"Another": An anime adaptation from Yukito Ayatsuji's mystery horror novel "Another".
If you like thrilling, horror mysteries with a twist at the end, I HIGHLY recommend this anime.
A sickly but level headed male lead, Kouichi Sakakibara; a stoic but strong female lead, Mei Misaki
And decent enough support characters; Librarian Tatsuji Chibiki and fellow students Yuya Mochizuki and Naoya Teshigawara.
**WARNING** Spoilers From Episode 1 Are Ahead.
I loved all the voice actors that they used for each character. Especially Mei's voice actor, Natsumi Takamori. (I love it when I hear her say words with "chi" or "shi" in them. :p )
I was hooked on this anime from the first episode and watched it in one sitting!
(Well, I was kinda forced to watch it in one sitting because I was stuck at the airport for an entire day. But no matter!)
I even watched this series through a second time with my sister~
Strange, horrific deaths, a tiny bit of fan service and a mystery you can't wait to see be solved!
**Spoilers From Episode 1 Begin Here**
When the opening sequence started playing, I automatically had a slight heart attack of happiness, as the Ali Project and their song "Nightmare Contagion" were chosen for the opening. A fast paced, creepy opening where you can't blink for you might miss something. I found myself discovering more foreshadowings even in the opening sequence.
(The Ali Project is most known for their aristocratic lolita look, and their music style change from "White Alice" ((happy and cheerful songs)) to "Dark Alice" ((dark and mysterious songs)); they also had songs appear in other anime such as "Rozen Maiden", "Noir", "Avenger" and ".hack//Roots").
As you watch the first episode, PAY CLOSE ATTENTION! Foreshadows are abundant.
The dam,
the umbrella,
the bag,
the cassette,
the elevator,
the boat...
EVERYTHING in the beginning sequence before the opening song is a foreshadowing to the entire series in episode one.
In the first episode, Kouichi is laying in a hospital bed in a small town called Yomiyama, due to pneumothorax. He is a transfer student from Tokyo who is staying with his grandparents and Aunt Reiko because his father works abroad in India.
Since he missed the first week of school at Yomiyama North Middle School; Head of Counter Measures, Izumi Akazawa and class delegates Tomohiko Kazami and Yukari Sakuragi go to visit Kouichi in the hospital, giving him a bouquet of flowers and class notes.
There's an immediate tension in the atmosphere as Akazawa, Sakuragi and Kazami are ridiculously formal and proceed to ask Kouichi personal questions and try to find out if Kouichi has ever been to Yomiyama before.
Later that night, Kouichi catches the elevator to go down to a basement level (which leads to the boiler room and the morgue) to call his father and inform him about his stay at the hospital. While in the elevator, Kouichi meets a girl with an eye patch; Mei Misaki. She says she has something to deliver and that her poor other half is waiting for her there.
After Kouichi has recovered, released from the hospital and given a few "rules" from his Aunt Reiko, he finally goes to school. There is an awkward tension as he introduces himself to his classmates and as Mr. Kubodera, his homeroom teacher, assigns him a seat.
Later during break, everyone is seemingly friendly towards Kouichi; asking him about his health, how great Tokyo must have been, where his dad is and about how hot their assistant homeroom teacher, Ms. Mikami, is.
Later, outside during their P.E. class, Kouichi is unable to participate due to his lung condition so Sakuragi comes over to talk to him. When Kouichi asks Sakuragi about Misaki, she pretends she has no idea who he's talking about.
However, when rain clouds start rolling in, Kouichi looks to the sky and notices Misaki standing on the roof of their class building.
Kouichi begins to ask Misaki questions: About their meeting in the elevator, why she isn't attending P.E., why she's up on the roof.
She responds by saying she hates being questioned and then tells Kouichi with a chilling voice, that he shouldn't get close to her and that their class is "close to death".
He asks why, but Misaki says he will find out soon enough and walks away saying "Goodbye".
On his way home, with his grandmother driving, Kouichi sees Misaki, standing in the rain and staring up at the sky.
END EPISODE 1
The actual "Calamity" doesn't start until episode 3, where one of Kouichi's classmates dies in an accident at school.
The deaths, the mystery behind the "Calamity", and the truth about the "Other One" progresses steadily throughout the series. Answering a question in each episode.
You will have many questions in the beginning:
Why did that person die?
How are they tied to class 3-3?
What is the "Calamity"?
Who is dead?
Who is the "Other One"?
How do you keep people from dying?
Is Misaki really dead?
Is Kouichi really dead?
These were some of the questions that ran through my head as I watched "Another" for the first time. And everything will be answered by the end of the anime.
(It's one of those anime where you need to watch the whole thing to understand. If you miss even a minute of it, you'll be lost).
In short, great anime, ending answers all your questions and gives you a feeling of peace and meloncholy, PLUS beautiful and flowing artwork for a horror anime.
I HIGHLY recommend "Another" if you like horror mysteries.
BlueMenpachi singing off!
Ja matta ne~
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