Another

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The human mind is an amazing thing.

The premise of this curse in this class is that there was a kid, 26 year prior to the story, who was well loved, athletic, smart, and all that wonderful stuff. However, he met an untimely end – but because of how shocking it was and how much they didn’t want to believe it, the class refused to believe his death. So much so, they believed that he was part of the class still. And yet, when the graduation photo was taken and developed, the kid, Misaki, showed up on the picture.

Ever since then, there is an “extra” person ... in the class that doesn’t belong. Then the disasters started.

Now, I will say that I have seen the anime version of this when it came out. I have less than savory views of the anime but I decided to pick up the manga now that I had forgotten the plot points and the major parts. There were plenty of questions I had about the series as a whole and I managed to pick up the manga for it finally.

The manga really is a lot better than the anime version. From what I understand, this series was originally a novel that just got adapted into anime and manga for a wider audience. I vastly prefer the manga to the anime, for sure.

The manga answers my question about how the deaths occur and when it does. It’s important to say that because, at first, Mei is purposefully ignored (something that everyone did in order to prevent the disasters from starting) and Sakakibara was not told about it when they should have. The kids dropped the ball on this one. It’s also important to note that the hints on who the another (or “casualty” to avoid grammar issues, I’m assuming) are way more subtle and the deaths that are shown are not as gruesome, or ridiculous, as it was in the anime.

Now, for the actual content – I really do like the concept. I really do like that they were not purposefully ignoring Mei because they were bullies – they did it because it was a tactic to avoid more deaths. However, because they dropped the ball in not telling Sakakibara about what’s going on – they start blaming him for it. I like that one of the characters survived while she tragically, and stupidly, died in the anime because it wouldn’t have made sense – especially in the grand scheme of things. There also weren’t as many deaths as I thought there was going to be.

Each death was treated with respect and with the appropriate shock that it deserves, especially in a series about death and how much it can affect not just one class, but possibly a whole town.

The manga version answers a lot more questions and goes into a lot more detail into the curse, its doing, and some ways to prevent the disasters from happening. Everything is much more laid out and it’s a lot easier to follow.

It doesn’t help that Kiyohara Hiro has finally put his skills into something really good – I was actually not surprised he did this story’s art because this seems to be something right up his alley in terms of horror and psychological. His art really drove home how horrifying the situation is.

And yeah, it’s still kind of stupid to bring in the fact that Mei could see “the color of death” when it was almost finished. I guess there wouldn’t be any better time to do it, especially since she also explained the connection between the girl who died and herself. It’s something I won’t hold it against the series since there are other things to be concerned about.

I really liked that there were characters who were human and not just anime characters who are either completely perfect or so flawed that nothing good could be said. They made mistakes, they fucked up badly, sometimes they do stupid things and sometimes they make really good decisions with their lives. With Akazawa, I can understand why she felt the way she did. She didn’t really seem to be a main character anyway like the anime made her out to be. However, she’s still a really powerful character. Her best friend was the second casualty. Her brother committed suicide. These are horrible, horrible things that she’s willing to try to fix before someone else she loves and cares about dies.

That is a real human being right there. They didn’t glorify nor damn it and I want to believe that Mei forgave her for trying to kill her, or at least, for poking her eye out.

If I had to pick a favorite character, it would have to be Mei. I understand her on so many levels. She’s not trying to be gloomy – she’s just trying to deal with what the world offers her. She came from, not really a broken home, but something that wasn’t right. Her mother does care for her, but Mei feels that it’s only because she’s her “doll”, since her mother actually makes ball jointed dolls in the series.

As for the anime version, it makes me even angrier that they took something as mysterious and as good as this and turned into yet another gore fest. This had a lot more charm and a lot more sadness than what the anime showed. There were a lot of funny moments in the manga sure (after all, while it’s understandable it’d be hard to cope in that situation, you really gotta try to at least live a little) but it didn’t derail the story as some others tend to.

I do have to say it’s really bittersweet and interesting to note that while Reiko was the casualty, she must have known that Sakakibara was coming back. Maybe not intentionally to see her but… for the fact she died before she saw him and for him to keep his memories, maybe she came back just to see him one last time. It’s understandable that, in the end, he still had to re-kill her in order to prevent any more disasters from happening that year. It’s understandable he feels incredible guilt for doing so. However, if he hadn’t, he probably wouldn’t be able to let go of his mother – who had died 15 years ago.

