Another / First Impressions

「Body paint -連鎖-」 (Rensa)

Where’s Gregory House when you need him, dammit?

Seriously, what Another makes me want to do is get out the big white board and do a differential – except you need someone as smart as he is for that to really work. But I still think a “House” approach might be helpful here, a list of symptoms which only when added together reveal the cause. The thing about differential diagnosis is, there can be red herrings that throw you off the trail – symptoms not caused by the disease, even two diseases operating independently of each other (or both actually symptoms of an underlying condition). With all this information being thrown at us by the likes of Chibiki and Mei, I can’t help but feel like some of it is actually extraneous or even misleading.

The death of Nakao is a perfect example. Chibiki suggests that because the police think he was dead before the boat hit him, the actual cause of death happened in Yomiyama – maybe a head injury from a fall. Now that may or may not be true, but I don’t automatically discount the clues that last week’s events seemed to impart. Maybe Nakao was injured or ill before he left town, maybe he drowned – but the fact is, he still died outside Yomiyama and I think that tells us something. Chibiki strikes me as a rogue symptom, a distraction – I said it at the beginning, but I wonder if there’s as much in his testimony to lead us astray as to the truth. There were a couple of clues about him this week – the drama club advisor reference, and the story of the moaning in the “auxiliary library”. I still see him as not likely malicious, but very likely misguided – at least in part.

A couple of impressions stuck with me this week. First, the pre-open suggests that something I suspected a while back – the survivors are going to get increasingly desperate at this seemingly very grievous incarnation of the calamity plays out, and turn “Lord of the Flies” on Kouichi and possibly Mei – and the preview suggests this too. Second, I had a strong impression all through the episode that Mei was acting quite suspiciously. Her role in all this has moved somewhat out of the spotlight, but the series started with Mei and the mysteries surrounding her, and I think it will end there too. The “cousin”, the twin imagery and hinting, the dolls, the eye – I don’t believe she’s the Another, but there’s weird stuff surrounding her and she knows more than she admits. She’s very interested in the original class photo. She just happens to be at the old school building. And next week’s episode is “Glass Eye”. Sometimes the initial symptom that brings the patient to the hospital is the key to the diagnosis, even if it’s overshadowed for a while.

I suppose the actual deaths this week were somewhat tame compared to what we’re used to, but as usual the best part of the episode was the suspense. As expected the horrifying scenes from the preview were indeed another Kouichi dream, and the boy killed by lightning was indeed a flashback to 1983. But that didn’t stop every nerve ending in my body from being stretched taut for the entire episode, waiting for something to happen. PA Works has done a fantastic job creating that atmosphere, and the way they’re exploiting it is almost gleeful now – trucks rounding highway bends in the rain, falling cabinets, characters dismissing curses as bogus… Knowing full well what was in last week’s preview, I was jumping with every clap of thunder – which were rendered amazingly by the sound design team, as ever. When the deaths actually happened, we had one – Ayanao – dying with her entire family as they tried to flee Yomiyama (seemingly proving to anyone’s satisfaction that this strategy is epic fail). Then we had another family death, Komu’s brother, who falls victim to a crane whose driver forgot to set the parking brake when he stopped for cigarettes. That one was certainly creative.

As to Ayano, something struck me odd immediately with her. When she and Komu met Teshi and Kou-kun outside the old school building, she said “Sayonara” to Kouichi as she and Komu left – and he said “Sayonara” back. Now, in Japanese it’s unusual at best – and downright rude or bizarre at worst – to say “Sayonara” to someone you expect to see again – normally (especially with students) you’d say “Ja mata” or some variation thereof. Kouichi was clearly unsettled by this. Did she somehow know what was going to happen? Or was she saying it only because she knew she’d be leaving town for a while? What’s truly frightening now is that the students we’ve really come to care about are seemingly on the chopping block now, as red-shirt ensigns are getting scarcer and scarcer. It’s been bad enough watching relative strangers die horribly, but the notion of Akazawa, Mochizuki and Teshigawara going that route is rather depressing.

