#14 What Anime Never Gets Old No Matter How Many Times You’ve Rewatched It?
Erased
I first watched Erased March 2016. Since then I have rewatched it twice, once with friends and once with my husband. That makes a total of three times that I’ve watched Erased in just a year and a half. And, you know what? I could probably go for a fourth! I think that it has remarkably high rewatch value, even knowing all of its big twists and turns, and here’s why…
Erased is a clever show chock full of symbolism and allegory (stories with deep, hidden meanings). I actually explored some of it during another post (Erased: Unravelling the Spider’s Thread). As I said during this post, much of the show’s symbolism was lost on me during my first viewing. I was so emotionally invested in what was happening or about to happen to its characters that it was like wearing blinkers! However, during my second and third viewing of Erased I was able to sit back, relax, and get myself into a more critical mindset. It was then that many of the show’s finer details, including its use of dialogue steeped in double meaning, of irony, and of light and shadow as a visual cue, stood out to me. That’s the beauty of rewatching a clever, multilayered show, you always notice something new and grow in your appreciation of it with each and every viewing!
A second reason why Erased has such high rewatch value is that its shock value barely decreases with each viewing. Sure, once you know who is responsible for the murders the big reveal does lose some of its punch, but abuse at the hands of people in positions of trust and power, premeditated murder, the death of loved ones, the injustice of the justice system, and child abuse, these are some of the most brutal realities that this world has to offer, and are all things that this show masterfully and sensitively tackles. No matter how much you are exposed to these things on a daily basis, whether first or second hand, these things rarely fail to trigger some kind of emotional response, such as grief, rage, or sadness. So no matter how much you watch Erased it is likely to keep triggering emotional responses. And I’ve always felt that if a show can get under your skin and make you feel whatever it wants you to feel, then it’s a great show indeed!
Erased is also fun to rewatch with different people. Sometimes, when watching it with my friends or with my husband, I would actually stop watching the show just to watch their reactions to certain scenes, like the one where Satoru first uses revival or the one where we learn the identity of the killer. Everybody brings a different set of preferences and experiences to the table when watching a show, which means that everybody processes and reacts to shows different. Given my fascination with psychology and the human brain, I just thrive off of watching these differing reactions. Weird, I know! But that’s me!
Finally, Erased is just an extremely well made show. Its story, whilst containing supernatural elements, is still incredibly gritty and down-to-earth. Erased isn’t scared of tackling the harsh realities of the world head-on, which is something that I appreciate. It also features some amazing characters, including Kayo, whose strength and courage in the face of such horrific abuse is remarkably moving, Ms Fujinuma, the best anime mum of all time (I will fight you over this), and Satoru, the hero, who undergoes an impressive amount of character development in just 13 episodes. I even loved its controversial finale! [SPOILER] I was alright with the fact that Kayo and Satoru didn’t end up as a couple. He didn’t rescue her because he wanted to be with her and, besides, just because somebody does you a good turn, that doesn’t mean that you have to enter into a romantic relationship with them. A person doesn’t owe another person their love or their body under any circumstances! [/SPOILER] Anyway, the point that I’m trying to make is that when a show is so well made, to the extent that you enjoy every single aspect of it, you’ll take any and every opportunity to rewatch it!
So what anime have you rewatched the most and why? I’d be interested to hear from you!
Watashi Wa Bucho!! 
The ones I enjoy rewatching are Host Club, Noragami, Fruits basket, Yona of the Dawn, and Kamisama Kiss.
I think I’ve watch Yona and Host club the most. I love the humor of hostclub and it is what I need most days and Yona I love all the characters so much!
Ooh, that makes me want to go back and rewatch Ouran High School Host Club! I’ve already seen it a couple of times, but it was just as funny the second time, so it’ll probably be just as funny a third!
I’ve not seen Kamisama Kiss. Would you recommend it? If so, why? : )
I’m always in for a good character and even though this is classified as a reverse harem I think almost every side character is fleshed out in a great way with interesting backstory. Also I love romance haha and this has romance but with humor thrown in.
In the past also I realized that I’m a sucker for foxes so that doesn’t hurt either.
It is a pretty light watch and enjoyable for fun.
I think of all of the harem shows that I’ve seen (reverse or no) OHSHC definitely has the most heart. The characters are good-looking, but beyond that they each have their own quirks, likes, dislikes, trauma, etc. They all feel fleshed out and (in spite of their vast fortunes) relatable.
I’ll look into Kamisama Kiss for sure! Thanks!