Episode 12 Production Details

Episode Director: Toshimasa Ishii ( Episode Director on Nanatsu no Taizai episodes 6, 14 and 24 / Episode Director and Storyboard on Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso episode 18)

Storyboards: Toshimasa Ishii

Script: Taku Kishimoto ( Series Script Writer on  Gin no Saji / Series Script Writer on Haikyuu!!)

Originally, Tomohiko Ito had been wanting to do an anime for Boku Dake ga Inai Machi ever since he started reading the manga.  As for Kei Sanbe, Boku Machi‘s original creator, he grew up reading Ranpo Edogawa’s Boy Detectives Club Series which make sense as to why Kenya’s surname is Kobayashi.  Referring to Yoshio Kobayashi, the leader of the Boy Detectives Club and lives with who we know of from last year’s Game of Laplace Kogoro Akechi.  Love seeing how influential series can be for other artists and mangaka to add in small tributes to other works!  Speaking of other works, I wonder if anyone caught the Guilty Crown reference on the poster of Satoru’s anime poster in the epilogue.  Plus there’s a poster of Senkō no Night Raid and Seikimatsu Okaruto Gakuin both are A-1 Pictures titles with Seikimatsu directed by Tomohiko Ito!

As for this episode I believe this is a prime example of how an ending can completely change one’s perception of a series.  Either you really like this series or you don’t.

Honestly, I didn’t really have many problems with how this episode turned out.  If you think about it they did the best job they could with only 12 episodes to work with.

The fact that there can’t be much of a confrontation if you consider the state Satoru is in from his coma allows for the mystery aspect of this series to work in a solid manner.  All in all, I like how realistic it is.   There were a lot of assumptions made on Satoru’s part from what would guarantee that Gaku would push him off the roof, saving Kumi, how did Kenya and the others even know that they needed to save her from the poison?  But when push comes to shove illustrates how much of a coward Gaku is.  Relying on Satoru’s survival because it’s the game of chase that gave him a thrill of a lifetime.

Going into this series I started reading the manga alongside to find differences.  These past two episodes were vastly different in general setting and content especially with how Satoru’s confrontation is with Gaku Yashiro.  The manga builds the scene up by moving forward a few years later–giving Satoru a chance to recover and for the author Sanbe to further develop the ill Kumi into a deeper role.  The anime barely touches on her friendship with Satoru but I felt that this was much better because it sticks with what director Tomohiko Ito originally wanted–a human drama between school children.  And that’s exactly what we received! Kids that have turned into adults catching up on lost time so to speak!

Overall though I’d say that the presentation of this was nicely done.  Satoru beats Gaku because he’s held on to his connection with others.  At the start of this series, Satoru was very much a loner, his revival ability has changed that for him as Boku Machi progresses through its narrative.  It’s an ultimate test to what they shared over the course of this series as teacher and student trying to resolve a classmate’s home life. A satisfying ending. The later half of this episode is very much where Boku Dake ga Inai Machi shines.  It’s genuinely affectionate moments in framing the best times of childhood that deliver solid dramatic scenes that feel painfully sincere even when you become an adult.

While many people may be upset by this ending due to its quick pacing or how little detail there had been throughout this series on Satoru’s revivals. Why do they occur?  What caused them in the first place?  That’s not what Boku Machi is about.  It’s about how he’s fixed his future for the better and not just his.  The epilogue is a nice view of how everyone has been living out their lives without Satoru around and what an ending it was!  Glad to see that the kids, now as adults, get together at a restaurant and catch up on old times!

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 9/10

—