It’s frustrating for me that I saw the wretched anime first before I read this. I wish I had read this first. Instead, though, I’ll read it with better understanding and hope that one day, the casualty of class 3 will eventually rest.

Another was something new for me. I've never read or watched any horror manga or anime before, so... well, I was prepared to be terrified. I switched to the manga as the safer option--after nearly wetting myself watching the first two episodes of the anime--and it definitely lived up to that. Another wasn't scary. At all.

It started out quite interesting. I was curious to know what was going on, and it did keep me guessing all the way through--whether this was in a good way or not, I'm not entirely sure. In volume two a lot is explained... but badly. Conversations are disjointed and hard ... to follow, with topics being changed suddenly and points apparently missed out. Bizarrely, all the characters seem to understand these conversations. Different terms for the same thing were used in a way that made me think they were different, before later realising that they were all synonymous. (To save you a lot of confusion later: "the extra one", "the other one" and "the dead one" all seem to be the same thing. No problem.) It might just have been that I was reading a bad translation, but the tenses were also pretty weird. Even after reading this explanation three times, and finishing the series, I'm still not one hundred percent on what the problem actually was, or their apparent solution for it.

Because of that, volume two was a low for me--however, volume one and four were a high. There is a massive plot twist around the end that I can guarantee you will not see coming. (It scared me, anyway.) It was a mystery that I wanted to see the end of, but I'm not sure if the confusion around the middle is worth it. There are also a few mysteries or points that were never explained by the end, which might not bother you unless you're picky about this sort of thing, but really gets at me. (What was their problem with Kouichi's name? And why was all this actually happening? Eh?)

The characters weren't anything particularly special. The only thing that's surprising is that there's no romance, which is somewhat refreshing--we've all seen romance between characters like this before, but in Another there's only friendship. If you were expecting a romance to develop, well, tough luck. Kouichi is likeable, but nothing really interesting and especially nothing new, and Mei's your stereotypical mysterious female. She might have a backstory, but that doesn't really fix the fact that her personality is a cardboard cut out. The secondary characters aren't memorable at all, which means the deaths don't really result in much emotional response. I couldn't remember half of their names (they all sound really similar to me), and then they die. "Oh. Who was that person again?" That's what it was like. There's only one, maybe two, deaths that I cared about in this, and a lot more people die.

One other thing that keeps grating at me is how everyone seems to keep unnecessary secrets from Kouichi. It did create suspense (and pure irritation), but when it's over you can't help thinking that half their issues could have been solved if they just told him about them in the first place. When I look at it like that, it only seems like they were secretive so the story would exist, which is a pretty poor excuse.

Putting all that aside, I'll admit that it was pretty good, and it built up right to a climax. There are some pretty hardcore moments of psychological messing in this (if that makes any sense) which were very enjoyable, at least for me. The best thing about this series would be the art: I love it. It's just really pretty--the character design, at least.

Overall, if you don't mind a bit of confusion or lack of explanations, and are looking for a supernatural mystery story: go for it. However, if you want to be terrified by serious darkness and gore, I'd go somewhere else. Another isn't scary. Having finished the anime now, I can confirm that it's about a billion times better. Unlike the manga, the intricacies of the plot are well explained and it's actually terrifying. (The amazing soundtrack and the creepy shots of dolls that pop up everywhere probably contribute.) Aside from a bizarre beach scene that was added for no reason that I can see, even when new scenes are added that weren't in the manga, they just add to it and make it better. If you're coming from the anime and wondering if this is worth the read... I guess it depends how much you liked Another for the plot. If it was for the gore and horror elements, then you'll probably be disappointed.

The only reason that I read this is because people have been saying that this is very different from the anime version. After reading it, I have to agree with it. Now I'll try not to get into too much spoilers of both the anime and manga versions, but I'll mention the ones that I felt stood out the most in the difference between the two.

Story 8/10: The story in this is very good and very original (to my knowledge at this time). It is about a curse that has occurred 26 years before the main story takes place. It being ... a curse it doesn't give misfortune in a person’s life (by misfortune I mean a terribly life), it just kills them. The author, Yukito Ayatsuji, does a fantastic job on giving suspense and great plot twists. However, since I saw and read “Another” I would have to prefer the anime. Only until the summer camp trip arc, it is at the very end of both. Only that arc, why isn't because it is somewhat happier but it makes a lot more sense. And by happier I mean better closure for most of the characters.

