Another (novel)

Another

Novel cover art
アナザー
(Anazā)
Genre Horror, Mystery
Serial novel
Written by Yukito Ayatsuji
Published by Kadokawa Shoten
English publisher
Magazine Yasei Jidai
Published October 29, 2009
Manga
Written by Yukito Ayatsuji
Illustrated by Hiro Kiyohara
Published by Kadokawa Shoten
English publisher
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Young Ace
Original run May 2010 – January 2012
Volumes 5
Anime television series
Directed by Tsutomu Mizushima
Written by Ryō Higaki
Music by Kow Otani
Studio P.A.Works
Licensed by
Hanabee
Network KNB, KBS, Tokyo MX, CTC
English network
Original run January 10, 2012 – March 27, 2012
Episodes 12
Original video animation
The Other -Karma-
Directed by Tsutomu Mizushima
Written by Ryō Higaki
Music by Kow Otani
Studio P.A.Works
Released May 26, 2012
Live-action film
Directed by Takeshi Furusawa
Written by Sachiko Tanaka
Released August 4, 2012
Novel
Another: Episode S
Written by Yukito Ayatsuji
Published by Kadokawa Shoten
English publisher
Published July 31, 2013

Another (アナザー Anazā) is a Japanese mystery horror novel by Yukito Ayatsuji, published on October 29, 2009 by Kadokawa Shoten. The story focuses on a boy named Kōichi Sakakibara who, upon transferring into Yomiyama Middle School and meeting the curious Mei Misaki, finds himself in a mystery revolving around students and people related to his class falling victim to gruesome, senseless deaths.

A manga adaptation by Hiro Kiyohara was serialized between May 2010 and January 2012 in the issues of Kadokawa Shoten's Young Ace. Both the novel and the manga have been licensed in North America by Yen Press. A 12-episode anime TV series produced by P.A.Works aired in Japan between January 10 and March 27, 2012, with an original video animation episode released on May 26, 2012, and a live-action film was released in Japanese theatres on August 4, 2012.

Plot

In 1972, Misaki, a student of Yomiyama North Middle School's class 3-3, suddenly died partway through the school year. Devastated by the unexpected loss, the students and teachers behaved like Misaki was still alive, leading to a strange presence on the graduation photo. In Spring 1998, 15-year-old Kōichi Sakakibara transfers into Yomiyama's class 3-3, where he meets Mei Misaki, a strange student whom their classmates and teachers seemingly ignore. The class is soon caught up in a strange phenomenon, in which students and their relatives begin to die in mysterious ways. Realizing that these deaths are related to the "Misaki of 1972", it is up to Kōichi and Mei to discover the cause of these mysterious deaths and figure out how to stop it before it kills them.

Characters

Main characters

Kōichi Sakakibara (榊原 恒一 Sakakibara Kōichi)
Voiced by: Atsushi Abe[1] (Japanese); Greg Ayres[2] (English), Kento Yamazaki[3] (live-action film)
A 15-year-old boy who transferred to Yomiyama North Middle's Class 3-3 from Tokyo in 1998, but was hospitalized due to pneumothorax before the school year began. Kōichi stays with his grandparents and aunt Reiko, while his father conducts research in India. He befriends Mei Misaki despite warnings against doing so, and works with his classmates to uncover the truth behind the curse of Class 3-3.[ch. 1]
Mei Misaki (見崎 鳴 Misaki Mei)
Voiced by: Natsumi Takamori[1] (Japanese); Monica Rial[2] (English), Ai Hashimoto[3] (live-action film)
An unusual girl who wears a white eyepatch over her left eye,[ch. 1] Kōichi first meets her on the elevator of Yūmigaoka Hospital, as she delivers a doll to her deceased "cousin" (whom is later revealed to be her twin sister in episode 0).[ch. 1] At school, she is completely ignored by her classmates and sits at an old, scratched desk at the back of the classroom. When Koichi goes out of his way to try to interact with her, she warns him not to, but relents and gradually opens up to him about her situation after Koichi is also ignored by the class.[ch. 8] She reveals to Koichi that her left eye is a doll's eye, and that she has a special ability,[ch. 3] noting later in the story that she is able to see the "color of death", that is, identify people who are dead and those close to death.[ch. 17]

