Another
Basic Work Information
- Title
- Another (Anazā)
- Original Story
- Yukito Ayatsuji (Kadokawa Shoten, October 29, 2009)
- Genre
- Suspense・Horror (school orthodox horror)
- Anime broadcast
- January 10, 2012 – March 27, 2012
- Number of episodes
- 12 episodes total
- Animation Production
- P.A.WORKS
- Director
- Tsutomu Mizushima
- Series composition・Script
- Ryō Higaki
- Character Design & Chief Animation Director
- Yuriko Ishii (Original Character Design: Noizi Ito)
- Music
- Kō Ōtani / Sound Director: Yoshikazu Iwanami
- Natsumi Takamori
- Misaki Mei(Heroine)
- Live-action film
- August 4, 2012, Director: Ken Furusawa, Starring: Kento Yamazaki, Ai Hashimoto
Work Overview
"Another" is a mystery horror novel by Yukito Ayatsuji, published by Kadokawa Shoten in 2009, with cumulative sales of about 650,000 copies; in 2012 it was adapted into a TV anime (12 episodes, produced by P.A.WORKS) and a live-action film.
The protagonist, Kōichi Sakakibara, transfers to Class 3-3 of Yomiyama North Middle School and discovers that this class is shrouded in a certain "curse": in 1972, a popular student in the class, "Misaki Yomiyama," died, but the teachers and students pretended he was still alive until graduation, and yet the dead boy was captured in the graduation photo—the calamity began from there.
The year in which it occurs is called "the year of the calamity," and from April to March of the following year, at least one person among the students, teachers, and relatives within the second degree of kinship of Class 3-3 dies each month. A "dead person" (a dead person from a past calamity who has been revived) also mixes into the class, without being aware of it themselves, and the related memories and records are rewritten.
The work blends horror, mystery, and suspense, and is hailed as "authentic school horror," combining the atmosphere of supernatural horror with a fair mystery solution.
Series Works
Related works of this title:
📕 Original novel
Yukito Ayatsuji | Kadokawa Shoten 2009-10-29 | Paperback edition 2011-11-25 (two volumes), Sneaker Bunko edition 2012-03-01
📺 TV anime
2012-01-10 – 03-27 | 12 episodes | P.A.WORKS
💿 OVA "Episode 0 -Causality-"
2012-05-26 | Included with manga volume 0
🎬 Live-action film
2012-08-04 | Director: Ken Furusawa | Starring: Kento Yamazaki, Ai Hashimoto | Theme song: Kato Miliyah "Rakuen"
📕 Sequel novel
"Another Episode S" 2013-07-31｜"Another 2001" 2020-09-30
📙 Manga Version
Art by Hiro Kiyohara | Young Ace May 2010 issue – January 2012 issue | 4 volumes + volume 0
Timeline
- 1972 (Setting within the work) Misaki Yomiyama of Class 3-3 dies, and the calamity begins
- 2006-08 The novel began serialization in 《Yasei Jidai》
- 2009-10-29 Tankōbon volume released
- May 2010 Manga adaptation began serialization (《Young Ace》)
- 2011-11-25 Kadokawa Bunko edition released (two volumes)
- 2012-01-10 TV anime began airing
- 2012-03-27 TV anime finished airing (12 episodes total)
- 2012-05-26 OVA《Episode 0 -Causality-》released
- 2012-07-11 Character song album《Songs party -Utage-》released
- 2012-08-04 Live-action film released
- 2013-07-31 Sequel "Another Episode S" Released
- 2017-03-06 Pachinko《CR Another》introduced
- 2020-09-30 《Another 2001》released (bunko two volumes 2023-06-13)
Data
(anime, OVA, live-action film)
Production Staff
- Original work: Yukito Ayatsuji (published by Kadokawa Shoten)
- Director: Tsutomu Mizushima
- Series Composition/Screenplay: Ryo Higaki
- Character Design/Chief Animation Director: Yuriko Ishii
- Original Character Design: Ito Noizi
- Music: Kou Ootani | Music Production: Lantis
- Sound Director: Yoshikazu Iwanami
- Animation Production: P.A.WORKS
- Production: "Another" Production Committee
- 【Live-action film】Director: Ken Furusawa / Screenplay: Sachiko Tanaka, Ken Furusawa
- 【Live-action film】Music: Goro Yasukawa / Starring: Kento Yamazaki, Ai Hashimoto
Theme Song
Plot (spoilers)
The following are the anime's chapter divisions and the core mystery of this work. The anime's episode titles are taken from the steps of doll making: Sketch → Speculation → Framework/Outline → Diffusion → Two People/Modulation → Deep Blue → Chain/Pitch Black → Tragedy → The Dead.