Art 7/10: This I had a little bit of a hard time because the character designs seem a bit off, but I didn't know if I should put that under the character category or this. I decide to go with character. The reason I gave this a 7 was because the some of the scenes didn't seem right. There is this one picture that says "slow movement" it doesn't need to spell it out for us, if it has no action or tragically is happening it would seem unnecessary to me. It was just explaining the curse; it doesn't need hand moving slowly.

Character 6/10: This is where the difference between the anime and manga is seen. Aside from the two main characters, Mei Misaki and Kouich Sakaibara, every character is different. They act different; they have different roles, and have a different look. An example of this is Tatsuji Chibiki the school librarian (There are a lot of others, but with him I felt like it was less of a spoiler). In the anime he is an old man with long hair and has a lot of wrinkles on his face. He is also a very serious man about the curse and other than that little is known about him. In the manga version he is an old man with short hair and has a few more wrinkles. He is also very serious about the curse but also has a passion for cooking. There isn't as much character development done here as in the anime but I do like the endings a bit better than the anime's version, expect for Tomohiko Kazami. Only cause I liked him in the anime version a bit better and his ending.

Enjoyment 9/10: Despite the difference it is still a good read. It'll keep you guessing till the end. It is 20 chapters long, some really vary in number of pages, but a quick read.

Overall 8/10: I do like how this ends better than the anime, but the lead up to the ending that is where the anime really shines. Which to start off with first, that is a coin flip question. But I would recommend this to anyone that would want a good short suspenseful story.

God almighty, I never knew reading 20 chapters could be this tedious...

Most of us came across Another via the anime released in 2012. However, this manga is not the source material; both the anime and manga are adaptations of a hit Japanese mystery novel written in 2009. If you want to read the source material, read the novel. Regardless of you being here due to nostalgia or as a newcomer, I advise you go watch the anime, as it takes less time to finish than this dismal read. Of course, that is if you are that determined to experience Another; if not, I suggest you ... look for something else to sate your hunger, as I doubt this will do it.

I have no idea what the story was. I could summarize the premise in two to three sentences, but that's the limit. That's the real mystery: how did the cast come up with such an illogical solution to the problem and expect a newcomer to not only understand, but also comply. Best part is they don't even stick to it; by the end of the first half it's practically abolished, so the "mystery" is just gone as if it wasn't even there. It just makes me ask "Why?", the same question I could apply to numerous other aspects of this work. I'd say only in the beginning is where this mystery could provoke inquiry; later I didn't even feel the need to follow it. The more time passes, the less it becomes cohesive.

What makes this read excruciating is the way it's written. I can't tell you how mystery should be written, but this ain't it. There is too much talking, barely anything happening. Not only is most of information both unimportant and inconsequential, but it is repeated to the point of annoyance. Any moment of suspense or tension is lost in talking and needless narration. Scenes that are supposed to be hard-hitting don't land due to lack of build-up. And there are so many cheap "teasers", where the art turns darker, character's eyes white with them saying stuff life "Oh, fool, how can you not know?", while saying nothing of actual substance. It's pathetic how desperately it tries to establish any sense of dread or fear.

The only character one will remember is Mei Misaki. Give it a bit of time, and the rest of the cast will become a homogenous mass in your memory. I can barely recall the protagonist's name. They are indistinguishable both in appearance and character, as their only purpose is to practically narrate the plot. They have nothing going for them. Reading their dialogue is overbearingly boring. Again, Misaki is the only exception, thou not because she is a good character, but because she is the only one who resembles anything "interesting".

There are flickering moments of something enjoyable here. Sense of fear in these works stems from the victims being regular folk who can't oppose the threat but only pray for mercy, and Another does set up that tone. People are killed brutally and without some greater meaning. It is a helpless situation. Good atmosphere can be established, good example being when Mei is first introduced. But not only do all those qualities get strangled by flaws; they get thrown out the window when the story decides to "reset" itself.

The art is... Fine. It isn't anything worth writing home about. There are moments where it enriches that previously mentioned atmosphere and silence, but most of the time it is just glanced over. It does the job; that's as far as it goes. Thou, during those obnoxious "teasers" the contrast and shading know to be good. It does leave an impression of something striking happening. Shame it wasn't put to better use.

There is also Another Ø, a 3-chapter title acting like a prologue to the original work... I'll be honest, I don't recall anything from reading it. I think that speaks enough of my opinion.

