About a few weeks before I started checking out which anime titles to include in my 2012 winter picks in January, I found a subtitled trailer for Another.
At the time, I had just finished watching American Horror Story and was surprisingly excited for the premiere of The River. Feeling emboldened by my inclusion of horror titles to my viewing list, I decided that I might just be up to watching an anime series featuring the genre and included Another in my must-watch anime titles last season.
I forgot that the Japanese imagination is something to be reckoned with.
Adapted from the novel of the same title by Ayatsuji Yukito, Another tells the story of Class 3-3 of Yomiyama North Middle School. In 1972, a popular student named Misaki died in the middle of the school year. Out of shock and devastation, the class decided to act as if Misaki was still alive until their graduation, keeping Misaki's desk in the classroom and bringing it with them to the graduation ceremony. Later, everyone was shocked when Misaki appeared, deathly pale and smiling, in their graduation photo.
26 years later, in 1998, Sakakibara Kouichi, moves to Yomiyama to live with his grandparents while his father worked in India. Upon his arrival, Kouichi is hospitalized because of a collapsed lung. During his stay at the hospital, he encounters a girl wearing an eye-patch and carrying a doll on her way to the morgue. When Kouichi is finally able to attend school in Yomi High, he is assigned to Class 3-3. The girl with the eye-patch, Misaki Mei, is one of his classmates, but it seems that only Kouichi can see her or notice her. Asking his classmates about Mei, Kouichi is warned to stay away from things that don't exist. Kouichi slowly learns about Mei and the annual horror of Class 3-3 they refer to as the Calamity.
The narrative is mostly told from Kouichi's view, with the audience realizing the real nature of the Calamity and what it means to be part of Class 3-3 at the same time Kouichi does.
Needless to say, being a part of Class 3-3 isn't good for your health. Or your life, for that matter.
At this point, I'm seriously trying hard not to divulge what the Calamity is about, since letting the story unfold and finding out for yourselves is important to the overall viewing experience. What I can tell you is that the Calamity involves deaths. I put emphasis on the plural form of the word death.
Considering the premise that includes the death of various characters, I was expecting some pretty violent scenes in Another. And it doesn't disappoint. Another served up some pretty gruesome death scenes, which caused me to produce a variety of reactions in my surprise, including widened eyes, raised eyebrows, moving back from the screen, making weird incoherent sounds, and (I can't verify this because I can't see myself, but most likely occurred a lot) some pretty unflattering facial expressions. Add that to the cringe inducing battle scenes in Blackā
Rock Shooter, and I can now safely (and horrifyingly) say that I have met my violence and violence induced gore quota for the rest of the year. Thus, the rather tame death scene photo depicted beside this paragraph.
Headed by the ever mysterious Mei and slightly baffled Kouichi, there are actually a lot of interesting characters in Another. But the real highlight and the reason to watch is how its story unfolds. The mystery of the Calamity and the various events that lead to the elusive answer is compelling, even if you start to think that the look and feel of the animation will either depress you or drive you to willingly seek out the sun.
Another is deliciously creepy and haunting. The violence of the various death scenes can be shocking and the premise can be scary or disturbing to some, but the overall story and its accompanying mystery is excellently told.
And even if I did say that I have met my gore quota this year, I have to admit I sorta, kinda.... okay, I definitely want to watch the live action film version coming out this August.
Happy terror and violence filled viewing!!Labels: Adaptation, Anime, Another, Horror, Must-Watch, Mystery, TV
