Another

Summary: The year is 1972. The students of Yomiyama North Middle School 9th grade - class 3, were happy and enjoying their scholastic youth. That is, until an extremely popular student, named Misaki, suddenly died. The class was devastated by the death, until one student pointed to Misaki's desk and asked why everyone was sad, Misaki was sitting right there, like always. The class, and the teacher, decided that such a fiction was better than the alternative, at least, until the graduation photo was printed, and Misaki was in it. 26 years later, a transfer student, Kouichi Sakakibara, arrives to Yomiyama North Middle School, and is placed in class 3 - 3. Something is wrong with class 3 - 3, something bad, that dates back to 1972, and the dead student - Misaki.

Review

Plot: I have never seen a story as disturbing as Another in anime form. I have read scattered bits of Higurashi, and have read and played Corpse Party, but I've never watched a horror anime of this nature before. Shortly after arriving, Kouichi suffers from a collapsed lung, and misses the first few weeks in the hospital. While there, he sees a strange dark haired girl with an eye patch visiting the morgue. Once back at school, he sees the strange girl again, and she identifies herself as Mei Misaki. But, while Kouichi talks to her sparingly, not a single other student in class even acknowledges that she exists, including the teacher. Furthermore, the whole class seems afraid to even mention Misaki, and they seem to be hiding something from Kouichi, something important. To make matters worse, a student in the class dies, and everyone is still hiding something from him, something having to do with Mei Misaki. As the story progresses, the viewer learns the truth about class 3 - 3, Mei, and the horror surrounding the students past and present that have been in the accursed class. My main complaint is that the ending sequence, which lasts for the last few episodes, seemed arbitrary in its gruesomeness, with death just for the sake of death, and at the end I couldn't help but feel that nothing was truly solved for any of the survivors or future students of the cursed class 3 - 3. There is a mystery aspect to the story as well, but I don't see how any, except the most extreme of intuitive minds, could have deciphered it before the reveal in the final episode.

Characters: The characters are quite well done, but the rate at which they are killed off is certainly a damper. While not always the case, it seemed like, at times, as soon as a character would become interesting they would, within an episode, find themselves dead. Kouichi is a horror buff who loves reading horror stories. Because of that, when the calamity of class 3 - 3 begins, while horrified, Kouichi also seeks understanding, to learn what is going on, discover as much as he can, and try to find a way to stop it. He is steadfast in his beliefs despite the tragedy that occurs around him, and his solid mind is his greatest strength. Mei is the mystery of class 3 - 3 who is ostrasized by the class for much of the series. While she tries to avoid Kouichi at first, the two eventually become allies, and friends. Mei's identity is the dominant mystery of the first half of the show, so good luck figuring it out. Two other characters of note are Izumi Akazawa and Naoya Teshigawara. Izumi is the head of countermeasures for the class, and for some reason, seems to think she has met Kouichi before despite the fact he is positive he has never been to Yomiyama. She puts protecting the class above everything else. Naoya is an outgoing student who reaches out to Kouichi and is one of the first to try to help him solve the mystery. The rest of the students are diverse in character, but as stated, as soon as one begins to stand out, they will likely die. (Note: the fact I name a character does not indicate whether said character does or does not die.)

Presentation: Death is everywhere in Another, and the tangible sense that at any moment a character could die leaves the viewer on edge throughout the series. The deaths of the students, and others outside the class, are generally very gruesome, with gratuitous amounts of blood, or body shapes that no human should ever make. The animation itself is solid, but nothing that truly makes the series stand out. The settings though, are done very well, practically oozing the sense of dread that every student feels. The sound echos this sentiment perfectly, enhancing the tension of the characters, and certainly the viewer. The opening is a cacophony of noise that somehow comes together into a song that fits the series perfectly. The ending theme also works well, and is much more pleasant, but certainly pales when compared to the horrible sounds of the opening in terms of matching the overall feeling of the series.

Entertainment Value: If you like the horror genre, or you like gore, than I can't see any complaints you will have with Another. By that same idea however, I also cannot recommend the show to those who may have concerns or issues watching something that can be extremely gruesome at times. The show leaves the viewer tense while watching, waiting to see who the next death will be, how it will happen, and who will survive from one episode from the next. One character I liked, I found myself breathing a sigh of relief every episode she survived, until, well, she didn't, and I was a bit deflated as her blood spread onto the floor. The main problem though, is that endings can change ones opinion of a series, and I cannot get around the ending of Another. The end is so bloody, and has so many deaths, that I just couldn't help but wonder what the point was. Up until the end, each death seemed to be another piece of a puzzle, or a step on a stairway, getting bit by bit closer to a conclusion. In the end though, when that conclusion arrived, blood flowed like water as character after character breathed their last. While I am not a horror fan, I believe I understand a basic tenant of horror; when a character dies, it must be for a reason. Death for death's sake is the stuff of slasher movies, not for true terror, something Another seemed to understand before the last few episodes.

Rating: 7.5/10 - A strong horror story, with a good cast, which fails in one key aspect - making death mean something.

Another - 12 episodes

Note: Another is based on a novel by the same name. The novel has also been turned into a 4 volume manga, and has an OAV and live-action movie coming out in May and August respectively (in Japan of course). The author of the series, Yukito Ayatsuji, also has stated that he will write a spin-off and plans to write a sequel in the future as well. None of the above content is currently available in English. However, the series has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks for release in the U.S. and Canada.