① The rules of the curse
The beginning of 1972: A popular student in Class 3-3 of Yomiyama North Middle School, "Misaki Yomiyama," died in an accident. The classmates could not accept it and decided to pretend he was still alive until graduation—yet the deceased Misaki appeared in the graduation photo. Since then, Class 3-3 has been haunted by this "phenomenon."
A year with a case: The phenomenon does not occur every year, and its pattern is unclear; a year in which it occurs is called a "year with a case," and 1998 was such a year.
At least one death per month: Starting in April of that year, at least one person among the class's teachers and students and their relatives within the second degree dies each month, with causes mostly being accidents, illness, suicide, or homicide; the farther from Yomiyama, the weaker the effect.
The "dead person" mixes in: That year, one past victim "revives" and mixes into the class—the so-called "dead person"; neither the person themselves nor those around them are aware of it, and the class thus has one extra person.
Two countermeasures: ① "Return the dead to death"—find the dead person and kill them, and the phenomenon stops immediately; ② "Nonexistent person"—the whole class treats a certain student as nonexistent, thereby freeing up a seat to offset the dead person (the only generally accepted method, but with a high failure rate).
Memories and records are rewritten: After the phenomenon ends, memories and records related to the dead are rewritten or erased, and only notes left beforehand can serve as clues.
② Episodes 1–3: The transfer and the encounter
The episode titles of the anime are taken from the steps of doll making. Episodes 1–3 are "Sketch," "Speculation," and "Framework."
Transfer student Sakakibara Kouichi moves to Yomiyama, is hospitalized for pneumothorax, and meets in the elevator a girl wearing an eyepatch—Misaki Mei. The class ignores Mei, but Kouichi actively approaches her. In May, class representative Sakuragi Yukari fell on the stairs and died when an umbrella pierced her throat.
③ Episodes 4–6: The calamity and the "nonexistent person"
Episodes 4–6 are "Outline," "Spread," and "The Two of Them."
Kouichi learns that Mei is the one chosen this year as the "nonexistent person." Nurse Mizuno Sanae died horribly in an old elevator accident, and Takabayashi Ikuo died of a heart attack. As news of the deaths spreads one after another, the class falls into suspicion.
④ Episodes 7–9: Search for the "dead person"
Episodes 7–9 are "Transformation," "Deep Blue," and "Chain."
Homeroom teacher Kubodera slit his own throat in front of everyone. Nakao Junta suffered a cerebral hernia, Ayano Aya's family drove off a cliff, and Ogura Atsushi was crushed to death by an excavator. As the chain of tragedies expands, Kouichi begins to investigate the rules.
⑤ Episodes 10–12: The training camp tragedy and the truth
Episodes 10–12 are "Pitch Black," "Tragedy," and "The Dead."
A battle royale breaks out at the training camp, and the Numata couple, the out-of-control Kazami Tomohiko, Akazawa Izumi, and others die one after another.
⚠️ Spoilers: The real "dead person" is Reiko Mikami—she is both Kouichi's aunt and the class's assistant homeroom teacher. The ending concludes with Kouichi killing Reiko Mikami to stop the calamity (immediately followed by a recurrence of his pneumothorax); Mei survives and appears as a collaborator in the sequel "Another 2001."
⑥ OVA "Episode 0 -Causality-"
Released in 2012 bundled with manga volume 0. It depicts Mei's past: a brief outing with her look-alike sister Fujioka Misaki, from whom she had been separated since childhood.
Mei foresees an ominous sign on Misaki through her doll's eye, and Misaki soon dies of illness, becoming that year's first victim.