Kōichi's relatives

Yōsuke Sakakibara (榊原 陽介 Sakakibara Yōsuke)
Voiced by: Takurō Kitagawa (Japanese); Christopher Ayres (English)
Kōichi's father is a college professor who is doing research in India. He regularly calls his son to chat, but does not give much detail about their family background, opting instead to complain about the heat.[4]
Ritsuko Sakakibara (榊原 理津子 Sakakibara Ritsuko)
Kōichi's mother, she died 15 years ago right after giving birth to him. She was a student in Yomiyama Middle School's Class 3-3 back in 1972, and was thus one of Misaki Yomiyama's classmates.[ch. 1] It is later revealed that Reiko was in Class 3-3 when she died; and was therefore a victim of the curse that year. Her maiden name was Ritsuko Mikami (三神 理津子 Mikami Ritsuko).[5]
Reiko Mikami (三神 怜子 Mikami Reiko)[5]
Voiced by: Naoko Sakakibara (Reiko),[1] Misayo Miyamaki (Ms. Mikami)[6][lower-alpha 1] (Japanese); Molly Searcy (Reiko), Sonja Meadow (Ms. Mikami)[2] (English), Ai Kato (live-action film)
Kōichi's aunt and Ritsuko's younger sister.[5] She has been hanging out with Koichi at the grandparents home while Koichi's dad has been away. At the beginning of the story, she gives him advice about Yomiyama Middle School through a series of "rules".[ch. 1] She usually returns home exhausted after work.[ch. 4,6] She was in class 3-3 15 years ago when Koichi's mother died.[ch. 6]

Mei's relatives

Kirika (霧果)
Voiced by: Hitomi Harada (Japanese); Tiffany Grant (English)
She is an artist and the owner of "Blue Eyes Empty to All, In the Twilight of Yomi", a ball-jointed doll store and museum.[ch. 3] Koichi later confirms she is Mei Misaki's adoptive mother,[ch. 8] but they have a somewhat distant relationship where they talk to each other like strangers.[ch. 9] Mei reveals that her mother had a stillbirth 12 years ago, which made her obsessed with dolls; this hobby has led to her and Mei treating each other as strangers.[ch. 17] Her real name is Yukiyo Misaki (見崎 ユキヨ Misaki Yukiyo).[ch. 17]
Misaki Fujioka (藤岡 未咲 Fujioka Misaki)
Voiced by: Hiromi Igarashi
First introduced as Mei's "other half"[ch. 1] and later as her cousin,[ch. 3] she was the person whom Mei was delivering a present to at the basement of Yūmigaoka Hospital,[ch. 1] where Koichi learns houses the memorial chapel.[ch. 2] In reality, she is Mei's twin sister, raised separately after birth, though they occasionally met each other. Has a more cheerful personality than Mei. Misaki and Mei's biological mother is named Mitsuyo.[ch. 17] Misaki died in the hospital from leukemia in April.[7]
Amane (天根 Amane)
Voiced by: Sayuri Sadaoka (Japanese); Vicki Barosh (English)
The receptionist at the doll shop and museum.[ch. 3] Whenever she sees Koichi, she offers him a student-discounted admission to their museum.[ch. 3,5] Mei later reveals that she is her grand-aunt.[ch. 8]