So once again, in the end, we’re left with more questions than answers. The whole sequence with the old school building and the cassette was wonderful – tense, full of suspense – but ultimately frustrating. Matsunaga’s testimony was helpful in filling in the blanks of the class trip – we now know that the first two deaths were accidental. I have no doubt that what he was about to “confess” (his own words) relates to the third death, and that to the way he “protected them” – but Teshigawara trashed the tape before Matsunaga got to the good part. Now it’s on Mochizuki to fix it – which seems to plant a target squarely on his back. Could he be the next to go?

 

Preview

102 Comments

  1. GOD STOP DOING THIS TO US ! WE WANT THE REST OF THE TAPE !
    This curse is a troll…

    (If I’d to guess I’d say that you have to kill the another, and that’s the “sin” he was talking about)

    KTNO
    Reply

    2. I’m not sure but this curse does “seem” malevolent given that whenever someone mentions/references or even declare the curse “cured” causes deaths left and right, I really want to know what is the Trigger since there are a LOT of deaths in a single month and if it keep going at this rate class 3 will be, well EMPTY and who knows if those who died and “linger” are the ones trowing off the countermeasures on some years because you can’t tell if there are more than ONE another and may come up short when “excluding” classmates year by year and the reason it sometimes work

      Matsunaga testimony seem to imply that what he did to stop the curse for the rest of the year almost isn’t worth doing since he sounded really guilty

      Those dreams seem to hit strong, especially since he was present for each of their death, are those really dreams?

      When Mei leg hit the ‘keep out’ sign I twitched, I was so tense and I’m expecting death (Horrible Death) around EVERY damn corner and still getting caught off guard! none of the horror movies I’ve watched in the last five years could even accomplish that!

      I noticed that while they were searching for the Tape (they didn’t know it was one at the time) that they “could” have resulted in two deaths with Mei and Teshigawara missing serious injury, one by falling glass and the other by a falling cabinet then later there were two other accidents (the number of actual deaths may not count just the two “separate” accidents) that may have balance the near misses Mei and Teshigawara had or I’m over thinking it

      I read up on the risks of walking outside during a thunderstorm and what I found out just make me want to NEVER step outside ever again! I didn’t even know how much crap could happen to raise your chances of getting struck bu lighting…

      and seriously, who the hell retrieves a ‘eaten’ Tape by TUGGING it out the player!?

      FantomOmega
      Reply

      1. I have to agree that tugging on the eaten tape was pretty lame but I can sort of forgive them as it’s clear they have never used a tape before. Obviously the CD / mp3 generation! I’ve had to fix eaten tapes and it’s pretty quick to do with a bit of sellotape. My concern about the tape was that there appeared to be a huge pause at the critical point anyway. It seems that electronic devices like phones are susceptible to tampering via the curse.

        And I agree with other commenter that Mai was acting very suspicious. Why is she so certain that she is not in danger? Anyway, my current suspicions on who the Another is, is ‘Scream Boy’

        Scruffy
        Reply

    3. Even the beginning of the tape was trolling. “So, here’s how you stop the calamity, OH WAIT! let me start with this long story of what you may already know.”

      Agree with you about probably having to kill someone to stop the curse. I’m guessing he killed the teacher who he blamed. I’m thinking you just need to preempt the curse by killing whoever will die next, and he lucked out.

      Ptolemaios00
      Reply

      1. Or just killing someone in general, since it’ll be one less person in the class.

        Or, somewhat more interesting, kill the Another. Perhaps the Another is an anomaly that the world/nature/force/whatever is trying to correct. However, its aim is horrid. Kill the Another (which still makes you a damn murderer, don’t get me wrong) and the curse is lifted for that year.

        I actually hope it doesn’t come to that. I rewatched some episodes and looked up something that bothered me since the early episodes, figuring “This is probably the clue to the Another.” Turns out I was right 🙂

        SpacyRicochet
        Reply

  3. Oh god, this whole episode was so tense. I didn’t want any of the two girls to die, but the way they always showed them, and what happens in their surrounding just screamed out something is up. When the rock hit the windshield, my heart almost stopped for the second time in this episode. I was actually expecting them to drive into a truck or something, but suddenly, some clacking noises, and BANG. Wow. The first time was when the lightning struck the guy on the school trip. I know it was coming from the preview, but it was so sudden, so loud, and with my headphones, while being on the edge from all the bassy background sounds, I almost jumped in my chair.
    I’m getting a really bad feeling about this. Next episode seems to focus on Misaki. I don’t want anything to happen to her…

    virox
    Reply

    1. The sound effects guy deserve an award for his work on Another.
      Last episode’s death wasn’t horrible because of the scene but indeed thanks to that creepy sound Nakao’s head made.

