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

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Episode 11 Production Details

Episode Director: Makoto Hoshino ( Episode Director on Sword Art Online episodes 7 and 20 / Episode Director on Sword Art Online II episode 10 / Storyboard on Rail Wars! episodes 2 and 4)

Storyboards: Shinpei Ezaki ( Director on Sengoku Basara Ni‘s Opening Sequence / Storyboard, Director and Producer on Guilty Crown OVA Lost Christmas / Episode Director on Kimi no Todoke episodes 8, 18 and 24 (alongside Norhihiro Naganuma) / Storyboard alongside Tsuyoshi Yoshioka and Tomoki Kyoda on Eureka Seven AO episode 13)

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

I was very shocked that Gaku Yashiro’s backstory would be the part they would cut out. His interest or ‘spice’ as he calls it and referring to Satoru as his new ‘spice’ makes sense in giving anime-viewers an understanding of his spider’s string that he sees from his victims and his appreciate for Satoru’s deduction.

Very creative to omit Satoru from every scene of the opening sequence! Love how this brings mystery to those that don’t know what happens to him.

We are in a new timeline, 2003 with a large change in character dynamics and narrative. This episode focuses on Satoru regaining his now scrambled up memory rather than having a long set of intense moments building up to an ending cliffhanger.  I really like how the creators decided on using his child’s voice as his inner monologue. A small detail that illustrates how he hasn’t truly grown up in his mind yet. Satoru saved the lives of Hiromi Sugita, Aya Nakanishi and Kayo Hinazuki at the cost of losing 15 years of his life.

When I read that the director would be following the manga’s ending I was ecstatic to finally see how they would animate all this content in 12 episodes.  I guess I was wrong.  As there were a ton of instances this episode diverged from the manga.

The opening is nice because we get to see how determined Sachiko is at reuniting with her son.  She truly is the best mom ever!  Reuniting with Kenya and Hiromi but most importantly the scene that will probably upset a lot of anime fans of this show.  Kayo Hinazuki is married to Hiromi and has a baby.  Boku Machi built up relentless attempts to ensure the audience believes that Satoru’s relationship with Kayo would become much more than just friends.  Airi was the initial love interest of this series and I feel that this series including the manga is trying to come full circle to that.  It’s a nice way to establish closure between Satoru and Kayo as they’re older.  Catching up on lost time so to speak. The last time we saw Hinazuki she was staying with a relative and hadn’t been at Satoru’s school since her mother’s situation had been taken over by Social Services.  This was a huge change from the manga as she’s in just about every scene during the Aya Nakanishi arc in the manga.  The impact is what makes this episode strong.  Seeing Kayo after so long reminds him that he saved her and was able to give her a life that makes her happy.  The tears he has during that scene visually intensifies this.

There are issues I have with this episode however.  While the Satoru and Kayo segment is neatly wrapped up.  The story goes back into the mystery of this show at full force. Perhaps too fast actually.  At the end of this we’re seeing a final confrontation between Yashiro and Satoru on the rooftop of the hospital.  I felt this was somewhat anti-climatic because he is sticking around the hospital waiting for the right time to catch his spice, Satoru.  All the pieces of the puzzle regarding the killer fall into place so conveniently this time around.

It was nice to see Sachiko remember the train to Ueno that Satoru had mentioned back around episode 2.

An ending can make or break a series I just hope this one doesn’t disappoint considering how much they’ve cut out and altered.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 7/10

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Episode 10 Production Details

Episode Director: Takahiro Shikama ( Key Animator on STAR DRIVER: Kagayaki no Takuto episodes 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 12, 23 and 25 / Layout Animation Supervisor on STAR DRIVER: Kagayaki no Takuto Opening Sequence’s 1 and 2 / Key Animator on Garo: Honoo no Kokuin episode 18 / Action Animation Supervisor and Storyboard on Sword Art Online episode 2 / Episode Director on Sword Art Online episode 20 / Key Animator on Zankyou no Terror episodes 1, 3, 7 and 11)

Storyboards: Takahiro Shikama

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

Contrary to a lot of what manga readers felt about this huge episode, I didn’t hate this.  I really enjoyed it. Up until now I’ve gotten used to the visual appeal this show runs with–the color red means imminent danger (we see a lot of in the car segment), sound effects and Kajiura’s music score raise the bar in building dramatic tension.  Now I can see why Tomohiko Ito didn’t want to direct the big reveal episode.  I feel that his focus was somewhat different than Kei Sanbe’s.  Boku Machi has been leading us on this trail in trying to discover whom the killer might be from his 2006 timeline and the three missing children’s abductor.  It was a bold move for this show to cut out a lot but every episode I’ve enjoyed immensely.  Tomohiko Ito’s intentions were to get across the relationship between Satoru and Kayo–mostly that their relationship as adorable as it has been would wind up being the framework for this series rather than a full-fledged mystery anime.  It works in many ways as an solid drama piece focused on children.  IF they wanted to faithfully adapt this manga this show seriously needed another cour or at least another 4 episodes.  This is what happens when you try to adapt a 45-chapter manga into 12 episodes.  Previously there have been scenes trimmed down for the sake of time and with it comes episodes that will by the end of this series result in rushed pacing.  The problem was fixed quickly (with small changes along the way like replacing Kayo with Hiromi talking to Gaku) and the only major difference here is that Kayo doesn’t come back to school—she stays with her aunt. This makes a huge impact and bears importance of the previous episode’s main story– getting Protective Child Services to act on Kayo’s mother finally freeing her from all the torment she has caused in her life.