Yomiyama North Middle School

Class 3-3 students

Tomohiko Kazami (風見 智彦 Kazami Tomohiko)
Voiced by: Mitsuhiro Ichiki (Japanese); Josh Grelle[2] (English), Takashi Waka (live-action film)
He's one of the class delegates and a glasses-wearing honor student.[ch. 1] He and Teshigawara are childhood friends.[ch. 1]
Yukari Sakuragi (桜木 ゆかり Sakuragi Yukari)
Voiced by: Ai Nonaka[1] (Japanese); Brittney Karbowski[2] (English), Maya Okano (live-action film)
The class 3-3 representative for the girls side.[ch. 1,5] In May, when she learns that her mother died in a car accident, she ends up falling down the stairs and impaling her neck on the sharp end of her umbrella.[8][ch. 4]
Naoya Teshigawara (敕使河原直哉 Teshigawara Naoya)
Voiced by: Tomoaki Maeno[1] (Japanese); Chris Patton[2] (English), Kiyotaka Uji (live-action film)
A classmate who befriends Kōichi, whom he nicknames "Sakaki".[ch. 1] A sports lover with a superficial personality, he was asked to explain the situation to Kōichi but has trouble going through with it.[vol. 1]
Yūya Mochizuki (望月 優矢 Mochizuki Yūya)
Voiced by: Kazutomi Yamamoto[1] (Japanese); Clint Bickham (English), Kai Inowaki (live-action film)
A schoolmate and member of the Art Club.[ch. 3] He along with Teshigawara help Kōichi unravel the 3-3 calamity. Koichi thinks he has a crush on Ms. Mikami as he often inquires as to her health and whereabouts.[ch. 3]
Izumi Akazawa (赤沢 泉美 Akazawa Izumi)
Voiced by: Madoka Yonezawa[1] (Japanese); Jessica Boone[2] (English), Mika Akizuki (live-action film)
A student in charge of countermeasures, she devises and upholds means to deal with the calamity of Class 3-3.[ch. 3,6,7] She replaces her friend Yukari as the class representative on the girls side in June.[ch. 7] She resents Mei and Koichi for breaking the class rule of not interacting with the person who is "not there", feeling that their actions have undermined the countermeasures and have caused the deaths to continue.[ch. 6,11][9] In the novel, during the summer trip, she is pursued by Mineko Numata, and dies from falling off a veranda and breaking her neck.[10] In the manga and anime, her hair is styled in bunches. In the afterword of the manga series, Ayatsuji wrote that Akazawa was a supporting character in the novels, but that manga artist Kiyohara give her a bigger role, which worked well for the climax and the big twist in the adaptation.[vol. Omnibus:afterword]
Ikuo Takabayashi (高林郁夫 Takabayashi Ikuo)
Voiced by: Shou Takano (Japanese); Blake Shepard[2] (English)
A classmate who is noted to occasionally miss school because of his weak heart condition. He is usually seen sitting at the sidelines during P.E.. In June, he suffers a fatal heart attack.[11][ch. 7]

Faculty

Shōji Kubodera (久保寺紹二 Kubodera Shōji)
Voiced by: Kōzō Mito (Japanese); David Matranga[2] (English)
Class 3-3 homeroom teacher.[ch. 1] In July, after realizing that the countermeasures to the Class 3-3 calamity are not working, he kills his bedridden mother by smothering her with a pillow the night before stabbing himself in the neck in front of the class.[ch. 11,12]
Tatsuji Chibiki (千曳 辰治 Chibiki Tatsuji)
Voiced by: Hiroaki Hirata[1] (Japanese); David Wald (English), Yoshihiko Hakamaka (live-action film)
Reiko describes him as the "ruler" of the secondary library. He typically dresses in all black.[ch. 3] He was the teacher for Class 3-3 in 1972, the year Misaki Yomiyama died. Some years later, he resigned as a teacher but stayed on as librarian, claiming that he was "running away [from the curse]". Since then, he's kept a record of the phenomena, the deceased and their connections; and shares his findings with Kōichi and Mei.[ch. 10]