Maybe I've grown past it, maybe it's just a bad adaptation of the source material... Whatever it may be, it was miserable. If you are so keen on reading it, I advise watching the anime, due to it taking less time and, if I'm not mistaking, having some things the manga doesn't. Again, only if you are that keen. Otherwise, I recommend looking for something else.

Thank you for reading up to this point. I wish you all the very best. Kind regards.

Another is a strange thing to try and describe. So, I'll start with my initial reaction to the series. The first chapter is really interesting, it immediately makes you interested in Mei and gets at least a little attached to Kouichi and makes you wonder about the town and the school.
Sadly, this is the high point. As the series goes on they just talk about the mystery surrounding the incident of the town and all the deaths, they never reveal anything about it. And the deaths, oh the deaths. If you've watched any of the Final Destination movies you are familiar with these deaths. ... Ridiculous things, like accidentally falling down stairs and impaling yourself on an umbrella. Which is a little more than jarring in a series that had taken itself seriously before that and continues to take itself seriously after that. The deaths aren't only ridiculous, they're almost boring, the characters that die are characters you don't care about and that have barely been introduced.
The characters are another down point. Mei starts out very interesting and seems to have a lot of story worth unraveling but as the story progresses Mei will sometimes just act like a normal girl then bounce back to being 'mysterious' and 'creepy.' It undermines any effect the first few chapters had. Kouichi is...bland. There's not much to say about him, besides his mother and his heart condition (which is quickly forgotten after the first chapter or two) he's just an average high school student.
The thing is, I really want to like this series, the first couple chapters were ominous and intriguing but everything afterwards is more of a let-down.

"Another" by Yukito Ayatsuki was a short manga series that consisted of only four volumes. Before starting this series, I'd watched the anime and completely loved the creepy vibe I got from it and everything that happened, so after watching it I thought: "why not give the manga a try?" And yes, I gave it a try and ended up loving it way more than the anime. Why? Well, keep reading and you'll see. . .

Plot: The story around this series, evolves around Kouichi Sakakibara, or aka, Sakakibara-kun, a transfer student from Tokyo that arrives at a new school on the third class on the ... third year, where people act a little strange. At first, he doesn't get what's the weird fuzz around him, or why the other students ignore this girl from his class called Misaki Mei. But as the story goes on, we see how Sakakibara-kun starts wondering and investigating what's wrong with his class and if Misaki Mei does exist or if she's just a figment of his imagination. The funny thing is that with Misaki's help, he manages to discover the truth behind everyone's weird conduct: the class is cursed, and things might start getting a little ugly soon.

And yes, by "a little ugly", I mean really ugly. Around the internet, I saw someone say that this series was the Japanese final destination and well, they were kind of right! One of the dead lives among them after the accident that happened 26 years ago, and thanks to him/her, death is following the class around one way or another.

What I really loved about this story was that besides the fact that it was creepy and people died now and then, the characters managed to get together and try to stop the curse that was finishing them off one by one. Also, the way everything was paced and connected was so well done by the author that not even once I got bored or felt lost as I made my way through the chapters and connected with the characters as they looked for a way to stop this beep curse!

Characters: All the characters from this series were very well done, enjoyable and hate-able. My favorites were our two main characters: Sakakibara-kun and Misaki Mei, since I liked how they both met and how they stayed together from beginning to end, trying to stop the curse and decipher which one of them was the dead one. But besides them, we also got to meet other characters that played important parts on the story. Some of these were: Tomohiko Kazami (one of the class officers, and Teshiwara's best friend), Izumi Akazawa (head of countermeasures from class 3-3), Naoya Teshiwara (you could say that this one is one of the few friends Sakakibara-kun made, also from class 3-3), Tatsuyi Chibiki (librarian and former homeroom teacher of the 3-3 class from 26 years ago), Sanae Mizuno (Sakakibara-kun's friend and nurse from the hospital he was in after having problems with his lungs), Reiko (Kouichi's aunt), Mikami Sensei and more! More? Yes, there are more, but, if you read the series, you'll meet them all, but these shall be your top-priorities. . .heh.

In the end, I really enjoyed this series even though it was short! It was a perfect mixture between creepy-stuff, mystery, suspense, horror, and even a little bit of humor! So yeah, if you guys are looking for a short and creepy read or for something that reminds you somehow of final destination, you should definitely check Sakakibara-kun's story and see if they manage to find out who the dead one between them is!

