When tragedy is about to strike, Satoru Fujinuma finds himself sent back several minutes before the accident occurs. The detached, 29-year-old manga artist has taken advantage of this powerful yet mysterious phenomenon, which he calls "Revival," to save many lives.
However, when he is wrongfully accused of murdering someone close to him, Satoru is sent back to the past once again, but this time to 1988, 18 years in the past. Soon, he realizes that the murder may be connected to the abduction and killing of one of his classmates, the solitary and mysterious Kayo Hinazuki, that took place when he was a child. This is his chance to make things right.
Episode List
In the year 2006, Satoru Fujinuma is a 29-year-old manga artist who occasionally experiences a phenomenon he refers to as "Revival", in which he is sent back in time by a few seconds, allowing him to perform life-saving feats. He uses this to save a boy from a runaway truck, whose driver had died from a heart attack, though becomes hospitalized for a few days as a result. As his co-worker, Airi Katagiri, praises Satoru for his life-saving efforts, Satoru is visited by his mother, Sachiko, who reminds him of an incident 18 years ago in which an adult named Jun Shiratori, who Satoru had trusted, was arrested for the kidnapping and murder of some of his classmates. The next day, as Satoru experiences another Revival phenomenom, Sachiko takes note of a man who seemed to be trying to kidnap a child. Looking into the matter, Sachiko deduces that the man was the true killer from 18 years ago, but before she can inform Satoru, she is killed in Satoru's home. Just as Satoru discovers Sachiko's body and is accused of killing her, his Revival sends him all the way back to 1988, when he was still an 11-year-old elementary school student.
As Satoru becomes bewildered with the situation he's been put in, he finds comfort in being able to see his mother again. Realising being sent to this period by Revival is connected to Sachiko's future murder, Satoru takes notice of Kayo Hinazuki, one of his classmates who was killed by the serial kidnapper, noticing a bruise on her leg. Upon the suggestion of his friend Kenya Kobayashi, Satoru reads an essay written by Kayo, which further hints at her troubled life at home. Wanting to understand Kayo more, Satoru decides to invite her to his birthday party, hoping to change the future so that she won't be killed.
During an ice skating race against a classmate, Satoru holds back from winning to avoid inadvertently trying to change the future, angering the classmate and disappointing Kayo. After learning that Kayo's birthday is on the same day as his, March 2, Satoru deduces that she will be abducted on March 1, as the abduction was in March but before her birthday. Satoru spends some time with Jun, still convinced that he is not the kidnapper. Afterwards, Satoru finds Kayo beaten up in her home's shed, learning of the full nature of her abusive relationship with her mother, Akemi. The next day, Satoru speaks with his teacher, Gaku Yashiro, who explains how he has suspected Akemi of abuse for almost a year but hasn't been able to find proof to convict her. Later, Satoru stands up for Kayo when she is accused of stealing lunch money, before taking her up a mountain to show her a frost-laden "Christmas" tree.
With help from Sachiko, Satoru manages to invite Kayo out with her to the local science center. During the outing, Satoru feels a sense of déjà vu, becoming worried that he's repeating the same things. After March 1st, the day Kayo originally disappeared, passes without incident, both Satoru and Kayo are able to celebrate their birthday the next day, with Satoru confident he has managed to change history. The day afterwards, however, Satoru is shocked to find Kayo hasn't come to school
As Satoru becomes angry that he wasn't able to make a difference about Kayo's disappearance, another schoolgirl goes missing several days later. After witnessing Akemi throw out Kayo's belongings, Satoru suddenly finds himself back in 2006, still under suspicion of Sachiko's murder and forced to go on the run from the police. Satoru soon comes across Airi, who believes him to be innocent and lets him stay at her house, where he learns the details of Kayo's disappearance did change slightly because of his actions. The next day, as Satoru investigates as much as he can, Airi stops her manager from reporting Satoru to the police. Later that night, after helping Satoru hide elsewhere, Airi receives a text from Sachiko's phone before becoming trapped in a house fire.