Others

Misaki Yomiyama (夜見山 岬 Yomiyama Misaki)
The honor student from Yomiyama Middle School's Class 3-3 in 1972. He was extremely popular and well-liked by his peers and teacher. He died in a house fire that also claimed the lives of his brother and both his parents.[12] His classmates were so heartbroken by his untimely death and could not accept it, that at school they pretended as if he were still alive, which led to a mysterious photo with the supposedly dead Misaki in it.[13][ch. 1,15]
Sanae Mizuno (水野 沙苗 Mizuno Sanae)
Voiced by: Seiko Yoshida (Japanese); Carli Mosier[2] (English), Hiroko Sato (live-action film)
A nurse at Yūmigaoka Hospital who befriends Koichi. A running gag is that she is accident-prone.[ch. 1,2,5] She has a younger brother named Takeru in class 3-3.[ch. 4] She tries to assist Kōichi in unraveling the mystery of Yomiyama North by giving him information she gleans from discussions with her colleagues and her brother.[ch. 3,5] In June, she is killed when the elevator she was riding breaks its cable and falls down the shaft; the impact causes the ceiling beam to fall on her.[ch. 6,7]
Katsumi Matsunaga (松永 克己 Matsunaga Katsumi)
Voiced by: Shinya Takahashi (Japanese); Illich Guardiola (English)
A former Yomiyama North Middle School student from Class 3-3 of 1983, and one of Reiko's classmates. During their summer trip, when he had killed a classmate, he discovers that the other people in the class suddenly have no knowledge of that classmate. He realizes he had killed the Casualty, making this the only known case of the phenomenon stopping halfway through the year.[ch. 14,15] He recorded his theories and confession on an audio cassette and hid it in the school for future students to find.[ch. 15] After graduation, he moved to Tokyo to pursue his studies. He became a banker, but quit after a few years, returning to Yomiyama to help with the family business. He is a regular at Inoya Cafė, where Tomoka Inose works.[ch. 13]
Tomoka Inose (猪瀬 知香 Inose Tomoka)
Voiced by: Mahiro Inoue (Japanese); Maggie Flecknoe (English)
Yūya's older half-sister. A waitress at Inoya Cafė, she attended Yomiyama North Middle School during 1983, though she was not part of Class 3-3. Although aware of the rumors about said class, she did not believe them until Yūya, fearing for her life, explained the situation to her. Katsumi Matsunaga is a regular at the cafe where she works.[ch. 13][14]
Mineko Numata (沼田 峯子 Numata Mineko)
Voiced by: Rie Takahashi (Japanese); Vicki Barosh (English)
Ikuo Takabayashi's grandmother. A gentle warm-hearted grandmother, though she proved to be an insane crone murderer due to Ikuo's death. She is responsible for the murder of Manabu Maejima, Izumi Akazawa, Takako Sugiura, Junta Nakao, Shigeki Yonemura, and her husband Kensaku during the summer trip. She then proceeded to commit suicide by biting off her tongue, making her along with her husband one of the seven "Deaths of August".

Media

Novels

Another is a 677-page novel written by Yukito Ayatsuji. The novel was originally serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's literary magazine Yasai Jidai in intermittent periods between the August 2006 and May 2009 issues. A compiled tankōbon volume was published on October 29, 2009[15] and a two-volume bunkobon edition was released on September 25, 2011.[16][17] A re-release of the bunkobon edition featuring illustrations by Noizi Ito was released under the imprint Sneaker Bunko on March 1, 2012.[18][19] A spin-off novel titled Another: Episode S was released on July 31, 2013.[20] A sequel novel with the tentative title Another 2 has been announced.[21] Yen Press has licensed the novel in North America.[22]

Manga

A manga adaptation illustrated by Hiro Kiyohara was serialized between the May 2010 and January 2012 issues of Kadokawa Shoten's Young Ace magazine. Four tankōbon volumes were released between October 4, 2010 and December 29, 2011.[23][24] A "0th" volume of the manga was released on May 26, 2012. Yen Press has licensed the original four volume manga in North America and released it as an omnibus.[22]

Anime

A 12-episode anime TV series adaptation produced by P.A.Works and directed by Tsutomu Mizushima[25] aired in Japan between January 10 and March 27, 2012. The screenplay was written by Ryō Higaki, and the chief animation director Yuriko Ishii based the character design used in the anime on Noizi Ito's original concept art.[25][26] The music was produced by Kow Otani, and the sound director is Yoshikazu Iwanami.[26] The anime has two theme songs: the opening theme "Kyōmu Densen" (凶夢伝染, "Nightmare Contagion") by the band Ali Project, and the ending theme "Anamnesis" by Annabel. Sentai Filmworks licensed the series in North America, releasing it on BD/DVD on July 30, 2013.[27] An original video animation (OVA) episode set before the beginning of the series was released on May 26, 2012 with a "0th" volume of the manga.[28] MVM Films released the series, including the OVA, in the United Kingdom and Ireland in late 2013.[29]

Live-action film

A live-action film adaptation directed by Takeshi Furusawa[30] and produced by Kadokawa Pictures was released in Japanese theaters on August 4, 2012.[31] The theme song is "Rakuen" (楽園, "Paradise") by Miliyah Kato.