So i am not too sure if it was just the version i read, but the translation was just awful. It was hard to read from time to time. Even though it was a short story it felt bland mostly. Nothing too crazy was happening other than the shocking deaths they had. The first one really caught my attention, and had me reading the rest, but after it kinda just fell off. Other than the surprise ending this manga was a 5 for me. The art style is nice, but the story was ok at most. I feel like the characters were not very good ... other than the main 2 Sakakibara, and Mikasa. Even then i would only consider them to be mediocre characters in the end. I feel in the middle of Mixed feelings and not recommended. I could see some newer manga readers enjoying this, but not veterans.

Story -7-
The basic story of Another is that a new student moves in, only to befriend a girl that no one else seems to see. When he meets her and starts to seek her out to try and become friends with her, bad things start to happen. There isn’t much more that can be said about the story since that would give away far too many twists. Overall, the story was rather interesting, as it was not something I had seen before in a mystery horror manga. Many of the mystery horror mangas tend to follow the same story line of a lot of people ... dying from a mysterious cause and everyone has to figure it out, however, this took a different spin.

Art -7-
The art within the manga was also on par on what it should be, as the characters were distinctive and the art got the point across. This series was not supposed to make any artistic stretches, so the artist, Hiro Kiyohara, kept the details to a minimum. Since this was in the horror genre, there was some gore, and that is always hard to do correctly. They tended to stay away on drawing some of the more detailed aspects, such as skin being sliced and broken bones, but what they did do, they did well.

Character -8-
The characters in the manga all had a reason to their actions and it was clear to see why. The main character, Kouichi, was a more passive main character, which was different from many other horror mangas, where the main character is much more active and more of a leader. The other main character, Mei, also did not really develop through the series; rather she stayed the same as when she is first introduced in the first book. This wasn’t a series where the characters were supposed to develop however, so that cannot be counted against them. The only characters that deserved a bit more detail to be revealed about them was Izumi and Yuuya. Izumi was shown to have a rather destructive home life and not much was known about Yuuya, and these were two of the more interesting characters that were not really focused on.

Enjoyment -9-
Overall, the enjoyment of the manga was high, as it was interesting to try and figure everything out with the main character Kouichi. Since this manga is classified as horror, there is a lot of gore, which could take away some of the appeal toward those who are not a fan of the genre. However, as I am a very big fan of this genre, it was very enjoyable for me. The only real turn off was that it was so short and so many other avenues could have been explored through the other characters. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery and doesn’t mind a little bit of blood along the way.

Overall -7.75-
This manga only had a few flat points, being the somewhat common storyline within its genre and the art was average. If the story had been expanded upon more, making it a bit more complex than it was, the story would have felt a bit more original. The art also needed to go beyond drawing the characters well, but also needed to put more details into the gore and backgrounds. These two things however do not stop me from recommending the series, as it was rather well done for what it was and it is a quick and easy read once you get settled down.

"Another" had a great story, that evolved around Mei Misaki, and the secret that she keeps hidden away from her classmates. I enjoyed the way that the story developed, as you progress through, and the way that it reveals her secret eventually. Also the fact that all the characters get involved in the story, is quite good as well, because you don't see only the point of view from Misaki, but also the reaction that is given from her fellow classmates. This is the first I have read this genre of manga, but I am quite please with how the story has been presented. Overall, ... if you enjoy a mystery/horror stories such as this, then you need to give Another a try,

I saw the anime first and this manga is different from the anime (the original source is a novel anyway) but comparing it with the anime I think the manga is better in several aspects, even though the anime is a very good adaptation as well.

The story is very good, it kept me interested all the time and I liked the dynamic between the main characters (Kouichi and Mei).
The ending without going into details was satisfying and made sense (it wasn't something out of nowhere as sometimes happens).
For small differences, compared to the anime, I liked more how the ending was developed in this manga.

The ... art is excellent, I liked it a lot, I think it fits perfectly with a story about death and paranormal things.

In conclusion, if you like paranormal, mystery and horror I think this manga is a good choice.

If you're looking for a horror and suspence manga, you should definitely try out Another. The artstyle is gorgeous, every panel is very detailed. The story is very interesting, the main character is a young boy in which in the beggining of the story he is transfered in a new school. However, its not an ordinary school. There are many suspence and even deaths throughout the story. If you have already watched the anime I also recommend reading this one because it is way better. The main character in the manga actually have a good and unique personality which differs from the anime version. In ... the manga version, Akazawa have a more consistent personality than in the anime version.