Kari’s Anime Corner: First Impressions of ‘Another’

I remember hearing about Another from my anime friends a couple of years ago. I had also seen some of the art and was told it was a weird show. Well, to say anime is weird, is redundant because almost all anime is strange in some way and that’s why we love it! I started Another planning to watch just the first few episodes but I just had to know what happened next and ended up watching all 12 episodes.

The series starts off with Koichi Sakikabara, a ninth grade boy who is soon to be released from the hospital. He had a lung collapse and is now staying in the rural town of Yomiyama with his maternal grandparents and aunt. His mother died shortly after he was born and his father is away on business. Cue the creepiness! While at the hospital, Koichi meets a mysterious young girl who is on her way to the basement to give her “friend” a doll. He is later surprised to see her at his new school (she is even in the same class as him) but no one else seems to notice her. Is she a ghost? What is wrong with class 3-3? Why won’t any of the students tell Koichi what is going on? More importantly, why are students and some of their family members dying in gruesome accidents?

The show starts off as a ghost story then it turns into more of a thriller. Turn off the lights for this one and enjoy the spooky visuals, the moody music and the heart racing series of events. I really enjoyed the Final Destination movies and I think 1000 Ways to Die is fascinating, and the deaths on this show fall into the same category. They are crazy accidents and, after you have witnessed a couple, any dangerous situation makes you nervous. There is a lot of blood but deaths are over rather quickly, until the final climax of the series.

The muted color palette fits the emotionally drained students. Artistically, everyone is drawn in a cute/youthful way which contrasts nicely with the somber environment. Towards the end of the show, when some of the extreme violence occurs, many characters are drawn in an over-exaggerated way which fits perfectly with how crazy they have become.

The horror aspect of the show peaked my interest and the mystery made me watch episodes back to back. The show explains many things, but not enough to answer all of your questions. Also, the last bit of the show is an extremely different vibe though it still has that hair raising suspense. The less you know about this show before you watch it the better. It puts you on the same level as Koichi and you learn the information as he does. This is what happened for me and I feel it improved my viewing of this show. If you want to watch something creepy with an intriguing mystery, you will want to check out Another!