LogFAQs > #898260528

With regards to Planetes I have actually heard the title before, just didn't know anything about it. And I did more or less already know it was some kind of space setting. Chargeman Ken is I think the only series posted in this topic that I've never even heard of before.

Simoun posted...

Just curious since my knowledge of TT in the media is weak. What manga/anime/VN first started this plot device.

"Started" is a word that makes me feel like I'm not qualified to answer the question either. Stories about time travel are probably way older than anime or manga, and to be honest there's probably examples of anime and manga which predate this current trend.

As for the trend itself, I would say Steins;Gate is the super popular title which I had in mind when I first thought about time travel stories rotating back into the mainstream again. You can say that every story has been told before while certain subjects just become more or less popular over time. Interestingly Steins;Gate aired in 2011, while Erased was published in 2012. So basically during the height of S;G popularity, a drama about time travel, the author of Erased decided to write his own drama about time travel.

S;G is also the popular example which I know of. Typically there are indicators in culture which sometimes go unnoticed or unrecognized. I certainly don't claim to be an expert on every anime that has ever aired. It's possible there was a series in 2009 or 2010 that was fairly successful and made studio executives feel confident that making a S;G adaptation could work ... in which case you could say that theoretical Show X is what really kicked off the trend.

And by extension you could also say that Erased may not have been directly influenced by S;G either. I mean first of all it could just be entirely a coincidence. I'm not saying it has to be true that the author was influenced by it. But secondly, there could have been something that was influenced by S;G and then the author of Erased saw this theoretical Show Y. If Erased was influenced by Show Y, then the author could have been influenced by S;G without ever knowing it since it would have been indirect.

Simoun posted...

Also, I mean I guess you can see it that way but it was never really about the ability to do so (it was kind of involuntary / reactionary an ability). The show/manga's more endearing quality is on the protagonist's moral compass and the lengths he goes thru to save 3 women in his life.

I'm just giving my shallow, surface level of impressions here on a show that I've never seen before. I looked at the promotional material, looked at some summaries, and said what I think about those ideas. Judging by how well it lines up with the timeframe I was thinking of when I wrote that, obviously the idea has some merit. Either way this doesn't really reflect anything about the quality of Erased. It's just an observation I made.
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