Erased Anime Kayo

The ending of the Erased anime is simple – everybody deserves a second chance. Kayo, whose story in the manga was much more explored, gets killed by Yashiro, her school teacher. During her young life, she was abused by her mother and has fallen into a deep depression. Satoru saved her, befriended her, and gave her another chance in life.

However, hard as that initial gut-wrench may be, to blame Kayo for her decisions not only flies in the face of Satoru's sacrifice, it's layered with old sexist stereotypes. Though the story of Erased is told through Satoru's eyes, Kayo's decisions can only be understood through her own interpretation.

This stemmed from her abusive household, as Kayo believed that if she numbed her emotions, her mother wouldn't inflict any more pain onto her. She often dreamed of escaping her cruel life and living on an island far away from society where she could be free.

The four main characters of Erased (from left to right): Airi Katagiri, Kayo Hinazuki, Sachiko Fujinuma and Satoru Fujinuma (29 years old, background)