"Another" Anime Review

Hello everyone! I have noticed that my fellow postcrossers (from postcrossing.com) have been reading this blog and seem to enjoy it. As I have this blog on my Postcrossing.com profile page, I figure I should keep this as updated as I possibly can.

The following is a review of an anime I recently watched. I highly recommend it--I did fail to mention in this review that you can watch this series for free on hulu.com and crunchyroll.com; with subtitles of course. There are no dubs, as far as I know. You should still check it out, however.

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If you're looking for a new and exciting anime to watch that won't involve a major time commitment and you enjoy the horror and suspense genre, look no further! Prepared to get blown away by the recent anime mini-series “Another.”

This series, originally a Japanese horror novel by Yukito Ayatsuji, made its debut as an anime mini-series in the spring of 2012 (that is, last spring). The series contains 12 twenty-five minute episodes, with a thirteenth episode as part of a prequel.

The series starts with a young boy named Koichi Sakakiriba, who transfers to a new school. Upon entering the school, he meets a mysterious girl, Mei Misaki, and befriends her. It is through meeting and talking to Misaki that Koichi discovers that there is something terribly wrong that is going on inside the school—and somehow, he has to stop this force that is killing his classmates.

The suspense in this series is pretty intense; the director, Tsutomu Mizushima, does a very good job in making the series as dramatic and as emotionally powerful as possible. Information about 'the calamity,' as it is referred to later on in the series, is given to Koichi and the viewer in very small amounts in the beginning. This witholding of important plot information until the last possible second had me on the edge of my seat. After the main secrets to 'the calamity' are revealed, however, there is less suspense and more of a horror element in the series.

Another tool that the director used in this film was the cliffhanger tactic; there was a cliffhanger at the end of nearly every episode, especially the episodes where a character was about to die or be killed. I should probably mention that if you don't like horror or suspense, it's probably not a good idea to watch this series. There are several graphic scenes that occur throughout the series; the violent and graphic scenes increase dramatically during the climax of the last two or three episodes. This is where the horror element comes in—the characters that do die during the series generally die in shocking, gruesome, and unusual ways, adding to the suspenseful and slightly morbid air of the mini-series.

The main characters from the series "Another." The main protagonist, Koichi Sakakibara, is on the far left.

The characters in this series have unique but hidden personalities—especially the main characters, Mei and Koichi. The character development in “Another” is another reason that this is a worthwhile anime to watch. The characters are relatable and it's fairly easy to get emotionally attached to one or two of them while watching.

The animation, led by chief animation director Yuriko Ishii, really stands out. The storyline in “Another” is characterized by dark and dismal scenes, yet there are some bright and cheerful scenes in the series as well. The animators manage to capture both of these constrasting scenes with talent and expertise. The characters are also beautifully represented, demonstrating their personalities through the animated representation of them.

One last thing that stood out to me while watching this mini-series was the music for the series. The main theme song for the series, “Kyomu Densen” (“Nightmare Contagion” in English) by the band Ali Project was my absolute favorite. Although the theme is meant to be frightening and suspenseful like the rest of the show, it fit the mood of the entire series perfectly. The rest of the soundtrack fit the events and climax of the show and was another element that the series definitely could not do without—like most television series or movies, the music is an integral part of it. This series was no different, and the music fit the rest of the high quality of this anime.

Overall, “Another” is a great anime to watch if you need a weekend to relax or a few hours to spare at the end of a long day. Just be prepared to watch for the unexpected with this series!