Erased is one of the most beloved mystery anime to have aired in recent years for any anime fan. Set in a realistic Japanese town, the story follows an aspiring manga artist, Satoru Fujinuma, who can travel back in time. Despite these seemingly special abilities, Fujinuma only uses his power to right a terrible wrong that ultimately befalls someone close to him.
The gripping story is made even more so because, in his travels, Fujinuma can change the present by changing the past, creating a ripple effect that is central to the series’ overall plot. Erased is a fantastic thriller anime that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
If you’re into the thoughtful, concept of time travel anime, then we’ve got you covered.
In this list, we will list our anime recommendations of the 13 of the best anime that’s similar to Erased. The list is in no particular order.
13. Detective Conan ( Case Closed )
Even at seventeen, Shinichi Kudo is already recognized as a mystery expert for solving several challenging cases. However, when Shinichi spots two suspicious men and follows them, he inadvertently witnesses a disturbing illegal activity.
After the men capture Shinichi, they administer him a material prepared by the Black Organization, taking his life. However, to Shinichi’s shock, he wakes up and has the body of a seven-year-old child.
Eventually, he adopts the alias of Conan Edogawa, inspired by the mystery writers Arthur Conan Doyle and Ranpo Edogawa.
When Shinichi decides to move to the Mouri Detective Agency, he starts solving Detective Mouri’s cases, using his detective skills, and secretly investigating the organization responsible for his current state, hoping to reverse its effects.
While this anime is usually much lighter in tone than ERASED, it is a true-crime show, and it does have its dark moments and disturbing plotlines.
12. Iroduku: The World in Colors
Setting in the urban center of Nagasaki, the story takes place in a world where a small amount of magic remains in the everyday lives of residents.
The character Hitomi Tsukishiro is the descendant of a witch family who grew up in a world full of stale emotions and lost her sense of color at an early age.
A great witch, feeling sorry for Hitomi’s future, sends her to the past, the year 2018. Through their conversations, the story tells the story of Hitomi’s growth as a person. However, while it does not possess the same tense and psychological elements as ERASED, it takes on similar Sci-Fi (or Thriller) anime themes.
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11. The Tatami Galaxy
Through the use of parallel universes as a plot device, The Tatami Galaxy explores how He might have been more or less like him had he just joined a particular campus club called “circle.”
The series follows a very consistent pattern: when a freshman joins a circle, the protagonist is left disappointed when his idealized campus life does not turn out that way. The protagonist encounters a cryptic fortune-teller who describes an opportunity that is “dangling” in front of his eyes. This prompts him to remember the mochiguman keychain Akashi lost and was recovered by the protagonist, passed on to him.
In the episode that follows, the protagonist gets thrown out of the circle. It leaves him wondering whether he would have been better off if he was a member of a different club. The next episode depicts the protagonist as a freshman joining a different club.
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10. Puella Magi Madoka Magica
A kind 14-year-old girl named Madoka Kaname has an unusual dream in which she encounters a magical creature named Kyubey. Madoka and her friend Sayaka Miki are offered the chance to gain magical powers by agreeing to the creature’s contract.
He’s also gonna grant them one wish, but they gotta risk their lives fighting the witches.
A magical friend of Kyubey, Mami Tomoe, befriends the two girls and encourages the two to accept the contract. Homura Akemi, another magical girl, is determined to stop Madoka from accepting the deal.
The magical girl series Puella Magi Madoka Magica may seem unrelated to ERASED at first, as they both star cutesy art. But Madoka is much darker and contains some psychological elements than its cutesy art suggests.
What’s more, one of its plots involves a character who time travels through time several times in the hope of changing the future so her best friend can live.
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9. Psycho-pass
In this world in which everyone’s state of mind and criminal potential can be measured, the measurements used to assess people’s souls are commonly referred to by the word… PSYCHO-PASS.
This series occurs in a dystopian Japan of the 22nd century. Criminal behavior can be measured instantly by a cymatic scanner. It is analyzed and recorded by Japan’s law enforcement agencies via the Sibyl Systems, a hive-mind-like system.
The oracular judgment of Sibyl determines – using various methods – one’s numerical offense Coefficient, one’s color-coding over time, and one’s societal profile. You value your worth in society based on this number, as well as whether or not you live in freedom, under observation, behind bars, or not at all.
Psycho-Pass and ERASED both depict the trials of people who are trying to solve offenses. Although both feature some gripping action scenes and Sci-Fi elements, their true strength lies in exploring the intricacies of criminal behavior.
