Another review — A gruesome anime with a mysterious buildup.

 

Photo by Thirdman: https://www.pexels.com/photo/creepy-hands-5407935/

Another is an anime that was released in 2012 and may have been produced by PA Works. The story follows a boy named Kouichi Sakakibara, who is your usual anime transfer student, who meets a girl named Mei Misaki, who appears to have a mysterious eyepatch. Through the anime, clues are dropped about the mystery hidden behind the school. This becomes more of a problem when it is revealed that there is a curse and students start being killed randomly. The starting point that gripped me while starting to watch the anime was the mystery, as the show carefully builds up the mystery of the school over each episode, with the murders getting more and more creative.

When it comes to the characters, Kouichi isn’t much of what you’d find in many male main characters that populate anime shows of the modern day, with him being a curious and friendly character who is curious to learn about the curse along with the history of the school. The intrigue, however, lays on the character of Mei, who holds a lot of mysteries along with her, not just involving her eyepatch. She is quiet and avoidant at first, which could make an audience member think that she is just shy; however, it is later revealed that she does this to stop her curse from spreading to others.

The anime sticks very closely to the horror genre, especially with the way it keeps up its mysterious and suspenseful mystery, keeping the audience gripped throughout the story. The character design, especially of Mei, keeps with the creepy atmosphere of the school and keeps the eerie atmosphere. When it comes to the downfalls of this anime, the deaths can be considered by some to be over the top and unrealistic, but in my personal opinion, they help to keep with the terrifying effect that the curse can have. There are some plot holes that can pull an audience member away from being gripped by the story, however.

If you have watched Another and want an anime similar, I can recommend shows such as Higurashi and Naku Koro Ni that both have characters set in rural towns and a school. These both have murders that involve supernatural events that can shock the audience. If you love suspense, these animes are the best options, with distrust, paranoia, and madness playing across the characters within both shows. Higurashi, however, is more focused on its supernatural elements, while Another is more focused on its mystery aspect, so it ultimately depends on what you liked more within Another, which can determine whether you’ll enjoy Higurashi.

Ultimately, this anime has a very gripping story that will keep you on the edge with its constant twists and turns. It has animation and music that keep it coherent with the horror elements of the story, making this anime a beautiful watch within the animation department. This anime is not recommended for people who hate gore and violence due to the deaths being not only over the top but full of gore. The plot holes can also bog down the experience of a tightly written mystery behind the school and sometimes throw off the flow of the story. Over all, this is a good watch for people who love a good horror anime.