      KTNO
      Reply

    3. The rock smashing the windshield really caught me off guard. I was fully expecting a truck or a boulder to fall in front of the car, not smash the windshield like that. I had the sound turned higher than usual, so that scene really made me jump. Sound effects really are amazing.

      If this was live action, I would be scared sh*tless.

      Kentaiyoshimi
      Reply

  4. https://randomc.net/image/Another/Another%20-%2009%20-%2005.jpg
    I.Love.this.SHOW!

    It’s the epitome of horror. When you see scenes like this it should really creep you out.

    Deaths by crane, lightning, falling down a slope or just falling down a flight of stairs while hinted of something sinister is the cash cow of the Last Destination franchise. And Another is doing quite well with it, replacing Death with a Curse.

    With clues being given away and causes more questions to rise, people will start getting tired of being left in the dark. But that is actually what makes this show exciting: The unknown.

    The Moondoggie
    Reply

  5. The “sayonara” made Ayano’s death too obvious though it still struck me pretty hard when it did arrive.

    On a side note, where has Kazami been? Haven’t seen him in awhile.

    Soiyeruda
    Reply

      1. Too bad they didn’t kill this chick for a PENTA KILL! I have always hated Karthus Ult, Zeus or whatever the HON guys call their hero. Anyways, it’s always amazing how the death scene always surprises the heck out of me, even if you already knew that someone will die in each episode.

        Jhacks
        Reply

  9. Mei, stop being so cute and picking dangerous moments to flirt, it’s distracting. It’s okay though, we forgive you 😡

    Personally I like how set-up the deaths are. I don’t like it when Random Guy A is casually walking down the street then suddenly gets a truck to the face, I prefer dramatic build-up despite how obvious it makes things. Still though, death by excavator… >.<

    Well they made it so Nakao's death originated in the town, so I'm calling that a loop-hole. Of course no one except a few of the classmates know that so to the rest it really does look like running is out of the question. Yay for more panic! XD

    Hasn't anyone ever taught Teshigawara how to handle a cassette tape?!

    Aex
    Reply

    1. Well, Mei pretty much summed it up. He’s an idiot.

      Gosh, she is too cute. Actually guys, I am the Another. I ‘died’ when she placed that brooch on her head and that part after Kouichi saved her from that cracked window. HHNNNNNNNNNNNNG x 2.

      UJelly
      Reply

  10. If he wasn’t a hikikomori, left his room and been gone for a walk, he’d be still alive!

    Also, that was easily the dumbest death I’ve ever seen, a new record even for this series.

    Mikako
    Reply

  12. Kinda saw this coming. Not the deaths, no one could of saw that, but the fact that despite finding the ‘clue’ for stopping the curse. Something would happen that would make it worthless. Now this is speaking from what i thought last week. This week, i thought one of the Scooby gang was going to fall victim to the curse. Didn’t expect a two-fer, especially not Ayanao and Komu. Especially Ayanao, since i thought that was her (now empty) house that the truck crashed into. Though the way she bit farewell to Kouichi did come off a bit odd. So i guess that was the series was of giving us a hint.

    As for the rest, i has a suspicion that Nakao was already dead before the boat hit him. Since he didn’t seem to even flinch as prop started to chew him up. Though he just could have been knocked unconchies some how. So it only leaves more questions then answers. Also, Mei was acting a bit weird this week. Though this could be how she acts’/acted around other people. Rather the her usual gloomy self that we’ve only seem when she’s around Kouichi. (some people are like that. They put on a facade when there nervous )

    I don’t think this is a spoiler, but i’m going to tag it anyway.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    @Guardian Enzo , your blog post is categorized incorrectly.

    Snicket
    Reply

  13. While listening to the tape, I knew we were about to get trolled by not hearing the end of it. it’s way too good of a plot device to pass up.

