"ANOTHER" (2012)

A spine-chilling mystery

“Another” is an ambitious, heavily atmospheric, intriguing and dark mystery series - where the unexpected lures around every corner – it’s just a shame that it doesn’t manage to hold it up all the way.

Based on the novel with the same name by Yukito Ayatsuji "Another" tells the story of 15-year-old Kouichi Sakakibara who moves to the sleepy town of Yomiyama from Tokyo, where he is about to attend Yomiyama North Middle school. Right before school starts, Kouichi falls ill and is admitted to the hospital where he stays for a month.

Once he recovers and returns to school he becomes the center of attention among his classmates – but Kouichi is quickly drawn towards to Mei Misaki - a reserved girl in the back of the classroom. Strangely enough the rest of the school doesn’t even seem to acknowledge her existents and they warn Kouichi to not interact with things that does not exist.

As Kouichi ignores the warnings and befriends Mei, he soon learns of Yomiyamas dark past. Something sinister awakens and gruesome deaths start befall the students. Kouichi, Mei and their classmates have to unravel the dark mysteries of their town and stop the curse that lies within it once and for all.

The series takes it’s time to unravel the mysterious plot and we get plenty of time to get acquainted with the characters. When we meet Kouichi Sakakibara he is the new guy in town - completely unaware of what’s really going on behind the idyllic facade of Yomiyama. However, it quickly becomes obvious that people around Kouichi are working hard to keep something big away from him, which of course piques his curiosity as much as the audiences.

The series treats its audience similarly as we are also kept in the dark on what's really going on for quite some time and that is one of the things that makes "Another" so exciting.

It masterfully builds and keeps the suspense on a constantly high level as you slip into Kouichi’s shoes and begin to explore Yomiyama past - which turns out to be a vast web of dark secrets - and it always seems that every revelation presents another dark mystery waiting to be solved.

Everything about the story's build-up is meticulously designed to uphold the menacing and heavy atmosphere that looms over the series - and the sound design is especially something that stands out and contributes strongly to this.

As a horror movie fan, I’m used to scary and loud sounds being used to notify you that something scary is about to go down or to boost the effect of an unpleasant surprise. However, the sound design of "Another" is quite differently designed - yet very effective!

Various creepy sounds and eerie music fades in unexpectedly here and there - not necessarily during an intense scene to strengthen the effect of it - but rather to uphold the overall creepy and heavy atmosphere. It always making you feel like something unpleasant is waiting around the corner and slowly closing in on you.

Now, unfortunately the series doesn’t manage to uphold all of its mysterious, menacing atmosphere all the way. This has stirred quite a debate among fans as "Another" for some reason makes a complete turn towards the ending and goes from a mystery/psychological horror series to a full-on slasher/gore feast.

The deaths that befall the students of Yomiyama are as gruesome as they are shocking, but they are kept limited in the beginning of the series compared to the ending. People are all of a sudden butchered off as if there is no tomorrow - to the point where it almost becomes ridiculous to watch.

At the same time, it still goes for that slow pacing which really doesn’t go well together with the sudden amounts of intense action. The whole thing becomes quite frustrating, as it all of a sudden run-in circle and becomes unnecessarily drawn out. You come to a point where you just want it to wrap things up already.

The other big problem for me personally is the big revelation in the series finale, which I after all this great build up, expected to really flip the tables so to speak. In the midst of all the blood and gore it becomes a little difficult to focus on - not mentioning that I found the revelation itself to be very ineffective and weak. It feels like there could be more included there and that there is more to it than what’s presented.

"Another" consists of 12 episodes plus a great OVA (Original Video Animation) entitled "Another: The Other - Inga". This one aired shortly after the series wrapped up. The OVA goes in deeper on the tragic backstory of Mei Misaki and tells the story of her and her twin sister Fujioka that is set previous to the events of "Another".

Overall “Another” is one of the best horror/mystery anime series out there in my opinion and it’s something to not miss out on. It’s unfortunately dragged down quite a bit because of its flaws towards the ending, but I would say that at least two thirds of the series is an absolute treat to experience with great storytelling, intriguing, very well written character as well as wonderful sound design and music.