Another

In 1972, a student named Misaki suddenly died halfway through the school year. With the class too devastated to handle it, they pretended that she was still alive and well all the way up till graduation, until she mysteriously appeared in the class photo at the end of that year. Fast forward to 1998. 15 year old Kōichi Sakakibara has just transferred to Class 3 and finds his classmates acting very strangely towards him. More so, they seem to be completely unaware of another student in the class, Mei Misaki. As the year progresses he realises that the story from 26 years ago is still affecting the students now in a horrific curse where no student, or even their imminent family, is safe.

Another is a supernatural horror mystery, and a slow burning one at that. The background of the 1972 Class 3 students is the first scene to lay the groundwork but the full extent of that incident unravels gradually. The series likes pulling you one way then making you think an alternative but it’s not until the very end of episode 3, when the first calamity happens, that the plot really hits you in the gut. From then on every episode strings you along with more clues to uncover or a character’s life taken away, making each episode’s end more gripping than the last. There are clues peppered right from the opening scene all the way till the end so you really have to pay attention to see how it all comes together at the climax. Admittedly there are definitely some flaws in the storytelling with a lot of the story carried by dialogue, and the finale really lets go of the subtlety and restraint that it was doing well to hang onto. But with all that said; it’s a great watch and entertaining, whether for the pure enjoyment of watching the mystery unfold, or the graphic violence.

Another is an easy show to get absorbed into for several reasons; one of them is that it effectively keeps the tone consistent. Thankfully, it doesn’t feel the need (like most series) to have a designated comic relief character to keep the audience entertained, or a swimsuit episode for the fanservice (there is an episode where they go to the beach but it’s to highlight one of the few incidents where the students are acting like normal students away from the terror, rather than a cheap excuse to animate boobs). The tone is reliably on the mark: serious, mysterious and tense, with fear of death at every corner. The cast are also steadily introduced and humane. We don’t learn too much about each student, but they act in accordance to the situation they’re in – some choose to be in denial, others take responsibility, with a few reacting fiercely, and so on. It’s easy to feel sympathy for their plight and for anyone who suffers under the curse. It’s refreshing to see a series very focused on its goal and not straying away from it in fear of losing audiences.

As for the violence, the deaths are rather ‘Final Destination’-esque; often uncanny and bloody but, thankfully, they don’t occur frequently. Each death is shocking for the cast and the audience because we’re not bombarded with bodies dropping in every episode. There’s eerie silence between each death with the students wincing at the littlest of things, dreading that it’s them next, and because we don’t know when the next death will come, we feel it as well.

As I said there are flaws with the storytelling that often come with the ‘supernatural’ territory; such as graduated students conveniently forgetting details of their class terror, accusing the power of the dead of fabricating memories, but it works effectively for building up the mystery rather than taking it away. The series also likes dolls, a lot of dolls, which lose their ‘fear factor’ rather quickly as a result. And an overused plot device is the ‘scratchy phone line’ effect to mask some big information the series doesn’t want to reveal; it’s worn-out by mid-way through the series.

Music is provided by Kow Otani, who does a great job of harmonising with the tone of the series; it sways from the quiet to the violent moments in a pitch but always with an eerie vibe to it. He seems to take a lot of inspiration from Akira Yamaoka’s Silent Hill soundtracks too which works well for Another. The same cannot be said for the opening theme from Ali Project; it’s loud, obnoxious and contrasts too sharply with the mystery gothic theme the series weaves. Apparently the original author requested their input as he used their music as influence whilst writing the original novel, but the chosen track still does the anime no favours. The ending theme by Annabel however was much more suitable and pleasant.

Despite the setting being a typical high school, the animation does a great job of bringing it to life with rusting on railings, attention to details on classroom desks, and more. It breathes gritty life into otherwise an everyday setting, and creates contrast to when the animation suddenly blasts you with highly detailed death scenes.

DVD extras includes trailers, clean opening/closing and a special short with a cutesy song centred on Mei Misaki. The latter is jarring against the rest of the series so watch it much later after seeing the ending. I was however disappointed to see that the OVA, centered on Misaki’s character, was not included in the DVD set.

Another isn’t a perfect series but overall it’s well made and enjoyable to watch the mystery unravel. The atmosphere was engrossing from start to finish, and after the twist ending it’s worth a re-watch to see if you can find all the clues it plants beforehand.