Reception

The novel ranked third in both the 2010 Honkaku Mystery Best 10 and the Kono Mystery ga Sugoi! 2010 mystery fiction guide books. It was nominated for the 2010 Honkaku Mystery Award.[32]

See also

Works cited

Novel
Another manga volumes story by Yukito Ayatsuji, art by Hiro Kiyohara. Original Japanese version published by Kadokawa Shoten. English version by Yen Press.
  1. Vol. 1 (ch. 1–4): Another 1 (in Japanese). September 30, 2010. ISBN 978-4-04-715534-3. 
  2. Vol. 2 (ch. 5–9.5): Another 2 (in Japanese). March 2, 2011. ISBN 978-4-04-715628-9. 
  3. Vol. 3 (ch. 10–14): Another 3 (in Japanese). September 1, 2011. ISBN 978-4-04-715772-9. 
  4. Vol. 4 (ch. 15–20): Another 4 (in Japanese). December 27, 2011. ISBN 978-4-04-120044-5. 
  •  Another 0 (in Japanese). May 26, 2012. ISBN 978-4-04-900816-6. 
  •  Another (Omnibus edition). October 2013. ISBN 978-0-316-24591-3. 

Notes

  1. ↑ The voice actor "Misayo Miyamaki" was a pseudonym, with the name being an anagram for Misaki Yomiyama

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "TV Anime Another's Voice Cast Revealed". Anime News Network. November 9, 2011. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Sentai Filmworks Reveals tsuritama, 'Another' Anime Dub Casts". Anime News Network. June 18, 2013. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  3. 1 2 http://www.kadokawa-pictures.co.jp/official/another/cast.shtml
  4. ↑ Ayatsuji 2009, p. 17,37
  5. 1 2 3 Ayatsuji 2009, p. 648 "十五年前に死んだ母、榊原理津子(旧姓、三神)。その十一歳年下の妹、すなわちぼくの実の 叔母(おば)である三神怜子――怜子さんが、これから転入する学校の教師で、しかもクラスの副担任であるという偶然はある意味、大いに心強い話ではあった。"
  6. ↑ 三神先生 [Ms. Mikami] (in Japanese). P.A.Works. Archived from the original on April 11, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  7. ↑ Ayatsuji 2009, pp. 584–593
  8. ↑ Ayatsuji 2009, p. 185
  9. ↑ Ayatsuji 2009, pp. 434, 562–569
  10. ↑ Ayatsuji 2009, p. 660
  11. ↑ Ayatsuji 2009, p. 267
  12. ↑ Ayatsuji 2009, p. 385
  13. ↑ Ayatsuji 2009, pp. 8–13
  14. ↑ Ayatsuji 2009, pp. 486–489
  15. ↑ "Another" (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  16. ↑ "Another (上)" (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  17. ↑ "Another (下)" (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  18. ↑ "Another (上)" (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Another (下)" (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  20. ↑ "Another: Episode S" (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  21. ↑ "Ayatsuji Plans 2 More Novels of Horror Franchise 'Another'". Anime News Network. February 28, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  22. 1 2 "Yen Press Adds 'Another' Horror Novel & Manga, Junya Inoue's BTOOOM! Manga". Anime News Network. July 13, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Another (1)" (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  24. ↑ "Another (4)" (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
  25. 1 2 "Anime Another with Noizi Ito, P.A. Works Debuts in January". Anime News Network. August 27, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  26. 1 2 "Staff & Cast" (in Japanese). P.A.Works. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  27. ↑ "Sentai Filmworks Licenses Horror TV Anime Another". Anime News Network. January 16, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  28. ↑ "Promo for Episode 0 of Horror Anime 'Another' Streamed". Anime News Network. March 2, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  29. ↑ "MVM to Release Another on Blu-ray and DVD". Anime News Network. March 20, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  30. ↑ "Ring Horror Films' Sadako Gets 3D Live-Action Film". Anime News Network. February 15, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
  31. ↑ "Live-Action Film Teaser of Horror Novel 'Another' Posted". Anime News Network. March 2, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  32. ↑ "The Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan". Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan. Retrieved July 18, 2015.

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