Satoru is aware that taking away the targets doesn’t solve the issue he has to pick up all the pieces he has done in previous timelines to understand that there’s a brand new target for the killer.  One thing is certain though.  He hasn’t lost his resolve.  After saving Kayo, ensuring Hiromi Sugita is safe with Kenya and now gets Aya Nakanishi, whose story was a few chapters long in the manga is saved by joining their hideout in under a few minutes. Trimming of the manga was necessary for the 2nd half of this episode to come off smoothly.

Satoru notices Misato, the girl who caused all the ruckus in an earlier episode about Kayo stealing is the girl left alone and the perfect target.  The setup is nicely woven in to this because there is lots of foreshadow with two particularly big scenes—Satoru saying goodbye to his mother as he leaves for school.  The long wide-panning shot of him leaving and waving goodbye represents this.  They could’ve left it out because it’s making Satoru’s situation more obvious he won’t make it out alive.  “See you” has been a catchphrase of the series throughout—but now it’s too obvious and perhaps a little to late to show the relevance in it.  That scene with Kenya and the others mentioning how they’d see him tomorrow pushes the fact that he definitely won’t make it to the next day with a revival or not.

In order to save Misato he enlists the help of Gaku Yashiro, his homeroom teacher.  It’s obvious if you’ve paid attention that Gaku is in fact the killer.  The big reveal.  This big moment in the series where Gaku tells Satoru that he’s always had his plans set in motion may have been the ultimate villain trope. It’s overused in anime but I really like how simplistic it is.  Most of what the manga had portrayed for this scene, even with the cliche villain lines it ransitions nicely into animated format.  I just hope his backstory is shown.

Satoru realizing he’s been fooled and trusted Gaku too much just goes to show how much he has lost himself in his 10-year old body.  In the first few episodes of Boku Machi when Satoru revivals back to 1988 you’ll notice how much narration he does as an adult but once the story progresses you’ll see little by little he loses that narration.  Nice effect to illustrate his naivety and his childlike view of Gaku.  A father-like figure that when he saw Gaku take action on Kayo’s mother embellishes the car scene in this episode perfectly.

As ominous as it felt through the entire car ride between Gaku’s nervous tapping on the steering wheel and his increasingly worrisome statements getting more extreme the reveal was only a matter of time. The use of red was amazing this time around.  Between the shots of the red bag in the backseat and the red car ahead of them pointing to Gaku this reveal was monumentally built up nicely.

As much as this show likes to “reward” and “take away” precious moments this episode was no different.  Satoru having gained the identity that Gaku is the killer and having saved his friends from being abducted he ends up drowning in a river not before he tells Gaku that he knows his future!  As cliche as it might have been this episode’s sole purpose was to leave the audience from the eyes of 10-year old Satoru and venture into reality.  And that reality is that the man Satoru looked up to all this time, asked for advice about Kayo and her situation completely breaks down!

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 9/10

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Episode 9 Production Details

Episode Director: Tomohiko Ito ( Assistant Director on Summer Wars film / Storyboard on Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin Opening Sequence / Storyboard on Noragami Aragoto episode 8 / Episode Director and Storyboard on Michiko e Hatchin episodes 4 and 12 / Storyboard alongside Yasuji on Michiko e Hatchin episode 19)

Storyboards: Tomohiko Ito

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

Just as the title of this episode suggests this closes Kayo’s arc and just in time because we finally get to see what’s coming to Kayo’s mother.  She’s an abusive parent whose abusive because she is.  Someone like this is unaware that their actions are wrong and I’m glad the show’s creators didn’t make her into a difficult person to understand.  She’s far away from being sympathetic as she doesn’t even understand the kindness she’s being shown from Satoru and Sachiko in earlier episodes.  This show delivers in strides—the mystery game that Satoru and his friends are playing is very much in line with Satoru’s reality.  That there is an actual killer out there.

Boku Machi’s efforts shine when the human drama that has been wonderfully woven together puts on multiple facades from the aesthetic mystery and supernatural time travel elements to deliver a simple story.  Kayo’s mother is abusive because she couldn’t handle being a single parent and that Kayo is a reminder of her abusive relationship with her husband.  It’s great that their is another side to this—Sachiko.  They at both ends of the spectrum when it comes to parenting.  We see that when Sachiko stands in front of her son as Kayo’s mother grabs a shovel and swings it at her head!  This is an apathetic ending for Kayo’s mother seeing her own mom distraught at the sight of how her daughter has turned out to be a parent.