    Another (haha) lesson learned from this, don’t live in a house located at the bottom of a sloped road, and don’t use umbrellas during a thunderstorm on a mountain.

    Kentaiyoshimi
    Reply

      1. Actually people do hike with umbrellas. The dumb thing was not bringing an umbrella when the weather can change rapidly. The dumb thing was using it during a EFFin’ lightning storm.

        bertman4
        Reply

  15. That makes 5 deaths in August. Interesting part with Ayano and her family. Mostly because she is a character that never appeared in the manga. Which throws off something spoiled below.
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Unless of course we aren’t in August at all. I suppose we could very well be in July still. It is very hard telling what month we are in with the pacing of the show.

    Bijyu
    Reply

  16. …It may sound silly of me, but I’ve just one real question I want answered.

    Setting aside everything else – the mystery of the original photo, what Mei knows, etc – just what is the purpose in all this? Seriously, what is killing all these people achieving? There doesn’t seem to be even the slightest hint of logic nor reason in this beyond the calamity simply executing itself, over and over again.

    And, though it might seem increasingly unlikely as time goes on, I still can’t help but hold onto the thought that there is a very real, very human element behind all this. I have not seen anything thus far that would have me believe beyond a fraction of a doubt that there is a truly supernatural force behind all this.

    At the moment, I firmly believe this calamity was started by people and I believe it can also be ended by them.

    Shinn Kamiyra
    Reply

    1. Look at any good horror movie or story. What makes it interesting is the fact that the “thing’s” motive cannot be explained. The reason as to why it kills or enjoys killing usually is not understood. This is what gives horror shows thrill or interest.

      zzzz
      Reply

      1. That’s a good point. Too often we want all the answers. Sometimes there is no answer. It’s not the destination that matters but the journey. What do I mean by that? This show isn’t about explaining the “pheonomena” to us. This show is about the characters and how they face the horror. Look at Kouichi. He’s certainly afraid. He keeps having nightmares. He’s afraid he’s the Another. He’s afraid he triggered this year’s curse. He probably knows that some in class 3 think that too. Yet he still tries to delve into the mystery. He’s trying to help his classmates in spite of what they think of him. In the cafe, he told the other two to keep it between themselves. He did that because he thinks it’s dangerous and the less people involved, the better it would be. Or he might be thinking he doesn’t want to give his classmates false hope. These are all character defining moments.

        bertman4
        Reply

  17. I think we can safely assume his “sin” is killing the another in 1983. Since he doesn’t remember it I don’t see the problem especially since no one would remember them.

    Rayzakk
    Reply

      1. Even if we assume that Kouichi’s mother were the Another, I don’t see how that explains why Mei seems to have such a fixation on seeing the photo in the first place.

        That aside however, it’s more or less an assumed truth at this point that the Another is someone in Class 3. There have been a few misleading moments here and there, but nothing concrete enough to prove otherwise, IMO. At least not yet.

        Shinn Kamiyra
        Reply

    2. …Honestly, I don’t see what killing the Another accomplishes in the long run, even if it does happen to end the calamity for that particular year.

      In a sense, it’s like the Holy Grail War of the Fate series. Even if you do happen to stop one war, the cycle itself remains undisturbed and will continue to perpetuate tragedy again and again. Same in Another so long as the underlying cause for all this remains as cloaked in shadow as it was since Episode 1, and that’s what has me so frustrated about this.

      We have learned virtually nothing about what’s really happening here.

      Shinn Kamiyra
      Reply

  18. I thought just one of the girls will die… but death toll on both sides?! 0.o But hey, both of them had death flags waving everywhere! And for a sec I thought there would be a landslide… nope. They drove off the cliff. Gotta love the thunder when the girls were leaving the campus though. 😀 Foreshadowing, but not really.

    And literally, Naoko was alive when he left the city… if the trauma lead to his death… then… couldn’t technically anyone who suffers a chronic disease die outside the city (blink blink Kouichi and his mom maybe?)? And good point about how Chibiki-sensei is a good actor (The teacher responsible for the acting club too if I heard it right). He might be responsible play a part in the curse. Who knows.

    Oh, and Feng Shui example RIGHT THERE. LITERALLY. lol.