⑦ Chapter structure of the original novel
The original novel is split into two volumes (Volume 1 subtitled "What?…Why?" and Volume 2 "How?…Who?"), with chapters divided by month:
- Volume 1: Introduction, Chapter 1 April, Chapters 2–5 May 1–4, Interlude, Chapters 6–9 June 1–4
- Volume 2: Chapters 10–15, June 5 – August 2, Interlude, Outroduction, Afterword
There is also the spin-off "Another episode S" and the sequel "Another 2001."
Characters
Misaki Mei Misaki Mei
A student in Class 3-3 of Yomiyama North Middle School. She lost her left eye to illness at age 4, and her glass eye was made by her adoptive mother Kirika, who is a doll maker; because her eyes are different colors and she feels inferior about it, she covers it with an eyepatch. Following the countermeasures, the whole class ignores her as "the person who doesn't exist." This "doll's eye" can see the "color of death" on others, allowing her to distinguish the living from the dead and see through the "dead person" mixed into the class. The color of her left eye is green in the anime version, and blue in the original work/manga/film.
Kouichi Sakakibara Sakakibara Kouichi
The protagonist, 15 years old, who transferred into Class 3-3 to recuperate from a spontaneous pneumothorax, and loves reading horror novels. He is the only one who can seeMisaki Meiperson.
Izumi Akazawa Izumi Akazawa
A student in charge of the class's "countermeasures" and a class representative; in the anime version she is a member of the drama club and has feelings for Kouichi.
Naoya Teshigawara Naoya Teshigawara
The class clown, and Kazami's childhood friend.
Yuya Mochizuki Yuya Mochizuki
Art club member, a beautiful androgynous boy who admires Reiko Mikami.
Tomohiko Kazami Tomohiko Kazami
Countermeasures Committee and class representative, a top student but timid.
Yukari Sakuragi Yukari Sakuragi
One of the Countermeasures Committee members, who died on May 26 after falling down the stairs and being pierced in the throat by the tip of an umbrella.
Takako Sugiura Takako Sugiura
One of the Countermeasures Committee members, who incited everyone to kill Mei during the training camp.
Ms. Mikami Reiko Mikami
Vice homeroom teacher and art teacher; after Kubodera's death, acting homeroom teacher.
Misaki Fujioka Misaki Fujioka
Naru's younger cousin, her biological twin sister, who died of illness on April 27, 1998.
Sanae Mizuno Sanae Mizuno
A hospital nurse who shared Koichi's taste for horror novels; died in an elevator accident. (In the anime version, her name is "Sanae.")
Key Characters (Spoilers)
⚠️ Expand to view: characters involved in the core mystery (major spoilers)
The true identities of the following characters are the very core mystery of this work. If you have not finished it yet, please do not expand.
Reiko Mikami Reiko Mikami
⚠️ Spoiler: Ms. Mikami and Koichi's aunt "Reiko" are the same person, "Mikami Reiko," who is the "dead" who slipped into the class in 1998. She exists simultaneously as both the assistant homeroom teacher and Koichi's aunt. (Her CV under the name "Mikami" is listed as "Miyamaki Misayo," an anagram of "Yomiyama Misaki.") In the ending, Koichi kills her, bringing the calamity to an end.
Misaki Mei Misaki Mei
⚠️ Spoiler: She is biologically the twin sister of Fujioka Misaki, and also Kirika's adopted daughter; Misaki is 〈The Dead of April〉. This blood relationship is the key to the connection between her "doll's eye" and the calamity.
Misaki Yomiyama Misaki Yomiyama
⚠️ Spoiler: The popular student of Class 3-3 in 1972—his death and the teachers' and students' act of "pretending he is still alive" are the starting point of the entire calamity—the graduation photo captured him already dead.
Media Expansion
Beyond the original work, this series has manga, anime, OVA, live-action film, and sequel novels.