After episode 7 this series is trying everything it can in removing suspicions from the teacher being the killer and it makes us question his motives.  It’s a smart gamble to make him questionable that he is coming off as a red herring.  The biggest part of this is how he’s revealed to have tons of candy stashed in his car not to mention the obvious quick cuts between his initial impression on his eyes that Satoru has discovered his secret stash, the finger tapping on the steering wheel and covering the top portion of his face.

While this series killer is still on the loose, providing a few clues along the way, visually, this episode firmly establishes that this show will be focusing on the thriller narrative of Boku Machi for the rest.  Keeping that in mind where this series true commitment lies is in the bond between Kayo and Satoru—it’s been a strong realistic emotional core of the show that makes me question whether or not that the story can stand on its own without it.  I say this because it looks like the Aya Nakanishi arc will get rushed.  Curious how the creators decide to adapt the rest of the manga in just three episodes.

Want to point out how incredible Akemi Okamura is.  She’s so versatile!  I can see that she was a good fit for Kayo’s abusive mother–Akemi Hinazuki.   She can be cool-headed but at times terrifyingly ferocious!  Reminds me of the antics she delivered with her role of Mayaya from Kuragehime!

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 9/10

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Episode 8 Production Details

Episode Director: Kosaya ( Episode Director and Storyboard on Sword Art Online II episode 18 / Episode Director alongside Tomotaka Shibayama and Tsuyoshi Tobita on Hai to Gensou no Grimgar episode 11 / Episode Director and Key Animator on Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso episode 19)

Storyboards: Kosaya

Script: Yutaka Yasunaga ( Script Writer on  Prince of Stride: Alternative episodes 4 and 9)

Whoa!  That pre-opening segment was intense!  While Boku Machi might layer on the melodrama a little too much it at times creates incredible well-edited scenes like the mysterious person entering the bus while Kayo is inside.  I got chills!

This was probably one of the strongest episodes of Boku Machi yet!  I mentioned previously how this series focus should be on Kayo Hinazuki’s homelife and this episode nails it!  Giving a more sensitive side to this series that is both touching and heartbreaking.  This episode really knows how to balance the mystery aspect of this show and it’s tender moments.  The pre-opening sequence is terrifying because it isn’t Sachiko’s mother inside the bus but the killer and it’s chilling even later in this episode when the kids find out that the killer has been hiding his tools there including ropes, masks and tape!  So Satoru the only one that knows his mystery game is real decides to lean on the one person I thought he should have trusted in the previous episode.  His mother.

Keeping in line with this anime’s central theme of trust.  After Satoru reveals to her mother that they’ve been hiding Kayo in hopes of getting the Child Services to act against Kayo’s mother, Sachiko does everything she can to make Kayo feel comfortable and most importantly safe.  When she is brought to Satoru’s home and upon seeing her mother’s initial reaction she flinches from her extended hand—a small yet effective scene that outright says Kayo doesn’t trust anyone except that she’s slowly warming up to the idea of being friends with Satoru.

I enjoyed the pacing of this episode because it’s gradually closing Kayo’s relationship with her mother it introduces the next possible arc and the killer’s next target: Aya Nakanishi in one single close shot of her face and her backpack.  This episode points strongly that the killer might be the teacher Gaku Yashiro.  Kenya mentions how the bus was being used by the school and insinuates that the killer knew it was abandoned and uses it simply because it is related to the school.  Yashiro jumps on the decision to call social services on Kayo’s mother possibly proving that he’s keeping his true appearance hidden from everyone.  His knowledge that Satoru had hidden Kayo is extremely suspicious.  He sounds certain when he tells social services he knows where Kayo is hidden.

While the story’s plot moved at a snails pace this was an episode that was much needed because without telling us in a film reel narrative (the film reel in this episode really worked because it helps explain how Satoru is trying to solve remove Jun Shiratori’s involvement in the case) it helped solidify the emotional realities children go through giving us a rich and graceful perspective of this series most important segment: childhood and making friends.

Want to point out that closeup shot of the bento box featuring Wonderguy on it.  The hero Satoru idolizes.  Sachiko gave the meal to Kayo representing that she has friends that care about her. Seeing Kayo cry broke my heart because you catch a glimpse of what the mother that she’s always wanted to have in her life never gave her.  When she’s finally treated with kindness she doesn’t know what to do but cry.  This blew me away!  Incredible scene!

The dinner along with the bath scene is adorable because you see a mother trying to undo the violence that had put a huge impact on Kayo’s emotional and physical state.  Especially during her big scene this episode—a bittersweet scene that show’s the rewards of her efforts from living a harsh life!

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 11/10

(Nope. Not a typo)