Regardless of the difference, if you enjoyed one, you will probably enjoy the other.
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8. ReLIFE
It is the story of 27-year-old NEET Arata Kaizaki, who has been unemployed for several years. He is only working part-time at a convenience store.
He is offered a job opportunity by Ry Yoake, a mysterious man, but first, he must become a ReLife tester: a biotechnology experiment that will make him 10 years younger and return him to high school.
Essentially, the experiment gives the subject a chance to experience youth once more and, by doing so, fix whatever wrongs his or her life.
Even though he doesn’t know how this will help him, Kaizaki is very excited about the prospect of getting his expenses paid for the year.
Although Satoru’s purpose for repeating his childhood is far greater – saving his friend’s life – he is still using methods for the same purpose.
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7. Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
Losing a childhood friend takes a toll no matter what, but it gets even worse when you’re dealing with the supernatural elements.
Jinta Yadomi and his friends are left to deal with Menma’s accidental . At the same time, Satoru travels back in time to reverse his friend’s brutal . What they do have, though, is Menma’s ghost. Her spectral presence helps them to process their grief, heal, and move on.
Both anime deal with emotionally affecting stories about a diffi topic. Still, Anohana takes a step back from the thrill-ride drama of ERASED to deliver a much more human tale.
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6. Orange
When her future self starts sending her letters, Naho doesn’t take them seriously at first. But she needs to start following their advice to stop Kakeru from taking his own life.
She works to prevent Kakeru’s worst-case scenario, working with her friends, who are also receiving similar letters from the very same person.
While Naho doesn’t personally travel back in time to save her friend, she does take advantage of the fact that time travel exists, creating a show with a similar Sci-Fi elements theme, though a slightly different feel.
5. Re: ZERO
You might want to give Re: Zero a watch if you’ve watched ERASED and wondered what the plot would be like given an isekai setting.
After being transported into a different universe, Natsuki Subaru discovers that he has superhuman abilities – he can go back in time. However, his powers only activate when he is in danger of losing his own life.
Although it allows him to help save the lives of others and deal with the chaos of living in a magical world, it also causes a significant amount of suffering on the part of those who follow its path.
4. Steins; Gate
Self-Proclaimed Scientist Rintarou Okabe is a mad scientist who enjoys inventing wildly different things, even if they are completely random.
One day, he invents a device that enables him to send messages backward in time, giving him the chance to prevent his friend from suffering a terrible incident, which sounds like something from Erased.
A little different from ERASED, Steins; Gate takes things a step further – rather than just trying to save an individual, Okabe is taking down a massive theory.
If you’re searching for something more complex and scientific than what ERASED had to offer and one that exudes an air of scientific rigor, this might be your next favorite.
3. Your Name
I believe Makoto Shinkai’s film is a must-see for all viewers, with ERASED fans, in particular, being likely to find it captivating.
Both Taki and Mitsuha live mostly different lives – Mitsuha is an isolated country girl, while Taki is trying to make his way in the big city. In addition, they exist on different timelines, as Taki is a few years in the future.
When they start mysteriously swapping bodies, they get to know one another, a process that brings them a personal connection that they fall in love with. But there’s a problem – not only are they on separate timelines, but Mitsuha’s timeline actually ended long ago – a meteor wiped out her town.
To save Mitsuha, Taki will have to alter the underlying boundaries of the time-space continuum.
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2. Note
Just as with ERASED, Note one of the most popular anime is also a supernatural anime series with a dark undertone that revolves around investigating a seemingly ordinary citizen as a serial taker of lives.
The difference in Note is that the story is told from the criminal’s perspective.
When Light Yagami receives the titular notebook, he discovers that he can eliminate anyone whose name he writes down.
While a brilliant but lonely detective named L is doing everything in his power to stop him, he decides to use his newfound ability to rid the world of offense and catapult himself to godlike status.
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1. The Promised Neverland
The Promised Neverland is a magical film that will likely be a hit with those who enjoyed the 2007 anime movie ERASED; we observed how children showed fortitude in their efforts to escape from those in authority who thought to protect them, but in reality, wished them harm.
Residents of Grace Field House think they’re living as blissfully happy a life as a group of orphans could, but they soon discover that happiness is a lie. There’s actually a powerful race of demons out there, ready to consume them for food.
Emma learns the terrible truth for herself and knows that she should not stay in Grace Field House on her own, so she decides to do whatever she can to make sure all of the other children get out of it, too.