- Manga Version
- Illustrated by Hiro Kiyohara, Young Ace, May 2010 issue – January 2012 issue, 4 volumes total; the side story Another 0 (featuring Reiko as the protagonist) is included in manga volume 0 with the anime DVD (2012-05-26)
- Sequel Novel
- Another Episode S, 2013-07-31; Another 2001, 2020-09-30 (bunko edition, two volumes, 2023-06-13). The concluding chapter, Another 2009: unconfirmed—Yukito Ayatsuji stated in a special discussion in Episode S that this series is composed as a trilogy, but there has been no official announcement.
- Live-action film
- Another, released 2012-08-04; Taiwanese title Another, released in Taiwan on 2014-11-28
- Game
- None
- Pachinko
- CR Another (Fuji Shoji, introduced 2017-03-06, approximately 4,000 units)
- Stage Play / Reading Drama
- Unconfirmed (no official record)
- Drama CD
- None; only on 2013-08-02, to promote Episode S, a "New Book Radio" radio drama was produced with a reading by Ms. Natsumi Takamori × Atsushi Abe
- Setting Materials and Books
- Anime setting materials collection (P.A.WORKS mail order, 2012-04-20); character book Another 1998 Graduation Memories (2012-06-29)
Natsumi Takamori and This Work
Ms. Natsumi Takamori plays the heroine in this workMisaki Mei—A girl who wears an eyepatch over her left eye and is ignored by the entire class as "someone who does not exist."
She lost her left eye to illness at age 4, and her artificial eye was made by her adoptive mother Kirika, a doll maker; this "doll's eye" can see the "color of death" on others, allowing her to distinguish the living from the dead and see through the "dead" who have slipped into the class. The left eye is green in the anime version, and blue in the original work, manga, and film.
Mei works together with Koichi, the only one who can see her, to investigate the curse, and the "visible/invisible" relationship between the two is the emotional core of the entire story. The OVA "Episode 0 -Causality-" depicts the past in which her twin sister, Misaki Fujioka, died of leukemia.
She also sang the character song "Shizuka ni>, included in the 2012 character song album "Songs party -Utage-".
About the original work and Yukito Ayatsuji
The original novel was serialized in "Yasei Jidai" from the August 2006 issue to the May 2009 issue, and a single-volume edition was published by Kadokawa Shoten on October 29, 2009; there is also a paperback edition (2011-11-25) and a Sneaker Bunko edition (2012-03-01, 2 volumes, upper and lower). Sequels include "Another Episode S" (2013-07-31) and "Another 2001" (2020-09-30).
The manga version was illustrated by Hiro Kiyohara and serialized in "Young Ace" from the May 2010 issue to the January 2012 issue, with 4 volumes plus volume 0, and the series has a cumulative total of about 500,000 copies.
Author Yukito Ayatsuji: born December 23, 1960, a native of Kyoto, real name Naoyuki Uchida; made his debut in 1987 with "The Decagon House Murders," a representative author of the new orthodox school, and the "House Series" has a cumulative total of over 7.5 million copies. He won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1992 and the Japan Mystery Literature Award in 2018.
This work is hailed as Ayatsuji Yukito's "new masterpiece" 22 years after his debut, and is positioned as a "school orthodox horror" that blends horror, mystery, and suspense.
Reception
Sales: The original novel has about 650,000 copies in cumulative circulation; the manga series (4 main volumes + volume 0) has surpassed 500,000 copies in cumulative circulation.
Awards and rankings: 3rd place in the domestic section of the 2010 edition of Kono Mystery ga Sugoi!; also 3rd place in that year's "Honkaku Mystery Best 10"; a finalist for the 10th Honkaku Mystery Grand Prize (lost by 1 vote); a candidate for the 1st Yamada Futaro Prize.
Position: A "school orthodox horror" blending horror, mystery, and suspense, combining the atmosphere of supernatural horror with a fair mystery solution, hailed as Ayatsuji Yukito's new masterpiece 22 years after his debut.
Anime adaptation reception: The specific sources for reader ratings and media reviews are unconfirmed.
"It took the puzzle devices of the new orthodox mystery and moved them into the flesh and blood of campus horror—ranked 3rd in Kono Mystery ga Sugoi!, and missed winning the Honkaku Mystery Grand Prize by only 1 vote."
— Overall Assessment
