Erased Season 1 Episode 3 Recap

Satoru tells his teacher, Mr. Yashiro, why Kayo is late on Mondays. “Because Saturdays are when her mother hits her face. She has to wait until the marks fade,” Satoru says. Mr. Yashiro says he already reported it to Child Services, but Kayo’s mother is never home. Mr. Yashiro says he‘s sure Mrs. Hinazuki is abusing Kayo. And they just have to make her admit it. Mr. Yashiro asks Satoru for the lunch money he collected earlier. When Satoru puts his hand under his desk, he realizes the money is missing. Misato, one of the students, says she suspects Kayo stole the money. She adds that Kayo’s family is poor, so she doesn’t pay for lunch. Misato suggests they check their bags. When Kayo checks her bag, she sees the lunch money inside. Satoru gets angry and defends Kayo. He says Kayo will never steal. “Someone could be playing a prank on her,” Kenya adds. Misato doesn’t say anything more and goes back to her seat.

Kayo thanks Satoru for defending her. She says Misato invited her before to show off her big Christmas tree. Kayo says it was very beautiful. Satoru tells his mom he wants to go skiing with his friends on Saturday. Sachiko tells him she would’ve given him money for a date. Because of the leading questions, Sachiko eventually discovers Satoru will go out with Kayo. Satoru asks his friends to go skiing, but they realize Satoru just wants to be with Kayo. When his friends tell him they can’t go, Satoru finally asks Kayo out on a date. “My mom wants me home early on Saturdays,” Kayo says.

Satoru talks to Kayo’s mother and asks permission. Kayo’s mother says Kayo helps around the house on Saturdays, so she can’t go. “Why would you want to hang out with someone so cold?” Kayo’s mother asks. Then she turns to ask Kayo if she wants to go out with Satoru. When Kayo nods, her mother grabs her and pushes her out. Before she can hit Kayo, Sachiko comes and stops her.

February 27th, Saturday — Satoru gives Kayo a pair of gloves. He takes her to the mountains and shows her a big tree. Because it’s winter, the tree doesn’t have any leaves on it. “It’s a Christmas Tree,” Satoru says. “I’m glad I came,” Kayo says. It’s February 29th, and Satoru thinks if he can get through March 1st without Kayo getting killed, he can stop the negative chain of events. If he succeeds, Sachiko won’t have to be killed, and he’ll save Yuuki from death row. Satoru remembers March 1st in his first life was the day Kayo was killed. So on March 1st in his current life, he asks Kayo to go to the city science center with him after school. Afterward, Satoru walks Kayo home. Then he hides somewhere nearby and waits for the clock to strike 12. When the day ends, he feels relieved thinking he has changed history.

The next day, he and Kayo celebrate their birthdays together. Their friends come over to Satoru’s house to celebrate with them. Satoru gives Kayo a pair of pink gloves as a birthday gift. Kayo tells Satoru she will give him his gift the next day. “I’m really happy that I was able to become friends with you and everyone,” Kayo says. After walking Kayo home, Satoru falls asleep without any worries. But the next day, Kayo doesn’t show up at school.

Our Thoughts

We can’t believe Mr. Yashiro just said “he already reported” Kayo’s case. Kayo doesn’t have just a small red mark on her body. She has bruises on her knees and her legs. She always wears a red coat or long sleeves to hide her bruises. But when she sits, the bruises are evident. If it’s really that bad, how can the teacher be satisfied by simply just reporting it? Kayo celebrated her birthday over at Satoru’s house. We don’t think her mother would bother preparing anything for her birthday anyway. We also think that maybe Kayo’s mother got mad at her after Sachiko came and got involved. Kayo must have been horrified to be left alone again. Though there is big evidence the abuse happens at home, we are not sure it’s her mother who hurts Kayo.

Satoru holds on to the idea that if he saves Kayo, it will stop all the bad things from happening. He thinks he could save his mother and Yuuki. But does that mean he will stay in that timeline? Does that mean he gets to be a 5th grader one more time and live to see a new future? Or does he expect the revival to return to when he was a manga artist, except his mom would be alive? The story is interesting because it makes you ask a lot of things. But at the same time, it’s sad because it involves kids. We see how Kayo is mostly alone. And not only does she have to deal with her mom, but she also has to deal with mean students. Kayo didn’t even know how the lunch money ended up inside her bag. When she didn’t show up at school the next day, we wonder if Satoru really managed to stop her death or just delayed it.