Another

This is yet another show that I had seen floating around the anime community so I decided I should check it out, but after seeing what it was about, of course. The premise is interesting and unique and I was excited to watch a show that I had heard was very thrilling and scary.

I absolutely loved Another, though I give it only 4 stars since there was a plot hole and I was still left with a few questions at the end of the show. Other than these questions/plot holes, the story was unique and engaging and had me hooked. Several of the deaths sent shiver down my spine, which is hard to do since I've read/watched so much that it's desensitized me. My only other problem is that the story started to become a little dragged out in the middle of the show. It was less gripping and started to move rather slow, then the ending felt a little rushed.

The characters were a little underdeveloped since the focus was on the plot, but this shouldn't automatically turn someone off. I'm someone who loves characters and focuses more on character development than plot development, but if a show has an interesting enough plot, I can let go of the less developed characters.

I'd have to say my favorite part of Another was the soundtrack. Not only were the opening and ending songs really good (especially that beautiful ending song), but the soundtrack within the show itself was amazing and fit the tone of each episode really well. If ever I find the soundtrack, I am definitely getting it.

Overall, I really recommend this anime. The story is engaging, though it still leaves a few questions at the end. Sometimes you feel like you're living the characters' lives, and other times they feel a little bland. And the music is amazing. It's not a perfect show, but Another is intelligent and thrilling and doesn't always feel like every other anime you may have seen.

Brutal, bloody, at parts creepy, and parts chillingly gruesome, This anime sure did deliver on many scales. The characters kept you guessing; the endings were always a cliffhanger--thank goodness I started watching after the end of the series or I would have gone crazy for waiting after these cliffhangers--and just when you think you have it figured out: BAM! Plot curve-ball. A chilling experience that you shouldn't watch at 3am like i did, that delivers thrills and never let's you have a moment's peace of mind--or does and then shreds it. A story that drags you helplessly behind wanting more, becoming more brutal and brutal with music that perfectly reflects and heightens the suspense: this is one not to skip!

Unless dolls freak you out. Skip it then. Definitely.

Where to start...well, first off, this is literally a radnom review, it might actually not even be a review so yeah. Anyways, I really liked this one. Thought it was well done with the whole cursed class thing going on. Never before have i heard of something like that. Sure there's stuff like "Oh it's a cursed house/room/building type of thing. But this one makes it a little different that no matter how hard you try and move buildings or even changing the name of the room, it's still cursed. Again this is random review, so don't really pay attention to what i have to say on this except it's good, its worth watching, as of now my favorite Horror Anime ( I haven't seen all too many sadly).

The art throughout the series is consistent in it's dark and run down look. It creates an appropriate atmosphere for the actual story. Add in a room full of creepy dolls and the right music and you're all set.

Otherwise the story line is basic at best. Our protagonist just transferred in to the one classroom with the darkest history. Apparently the class is cursed with one extra (dead) student at the beginning of the school year, but no one knows who the person actually is so they pretend one person doesn't actually exist to make the number of students match the records. No one thinks to warn the new transfer, who doesn't know the rules, so students from the class start dying as a result. In turn the transfer teams up with other students to try and break the curse on the class and stop the killings.

The ending seemed like it was rushed and in a way the climax was almost anticlimactic compared to the other episodes, but overall it wrapped itself up nicely. If you're looking for something that's entertaining and makes you at least think about how each episode is connected then this is the show for you.

Overall, this anime is great. The atmosphere this anime presents is very moody and subdued. Even though this is a horror anime, I found myself quite attracted to the main characters. If anything, this anime proves to remind you not to make assumptions based on what you see. The biggest weakness? The ending. It had great pacing until about episode 11, then it all went downhill. The notch on the gratuitous violence and death was ramped WAY up compared to the rest of the anime, and it seemed to be a negative contrast with the build of the rest of the series. Overall, very well done. And the last couple minutes made the the last episode bearable.

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a big horror buff. I've known Freddy and Jason since I was a kid, had dreams where I sat in between the Wolfman and Dracula, and even one where I played a game of "Wheel-of-Fortune," with the crypt keeper. When I trans-versed into the world of Asian horror, I wasn't sure what to expect, eventually coming to terms that most stories, were ghost stories. Eventually, I turned to Horror Anime and found Higurashi and Umineko, falling in love with them for the intricate story lines and characters.

When I came across Another, I was a bit skeptical to enter into another ghost story, figuring I'd seen every one.

I was wrong.

What begins as a ghost story, turns into a catastrophic game of "Guess Who," as we loose more and more characters/students to a terrible curse. Friends become enemies, people loose loved ones, and when you finally figure out just how the hell it all ends, it leaves you with something bitter sweet, making you wonder how it all could have turned out if only everyone had done things differently.

By the end of the anime, I found myself loving the story/the curse within it. It was one I hadn't come across in all my years of watching movies and tv, but it wasn't so ridiculous as to make me find the anime silly. That being said, I couldn't give this anime 5 stars for one big reason.

The ending.

I won't give too much away, but I will say this. Stories, especially horror stories, are supposed to have a very, very climactic ending to them, it makes you feel ten times better or worse over how it all finishes. However, the last episode seemed to say, "you know, not enough blood was shed, lets throw everything we possibly can at these characters!" Sometimes, I'd say it was a good thing, but the way it was handled here was just chaotic to say the least. Yes it rose the tension, yes it left me at the edge of my seat but so many things that happened were predictable in the last few episodes that when I said, "let me guess, this is going to happen," 9/10 times it did.

Other than that last episode, lets talk about the basics. The art itself is traditional anime style, with a little boost in quality. The faces these characters make aren't completely out of control either, as Higurashi's were from time to time. It had its boundaries and it kept within those. The main character's don't stick out that much, since really, you're looking at a whole classroom full of characters you need to keep an eye on. The main two depicted in the poster shown are the only ones you can really, really focus on, and even then, they don't stick out for their personalities, but because of their back stories. The music was good, as well as the pacing (again, I felt, until the end) and some of the scenes actually got me to cover my mouth as I stared wide eyed at my screen. That's no easy feat for anything I come across.

I'd recommend this to anyone who like ghost stories, or horror in general, but not to anyone who's weak to the sight of blood and gore, although it was placed well, there was a lot of it.