    When a house faces a T-junction, it is like a gun being pointed straight at the house. The T-junction acts like a funnel drawing negative energies towards the house. The occupants of such a house could suffer from poor health and may be accident-prone.
    http://www.vaastuinternational.com/fengshui13.html

    Ah. Akazawa crying in the preview… D: oh and the tape-trolling. Don’t pull the tape Teshigawara! :@ jeez. Common Sense >.<.

    RainbowIslands
    Reply

  21. i dont even know why they had to hide in the first place.. they just coming to school and use the facilities.. ¬_¬ perhaps its different in Japan. episode made me soooooo anxious.

    n0216332
    Reply

  23. It looks like Akazawa finally loses her cool in the next episode. Hard to see this in strong girls like her but every strong girl has the point where they break. And where they’re at their most vulnerable. And I really like her too..Next episode may seem rough to watch

    The Another
    Reply

  24. Cassettes weren’t usually too bad about eating tapes, 8 tracks were much worse.

    Still, even when they did get eaten, cassettes would wad up in the works of the machine before they unwound more than 2 feet or so. Even then, some scotch tape, a razor knife, and 10 minutes were all you needed to fix them.

    You could also crack them open pretty easily (some were even held together wit screws rather than glue), and flip the reels over, so the tape would play backwards. Great for listening to un-exorcised ghosts, though I’ve never tried it in Japan.

    skyhack
    Reply

    2. Got any solution if say the important parts have gotten all crinkly inside the player? You can wound it back, yes. But when the tape is crumpled up its unreadable.

      The Moondoggie
      Reply

  27. UGGHH, THEY COULD HAVE JUST WOUND-IN THE TAPE $#&^!#) It’s so frustrating!

    Chibiki is very high on my “Suspicious” list. Drama Club adviser? He could be putting up a good show.

    JD
    Reply

  28. Oh thank the FSM the only people that bought it this week were red-shirts. Every episode now has me completely on edge with worry that one of the characters I like is going to die. I actually feel relief instead of horror when it’s just some random schlub that kicks the bucket because at least it wasn’t Mochizuki, or Akazawa, or Reiko, or etc.

    If there is an anime equivalent of the Academy Awards, Best Sound Direction 2012 goes to Another, I can’t imagine anything else all year will match it.

    Beckett
    Reply

  29. 2 rules of suspense I’ve learned in one of the best modern (as opposed to gothic) horrors:
    rule 1: when yoe xpect an alien, it’s a cat
    rule 2: when youexpect a cat, it’s an alien!
    I think one more parallel exists:
    “What are my chances? Unable to compute”

    ewok40k
    Reply

  33. Watching this anime had made me more paranoid day by day. Just the other day, I went to an island, Pulau Ubin, if you’ve heard of it. Went cycling there. During the trip it was kinda gloomy and was raining so we stopped by the beach. Then, I saw a boat, speeding by. I was like staring at it the whole time, not blinking.

    Later on we climbed an iron tower overlooking mangroves. It was really cloudy, a perfect chance for lightning. Of course I persuaded the group to descend. I was about to descend the stairs when I realised I had an umbrella in my hand. So I passed it to someone else.

    Seriously this anime is so scary it lingers in your mind even soon after it’s over because al the accidents are plausible in real life.

    Anyways good episode liked the troll end.

    Cybersteel
    Reply

  35. Really! Have we advanced so far that finding a cassette tape player is a trip to the Smithsonian?
    And when the tape got pulled out – I can’t tell you how many times I fixed that with a pencil! Funny!
    Seriously, I’m not that olde, Japan!

    The suspense-play with the two girls was amazingly done. Who’s going to get it – I couldn’t tell
    (plus the fact that they’re driving on the wrong side of the road to boot ☺). Then, they both are affected
    (although we really don’t know if anyone survived the car plunge, but it’s unlikely, I guess).

    I wasn’t really sure about “Sayonara” in Japanese, I did think it was only used in finality, so I wasn’t
    sure but I noticed that too, in this episode. But, in hindsight we can see that, but this series has
    trolled, quite well, so I didn’t think much beyond that…

    They did show Nakao under water before the boat hit him, so it wasn’t slip-shod. In the last episode,
    I wasn’t sure either but it seems confirmed by the opening of this episode that he died as a result
    of an injury received while still in the town. Excellent – along with the car sickness – it’s consistent.

