairy lip just like the guy in the park (vol 4). They are both drawn exactly same way (wearing glasses, with hidden cheeks and hair). The perp in the park is never seen in profile so his age is completely indeterminate - just like the guy on the stairwell - unlike the adaptation where the guy in the park looks the same age as Satoru himself. Compare the guy in the park drawn in vol 4 and vol 5 to the guy in the anime. Seriously?
]


And another example from episode six:

spoiler[
Recall the first police suspect list that Sawada gave to Satoru. Satoru's own mother was on it (which Satoru ignores completely), however two far more important names were inexplicably omitted, one of which does appear in the manga's list, thereby explaining why the trap was killed. This missing clue combined with the erroneous clue in ep 1 completely changes the ages and number of persons involved and the nature and direction of the case.]


A-1 did a great job on the dramatic and emotional parts of the story and they deserve kudos for that, but they messed up the whodunit part. Just focus on the drama and forget the mystery stuff.
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Spotlesseden



Joined: 09 Sep 2004
Posts: 3514
Location: earth
PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 6:36 pm Reply with quote
You are as good as the source material. Not sure why people only pick the good work of the anime director. They make just as many bad shows.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11352
PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 6:54 pm Reply with quote
Lemonchest wrote:
But Itou is a director that knows such minor details are not important so long as the scene achieves sufficient dramatic impact that the viewer doesn't think "hang on, didn't she get stabbed in the back?" It's not like they'll rewind five minutes to check. It doesn't matter if there's no continuity between two scenes, so long as each scene achieves maximum dramatic impact on the viewer.

YMMV, I guess. I can tolerate a lapse in continuity for dramatic effect in a straight up drama, but in a murder mystery where you practically have to freeze frame to catch clues being deposited in front of you, such blatant discrepancies take me out of the drama.

I did notice the traveling knife, and I did check back to be sure some trick of shot composition hadn't fooled me into thinking she'd been stabbed in the back. This could have achieved the same dramatic result with a different shot composition (something in the scenery blocking his full view until he approaches her and sees the knife or something), so it just felt like sloppiness or an insulting assumption that I wouldn't remember such a dramatic stabbing. Likewise with showing the same blue (rental!) van in scenes taking place 18 years apart.

The rest of it I'll have to wait until the finale to see if other things that have been bothering me are real clues or continuity errors, but while I'm still a huge fan of this series, it looks like a far cry from a master work at this point.


Last edited by Gina Szanboti on Tue Mar 08, 2016 7:37 pm; edited 1 time in total
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HuuskerDu



Joined: 29 Feb 2016
Posts: 93
Location: USA
PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 7:20 pm Reply with quote
Lemonchest wrote:
... minor details are not important so long as the scene achieves sufficient dramatic impact that the viewer doesn't think "hang on, didn't she get stabbed in the back?" It's not like they'll rewind five minutes to check. It doesn't matter if there's no continuity between two scenes, so long as each scene achieves maximum dramatic impact on the viewer.


Yes, but ERASED was originally promoted as a mystery series, and in a mystery series details like the position of the murder weapon do indeed matter.

The 'magic moving knife' was an adaptational error (in the manga she was stabbed in the side) that indicates carelessness on A-1's part, one of a dozen such errors I've spotted so far, which is why I've given up on watching ERASED as a mystery show.

The show has been executed really well as a drama. (Indeed, it is my favorite show this season.) I just feel a little disappointed in how the show was originally advertised as a mystery.

Compare ERASED to a real mystery series like Rokka, Subete Ga F, Ranpo Kitan, etc. This is more like a Scooby Doo mystery with just two potential suspects where in the end the mask gets pulled off of one of them as he defiantly proclaims, "And I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you lousy kids!"
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MavenRaven



Joined: 05 Jan 2016
Posts: 30
Location: USA
PostPosted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 10:21 am Reply with quote
HuuskerDu wrote:
The show has been executed really well as a drama. (Indeed, it is my favorite show this season.) I just feel a little disappointed in how the show was originally advertised as a mystery.

Compare ERASED to a real mystery series like Rokka, Subete Ga F, Ranpo Kitan, etc. This is more like a Scooby Doo mystery with just two potential suspects where in the end the mask gets pulled off of one of them as he defiantly proclaims, "And I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you lousy kids!"


I feel the same way. With every episode of Rokka, I would rewatch scenes, focusing on details to try to find the fake. I would eagerly await each new episode hoping more clues would be revealed. Sure, there were great fight scenes and intriguing character backstories, but the main draw was the mystery.

With Erased however, I find myself not even caring about who the killer actually is (although I do have my suspicions). The story focuses much more on the potential victims, and how they might be saved. I immensely enjoy the show, and it is one of favorites, but it is not a good mystery series.
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