    Holy ####! Someone mentioned a movie! I wonder if this series will end a cliff-hanger for the movie…

    mac65
    Reply

    1. In Japan, everyone drives at the left-hand side of the road, same way with Hong Kong, Thailand, Australia and of course, Britain.

      By saying Sayonara to Kouichi and co., the late Akane Ayano was implying that she and her family are leaving town for good.

      In 1998, while the Diamond Rio MP3 player was in its infancy, CDs and Minidiscs (MDs) were then more popular media formats in Japan, and cassette tape audio still had currency, although slowly being phased out.

      The upcoming movie (due to be released by August this year) is live-action.

      v3000
      Reply

  37. God this show has definitely done a great job at making you flinch at every truck that drives by and every object that falls. Half of them are trolls so I never know which ones will be real. Anyone know what exactly hit the car windshield? Was it a significant object or just a dislodged rock??

    Kiria
    Reply

    1. More like a loose rock. If this show were to be made a spinoff of Final Destination, we would’ve been shown a rock on the mountainside about to come loose in the driving rain.

      v3000
      Reply

  41. I knew the girl in the car was going to die because I read here that she’s an anime original character and would probably have no real affect on the plot. The sayonara bit made me think not about the girls about to die – but koichi. Like the girls were telling him a final goodbye as if the class has already conspired against him and Misaki (maybe even against the other two boys). That sayonara felt a bit sad, maybe even remorseful? That’s what I think. All the signs are telling us that in order to stop the curse you need to kill – who we don’t know, but blood would be shed by fellow classmates (or a certain teacher assistant..)

    lucci
    Reply

  42. I thought it was reasonable that Ayano said “Sayonara” to Kouichi, since she was moving out of town. Unless I misunderstood something? What confused me was why she only said it to Kouichi. I guess it could just be that she’s not on familiar terms with Teshigawara.

    I get the same feeling as you about Mei and Chibiki-sensei, Enzo. They’re suspicious, that’s for sure. Also, I immediately thought Mochizuki was deathflagged at the end there as well. It could be that he fixes the tape and gets to hear it by himself then gets killed, which would be depressing. If Mochizuki doesn’t die himself, then perhaps his sister should watch her back…

    I literally screamed, twice in quick succession, when the cabinet nearly fell on Teshigawara because he’s my favorite character… This anime is really getting to me.

    Another great review, Enzo!

    Faye
    Reply

  43. Oh well, they didn’t omit the hikikomori’s death. But howly god, by a crane? that was original xD Anyway that death confirms that not even secluding yourself in your room keeps you safe from the calamity. So, let’s go all to the trip, we have nothing to loose! Either we go out of Yomiyama or stay shut up in your home, you can die anyway!!

    And second anime original death: first Naoko’s, now Aya & family’s?

    pmt7ar
    Reply

  46. sorry for being a slowpoke, but can anyone explain why everyone started talking to sakakibara and mei again after their teacher killed himself? also, they haven’t explain why sakakibara’s name was associated with death yet, have they?

    ikki
    Reply

    1. The point of not talking to Kouichi and Mei was because in other years it sometimes helped in stopping the deaths. However this year even after they ignored the two of them the deaths continued so most of the important characters have already given up on it and talk normally to them.

      About the death thing, think its mainly that Sakakibara’s surname is the same as that of a real life serial killer who committed the crimes around the time the story is set in. Seito Sakakibara if you want to look it up.

      DarkWind
      Reply

    1. lol you’re right theres only certain amount of classmates and they keep dying lol is that how they figure it out previous years like half the class is dead then you can narrow down people? lol

      puzzzled
      Reply

  48. I kinda think the third death was not because of the curse but a murder. And since it stopped the calamity for this year… Killing the Another probably does the trick.

    Now if only we knew who did it. I still don’t think that it’s either Kouichi or Misaki, that’d be too easy.

    Kamion
    Reply

  51. I think I have a working theory now.
    Show Spoiler ▼

    scineram
    Reply

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